Red oleander

My neighbor's oleander is in full bloom now. Mine can't be far behind, though they aren't nearly as lush as these. It's been a treat to live next door to someone so knowledgeable about gardening, especially due to the unique challenges of gardening on a barrier island.

Ol' bird

Poor ol' pelican, he looks like he's on his last feather.

Coral Bean

Look! Coral Bean is blooming in Range Point! It's lovely and the bright red splash of color really stands out in shrubby areas.

Sand turtles

First a mermaid, now I discover a sand turtle and four eggs (one partially hatched) on the beach! We must have a sand sculptor in our midst.


One of my favorite beach events is the sand sculpture contest we have in June. This was a great surprise on a morning walk. Thank you to the artist! Please feel free to create more!

Ocean's Twelve

Sanderlings are delightful little birds which run ahead of waves as they wash ashore, then chase them back to the sea. In and out they go, searching for tiny crustaceans to feed on.

Mermaid

Look what I found lying on the beach this morning! Poor little mermaid had turned to sand.

Casting a spell

"The Sea, once it casts its spell holds one in its net of wonder forever."

~~Jacques Cousteau

I Do!

"Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."

~~Kahlil Gibran

Becoming driftwood

Trees killed by Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis are slowly turning into oversized driftwood.

I see the moon

"I see the moon,
And the moon sees me;
God bless the moon,
And God bless me.

~~Nursery Rhyme

Exploration

This boat came aground at Range Point in 2005 during Hurricane Dennis. The boat was stripped long ago and there is only the shell of the vessel left now.


I know people had waded across to explore it, but this was the first time I'd actually seen anyone there.

The Sandpiper

"Across the narrow beach we flit,
One little sand-piper and I;
And fast I gather, bit by bit.
The scattered drift-wood, bleached and dry,
The wild waves reach their hands for it.
The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,
As up and down the beach we flit,
One little sand-piper and I."

~~Celia Leighton Thaxter

Evidence of Haiku

proof that I was here
imprints swiftly wash away
no trace of me now

-- dj

Test your limits

"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed."

~~ Bernard Edmonds

Cobia boats

Cobia boats were everywhere today, even though there was a fairly nice chop on the water. You may click on any of the photos to enlarge them and see the number of cobia boats out in the Gulf.


Round and round, up and down the coastline, looking for cobia.


But look at the color of the water today! It's almost kelly green in spots!

Hibiscus

My hibiscus are beginning to fill out and look great. They wintered over very well and I only had to place them in the garage a couple of times during the winter when temperatures dropped lower than usual. Last weekend I transplanted them into larger pots and mixed in some of the great mushroom compost available (they make it themselves) at The Garden Gate on Highway 98 in Gulf Breeze.

Pompano fishing

You'll see rods set up all along the beach now. It's pompano time! Once you get set up, all you have to do is sit back, have a cup of coffee, and wait for a hit...or so it appears.


Sections of PVC pipe are cut and placed in the sand for rod holders.


That isn't a wheelbarrow. It's a fishing cart in disguise!


Ah ha, so this is the bait they use for pompano: sand fleas.


I am shown the orange-colored roe (eggs) which pompano are really after. Ugh!

Anglerworld.com article: How to Surf Fish for Pompano.

African Iris

In response to a question about the flowers shown in my April 8 post, Stars of the Earth, they are African Iris: Dietes bicolor.

There is another African Iris: Moraea grandiflora (though sometimes seen listed as Dietes grandiflora), which we grow here on the beach and they are also very beautiful.

Like other iris, d. bicolor is rhizomatous. The grandiflora are corms. Neither seem to have a fragrance that I can detect.

Here are a couple of links on these beautiful plants if you are interested in growing them:

African Iris (Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University, Horticulture Update, June 2005)

African Iris (Wikipedia)

Lighthouse tours!

There was wonderful news on the front page of the Pensacola News Journal this morning that the Pensacola lighthouse has plans to open for tours again -- perhaps as early as May!

I can't wait to take a photo of Pensacola Bay from the top!

