Breakfast with Dolphins

Update on sea turtle nest as of Sunday morning of 24 August:  Cage over nest appeared this am so nest should hatch in next 5 days!  Mini Me now on 'nest watch.' 

 

At long last we moved into our condo on the night of 20 August ... and the following morning I shared breakfast with a dolphin and a blue heron!  The dolphin was leaping and spinning out of the water and then swam directly towards me as s/he chased a bit of food just off the shoreline.  Good news for the heron who was fishing at the waterline from the beach and managed to snatch a fish from the sea.  Then they both headed south towards John's Pass.

Not sure if he is the same one, but on day 3 in my new condo, eating my breakfast, heading north I saw a dolphin finding breakfast too, this time swimming in circles to corral the fish together.  Of course their breakfast consisted of fish and mine ... well it also had protein.


Yup, umbrella whist sea bathing!

No thanks, says mini me

Now as I said there are many interesting sights on the beach ... (I missed the shot of a plane pulling a banner welcoming a local back home)

... which distract me from the seven (+) phases of an international move; I've lost count of the number of times I have packed up our merger US belongings.

Phase I - Jan/Feb	Clear Out:  getting rid of stuff; very painful
Phase II March	Packing:  packing up sea shipment and then living in your home without your stuff
Phase III April	Arrival:  at new country and staying in hotel (then packing to go to ...)
Phase IV April/May	Camping:  moving into the new place without your stuff and sleeping on an airbed -- doing boring admin like getting new driver's license, bank account and health insurance
Phase V June	Renovating: packing up our few belongings to make our footprint in the condo as small as possible; spend days at local DIY stores and internet sourcing materials
Phase VI July/Aug	Scram:  packing up again moving out to [supposedly] allow faster and higher quality renovation ... fortunately for us to a neighbour's condo -- very kind of John & Diane -- with a brief respite trip to London/UK
Phase VII 20 Aug	 I guess you call this glamping? Camping Again: moving back in camping again as renovation now 100%+ overdue.  Concrete floors, partial electrics and water and plenty of dust! Lucky for us, a neighbour gave us a loveseat when they bought new furniture.
Phase VIII --??	To Come - Completion:  will we ever get to DONE???

Before ... and this looks better than it really was.



After ... low water plants

 

Mini me found another way to distract herself and get her hands dirty doing a bit of gardening for the local church. See her green thumb!

Then she went off to a programme called "How to Read a Beach" by Dr Tonya Clayton at Weedon Island Preserve, to learn our beaches are some of the most biodiverse in the world. 



Satisfaction!

Rain prevented her for seeking out a roseate spoonbill (no these are not flamingos) mini me's & sister Sue's favourite bird after Pelicans.




It is hot, hot, steamy hot in Florida in August -- all outside activities (even standing still) involve buckets of sweat.