Renovation, Waterspouts & Blog Tours

Site of Kitchen

Yes, we have finally started the renovation on our condo -- and this means the kitchen is ripped out and we are living in the bedroom & balcony behind a sheet of plastic.

Out for a beach stroll, mini me spotted a waterspout at John's Pass.  Just as we turned to walk back home, a strong cool breeze and a small sand storm hit us, indicating the thick dark clouds were chasing us up the beach.  The sea turned choppy and inky black on the horizon with a murky green closer to shore. 15 minutes later the sun is out as if nothing transpired. And only yesterday we were chased right off the beach by more dangerous thunder and lightening. 

Waterspouts combine the swirling power of a tornado in a funnel cloud formed from water droplets of condensation -- over a large body of often warm water. More unusual are snow spouts (yes really).   It is estimated there are circa 500 waterspouts off the Florida coast each year. 

These evening storms, which arise suddenly, are apparently first signs of summer coming to Florida, along with the turtle nests.  We have spotted 3 more within 1/2 mile of our home; fortunately all marked as the mama turtles bury their eggs in the middle of the beach - so the nests could easily be disturbed if not roped off with stakes and orange tape.

Yesterday mini me discovered her first fiddler crab digging into the sand just at water's edge.  They are numerous, so obviously she failed to look earlier - probably her line of sight being drawn to the numerous dolphins and pelicans.  A local delicacy, soft shell blue crab, is harvested off the Florida coast with peak season from March through June. They say the name comes from the light-blue tint of its claws and it has 10 legs.

We had a wedding on the beach (baptism to come, I hear) complete with a dip in the sea,

and boaters docking overnight perhaps to start early morning fishing which is a main activity in Madeira Beach with very large catches.  Other more unusual sights include a white haired and white trouser man with Hawaiian shirt and ukulele strolling down the beach singing to himself.  Never a dull moment at appropriately named 'Mad Beach!'  And early morning swimmers were training for the 29th annual Madeira Beach Triathlon running on the 31st - 1st June - a Gulf swim, followed by a bike ride and a beach run - all outside our windows. How fun is that? And it all happens just outside our balcony window.

Should mini me take up photography to capture all these unique sights?  Hum, perhaps a quilting friend will give a few pointers, but then a stash of quilting fabric, a stash of seashells, a stash of photos -- might be too many stashes for a small condo!

And for those that asked about Blog Tours, as far as I understand it --

A term for planned, consistent online promotion of written material (e.g. book, blog) utilizing other bloggers, websites ads, and/or holding online interviews and telecasts.  Some bloggers do a kind of round robin e-mail newsletter promoting others' blogs.

see also http://www.novelpublicity.com/blog-tour/and http://www.helenginger.com/blogging_advice.htm