Akimbo

"We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things [but] there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper."

James Carroll

Fort Pickens

I realized this morning that in all the photographs I've shown you of the newly reopened Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, I haven't shown you a single one of the fort itself! Completed in 1834, the fort has withstood countless hurricanes.


The fort was the site of the first major battle of the Civil War on Florida soil. It was known as the Battle of Santa Rosa Island.


Designed by French engineer, Simon Bernard, over 21 million bricks were used to build Ft. Pickens.

Despite the damage from hurricanes, there is still much to explore at Ft. Pickens.

There are daily tours of Ft. Pickens at 2:00 p.m. and a beautiful section of the Florida Scenic Trail begins within the fort itself and travels east over marshes and canals.

Lantana grabs a foothold in a crack of the old fort wall.

It costs $8.00 per vehicle to entry the Ft. Pickens Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore and it is good for a period of one week. U.S. citizens who are 62 years of age or older may purchase a lifetime Senior Pass for $10.00 which is good for all national parks!

Pensacola Beach Fire Station

The new fire station on Pensacola Beach had their ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning.


All the trucks were on display.

Jet skis and two four-wheel drive trucks are ready for beach rescue.

A beautiful new station to replace the one destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.

A 7,200 square foot building, built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.

Containing some 2,000 cubic yards of concrete.

A workout room for the firemen.

Command central.

Room to relax and watch a widescreen television between calls.

Coffee bar and small extra dining area.

The kitchen and seating area.

One of the individual bedrooms with computer access.

Flags fly high at 901 Via de Luna.

Directly across the street is the Pensacola Beach Elementary School, which was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education in 2007.

This little boy is proud of his dad!

Families of the firefighters attended today's dedication with pride. We salute our hardworking men at the Pensacola Beach Fire Department.

When I grow up....

All of us have heard the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I think we know the answer for little Maxwell Van Camp.


Max was mesmerized by the firemen wearing dress uniforms this morning at the dedication of the new Pensacola Beach fire station.


In fact, I think it would have taken a canon firing to get his attention away from firemen Brian Chetwynde and Larry Richardson.

I think there should be a fire truck under the tree for Max this Christmas. How precious!

Beach babes!

Summer friends Emma and Jared Rodriguez and Lauren Pinkston attended the dedication of the new Pensacola Beach Fire Station on Via de Luna this morning. Emma and Jared are visiting their grandparents, Mike and Chrissy Cook. Lauren is the daughter of Dr. Tracey Pinkston.

Ten year old Jared, already a skilled gymnast, shared his plans to be in the 2016 Olympics! He's somewhat concerned that he's taken a week off from practice to visit Pensacola Beach, but I have no doubt that with his level of dedication and confidence we will see him there in 2016.

You heard it here first!

Discovering Gautier

An unusal post for me, but I discovered something special tonight that really excited me. For several years I have had a blog follower from Gautier, Mississippi and at last I know who it is -- sorta!

Bloggers know few statistics other than a visitor's internet provider (a number or AOL, Verizon, Bellsouth, etc.), location (city/state of internet provider) and the amount of time they spend on the blog. My follower from from Gautier (pronounced go-shay) has been faithful for so long that I almost worry when they aren't there when I check my daily stats!

So, Sylvia from Gautier, Mississippi, I am very happy to meet you! I discovered who you are tonight during a Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event. Your friend, Lee McLaughlin, said "My friend from Gautier starts her day with a cup of coffee and your blog."

"Gautier? My every-day Gautier!!!!??"

Lee wants you here for a girls' weekend and I have told her I have to meet you when you make the trip! Anyone who follows Pensacola Beach as closely as you should not be visiting here! Girl, you should LIVE here!

Go Gautier!!!! I can't wait to tell you -- in person -- how wonderful it has been to have you as a blog follower!

Walking on clouds

“A pessimist only sees the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all--he's walking on them."

~~ Leonard L. Levinson

Heron nest at Ft. Pickens

What a great discovery at Ft. Pickens! It's a nest with two blue heron chicks! Unfortunately my strongest telephoto lens is only 250mm, which not nearly enough to get decent shots of the chicks.

If you're a local and would like to know where to go to view the nest, please e-mail me!

Top 5 places to retire

If you didn't catch it in this morning's USA Weekend, be sure to check out the number 2 spot on the list of Top 5 Places to Retire.

Passion flower

A lovely passion flower blooming along the Florida Scenic Trail in Ft. Pickens.

Clouds at morning

"I saw two clouds at morning,
Tinged with the rising sun,
And in the dawn they floated on,
And mingled into one..."

~~ John Gardiner Calkins Brainard (1795 - 1828), Epithalamium

Sunday sunrise

I hope you didn't miss the beautiful sunrise this morning.


By the time this photo was taken, I had already patrolled to the edge of Pensacola Beach and started back toward Ft. Pickens, looking back occasionally to get another photo of the sunrise.


Impressive Cumulonimbus clouds added drama. They also added a little rain at times!

How lucky am I to see Pensacola Beach at dawn! The only downside of the morning was no sea turtle activity.

Snowy Egret

I first noticed this beautiful snowy egret at Ft. Pickens a couple of weeks ago, but it has been difficult to get a photo because he/she is very skittish. Also, most of the photos I take on patrol are not sharp due to the vibration of the Mule, but I was happy to finally nab one of this beauty, especially one that shows his bright yellow feet!


Although the snowy egret is not endangered or threatened, it is listed as a species of special concern in Florida because its numbers have been dwindling since the 1950's

As always, you can learn more about the subjects of my photos by clicking on highlighted text which contain links with specific information.

Blog issues

I'm having some problems with my blog, but hopefully things will be back to normal soon and perhaps I'll post some photos this afternoon.

I'm happy to see my B.I.G.ettes (blog followers) function is working again. I'm not sure where you all disappeared to for a while, but I'm very happy to see your smiling faces are back again!

UPDATE @ 12:30 p.m. : Well it appears my B.I.G.ettes are off and traveling again. Wherever you are, I hope you're have a lovely visit in the etherdom and that Blogger.com sends you back soon. Send e-cards. ;-)

Bands on the Beach

July 21, 2009


It was perfect weather for Bands on the Beach. Beach balls in the air everywhere, if you look close! We had a light breeze and lower humidity.


The crowds are growing and with the featured Reunion Band, a fan favorite, it was even larger!


Hmmmm... caught this local bigwig in the sunlight/spotlight, didn't I? Sorry for the bad lighting, Buck, but nice to see you out enjoying Bands with us as usual.


Making memories. Everyone is happy and good energy abounds.


Jeff Goudey enjoying Bands, along with his special lady...


Paulette Provost. She's da Queen, otherwise known as First Mate of the Krewe of Wrecks this year! I enjoy photographing Paulette. She always has a huge smile for me.

And I love this photo - so sweet and carefree. I hope they remember summer evenings and dancing on the beach when they are all grown up with children of their own.

Dick Bedics and his wife, Bonnie, spend most of the evening together on the dance floor. But you can frequently see him helping out as a culinary assistant at some of Distinctive Kitchens' cooking classes at their location in downtown Pensacola. You may check out the DK cooking class schedule by clicking HERE.

Meet another special lady - Mary Lou Long from Missouri! She's head of the happy, energetic Froot Loop gang - comprised mostly of mothers, sisters, daughters, and granddaughters - who have been coming here every summer for years. Mary Lou and I have corresponded for probably three years now! This year her adorable 8-month old granddaughter, Lilly, made her first trip to the beach.

The Froot Loops tee shirt from last year's annual vacation to Pensacola. These ladies go all out.

And these young ladies - Madison, Hannah and Joey - are Froot Loops in Training! They have a great time at the beach. In fact, the whole family love Pensacola Beach so much that they are thinking about coming back for Thanksgiving this year!

Sadly, I missed a photo of my little turtle girl of the group, Isabel. I'm thinking she may turn out to be a marine biologist someday.

See ya in a few months, girls! I think you'll find our temps much nicer than Missouri's in November!

Pristine

I love this photo! It allows me to show you the pristine white sand on Pensacola Beach/Santa Rosa Island. It's truly beyond compare. I stopped during my sea turtle patrol to take a photo of the constantly shifting shoreline. Surf action, tides and winds will either cut into or smooth out the beach, but it's ever changing. It wasn't until I came home and looked at the photo more closely that I saw it was less about the shoreline, more about the sand.

