Great Blue Heron

I was happy to be able to capture a few more photos of Great Blue Herons at Ft. Pickens this morning.


Graceful and elegant.

'Vettes at the Beach

There were at least twice as many Corvettes at this year's Miracle Strip Corvette Club show.


There were also a couple of pace cars this year.


This one from an Indy 500.


"Why do you build me up (build me up) buttercup, baby, just to let me down."
Wouldn't you just love to take a spin in this little buttercup!


Casino Beach was hoppin' with activity. The Corvette show and Taste of the Beach brought a lot of people out to the beach and the weather cooperated.

Another classic beauty.

Blue on blue.

Not only were there more Corvettes at the show, there appeared to be more out-of-state/town clubs participating this year.

This Corvette from Mississippi was simply gorgeous.

As was the interior.

I hope you didn't miss the show, but if you did, be sure to check for the dates next September. This looks like it will become a very popular event.

Taste of the Beach

Just a reminder that this is a big weekend on Pensacola Beach. The second annual Taste of the Beach will be held at Casino Beach on Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. More than a dozen island restaurants will be participating, offering their signature dishes for $5.00 or less! You may see a list of restaurants and their signature dishes by clicking HERE.

Also at Casino Beach on Saturday will be the Miracle Strip Corvette Club's 'Vettes at the Beach show. You may click HERE to see photos from last year. And on Sunday the Chrome Zone Motorcycle Display will be there.

Most exciting for me this weekend is the Be Kind to the Beach recycling and reuse program that the Pensacola Beach Advocates, Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, and Santa Rosa Island Authority are teaming up to promote. The Pensacola Beach Advocates will be selling 26 oz. stainless steel water bottles (see photo below) next to the Hospitality Tent. If you buy one of the Taste of the Beach water bottles for $5.00, you can come back to the tent and get it refilled free all day long.



Doing what I can to curtail the use of plastic water bottles has become very important to me after seeing the number of them washing up on our beach during my patrols. Some people recycle their plastic bottles, but it is estimated that more than 90% of plastic bottles are not recycled. Then there is the fact that it will take approximately 490 years or longer for a plastic bottle to decompose... and the health concerns of Bisphenol A...and the fact that more than 25% of bottled water comes from a municipal water supply...

I hope you will take time to watch this video about the use of plastic water bottles:



And if you you're still reading as I step down from my soapbox, please stop by and say hello to me at the Taste of the Beach Hospitality Tent. I'll be there Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Everyone who buys a stainless steel waterbottle also gets a free hug from me!

Rainy days

There's not much a photo blogger can do on a day like this but watch as raindrops fall from palm fronds.

Markers

Have you ever been driving along a section of Gulf Islands National Seashore and noticed a lettered PVC pipe like this sticking out of the sand, seemingly in the middle of nowhere? These posts are important to volunteers like me who patrol the beach in the summer, looking for sea turtle nests.

If you can, imagine riding along the shoreline in a mule looking for turtle tracks when you come upon a nest. The next thing to do is call a bio-tech to come out and ascertain whether the nest can remain where it is or if it must be relocated, then staked and documented properly. What do you say when the bio-tech asks your location? "Uhhhhhhh...I'm on the beach." That's a big stretch of seashore for them to scour. A much more appropriate answer would be something like, "I'm at Santa Rosa, approximately 25 yards east of Marker G."

Markers such as these begin one-half mile into the Gulf Islands National Seashore on either side of Pensacola Beach, both Ft. Pickens area and Santa Rosa area, and continue every half mile along the beach. On the Ft. Pickens side it starts with marker A, one-half mile past the entrance and ends up with marker N near the old fort. On the Santa Rosa side it begins with marker A one-half mile past the entry sign and ends with marker N near Navarre Beach.

Now you know the reason for the markers!

Good news for Ft. Pickens!

People who enjoy camping at Ft. Pickens will enjoy this photo more than any of my 'pretty' shots! Last weekend I noticed heavy equipment and large spools of cable like these lined up in the park. Once again we will have electricity available in the campgrounds, and the houses and stores will not be dependent on generators!

Cotton candy

Wow! Do the clouds tonight look like cotton candy or what! They were simply incredible.

I stepped outside to take photos and quickly came back in because of the dewpoint which immediately fogged up my glass! I went up to the upper floor of my home and took a photo of the sky above the rooftops.

Rain clouds

More and more rain... I'm just happy it stopped last night while I was nest-sitting!

Windswept

Three rainy days in a row. This evening I headed out to check and screen a nest that is close to emerging. Luckily there was a break from the heavy rain we received off and on throughout the day, but the wind had picked up and came out of the southeast in hearty gusts which sent the seaoats dancing.

Shaker Queen Sandi Johnson!

