Does this make up for my absence?

First off let me just apologize for my annoying chattering but I was so excited I couldn't contain myself. I recorded this a few weeks ago while my sister Neenee was visiting(yes that is a true nikname, when I was a baby I couldn't pronounce 'Denise'). I see dolphins from my windows at least 3-4 times a week, mostly in the morning and at dusk.  I haven't seen any for the past couple days as we are in the thick of a NASTY Nor'easter right now.  The wind, oh the wind.  If only I could find the words to describe how much the wind and all her noises just warms my spirit.  I tried to get some footage of the whitecaps in my building's pool and all the scary foamy washing machine that is the sea but it started to rain really hard, the kind of rain that stings, so I'll try again tomorrow. I've heard the storm will be even worse but I welcome you bad weather.  My mantra du jour is "Me, the sea and a cup of tea."   I usually get cabin fever when it's been like this but oh what a wonderful storm we're having.  If Noah's ark shows up, tell him I'll stay a little longer.  Only St. Augustine, how's it going?  I'm worried about you down there......

Finally!

As I mentioned, I really haven't been going to look for shark teeth as much this year because I wanted to exercise more.  Then when I got myself into great shape I twisted my dern ankle and I'm finally beginning to heal.  It still aches, mind you, especially on days when the temperature is really cold(which makes me feel about a thousand years old).  But last week I couldn't take it anymore and decided come hell or high water, I was going to get on the beach at least once and take a look.



It actually took me a while since the beach where I live is not really my "usual spot".  My best finds come from about a mile North and it was way too windy to bike and my ankle is still not in shape for longer walks so I had to stay nearby.  The first tooth I found was this one so I was pretty happy.  I felt like the ocean was welcoming me back by giving me this gift.  It was in the "swash zone"

I came upon this claw that, some poor little varmint lost, probably along with his life......I find these all the time as the birds here are pretty healthy.  Actually, my beach is the only one I've ever been where the sea gulls don't beg or try to steal food.  Just a few miles North of here and the sea gulls are really aggressive or "fresh" as MrPea likes to call them.

Here's another claw, well a piece of one. Obviously this claw, when intact, was much bigger. I thought it would be interesting to show how different these two are.  Plus I wanted to show off the daisies I painted on my nails.

I was freezing that day.  Ok I realize 50 degrees is not freezing but it is when all you've got on is flimsy jeans, a teeshirt, and a light wind breaker that does not break  wind(insert laughter).  So as much as I tried, when the sun started to play peek-a-boo with the clouds, I went home.  I only stayed about 40 minutes but my find was pretty decent.   That large piece on the right is some kind of bone fragment that I'll try to identify on my own and those two round pieces on the upper left are puffer fish jaws that I always pick up for some reason.  I have about a million scallop shells but I can never resist a pretty shell or two.

It's been raining all week but when the sun comes back out, I'll be back out there for more!

Cold Beach=Beautiful evening sky

My cell phone only lets me email videos that are 30 seconds long and for some reason the sound didn't come out in the upload but oh well.  You get the point.  It was just a really beautiful winter beach sky and I wanted to capture it........

Daylight Savings Crime and the Joy of Fall in Florida

When it's time to "fall back" people always relish in the extra hour of sleep they'll get.  I dread it not just because I wish it could be daylight savings time all year round but because no one ever seems to tell Peanut it's not 8:30am.  He'll wake up at at 7:30 and stare at my face until telepathically I hear his mental whining and have no choice but to get up and stagger out the door.  How this is possible I don't know but he's always been able to wake me up that way.  Of course once we get outside he has no interest in quickly  peeing in the bushes and going back to bed like a dog who LOVES ME would, but instead prefers to pull me across the street to look for snakes and chase bunnies.  I feel sorry for anyone who happens to look out the window at us or dare walk by and say hello because I'm a bitch in the morning.  Yes I said it, I'll say it again, I'm a bitch in the morning.  This will go on until we "spring ahead" and I can finally wake up at a decent hour.


