And 2019 Brings . . .

not a beach day!

will they get this 'trash' in the truck?? Yup they do!

. . . really strange weather. Bet you didn't think you would see this in central Florida.

Winds and rain make for high surf advisories and lots of weird things being swept off docks and shores into the water -- including this portion of floating dock!  It took a bit of work to get it out of the surf zone and into this truck.

The temperature yo-yos from summer to this with the sun hiding every other day - so not a beach day!

Some people are having fun - first time we saw a motorized surfboard on the Gulf. And mini me not only felt virtuous but had fun making these charity baskets and collecting travel toiletries to fill them up. Along with delivering a Christmas dinner basket to neighbours who needed help, these baskets are making a difference.

This tobacco basket project was just for me.











<-- This picture for you to have a laugh - at a local petrol station.






And although a bit late, I just have to show this lovely poinsettia Christmas tree seen in a NC airport. 










Out touring Florida, we ran into a few funny things: fried scallops served upright on a fork, a really souped up vehicle, and my favourite - a philosophy of life!










But sadly we see things like this too - a long dead sea turtle - cut in two.












So we must finish off with a sunset picture over the water, so here you are from Doc Jon.

Manatee Hunting (with the eyes only)

Mini Me was fortunate enough to visit Crystal River, FL last weekend and go Manatee hunting on a pontoon boat.

Through Kings Bay we motor to the 3 Sisters Springs.




It is a bit chilly, so we are wrapped up with blankets.  We are travelling with our FMNP friends.

We look for disturbances on the surface of the water or even a fluke/tail or nose to pop out of the water.

And look here they are!

Sometimes, the manatees glide right under the boat or belly right up to the boat and the motor, so then we have to wait until they move out of the way.  We don't need any more boat strikes to our manatees.

Others were observing too!

And closer to home a raft or better descriptor' a paddling of ducks' has taken to the Gulf of Mexico.

The cold weather has given me a chance to finish some basketry UFOs - on the left is the expert model and on the right is my pony tail tote - just need to fluff out the ends of the handles.

 For a spot of fun we also made baby dragonflies from reed, beads and colourful 18 gauge Parawire. When I ran out of Parawire, I wrapped string/yarn around florist wire and made another dragonfly.

And now a warming trend as the Polar Vortex which was plaguing the Midwest and pushing cold air down south is retreating.