Sunset over Sikes

A sunset over the Robert L. E. Sikes Bridge (click on the photo to see it enlarged).


This is the time of year that the sun sets directly in the middle of Bob Sikes Bridge. The autumnal equinox takes place on September 22, after which we have less daylight than dark. {{{sigh}}}


Oh to have wings. With dramatic sunsets on the island, you just have time to capture Santa Rosa Sound or the Gulf of Mexico, but not both. In this instance I photographed the sun setting on Santa Rosa Sound, then turned around and snapped the beautiful pink clouds behind me.

Keep our beaches clean!

Today was a designated as a trash pick-up day on Pensacola Beach. Unfortunately only a dozen volunteers showed up at Casino Beach where Sandy Johnston, executive director of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, coordinated the event.

Two volunteers appeared at Park East where Glenn Griffith, a coordinator with the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency was the Lone Ranger with trash bags for us. A big thank you to all those who turned out to keep our sugar-white sand beautiful.

Though trash on the beach is not a laughing matter, it is sometimes interesting to compare notes and see who had the most interesting piece of trash: mine was a spent shotgun shell.

Top awards for most unusual:

Size 44-46 men's 'tighty-whitey' style underwear (verrrrry scary)
"Autopsy-type" tubing (even more scary!)
Man's swim trunks with half-empty cup of coffee on top (no one was around - I checked!)

Most picked-up:

Bottle caps
Cigarette butts. (I hope I never run into the guy who's smoking all those Tiparillos / cigarillos. We are gonna have words!)
Plastic food wrappers/containers

Most dangerous:

Glass beer bottles and broken glass bottles
Rusted nails and tent stakes

Silhouettes and shadows

"Poetry is the art of substantiating shadows."

~~Edmund Burke

Blue on blue

Santa Rosa Sound was calm and quiet this morning. The only ripples were those created by a barge passing through the Intracoastal Waterway or an occasional school of bait fish being chased by a trout. The blue sky reflects back, adding depth to the image of a mirrored surface below.

Visualize this!

Visualize a gorgeous, sunny day on the beach. Not any old beach, but Pensacola Beach, a place where you can still drive a few miles and find a secluded spot to relax with no one else in sight this time of year.

Big, billowy clouds; ribbons of turquoise, emerald, and sapphire water; the soft sound of waves; sea breezes lightly flavored with salt; and sugar-white sands that stretch for miles. Set up a colorful beach umbrella and a couple of chairs. Kick off your sandals and soak it all in.

Ahhhhh...paradise!

View toward Navarre Beach

It was a beautiful morning on Pensacola Beach, but you can see that sea oats planted after the beach renourishment project are suffering from a lack of rain this year.

This photo was taken from Walkover 30, which is located within Park East. It's about 2 1/2 miles from my home -- a nice bike ride. Navarre Beach is about 13 miles ahead. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see a small, dark nub above the sea oats. That is the beginning of condominium towers on Navarre Beach.

The beautiful goodbye

"... nothing lasts forever, but we always try
And I just can't help but wonder why
We let it pass us by..."

~~ Amanda Marshall, "The Beautiful Goodbye"

(One of my favorite songs.)

Hey, gullllll!

Hey, gulllll! What up?

Morning storms

Early morning storms brought much-needed rain to the island.


But by late morning the skies began to clear (see a tiny sliver of rainbow in the distance above the sand fencing?) as the storms moved off-shore and around us. It turned out to be a beautiful, breezy September day.

The Marina

It turned out to be a beautiful day on the island. Early rain moved out and high cumulus clouds moved in. It was a perfect day to grab a smoked-turkey wrap and a Diet Coke from the deli inside the Market on the Island. What better place to eat it than on the deck overlooking the Marina. No charge for the view, folks! Life doesn't get much better.

Priceless

One beach cruiser bike from WalMart - $85.00
One willow basket from BikeWorldUSA - $15.99
One garland of dune sunflowers from Hobby Lobby - $6.99 (plus, 1/2 off)
One bicycle bell from WalMart - $3.99



My view of paradise - priceless!

Wings of the night wind

"I want to do the right thing, but often I don't know just what the right thing is. Every day I know I have come short of what I would like to have done. Yet as the years pass and I see the very world itself, with its oceans and mountains and plains, as something unfinished, a peculiar little satisfaction hunts out the corners of my heart. Sunsets and evening shadows find me regretful at task's undone, but sleep and the dawn and the air of the morning touch me with freshening hopes. Strange things blow in through my window on the wings of the night wind and I don't worry about my destiny."

~~ Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

Bejeweled!

How perfect! I discovered that paradise has a bejeweled drive!