I was so happy to see that my friend Sandi Johnson was crowned as Shaker Queen at the Sandshaker last night. It didn't surprise me because Sandi is so well known for helping out with the Pensacola Beach Elementary School, the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, and many other not-for-profit groups and local charitable organizations.


It was so much fun to see this shy, beautiful lady in the spotlight for a change.


Woo hoo! Sandi got some bling from Jewelers Trade Shop in Pensacola and a tiara to boot! Congrats, Sandi!

To learn more about the money raised from this event, please check out the next issue of Island Times.

Ocean's tides

Every morning that I do a sea turtle patrol, I come home to untangle my corkscrewy hair, wash away the layers of salt and sand, and thank God I had the opportunity to see something this beautiful at the beginning of my day.

"Eternity begins and ends with the ocean's tides."

~~ Unknown

Go Navy! Accelerate Your Life!

One of the fun things about living in this area is being so close to the Naval Air Station. I took this photo yesterday afternoon while visiting Ft. Pickens. This plane was doing touch-and-go's and flew right over me as I stood along the seawall.

Go Navy! Accelerate Your Life!

Awesome!

Snowy Egret

"I bet if I hunker down real low she won't even notice me."


I enjoyed watching this snowy egret work his way around a tidal pool this morning. He was beautiful!

Sunday sunrise

This morning's sunrise was obscured by clouds and fog, but it was still beautiful.

Kitesurfing on a rainy day

About the only ones who enjoyed this rainy weather today were the fish and the kitesurfers.


As I returned from checking a nest this afternoon, I noticed three or four kitesurfers on the east end of Pensacola Beach, enjoying the waves.


This is obviously not a sport you can take up without a lot of conditioning and upper body strength.

I was so happy when the rain eased to a sprinkle just long enough for me to take a few shots.

Amazing!

Opal Beach at sunrise

There was a beautiful sunrise at Opal Beach this morning!

Talking trash

Occasionally instead of a pretty picture I post a photo of the bad things I find on the beach. Today was pretty bad. The beach was littered with plastic bottles and cans. This site was the worst.


If you're interested in the count, there was:

1 section of blue pipe
1 pair of Faded Glory blue underwear (size 14/16)
1 pair of socks
1 carton of cigarettes
1 cigarette lighter
1 coffee cup
1 vodka bottle
2 soda cans
3 pair of goggles (various types)
12 beer cans
1 misc. piece of clothing/bag

If it's true what they say about karma, someone is in for a long stretch of bad luck. Unfortunately it may be their children and grandchildren that pay the price for trashing the environment.

Twilight memories

No matter where I go or how long I live, one of my favorite memories of this island will always be of a Great Blue Heron standing motionless and silent atop a dune, in silhouette against the sky.

Wild palm

This is one of the natural (wild) palms growing on Santa Rosa Island. It is a sabal palm, also known as a cabbage palm, located on the beach near Ft. Pickens, which you can see in the background.


The seeds of a sabal palm are small, so even though sabal palms are known to be fast-growing, we can only imagine how old the tree might be.


Silhouette of the same palm tree as I passed it on patrol one morning.

Portofino turtle-friendly lighting

A couple of weeks ago I did a post about the new turtle-friendly lighting installed at Portofino. Being involved with the sea turtle program, I have been very excited about the changes.

Someone later commented that these particular lights are not recognized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as being turtle-friendly. It has taken me a while to research the issue, even though I was 99% sure they had indeed been approved as turtle-friendly since the grant was approved. Below is the response I received from Andrew Diller, Florida Sea Grant Marine Extension Agent for the Escambia County Extension Service:

The bulbs at Portofino are made by Interletric and yes, they are turtle friendly and have been approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They are NOT bulbs with sleeves on them, they are true amber fluorescent bulbs that emit the long wavelength required.

The FWC website hasn’t been updated yet with the amber version, but you can find the approval for Interlectric’s red tubes here:

http://myfwc.com/CONSERVATION/Conservation_LivingWith_WildlifeLighting_fixturesBulbs.htm
Just remind posters that companies are continuously submitting bulbs for approval and this is one of the newest bulbs approved.

We could still have people complain about being able to see some of the bulbs directly, in other words they are not in fixtures that are shielded. The response to that is we will continue to investigate possibilities for shielding some of the fixtures that are directly visible from the beach. Also, with Portofino being on the north side of the road, the distance to the beach and (hopefully growing) dunes effectively shield and further reduce direct visibility of the bulbs.

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Thank you for your responses and questions directed to my blog posts. I will always do my best to follow up. It confirms to me that people are interested in the conservation of our sea turtles and other island wildlife.

Speaking of which - if someone could just help me relocate the critter who's made a den in my yard! Any armadillo/possum trappers out there? I love sea turtles, but I draw the line at armadillos. Researching the problem, I especially got a kick from the site that stated, "the only way to get rid of an armadillo is to remove it."

Right.