Michael's Left Overs . . .

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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----->

Hurricane Michael & More Red Tide?

but no turtle signs!

4th October we learn the red tide, formerly 23 miles offshore, is creeping back and now only 3 miles from us! I share this only so you will get an idea of what it is like to be here with the uncertainty. For the moment the pelicans and our local heron have returned to our shores and are fishing for dinner.  Dolphins have been harder to spot., although we saw one pod a few days back.

<-- Shrimp boat, Desperado, offshore Madeira Beach catching dead red tide fish before hitting shoreline on 15 September.

On October 5th the County Contractor for monitoring red tide said East winds were keeping the red tide bloom offshore, whilst the water currents were trying to bring it back in -- resulting in a stalemate.  No dead fish were seen 3-4 miles out, with speculation the red tide had already killed off the weak and most fish killing damage was already done.

21 miles of beach re-nourishment was started last April in the south and is now at its most northerly points planned to finish this month.  Right is a picture of the Commander tug (Louisiana based) and barge with crane going by on the 5th October.

Yesterday afternoon (9th October), we started to feel the effects of Category 4 (almost Cat 5 at 155 mph) Hurricane Michael with storm surge of circa 2 feet on top of  high astronomical or King tides. Wave height out at sea is 19 feet.

Bay News 9 - St Pete Beach floods

By 2:30 pm the tide was in the dunes and approaching our building.

Couldn't believe people were still running around the beach. Local low lying streets began to flood with sea water coming up the drains.

tide in parking spaces under our
building as seen from leaning out our
balcony at 11:30 pm 9th Oct

We've rolled down our hurricane shutters , so feel a bit shut in and it s a bit dark in the condo. Brought in the lighter weight stuff on our balcony. The shutters clang and bang in the wind.

At 11:|30 pm  water came up to and then just over our 'sea wall' protecting the parking under our building.  The 'eye wall' passed us in the night and today we are getting circa 40 mph wind blasts from the outer bands of this large storm.

Our car is out front and so far not impacted. Here you can see it left a little sand behind and by noon today Michael brought in red tide and a few medium -sized dead fish - now I can feel irritation in my throat.

Below's high tide at 2:34 pm - not as dramatic as last night, but very foaming and wiffy.  Tonight's high tide is forecast to be 'the worst,' but not much more severe than last night.  We are so fortunate and still have power too!!!

Here's the view from my balcony
Just to give a feel of what it is actually like

It was ... It isn't! Hurrah!

Yup, the Gulf Coast red tide (a 'slick' the size of Connecticut spread out 125 miles along the coast) got so wiffy (a word not in American English and amusing all my turtle friends), that we had to wear N95 masks with lavender oil!

So what does one do when it is this bad - well, help Mom move for one - so it is goodbye to this ... yup a baby grand piano in a walk-in skip/dumpster . . . (but off to a good home in a window display - LOL)

and so long to this lovely woods!

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Cleaning out the family home uncovers lots of old family pictures, so it is on with building a family tree . . . fun, intense and very time consuming -- a labour of love! At least it is indoors, away from the rotting fish smell.

Coffee at the ready and a beach view whilst working

This week (wc 1st October) still very hot with multiple day records of 97F/36+C degrees; the humidity has dropped today making it bearable. The red tide seems to have been pushed out to sea with the easterly winds. Sadly it is now floating round the tip of Florida on the Gulf Stream and hitting the East Coast beaches. Our county & city have been great at clean-up and are still intensely patrolling to watch for any return of red tide (let's hope not!).

Yippee for us - doors and windows open once again - and no this is not red tide, but a Florida sunset on the water :-) With a sea breeze, it is now back to quilting & basketry -- and maybe even a beach walk & sitting out on the balcony!! Whoop Whoop!

See no dead fish!

Seen on the Beach:  prone paddle boarder with a GoPro on the front of his board just floating by.

Red sun trying to peak around the dark clouds & rain

 









Black Clouds overhead - we've had a lot of dramatic thunder and lightning storms recently - it is still the rainy season here.