MrPea's dog walk shift starts at night time so at dusk I'm usually the one to take Peanut out, usually to the beach.  I'm a little freaked out ever since a couple weeks ago, at dusk we saw a bobcat looking at us through our back window.  I wish I had had the time to grab my camera because she was beautiful.  I'm not sure why I think it's a female, I just do. We live just a few feet from the marsh and there's an empty wooded lot right next to our building so there's plenty of room for a varmint such as that to sneak around in.  At first we thought she was just a big house cat until we looked closer and saw her big paws.  She looked at us with glamorous and cold eyes for a few seconds and then nonchalantly sauntered away down the marsh path towards the water, I'm guessing to catch snakes. I saw those eyes hiding in some bushes the next evening watching me and Peanut cross the street to the beach path. I got a little scared because, well, it's a wild bobcat big enough to eat Peanut and maybe my leg but I know I shouldn't be.  I haven't seen her since then so I wonder if she was afraid  of me.  I hope the alligators don't get her, I'd love to see her again next fall.  I've read that people can live in Florida all their lives and never see one so I feel privileged that Mother Nature gave us a glimpse.


There's also a Red Shouldered Hawk who used to hang out on one of the dead palms behind us that I haven't seen since Spring.  I may have got a picture of him(yes obviously I think it's a male but I'm not sure) somewhere in my desk top but I'm too lazy to go upstairs (for reasons you'll understand in my next post).  I will get a good shot(with my cam of course) eventually but he's always so damn jumpy every time I've ever gone out back to take a closer look, he flies away! I so appreciate the pretty feathers he leaves me.  One day I'll have to take pictures of all my treasure and post them.

 I started this post to complain about Peanut and all his short comings and then somehow started thinking about winter coming and all the changes that take place outside.  People think that Florida has no seasons or that we just have 365  days of summer but unless you live in the Keys, after a couple years, you notice the seasons.   Of course our Falls and Winters are softer on us than the rest of unfortunate souls who are damned to not live in what is as close to heaven on Earth as I can imagine.  But trust me, we have 4 seasons and I am in awe at what I get to witness during all 4.  Fall brings the morning fog and flocks of millions of birds that would scare Alfred Hitchcock himself, slow snakes looking for a warm place to pass the winter, and a southern dolphin migration so vast you feel like you're in a Discovery channel documentary.  In the winter the sea looks angry but gives me the gift of shark teeth after a NorthEaster.  The birds around the feeder are greedy and loud and sometimes on a clear and flat day a Right Whale sighting will remind me of how small I am on this Earth.   So am I bummed that summer is over?  Of course.  But  when Autumn comes I get ready for my own "hibernation" and  "renewal".  Like everyone else I get out my blankets, buy the hot cocoa, light the candles, stock up on some books and we create a little cocoon for the 3 of us here in our home to wait for the Spring.  And keep my eyes open for the "show" whilst feeling sorry for anyone who doesn't live here.

Casa Beach, San Diego(or Children's Pool Beach)

My first day in SD, my BFF and I decided to go shopping but of course, I'm an island girl so my first request was to pay homage to the magical Pacific, the ocean of my birth. We drove to La Jolla so that I could take a look.  It was foggy and a little chilly but I didn't mind. (BTW these pix should enlarge if you click on them)

There were quite a few surfers, most of them in full wet suits mind you. The water was so "alive" that day and full of a happy energy.  I did not find any shark teeth not that I thought I could  have but still, it would have been nice.......

From our parking spot, this was the view to the south. I always lose track of direction if I don't know which way the ocean is.  When I lived in Hawaii though, since the ocean was in all directions, I never had any idea which way was where.


So obviously this is the view to the North and there was a surprise waiting for me up there(more on that later) but first I had to run down those stairs and touch the water.

  
So this is what it looks like when a girl who's used to swimming in  85  degree water decides to try out water that is barely 68degrees.  yep.

I wanted to climb the rocks for a better view.




This would have made a great location for a photo shoot and I will not confirm or deny striking a few other poses but this one was deemed passable for blog view.




