Sun & rain

Intriguing juxtaposition of rain out at sea and the first glimpse of the rising sun on the horizon. Maybe a life lesson, the rain will fall but the sun will eventually shine again. Just strange that you'd get sun and rain so close together and yet each clearly defined.

Whatever... I was impressed. (Clouds were pretty spectacular too.)

Couldn't decide which shot I liked best (though they aren't all that different) so you get both.

Life lesson from a heron

As I was quickly power walking up the beach I got a lesson in how to take things easy, how savor each moment, to walk slowly and enjoy passing paddle boarders and pelicans in the background. How a little head shake and a few ruffled feathers make life complete. Only thing I can't do is make my knees bend backward like this young heron can.

The next day...

The day after the fog... what a greeting! The air was comfortable and dry and I had a big ol' grin on my face.

Foggy!

Nothing wrong with this photo... it was just one of the foggiest days in recent memory. Nothing to compare to the fog I used to experience on Maine's coast but it didn't take long before my hair was dripping and my clothes were clammy.

Guess you'd have to say I was walking around in a fog! (Har!)

Sweet video, just to warm your heart

One more to go...

I wasn't the only one who made it to the beach to watch the launch of Shuttle Endeavour. The section of beach near the hotels and condos was wall to wall people and I'm not a bit surprised as the Shuttle program nears its close.

The launch was again goosebump producing. What I can't share with you is the sound. About 5 to 6 minutes after Endeavour was out of sight the deep thunderous rumble of liftoff rolled our way. With the reverberations came the goosebumps again.

Oh how I'm going to miss this wonderful part of my life... but not nearly as much as the 6,000 workers who will lose their jobs when the shuttle program comes to an end later this summer. Sad.

Call Me Dolittle

Well, the title of Call Me Dolittle may be a bit misleading. I, sometimes, do a lot. I'm referring to Dr. Dolittle who attracted animals.

Here's my latest two-day saga. Sitting quietly at my computer looking out my front window I saw a rather large creature walking across my front lawn. My first fleeting thought was great dane. An instant later I realized it was a deer.

This is a highly residential area, it is a barrier island and there are no woods or large natural areas to support a deer. I ran outside to be sure I wasn't seeing things and my neighbor came out and asked me if I'd seen the deer. Phew... I wasn't losing my mind, my neighbor saw it too. It disappeared into my backyard and from there who knows. My neighbor drove around looking to be sure it hadn't met an ugly demise on the roads but she never saw it again. Strange, very strange, and no photo because I was too shocked to grab my camera.

The very next day upon arrival at the beach... there was the first turtle nest of the 2011 season. Woo hoo! The cycle continues with turtle tracks telling the tale.

About a mile up the beach on first-turtle day there was quite a sight! A gill net (illegal in FL) had come ashore loaded with grouper, pompano, crabs and what I think is a little Mako shark. Don't know my sharks well but that's a guess. He was maybe 4 to 5 feel long. With an unusual and actually pretty green eye.

Farther still up the beach were two tourist ladies trying to get a washed-up jelly fish back to the water without touching it. Sheesh. I said that if it was on the beach it was probably dead or dying and to let it be bird food. They insisted it was moving and that they could save it. This Dr. Dolittle gave them credit for trying and I didn't even laugh (out loud, that is.)

When I got home, there were three neighborhood cats sitting on my front porch all asking for breakfast. Enough already!

Pot o' Silver

So often sunrises are full of vibrant color, not on this day. I thought this Pot o' Silver was just stunning even if not especially colorful.

Strange that I saw a TV interview the other day with someone who had written a book on looking for the little pleasures in life that make you happy. Humpf. That's why I started this blog, to share the little things that make me happy and to hopefully help you look for the things that make your day as well.

Guess I'll only find a pot of silver in the sun shining on the ocean instead of being clever enough to put it in a book and earn an actual pot of silver. But then again, I don't have to go on a book tour, deal with TV interviews, etc. I get to stay right here and enjoy the beach. Yep, that's better for me, for sure.

Osprey

I get such a thrill when I see an osprey perusing the ocean for food and even more of a thrill when I see a head-first dive into the surf sometimes with success, sometimes only to return from the water with empty talons.

What is amazing to me is the way the osprey shakes and shimmies to shake the water from their feathers all the while managing to hold on to their catch. The video below unfortunately is of very bad quality. You have to look closely to even see the bird and I turned the audio volume way down because the wind was so loud it was just plain annoying.

You may not be able to enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed seeing the osprey hunt, but maybe you can take pleasure in my joy at being able to witness such a sight.

Bad video, great moment

As promised... gardenias

With advancing technology, I'm sure that someday I'll be able to let you get a whiff of these wonderful gardenias. Until then you'll have to settle for photos.

The bush is so loaded that many of these pretty blooms are dragging on the ground. No worries, with all I've picked so far it is nice to see these buds as evidence of more blooms to come.

Can't last long enough to suit me.