Another Sugar Bowl discovery!

Chimney ornaments

We have the nicest chimney ornaments out here on the island!

I want to send out a B.I.G. thank you to all the folks that stopped to help pick up trash on the beach today! We had quite a mess in the Walkover 22 area.

The Florida Trail

We are coming up on the best time of the year to start exploring the island. By hiking or biking, there is so much to be seen. Check out the links in this post for more information about our portion the Western Gate of The Florida Trail.

Legend of the Golden Peli-treiver

Listen children, far and near, a story shall be told,
About a dog who once lived here not very long ago.


She roamed this very island, dashing up and down the shore,
Bringing home the special treasures from odd places she’d explore.


Then one sad day her eyes grew dim and as she passed away,
Her master held her close in love and prayed for her to stay.


She could not stop her spirit as it slipped the bonds of earth,
But love reached out to pull her back and heaven knew its worth.


Seabirds caught her spirit, as turquoise fish leaped from the waves,
Now her heart and coat so golden would be a legend for all days.


“You may stay upon this island, though your shape we will transform,
You must watch o’er them forever, but I shall give you wings to soar.”

And so this story ends, my friend, though some day you may see her.
Remember, then, the legend of a Golden Peli-treiver.

~~ Barrier Island Girl



Dedicated to Dee and Kurt Krueger, and a dog named Sadie.

The Ribbon Dancer

I don't know her name, but I call her The Ribbon Dancer.


She gracefully 'performs' in Sugar Bowl every day.

Bands on the Beach, September 4

Look who's at Bands on the Beach tonight - T. Bubba Bechtol and his lovely wife, Tarsha. Starting next week, Bubba and Tarsha can come directly into your home every morning on Bubba - Up in the Morning! He's taking the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. slot for AM 1620, WNRP. Heaven help us, can we handle that much laughter in the morning? Luckily, Tarsha will be at the control panel.


Six-week old Delaney and her mom, Laurie, came from Mobile, Alabama to watch Mass Kunfuzion perform.


Robert and Patti always get the dance floor warmed up for everyone.


Joy McDuffy enjoyed an evening on the beach with her mom, Paula.


Stormy Redmond gave me her best runway pose. She and her family recently moved to the area and I think Stormy's verdict is still out at this point. Wait 'til she gets her toes in that sugar-white sand.

The power of love

What could our dogs possibly love as much as us? Nothing, of course, but a nice, long ear rub is an appealing runner-up. After 10 minutes of affection, sweet Sunny, with her late summer 'do, was reduced from an energetic Golden Retriever ...


to one who looked as though she spent the afternoon at a Pub, slowly sliding her way under the chair!


"Is it my turn yet, Da'?" queries a patient little MacDougal.


"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment."

George Eliot

Prickley Pears and grouchy bears

I was the grouchy bear yesterday when Internet service went out. At that time I did not realize lightning had hit a neighbor's home, blowing out their thermostat, breaking glass, and causing phone and Internet outages to some of the Seashore Village homes.

A hearty thanks to Earl, the AT&T technician who got me back online and in business today.

Which brings us to the prickly pear cacti I discovered in Sugar Bowl this morning. The fruit looks like large radishes, but are called "tuna". Go figure! Check out the link to discover more about uses of the prickly pear.

Camera shy

Run, run, fast as you can!


I may not catch you, but my camera sure can!

[with apologies to the Gingerbread Man]

Anything goes!

I was heading to the Anything that Floats contest on Quietwater beach, but became sidetracked at the Kid's Zone!


The Kid's Zone was sponsored by The Zoo of Northwest Florida.


Now you see what really caught my eye. Banana Pudding is her name.


I'm so happy that they had this little fella's snout banded. He seemed to be enjoying the heat more than the rest of us.


A bearded dragon looks quite at home in the heat too. Maybe he's just staring at all the unusually-dressed people walking by.


I prefer the feathered friends docents brought to the Kid's Zone. This barn owl was a real hoot!



I headed on to the beach and found my favorite floater.


Uh oh. I think they said it best. This entry could get wacked!


Rub-a-dub-dub; looks like we've got tubs.


A couple of floaties, inner tubes and tape...see, you coulda been a contender.


Lined up and the race is on! My favorite appears to be in the lead at this point!
Check out the story, more photos and a list of winners in the Pensacola News Journal.

Harbinger of fall

It's the first day of September and already we are seeing the first harbinger of fall! Instead of fields of pumpkins, on an island we see brightly-colored fruit falling from our palm trees.


Now, if only we knew whether or not the fruit is edible.


Even so, palm pie doesn't sound nearly as appetizing as pumpkin.