Bottlebrush Tree

The Bottlebrush tree my mother gave me for an early Christmas present last year is doing so well! After seeing a large one at the Panhandle Butterfly House in Navarre last summer, I had to have one for my yard. I wasn't expecting blooms on it this early though.

Almost...

Oleander is almost ready to burst into bloom, but the cold snap we're having right now might slow the process. I planted thirty or more oleander bushes in my yard in 2006 and my next-door neighbors planted at least a dozen.

This should be their 'leap' year! My neighbor taught me an old saying about plants on the island: "First year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap!"

The dark-red blooms should be great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies!

Sammy the Seal

Sammy the Seal looks out at the Gulf every day, watching children build sandcastles, surfers catching waves, and pods of dolphin playing along the coastline.

I have a feeling he's also keeping an eye on Mother Nature, just in case he needs to remind her we don't need any more storms for a good, long time.

Keep us safe, Sammy!

The Dougal

Look 'the Dougal' is back at the beach this week! Hey, Doogie!

An occasion for hope

"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope."

~~John Buchan

Stay safe!

Summer is just around the corner. Stay safe, learn the beach flag warning system, then kick back and enjoy paradise!

Be informed and be alert. Let every memory of your beach time be a good memory.

Ewww!

Yuck! What kind of sea slug is this? I discovered him sluggin' along in the shallows on the sound! Definitely a face (?) only a mother could love.

Rascally raccoon

Ah ha! Evidence of a rascally raccoon in the neighborhood.

Two sides

Don't you wish it was always this easy to see both sides?

"Every truth has two sides..."

Aesop

Shelby's secret

Good morning, Shelby!

Now, now, don't look at me that way. I won't tell that you've been swimming, but the wet hair and sand on your nose might be a give-away.

Things I saw...

Things I saw on my walk this morning:


A sheller...


A dark-colored Gulf of Mexico (can't wait for the stunning water colors of summer ahead)


A Portuguese man-of-war (a/k/a Blue Bottle)


And another...


Ahhhh....and one of my favorite shells, a Scotch Bonnet.

Walk to Range Point

When I reached Range Point this morning, I found an umbrella set up by a young family with two little girls. Though sea grass has washed up along the shore here, there are clear, sandy areas where children can wade and the water is generally calm.

The little girls squealed at tiny fish swimming past their ankles and were mesmerized by hermit crabs which were making their way along the tide line.


I turn back for home, which takes me past Portofino. The tide is coming in and by early afternoon this small width of sound-side beach will almost completely disappear 'til the tide recedes.

Stars of the earth

What a wonderful time of the year when yards and gardens come alive! Living on a barrier island has been a challenge, learning what works and what will not in this climate, soil, and exposure. But, oh, what a reward when you get it right!



"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of the heaven."

~~ A.J. Balfour

A quiet moment

"Our greatest experiences are our quietest moments."

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Hummingbirds!

Note to readers: If you live here on the island, now is the time to put up your hummingbird feeders. They are flitting all around.

Exploring!

No, they have not built any pyramids on Pensacola Beach. I just returned from nine days in Mexico, where I traveled from Mexico City to Cancun - from the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacan to the ruins of Chichen Itza (above). This is one of 1300 or so photographs I took along the way.

I won't be posting the photos of my trip here, but when I have sorted them all and gleaned the good ones, I may create another blog for travel photos and post a link to it on this site.

Did I mention it's good to be home!

Meyer Lemon Tree

It's exciting to see blooms on my Meyer Lemon Tree! When they open, the fragrance will be divine.

If you notice in the photo above, the edge of one leaf has been burned by salt. It looks yellow, brown and ragged. While our climate on Pensacola Beach is fine for this type of lemon tree, they have low salt tolerance and must be planted where they will have the least exposure to winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico--or in a container which can be moved. Otherwise, they may not thrive.


Last year I lost every single one of my lemons and at least half the leaves off my tree due to a couple periods of high winds out of the southeast. Hopefully this year I'll have have at least a few.

"...Even the poor know that richness, the fragrance of the lemon trees..."

Eugenio Montale, from The Lemon Trees (translation by Lee Gerlach)

The simple pleasures

"I adore simple pleasures."

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray