The Professor

This photo is from my archives since the flu, combined with some iffy weather, has been keeping me inside lately. I'm grateful that it is only the flu and grateful that I can take vicarious trips to the beach by looking at some old photos.

This one I loved because the lone gray gull standing apart from the group reminded me of a professor trying to get the attention of his unruly students. It is kind of interesting that the old adage "birds of a feather flock together" seems to apply here as well. The gull is all alone while the little terns in the foreground are all grouped together. Interesting, huh?

A day of contrasts

Who is so lucky as to be able to enjoy a January day with temperatures in the 70s, bright sunshine, a light breeze, blue sky and fabulous ocean filling the senses? Well if you've been following this blog you know that would be me, of course.

During that wonderful walk I came across a poor little puffer fish who would puff no more. He looked so forlorn and to be honest had a face only a mother could love. At the time I thought what a day of contrasts. Lovely day, not so lovely fish. However, his markings are quite unusual, he has big soulful eyes and isn't Mother Nature amazing to make a creature that can blow itself up to such a great size, and with spines no less, to keep predators away.

Kites and dolphins

Oh, what a sight... some kite boarders were out today. Four of them all jammed in close together and flying over the waves. What made it all the more exciting was when one of the young onlookers said "look Mom, dolphins!" Yes, just beyond the boarders was a pod of dolphins. I do wish my camera had been able to pick them up so I could share this glorious encounter with you.

It looked to me as if the dolphins were having fun right along with the kite boarders. They stayed in the area for quite a while and could be seen jumping out of the water (called breaching, just like whales) or just cresting along the edge of a wave, but all very close to the boarders. They were either playing with them or just plain curious. It was quite exhilirating for me standing on the beach, I can only imagine the thrill the kite boarders were experiencing... or the dolphins for that matter.

Calm as a pond

From wind-blown waves one day to the quiet of a pond the next, the ocean never ceases to amaze me. The waves coming ashore were no larger than the wake of a passing boat on a calm inland lake. The peaceful water made for some easy fishing for the osprey flying above, and far off shore pelicans were diving into the sea to fill their beaks and bellies with fresh fish. There must have been 30 or 40 pelicans and to see them fold their wings back and dive head first from great heights straight into the ocean is quite a sight. There must have been a run of fish just off shore. I bet those pelicans were thinking they were at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Well, I guess they were actually. Yum!

Oh frabjous day!

What a day! It is a warm 76º, mostly sunny and just a joyous change from the past two weeks. It is what I call a wide-open-window day, and that's just what my windows are... wide open and filling my house with warm, fresh air.

Of course I headed to the beach even though we were experiencing 25 mph winds gusting to 35. They were from the West so heading to the beach was almost effortless on my bike. (Coming home was a different story entirely.) What I found on the beach was stunning. Our westerly winds are rarely this strong and I had never seen the waves responding like they were. The wind was picking up the crest of the waves and blowing it back and away from the curl. Almost looked like the waves were wearing bridal veils. Long and flowing, white and lacy bridal veils streaming back out to sea. It was quite a sight and one that I wasn't able to adequately capture on my little beach camera. Hopefully you can get an inkling from the photos above.

The only down side of going to the beach on a windy day was chasing my cap! After the second time I rolled it up and stuffed it in my pocket. 'Twas a frabjous day indeed, I chortled in my joy!

Hello, Beach!

How do you hug a beach? That's just what I wanted to do today... my first visit to the beach in two weeks! Above is what appears to be a unremarkable photo of the ocean, sand and sky. The ordinary is anything but especially after our cold temperatures of late have kept me away. What an eye opener to realize that this ordinary looking beach is truly extraordinary and it is truly a privilege to be able to visit it, walk on it, dabble my toes, get sand in my shoes, and all that other stuff that goes with living close to the shore. Thank you for the reminder of how lucky I really am.

Our cold temperatures also gave me some other new experiences. Walking on a treadmill. Boring, boring, boring. I even tried walking in the local mall. Expensive. I took my purse the first time, too many marketing ploys and temptations for that to be safe. The second time I left my purse in the car, safer but still there was no sunshine, no birds, no sound of rolling waves and no delicious ocean smell. Lots of food smells, coffee, perfumes and other aromas but no ocean.

