Monday 3 December 2018

And just when . . .

Just when one thinks they have seen it all . . . I have no idea what the story is here or why they thought 'no fire on beach' meant this was OK, but it sure was entertaining!




We are assuming this motorcycle parade of several hundred (!) is some charity event as the police blocked all the side streets for them.














Today (3rd Dec) is one of the foggiest days we have seen - fog and damp all day long - oops that sounds like London (and the windy city of Chicago apparently)! OK it was also pretty warm here. Our 30 degree Fahrenheit day-to-day temperature swings (circa 15 C) sure make life (and clothing choices) interesting! I think everyone is having crazy weather.
can you see the people in this photo?
they are there!
seen on Mad Beach in early December!

Thursday 29 November 2018

Crusin' Fort De Soto

Roseate Spoonbill
Osprey with dinner
Great Blue Heron

Flock of White Pelicans
Above Photos by Sue!

And in our own 'backyard' aka beach, on Saturday (November 24th) the birds were going so crazy squawking I had to see what all the fuss was about - they were just chowing down on bait fish near shore.


Below are views from our beach walk on Sunday the 25th before the cccc-cold front blew in.



Looked like fallen clouds . . .
no it's sea foam


not all Santa's have dolphins pulling their sleigh!

It's gone even colder yesterday (28th - in the 50s or about 10-12C) and today (29th) and a gloomy 'British winter dreary' too; just turned on the heating!  Good Grief.  Good bye November and hello December!

The weather, however, didn't stop a couple of Nordic Pole Walkers today - one going south and this one going north. They evoked memories of a warmer Nordic Pole walk on a British beach this summer with friends.
truly spectacular - more than a photo can capture!














Just to get in the seasonal spirit --


Thursday 22 November 2018

Cownose visit for Thanksgiving

A crowd was gathering on our beach this morning - what's all the fuss?

A school of cownose rays ranging from 26 - 36 pounds was visiting for Thanksgiving!  There were several large schools with hundreds swimming by. Generally considered docile unless you mess with them; their tail can whip you with a barb that cuts you.

from wikipedia
Maybe they are searching for a meal of oysters and clams as they were swimming north and at this time of year we expect them to migrate south.
Hummmmm .... they are a  'near threatened' species of eagle ray.

Can you see the edges of their pectoral fins sticking out of the water? The males try to grasp these to mate. Seems a bit late in the year, but are these cownose mating? They also sometimes splash and can jump clear out of the water too.



Wednesday 21 November 2018

Seen around Beach & Town



Treasure Island presented the 10th annual Sanding Ovations Master's Cup  this past weekend. Sand sculptors from around the world competed.









The Sculptors Choice and I suspect most technically difficult was Fusion by JOOheng Tan from Singapore.

















"Circular Argument" by Abe Waterman (Canada) won 2nd Place and another Sculptors Choice.
a sculpted sand toilet is in the hole!


This green-haired walking mermaid (I only took a picture from the back to avoid being seen snapping away) is unexplained but a spot of fun









The now massive and lucrative plastic Christmas in the USA however is not.


.







And if you know why anyone would want this in their front yard, do let me know . . .

others choose to have mailbox fun --













But we were on to the serious business of Bald Eagles and Florida Terrain.
No eagles at home sad for us.









in cell tower; no one home!













We went by the mounds of the original inhabitants of Florida and then
. . .

no plastic here
back to basketry and volunteering. We had a blast at the Great American Teach-In where the 3rd graders/age ~8 spontaneously made up a turtle song!

 It is busy once more on the beach;
what do you suppose these guys are up to???
looking for smugglers or just
enjoying the beach on patrol???

the $ 4 million yacht that anchored up one night
outside our condo



Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday 1 November 2018

'Tis the Season - Nov 6th

'Tis the season - yes for Halloween (big in the USA) and pumpkins . . . but also for electioneering! Red tide features in the state campaigns  as it is still with us - or should I say it comes and goes depending on the winds and Gulf currents.


stacks of campaign literature fill our mailbox
We received well over 100 pieces of campaign mail in the past month.  Mostly negative ads against opponents I must say. We also had a number of local and state constitutional amendments, so our ballet was 3 pages long - two-sided and legal/foolscap sized!






So on we go with our basket making - here's how the Josephine turned out. Now it is on to charity baskets for various holidays. And back to quilting.

Daily beach clean-ups, monitoring for dead sea life from red tide, continue as does the family history research. My family tree keeps growing, just like the red tide bloom!


we've had rougher seas recently
a labor of love - literally!
pencil is for size 










and I just have to share this sunset picture with you! Happy November!
31st October

Sunday 14 October 2018

Michael's Left Overs . . .

What's this?
Read on . . .
Doing our civic duty
fish clean-up
Here's what Hurricane Michael left behind Thursday . . . yup, dead fish, and LOTS and LOTS of bits of small plastic interspersed in plenty of seaweed on our beach.  It feels like the ocean 'threw up' onto the land (and she would have a right to do so)!!! Still, we are so fortunate, no major damage.

However, we still have some red tide with us, but not as bad as before and seemingly diminishing day by day.

There are people swimming in the sea and the stone crab pots are out ready for Monday's (15th) season opening (Fun Fact: FL catches 99% of US stone crabs).

'Rows' of seaweed at various tide lines over past few days


For my snowbird friends --yesterday we had our first day below 70F/20C since last Spring!  Humidity dropped and it was gorgeous outside! Sadly this week is forecast for another 90F/32C ++ forecast.

Fortunately, sea turtle nesting season is all but over, although the red tide has impacted most marine life. At Sea Turtle Trackers we do educational events all year round and last night was such a pleasant evening to be out at a festival promoting conservation.



This is the brand new [Raymond] James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St Petersburg. The entrance is a spectacular Arroyo Sculpture Court made to look like a western canyon (but with sandstone quarried in India - go figure . . .) complete with a 'waterfall' including sculptured water.

An Arroyo is a steep-sided gully cut by running water in an arid or semiarid region also known as a dry creek bed/gulch or wash. I recommend the museum and on Tuesdays entrance is 1/2 price.

It is a beautiful building done by the same architect, Yann Weymouth, as the local Dali Museum - converted from a call center & parking garage!! I was taken by the architecture and fascinated by the choice of the picture frames and how much that changes how one sees the artwork. The art is good too - LOL. Photos just don't do the entrance lobby/exhibit space justice.

And for those hot/red tide days when going outside is unpleasant, here's what I have been up to -- just getting into the holiday spirit --
baskets from odd 'scraps'











pictured on side to show detail
and this [below] hopefully will become this 'Petite Josephine' basket----->