Critter alert!

"Hey, aren't you a little out of your neighborhood? Shouldn't you at least be in Seville Square?"

Do squirrels swim or hitchhike onto an island? This is the second time I've seen one in my yard; first time on my deck.

Bird's eye view

Yikes! The bird's eye view is me!

Bands on the Beach, August 21

Clark & Company were the featured band tonight. We were a little late arriving and as we walked across Casino Beach parking lot, I heard a beautiful rendition of (what I call) the "Cold Mountain" theme song. Simply beautiful.


If you want to get people out of their chairs, play "The Electric". Am I the only person in the world too uncoordinated to perform the Electric Slide?


This lady was gracious and lovely. She was sitting alone, enjoying the music, and so kind to allow me to photograph her.

"What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play..."
~~ Fred Ebb, "Cabaret"


Okay, turn your chair the other way. Watch the waves while you listen to the music. It's permitted.


Oooh... slow dance, young love.


Lively ladies love to laugh...and point, sometimes.


This little face is the definition of joy. Doesn't her smile brighten your day?


Uh oh...somebody's not happy here.


What a great way to end the evening. He proposed. She said "YES!"

Don't Back Down

"...Don't back down
You gotta be a little nuts,


"Don't back down
But show 'em now who's got guts,


"Don't back down
Don't back down from that wave..."

~~ Brian Wilson, "Don't Back Down"

Girl Power -- Surf's Up

I'm always delighted to see girls represented out there among the surfers. It takes guts to tackle a wave like this. Girl POWER!


A girl and her Eberly!


Break time "fer sure". The board is bigger than she is!

Paradise lost?

Although we are still suffering through very high temperatures and expect another round of heat advisories this week, it's too beautiful to stay indoors when you have this view just steps away. As you can see, the surf is becoming a bit more rough and is finally stirring up/washing up seaweed, despite the fact that Hurricane Dean is hundreds of miles away.


Although the water along Pensacola Beach remains clear as bathtub water, seaweed is floating up, ready to be deposited on the beach with high tide.


Unfortunately, seaweed is not the only thing to wash up on Pensacola Beach. In fact, seaweed pales in comparison to the amount of trash we see deposited all along the beach.


Most residents of the island routinely go about picking up litter that is left behind by visiting beachgoers and picnickers. And there are many tourists who go out of their way to pick up trash, trying to keep the beach pristine. To those very special people, we thank you.


But when I discover piles of trash such as this on a morning walk, my heart simply breaks. It seems an impossible task to change the mindset of people who are able to visit a place as special as Pensacola Beach and leave it behind, trashed and ugly. How can you make someone care enough to keep Pensacola Beach just as beautiful and accessible for future generations as it is for us today.

Yet if we are unable to accomplish that most daunting of tasks, it seems inevitable that paradise will indeed be lost.

African Iris

African Iris have become one of my favorite flowers here on the island. The odd thing is that (supposedly) they do not tolerate salt very well.

Their blooms only last a day, but the stalks continue producing blooms for quite an extended period of time.

The sand crab

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."

~~Rachel Carson

Contemplation

"The contemplation of truth and beauty is the proper object for which we were created, which calls forth the most intense desires of the soul, and of which it never tires."

~~ William Hazlitt

It's a beautiful day

"It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day..."

~~ U2

Pampas grass

Pampas Grass is in full plume on the island.


You can find several different varieties in height and plume color.


Striking displays, but don't plant them too close to your house or near a walkway. Leaves of Pampas grass are razor sharp and take a measure of caution if being pruned back.

Watching the tide

"Watching the tide roll away..."

~~ Otis Redding

The day is done

"And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Day Is Done"

Carpe Diem!

Seize the day, my friend! Breathe it, feel it, taste it, love it, and really live it!

"I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dripped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity."

~~Hazel Lee

Hibiscus

Hibiscus do well on Pensacola Beach as a landscape shrub or potted plant. Though the blooms are short-lived, there is a quick succession of more.

Eye! Eye! (Captain)

Sometimes life doesn't quite seem fair in the way it sneaks up on us and hits us in our most vulnerable spot. Just ask Achilles. You and I, however, are incredibly lucky to live in an age where technology can keep us ahead of the game and even help us win it.

During a routine eye exam this week, it was confirmed that I have the early signs of Macular Degeneration. This should come as no surprise since my medical history shows I am in a high risk category:

~~ Family history of macular degeneration
~~ Higher than normal exposure to sunlight
~~ Light-colored eyes
~~ High cholesterol
~~ Female gender
~~ Non-hispanic White
~~ Hyperopia (far sightedness)

Still, it is quite an adjustment to realize how profoundly this disease could affect my life. I cannot imagine being unable to transport myself to another century, another country, another culture through reading. I cannot imagine walking out the door without my camera, unable to capture photographs of Pensacola Beach. I cannot imagine looking out my window every morning, unable to see the paradise that surrounds me.

