The Wooly Booger Bawl

It was a dark and rainy night... but still great for the Kiss the Hurricane Goodbye Wooly Booger Bawl on the beach.


The Wooly Boogers came together to celebrate the end of the hurricane season and also crown their new Queen Sugah.


Outgoing Queen Sugah Kathi did a fantastic job of keeping the hurricanes away this year. Now everyone waits as she announces who will take her place.


"Moi!!????" Shelley Johnson, editor of the Island Times, seemed truly surprised -- and it's not easy to pull one over on this lady who knows everyone and everything happening on this island!

Passing of the tiara and beads...

Queen Sugah Shelley! We're betting she has some powerful gris-gris to protect us from the hurricanes next year too.

There to help celebrate was Queen Sugah Shelley's handsome son, Jeremy, and beautiful daughter-in-law Rachel. You can see that one of the Queen's favorite gifts last night was a pink-feathered fan.

Entreaty to Queen Sugah

Oh, Queen Sugah, draw us near,

Ease our Wooly Booger fears.

Protect our island night and day,

And keep the hurricanes away!

After Ida

I'm very appreciative that Ida was pretty much a non-event for us here on Pensacola Beach -- at least in my neighborhood. We didn't so much as lose a palm frond in our yard and we had no flooding. Issues of beach erosion and road conditions within the National Seashore may be another story.

Ft. Pickens Road and Bowden Way (the road to Navarre Beach) are both closed. I was hoping that Bowden Way would reopen quickly, but now I'm not so sure after looking at some of the photos in this morning's Pensacola News Journal online. It is going to take a while for the water to drain and the sand to be plowed off the road.

You may check out some of the PNJ photos of Pensacola Beach after Tropical Storm Ida by clicking HERE.

Tropical Storm Ida

Tropical Storm Ida continues to weaken.


Lifeguards keep a watchful eye at Casino Beach, but even the surfers are staying out of this churning surf.

Don't forget that you can check conditions at the beach near the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier via the Island Empress webcam. It is located under "Local Cams" in the left-hand column of this page.

Coming home

Today is the first day I've been able to drive and you can't imagine how excited I was. This afternoon I drove almost to Park East to get photos of the surf. Suddenly, in the distance, I spied the Blue Angels!


Many times the Blue Angels fly over the beach on their way back to Pensacola Naval Air Station after a weekend performance. This time they were returning from Jacksonville, Florida.


It's always exciting to see them return, but today it was especially beautiful with the high surf and golden haze.

As they flew west the F/A 18's began to disappear into the sun.

Suddenly, as they neared Portofino, the jets signaled their arrival home with long, glowing contrails. What a remarkable sight.

Grommets

A couple of tuckered-out younger surfers (grommets) lay atop an old gun turret at Ft. Pickens watching waves sweep into Pensacola Pass.


Surfers lined up along the beach near the Pass catching a few nice waves as the surf started to build this afternoon.

Red flag

Red flags are going up along Pensacola Beach as the surf gets higher.

Ft. Pickens

At least I'm making it to my computer now. This break has given me a chance to organize my photos a bit and I came across this photo taken a couple of weeks ago at Ft. Pickens. It's a great place to spend an afternoon, especially with this cooler weather.

Happy Halloween

Witches hats and pitchforks... Happy Halloween!

Short break

I'm going to be taking a short break from my blog-- hopefully just a few days. I'm heading out the door at the end of this post for Andrews Institute to have my knee 'scoped.

I scheduled the procedure for after turtle patrol season and a couple weeks of company and travel. The physician's assistant said they've had patients who requested waiting until after deer season or turkey season, but 'turtle season' was a first. :-)

A note to friends and family, I won't have access to my computer and e-mails for a while since I'll be separated from the office by a flight of stairs. That alone will inspire me to rehab quickly...or get a laptop!

Wish me luck!

Dance in the sun

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair..."

~~Susan Polis Shutz

Incredible sunset

Wow! What an incredible sunset tonight. After heavy rain overnight and all morning long, we were rewarded with exquisite colors.

American Redstart

Poor little thing, it crashed into a glass door on our deck and was stunned.


It finally became more alert and flew away after about three hours. I contacted Lucy and Bob Duncan, my 'go-to' people when I need help identifying birds and they informed me this beautiful little fellow is an American Redstart. They also informed me how to help an injured bird such as this in the future -- but hopefully it will never happen again.

Crabs - We Got 'Em

I've been hearing from my blog followers that I've been absent of late! Ha! Actually I have either had company or been traveling since October 7th. Today is my first day at home in my regular routine...and it is pouring rain.


So here are a few photos I took Sunday afternoon when my son was visiting and we stopped by Crabs-We Got 'Em for an appetizer.


The surf was flat and the sky was overcast, but it was a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy the view.

Under the influence

"The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for scientists but are available to anyone who will place himself under the influence of earth, sea and sky and their amazing life."

~~ Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)

The willet

Another one of my favorite shorebirds is the willet which is in the sandpiper family.


Next spring and summer when I start sea turtle patroling again, I hope to get a photo of a willet in flight to share with you. The change is very dramatic from the soft color above to the bold pattern which is displayed in flight.

You may see an example by clicking HERE or HERE.

Brown Pelican

Here are a couple of our Brown Pelicans that I frequently see near Pensacola Pass. I sometimes sometimes where they have all gone. Before the road to Ft. Pickens reopened I would hike a few miles into the Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Park and see hundreds of them along the shore, plunging head first into the Gulf for fish.

They are sometimes a bit difficult to photograph unless you have a good telephoto lens, although a few overcome their shyness and hang out near fishing piers and docks.

A bit of happiness

If you can attain repose and calm, believe that you have seized happiness.

~~ Julie de Lespinasse (1732 - 1776)

Ft. Pickens portion of the Florida Trail

Not far from the Ft. Pickens Visitors Information Center inside the fort there is a small white building that folks frequently overlook. Next time you are there, check it out more closely and you will notice a path where the northern terminus of the Florida Trail begins.

This small section was mentioned in Gulf Islands National Seashore: The Treasure of the Gulf Coast as the path of a railroad which ran from Langdon Beach to the Fort with supplies.

Now it is just a path for people to enjoy hiking through the wetlands, across the canals and on toward the beautiful white sands of the the beach.

What's a person to do...

When the wind is gusting near 30 mph, sand sweeping across the road, and the temps are dropping low, what is a photo blogger to do? Although the rain we saw earlier in the week passed on through, the wind continues to howl.

On the plus side, the beach will be absolutely beautiful and swept clean of footprints when things calm down.

In the meantime...how do you like my orchids?

Fronts passing through

Thunderboomers rolled over the island between 3 - 5 a.m., but by mid-morning it had cleared enough for a nice walk on the beach.


The surf was a bit higher than normal, but dramatic and interesting.