Eta Storm Aftermath & Story of Black Friday

Baynews9.com - Pass-a-Grille 

Well yes, the sand was rearranged.  Some worry it will be harder for the sea turtles to nest.

You can see here the dune walkovers - which pre-Eta had sand under them, but now appear to be in mid air.

The final track of Eta was a bit crazy - 'she 'passed us on the night of Wednesday the 11-12 November - see previous post.

Baynews9.com -- Our beach ...  new escarpment

Of course mankind always wants to improve on mother nature and sand is no exception! One can always use a new sand dune escarpment as a reading nook ...

... but the sand must go from the under-building parking!

Time is flying by but in a crawling sort of way.  It is so weird days pass in a blink but any one day seems to drag on - even with things to do, it is hard to focus.  The BBC has an article that explains why (click here). I guess the effort it takes to think about being safe with COVID is just so wearing. Not to complain, we are fortunate and well here and are well entertained on the beach.entertained on the beach over Thanksgiving.

saw someone on this e-foil hoverboard, looks like fun and a bit of skill/balance needed.

and we think this is moon jellyfish which fortunately don't sting!

There was even a 'tip jar'made from sand.

Saturday morning was taken with spotting and getting FWC/CMA to pick up this juvenile loggerhead turtle who appears to have died from a boat strike and washed up on our shore overnight. S/he was even food for some gulls -- ewww, but that bit is nature.

Head is on upper right of picture

Now in case you are wondering, Black Friday -- called black simply because accountants use black to signify profit — and hence to denote  the day when retailers hold massive sales and likely see positive earnings. Hence they are then "in the black."  As retail/consumer spending drive almost 70 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, Black Friday (and the following “Cyber Monday”) have a big impact on the U.S. economy.

In 1869, in an attempt to corner the gold market, two men using White House connections worked to keep gold off the markets and drive up the price, resulting in a panic and a major drop in the market and financial trade - the first  (and different meaning of) Black Friday. 

What Next - USA Election Process & ETA

10 November 10 at 7:00 am EST

My World:  We continue to be on alert for possible Tropical Storm/Hurricane ETA - the forecasts have been all over the place, but getting more favorable to us - except for this one

white spaghetti plot line nipping/kissing the center of Florida's west coast (i.e. me)! We have already had lots of wind and rain from ETA although she was down south off the coast of the tip of Florida. Today we are getting bands of grey skies, with a bit of  wind and rain followed by sun and then another grey, rainy band - humidity has returned.  Two more potential storms being watched in the Atlantic/Caribbean - and someone thinks "hurricane season" is over 30th November!

USA World:  So the media has called the election for Joe Biden, but President Trump has not conceded rather he has filed [apparently mainly failing] lawsuits in swing states with 'thin margins for Biden.'  What next?  Well, although tradition, conceding is not legally required.  Here's how the process unfolds understanding although Americans vote for a 'ticket of President & Vice President' on their ballots, it is an indirect vote, in that the final determination is by the Electoral College.

December 8: Yes, next month! - Deadline for finalizing/resolving state level election totals

December 14:  State electors vote by paper ballot.  33 states and DC require electors to vote as per popular vote; other state electors can theoretically do as they please! All states use a winner-take-all vote, except for Maine and Nebraska.  Electors sign 'Certificates of the Vote' which are then sent to the President of the Senate (i.e. VP Pence) among others.

December 23: Certificates of the Vote must be delivered to designated officials.

January 6:  House and Senate hold joint session to count the votes. If no candidate reaches the required 270 electoral votes, the House decides with each state having one vote.

January 20: Inauguration Day when the President and Vice-President are sworn in on Capital Hill.

Details can be found here if you want to read more. COVID-19 and the western wildfires have all but been pushed out of the news.

The World:  Very little of any reporting in the USA about the rest of the world as all eyes on election issues!

Sanity comes in the form of: trying to learn to french braid my hair in the back of my head (ha ha), watching the wildlife and crafting (sorry no previews of Christmas pressies) and of course lots of volunteering - mainly over Zoom.

Brown pelicans fishing close to shore ... more brown pelicans swooping across the sky - never seen them quite like this before!

Mini loaf basket just for me!

SEE COMMENTS BELOW FOR UPDATE ON ETA - above spaghetti plot was not what happened! Below is actual Eta track. Thankfully we emerged unscathed.

• October 31, 2020 - Tropical Storm Eta forms in the Caribbean.
• November 2, 2020 - Strengthens to a hurricane and intensifies to a Category 4 hurricane throughout the day.
• November 3, 2020 - Eta makes landfall in northeastern Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm. At least 100 people have died in Central America due to the storm.
• November 8, 2020 - Makes landfall on the south-central coast of Cuba as a tropical storm. Later in the day, Eta makes landfall in the Florida Keys.
• November 11, 2020 - Eta lingers in the southern Gulf of Mexico and strengthens to Category 1 hurricane.
• November 12, 2020 - In the morning, makes landfall at Cedar Keys, Florida as a tropical storm.

Actual plot of Eta which crossed state & moved 
into Atlantic up coast to Carolinas & then out to sea

our street at 20:39 on 11th November