FIELD NOTE: FN-001

Title: Toxic Pink Cluster

Location: Seawall, Southwest Florida

Logged by: Chris Denbow

Date: 2025-04-13

Description:

One intact egg sac from an apple snail, vivid and artificial in appearance. Color: aggressive pink. Texture: clustered spheres like bubble wrap. Nearby, a second formation- degraded and dried. Resembles a patch of caviar or old gum flattened.

Ecological Note:

Laid above the waterline. Toxic to predators. An invasive marker left by Pomacea species, now common across Florida waterways. Harmless to observe, but hints at a much larger disruption just beneath the surface.

Reflection:

Even something as off-putting as this is worth noticing. This isn’t just a biological trace. It’s a neon breadcrumb in the story of a changing landscape. Exploration means noticing what others walk past, even when it makes you recoil a little.