I may have disliked the cold weather we had for the past two weeks but I certainly learned to appreciate my beach. I'll give it lots and lots of big mental hugs and enjoy my walks even more, if that's possible.

Oh no, snow and icicles!

Oh yes, it has been cold. Not only have most Americans been suffering thought days and days of sleet and snow, but it has even hit Central Florida. The last time I saw snow here was in 1989. The flurries then were light, short-lived and didn't stick. Today I noticed it as I left for the gym (much too cold and windy to walk on the beach) and when one of the gym patrons came in with his truck covered, I just had to make a tiny snowman (about 3 inches tall) and take the first photo above. The second photo was disappointing in that the icicles are out of focus, but the thoughts of icicles hanging from the tips of palm fronds is intriguing.

The long-lasting cold snap is uncomfortable for us humans but has been devastating to our tropical foliage, reptiles, turtles, fish and birds that cannot tolerate unrelenting cold. There are iguanas dropping out of trees too cold to move or too cold to keep their hearts beating. Hundreds of sea turtles (especially the endangered green turtles) are being rescued after floating to the top of the frigid water unable to move and breathe. There are dead fish all over the shoreline and pelicans are dying from not being able to eat the fresh fish they usually catch.

Someone mentioned that Mother Nature has a reason for culling but that's a tough cookie to swallow. There may be a greater plan but it's tough to see it when so much is awry. The weather folk are calling for back-to-normal temperatures by the end of the week which means highs in the 70s with lows in the 50s. To say everyone I know is looking forward to that is an understatement of immense proportions.

My heart-felt sympathies go out to all those who are dealing with ice, snow and negative temperatures. This is no fun.

Br-r-r-r-r

Most of the country, including Florida, has been living with some extremely cold temperatures lately. I personally have been complaining about it, even a phone call from a friend in North Carolina telling me temperatures there have been in the teens didn't help too much but talking with friends is always a pleasure. A great way to warm the heart if not the fingers and toes.

Today I decided to be grateful that I have heat and a grateful that it will at least be 46º later today. My largest jade plant, still out on the front porch, seems to be doing okay and I still have a down parka in the closet... haven't worn it since I moved to Florida, but it still fit and is deliciously warm. Nose, toes and fingers however just complain about walking on the beach in this cold so I decided to look back on warmer times and share a lovely picture of a hot summer sunrise as a reminder that this too shall pass.

For all my northern friends who are buried under a ton of snow, forgive my carping about temps in the mid-20s. Maybe this photo of a summer sunrise will warm you too and give you hope for warmer things to come.

Elephant in the room

Many years ago a friend who had just moved to Florida was on her way home from work and after seeing sheets draped over some bushes thought someone's wash had blown off the clothesline. As she saw more and more sheets, she thought it had been a windy day indeed. When the whole neighborhood had sheets draped over bushes and wrapped around palm trees she figured something was up. Yes, a freeze warning.

Last year we didn't have any freezing weather. This new year has started off with serious rain and thunder on New Year's day, now we have a freeze warning for every night this week. Very unusual for us. If it gets cold, it is usually only for a day or two. Ah well, at least we aren't shoveling show or dealing with ice storms. I won't complain.

My concern with freezing weather is for the safety of my jade plants. I have two HUGE jades thriving on my front porch. I've had them for over 30 years and they are from cuttings of my godmother's jade which was more than 50 years old when I took my cuttings. These plants are very special. I covered one to protect it but decided to see if I could get one of them inside the house. Phew! That big ol' thing got a couple of small limbs broken off as I hauled it through the door but inside it looks HUGE! Kind of like the elephant in the room. It doesn't look that big outside, but it is almost four feet tall, more than five feet wide and over four feet front to back. Definitely makes a statement in the living room.

What I hadn't thought about is that I may be bringing some critters inside with the plant. Yep, that's what happened... little lizards (so far no spiders, thank you very much.) Lizards move very slowly if at all when they are cold. When they warm up after being inside, they skitter around and my cat at one point had three to try to keep track of. Fun, fun, fun. I haven't seen her move that fast in years. It was fun for both of us... her chasing them, me watching her. Even this cold weather can bring some hidden joy.