I am grateful to live in a time where a disease such as macular degeneration can be caught early enough to slow its progression, possibly to a point in time where it can be cured. Though we may not escape our genetic predispostion to certain diseases, knowledge is power, so please click on the links within this post to learn how to lower your risk of developing macular degeneration.

WEAR SUNGLASSES! Protect your eyes from those harmful UV rays! Even more importantly, please, please, put sunglasses on your children. You wouldn't believe the number of children I see on our blindingly reflective, sugar-white beach without protective eyewear. Start them out at a young age with sunglasses and protect their vision (sunglasses are readily available for babies) or at least with caps/hats, just as you would their skin with sunblock. This is especially important for children with lighter-colored eyes.

"A recent study has shown that people who stay outdoors in the summer sun for more than 5 hours a day in both their teens and 30s have a twofold greater likelihood of developing early macular degeneration changes (soft drusen or increased retinal pigment). In these individuals i.e. those who have high sun exposure, the likelihood of developing early macular degeneration is considerably reduced by wearing hats or sunglasses at least half of the time when outside in the summer sun (Arch Ophthalmol. 2004 May;122(5):750-7)."

DON'T SMOKE! Though I do not and never have smoked, this remains the most significant controllable risk factor for macular degeneration.

TAKE VITAMINS! A recent study, Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), showed that a daily supplement of 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta carotene (often as vitamin A — up to 25,000 IU), 80 mg of zinc (as zinc oxide) and 2 mg of copper (as cupric oxide) reduced the risk of progressing to moderate or severe vision loss by up to 25 percent. You may get all of these over-the-counter supplements at your local pharmacy, but you should discuss them with your primary care physician before adding them to your diet. I take Preservision and Lutein daily, in addition to my regular vitamins and antioxidants.

EAT A HEALTHY DIET & START EXERCISING! Eat a well balanced, low-fat diet that is rich in leafy green vegetables, and develop/maintain a program of cardiovascular exercise to reduce your serum blood-cholesterol level.

Your ability to see the island may always remain in your heart and dreams, but protect your vision so that your view of our incredible emerald water and sugar-white sand will only be a glance away.

Hurricane Dean

Head north or east, young gull. Hurricane Dean may not come into the Panhandle, but it sounds as though we can expect quite an impact on the surf by Tuesday. For humans, that means stay on shore and watch the surfers!

The Cross on Pensacola Beach

The large cross located on Pensacola Beach stands high atop a sand dune on Ft. Pickens Road. It is a memorial to the first Christian mass held by Spaniards in 1559 when Don Tristan de Luna y Arrelano, along with 1500 hopeful settlers and soldiers, made the first attempt to colonize Pensacola Bay.

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."

~~Bob Goddard

Illusions

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one."

~~ Albert Einstein

Waterspout on Pensacola Beach

Photo contributed by Dr. Mark DeNunzio


I would love to capture images of a waterspout in the Gulf of Mexico, but I'm never in the right place at the right time. Yesterday was the third occasion I missed this season.

I was already envious of Pensacola News Journal forum members who discussed seeing it, but then this morning during a root canal my endodontist told me that he had gotten photographs of it yesterday.

"Uh gaa a sha hah aht?!" [You got a shot of it?!] I repeated through the rubber dam over my mouth. "Well, that's just depressing," I thought to myself, "Even my endodontist got photos."

"Yes. If you leave your e-mail address , I'll forward them to you after I download them from my camera."

"Anks," I said (with envy).

After the root canal, I decided to drop by Hobby Lobby before the Novocaine wore off to pick up matboard (which, by the way, is 50% off this week), and ran into a former neighbor from Portofino.

"Di zhou ged to shee da wa-wa phau?" ["Did you get to see the waterspout?"] I asked. "Oh yeah," he replied, "I got some really great shots of it. I'll e-mail them to you."

I headed for the comfort of home and Motrin, aching and pouting.

"Hi, sweetheart," my husband said as I walked in the door. "How's your tooth?"

"It huts," I groaned.

"Well go upstairs and check out the video of that waterspout on The Weather Channel. That will make you feel better," he said, just before I threw the bottle of Motrin at him.

I'm beginning to feel a little better now, so I'll fix him something nice -- and soft -- for dinner to make up for my churlish behavior.

In the meantime, click on the link and join me while I watch the waterspout video . {{{sigh}}} There must be a couple of us left who haven't seen it.