Fresh peaches

Note to locals: Joe Patti's Seafood Company recently set up a tent on their north lawn where they are selling produce such as tomatoes, plums and peaches. Today my husband brought home some of their fresh Georgia peaches and Alabama tomatoes. I haven't tried the tomatoes yes, but the peaches have a wonderful flavor and are not a stubborn 'cling' variety such as those I bought somewhere else recently.

Now if only I had an ice cream maker...

Bathed in pink

“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.”

~~ Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi -(1207 – 1273)

Sea oats in July

Spikelets of the sea oats gleam as they catch the first rays of sun this morning and sway in a steady breeze off the Gulf of Mexico.

Before dawn

"For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?"

~~ Thornton Wilder (1897 - 1975)

Island Rainbow

Although it isn't a lot of fun to do the sea turtle patrol when it's raining, you may be rewarded with a sight like this. Yesterday morning a beautiful rainbow appeared between showers making it worth it all, even though I didn't find turtle tracks.

Beyond the Thunderdome

I was a bit skittish driving along under the 'thunderdome' this morning as I patrolled for sea turtles in the Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. I had waited until 5:45 a.m., when the cloud-to-ground lightning subsided, before heading out, but still heard an occasional rumble. Luckily the rain was light.

This photo was taken about 6:45 a.m. I rounded the western tip of the island and discovered the heavy band of clouds which had hovered over me all morning stretched back over the Port of Pensacola and far beyond. I was quite impressed!

Seaside Sharon!

I was delighted to meet one of my blog followers at Evenings in Olde Seville Thursday evening. It's still a surprise -- and a very lovely one -- when someone I've never met comes up to introduce themselves!

Sharon's husband, Andrew, stumbled across my blog a few years ago when they lived in St. Augustine, Florida. Sharon already had an interest in photography, but she said my blog inspired her to start photo-blogging herself! When Sharon's husband realized the depth of her passion for photography, he presented her with a nice DSLR camera for her birthday -- just like my husband did for me!

Quite recently Sharon and Andrew moved back to Pensacola where they had lived seven years ago. They told me my blog made them realize how much they missed the area and our beautiful beaches.

I hope you'll take the opportunity to check out Sharon's great blogs. She's much more prolific than me! I will be placing permanent links to them under the Blogs I Follow section on the left-hand side of this page. I think you will truly enjoy the quality of her photos and blogs, plus all the special information she provides in Blog U - Creative Blogging.


Sharondipity Photography

Seaside Sharon

Buttermilk Clouds

Blog U - Creative Blogging

Evenings in Old Seville Square

July 16, 2009 - Zydeco Zoo


Zydeco Zoo was the featured band at Evenings in Olde Seville Square last night. If you are unfamiliar with Zydeco music, click HERE to learn more about it.


Band member Keith plays a vest 'frottior' (washboard/rub-board), which lends one of the most distinctive sounds to zydeco music.


Connie Cassidy is a lovely lady that I always see at Evenings in Olde Seville Square. What a flair she has for setting a beautiful table every week, complete with linen, dinnerware, and flowers.


Her husband, Dan, always has a smile and cheery hello for me, too. They say I need to swing by after the appetizers sometime and check out the main course! I can't imagine how they can top what I've seen!


Toddlers are drawn to the music and fascinated by the dancers. Just wait, this little one's toes will start tapping soon.

Leslie Knowland spins her little girl, Kelly Jean. Who knew that could be done in Crocs!

Do you recognize this young man and his sister? It's Dylan and Savannah Dalrymple. I love to watch them dance. They are very talented! You've seen photos of them on my blog earlier this year.

Evenings in Olde Seville Square is held every Thursday evening, 7 - 9 p.m., from mid-May to the end of August, in Seville Square which is located in the historic district of Pensacola.

Killdeer chicks

Look what's running all around in my yard this week! Tiny Killdeer chicks! The first day I saw them, they were just puffs of fluff atop incredibly long legs which look out of proportion.


Here is mom (or dad). All afternoon I hear the adult killdeer calling out to the chicks and tiny peeps responding.


At last, patience pays! I snapped a photo of one of the chicks with mom (or dad)! See how tiny! It's amazing how fast they move, but they are not old enough to fly yet.

To learn more about Killdeer chicks, click HERE.

My first nest!!!

It finally happened! I finally found my very own sea turtle nest this morning!

