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 --

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.

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!

'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