This is what it looked like as I came upon the loggerhead crawl about half a mile east of Opal Beach around 6:00 a.m. The photo above is her trail from the nest, back to the spot where she re-entered the Gulf of Mexico.

The loggerhead came ashore sometime during the overnight hours and circled over the nesting area a couple of times before being satisfied it was the right place for her. After laying her eggs and covering them with sand, she headed west, back into the Gulf of Mexico.

If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, you will see an area of tossed sand at the top of the circle of tracks. That is the loggerhead nest.

A closer angle of the nest and the loggerhead's tracks. The nest was slightly over 70 feet from the water and the distance from where she came ashore to the spot she returned to the Gulf of Mexico was over 200 feet. Just imagine how much energy it took a 200+ lb. sea turtle to pull herself across that much sand with her flippers!

Aren't they splendid tracks!

I immediately called Monica Cain, a Bio-Tech with the Gulf Islands National Seashore. She arrived to mark the nest, GPS its location, and make sure I did the report and measurements properly. She even got to see me do the joy-dance! Hopefully I can be a bit more subdued and professional next time.


A closer look at the loggerhead's tracks.


The very first 'DZ' nest!

Before sunrise

I was on the beach before sunrise in the Kawasaki Mule, a peaceful way to start the day.

I'm looking forward to returning to a normal routine now that the Fourth of July and Blue Angels weekend are over. It has been great for local business owners, but the traffic and congestion were amazing! I think the word is getting out about Pensacola Beach!

Sugar bear

Look at this little sugar bear!



His chin is covered with sand as he works to build a sand-cake with his sister! Ben just loves Pensacola Beach!

Nest check

On turtle patrol is it also our responsibility to check on all the nests in our area and make sure everything is okay: no predation from raccoons, fox or ghost crabs; no disturbance from curious folks. This particular nest is more protected than most from high tides and light pollution due to dunes which cuddle 'round it.

New arrivals

New arrivals today! This is two-year old Ben. Oops, I mean Cat-in-the-Hat Ben. As you can see, we are obviously related due to our love for hats.

Ben and his family arrived this afternoon on their way back to Dallas after a visit to Universal Orlando -- hence the Cat-in-the-Hat hat which he hasn't removed for two days.

Is the island ready for us!!!

A sweet, peaceful day

A sweet peaceful day on Pensacola Beach. Of course there was that Blue Angel practice a few hours ago.

Mariah's sea turtle

I think Mariah could have a future as a children's book illustrator someday. What do you think? She's only 11 years old and drew a picture for me of a loggerhead swimming toward Pensacola Beach to nest.

Black Skimmers

Here is a photo of a Black Skimmer taken at the tip of the island yesterday morning. I love to watch these birds feeding along the edge of the water. They fly with their lower bill below the surface of the water, scooping up small fish. Note the upper portion of his bill is shorter than the lower.

I don't see Black Skimmers often along the more populated stretches of Pensacola Beach, but within Ft. Pickens and Santa Rosa areas of the Gulf Islands National Seashore they are more plentiful. In fact, there is a whole colony of them in one area. You may click HERE to learn more about these unusual birds.

The sentry

A Great Blue Heron stands as a sentry to the old fort atop dunes on the west end of Santa Rosa Island.

Sunday morning

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday sunrise

A beautiful sunrise this morning! If you click to enlarge the photo you can see the sun getting ready to peep over Bob Sikes bridge in the distance.

Needlefish

How would you like to catch one of these!

I'm not sure if you can see the tiny sharp teeth of this needlefish if you enlarge the photo, but it managed to draw blood as my stepdaughter tried to release it.

Turtle patrol

All these blue heron photos make it look like I'm on heron patrol instead of sea turtle patrol, but I can't resist snapping a shot or two of them.

I'm very excited that I'm going to have more patrol opportunities this month due to folks taking vacations. In fact, I'll not only be spending more days at Ft. Pickens, but I'll also be able to substitute in the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Santa Rosa area begins not far past Park East and extends east to the first houses on Navarre Beach. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll find my own nest. Until now, all I've found are false crawls. {{{sigh}}}

Obviously you'll hear about it if I find one!

Who is that masked man?

Maybe he'll grow into the mask in a couple more years.

Omega 3

Joe's favorite time to fish is around 6:00 a.m. and he never comes home empty handed. I think we've gotten plenty of Omega 3 from redfish the last couple of weeks.