These 2 were taken for MrPea as I knew he would ask about the waves, just in case we need to move there. someday.  Not bad.  Usually he needs to wait for a hurricane to pass by to get good waves.

I have to say I saw a lot of dogs in California so I was happy about that.

We had to ask a stranger to take a picture of the both of us because I still can't figure out how to use the timer on my camera.  The couple we asked looked at us like we had just asked them if we could buy some crack so this was the only one we took together.  That is my BFF.  Why fate saw fit to separate us by an entire continent, we'll never understand.  Then again, we were always being separated as kids cuz we got on everyone's nerves when we were together.

Check out the carving on the rock.  A (now)legal "medicinal user" must have carved it there :o)



Here is the surprise that was waiting for me just a short drive to the North of where we were.  This is Children's Beach Pool.  But someone else had some children and this is where they live.



This seal must have heard I was snapping photos and came in from her swim to get in on it!

A couple of them were so fat and healthy, it was all I could do to keep myself from pinching them.  That would have been against the law though.  Still though, just one pinch would have sufficed.

They all kept their faces away except for one.  I wonder what he was dreaming about smiling like that.

What a delight to see beautiful animals living in the wild.  I know there was some controversy surrounding the issue of whether or not they should be allowed to stay so that this beach could be used for swimming.  But I don't know a child alive on this planet who would rather kick these babies off their safe haven so that they could go swimming.  I'd rather not swim if that were my choice but I'll keep my judgement to myself since I don't live there.

One last look and it was time to go shopping.  I heart the Pacific Ocean.

Stuff I do while I convalesce

I've been reading some.  After reading "East of Eden," by John Steinbeck for a book club, I decided to skip the next book that was chosen because it was too "non-fictiony" for me right now. Not that I don't like non-fiction, mind you. I just wasn't in the mood for this one and the kind of divisive conversations the last book we read like this brought out. Someone suggested I might like this one("The Passion of Mary Magdalene" by Elizabeth Cunningham) so I'm about half way into it.  I can't really call it great literature but it's a decent story.  If you got all hot and offended by Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" then I would tell you to steer clear of it.  Actually the exCatholic in me is a little squeamish myself.  But I read the Da Vinci Code, it gave me a lot to think about as I have an  open mind but things are put in the "fiction" section for a reason so there's no reason in my opinion to get all 'fire and brimstone' over a book.  If one has a strong faith what is there to freak out about?  Fear?  My faith urges me to question but I won;t get into that here as this book is not the sort of book that would conjure up a discussion about faith.  It's just a story.  It's not very well written I don't think.  But it's an easy read and after the past couple weeks I've had, I needed an easy read.  If you think I'm a heathen for reading it then you need to look under your own beds for the boogieman......


Oh I watched the "Lost" series finale.  Yeah I was "one of those."  Give or take a few episodes because I didn't have a DVR back then, I've been watching since the pilot.  I love "Lost."  It was a bit of a kiddie rollercoaster the past couple seasons.  I say kiddie rollercoaster because I don't want you to think it was all that emotional for me, even when I was irritated with the characters/writing, I still loved the show.  I was just always left thinking,"What???!! Oh what the hell now??!" And it started to get on my nerves.  I could even be caught telling my sister how ridiculous things were getting.  I was actually thinking it was a good idea to end it because of how ridiculous it was getting.  Because I was expecting all the i's to be dotted and all the t's crossed so I looked forward to some answers finally dammit!  And I didn't get any answers.  But I may be the only one who really liked the final show.  Because I don't care about the "answers" I cared about the characters.  And this show gave me closure.  Does that make sense?  The only other series finale that did that for me was "Six Feet Under."  Remember that show?  Best finale ever in my opinion.  So I can honestly say that I loved the "Lost"  finale. I truly did.    It took me a few hours to realize that I loved it though.  I still hate the "Soprano's" ending I don't care what anyone says.   Anyway, yeah.  "Lost" is over we can all go back to our lives....


I've also been working on this drawing.  Two happy kool aid colored hibiscus flowers I happened upon while laying by the pool last year.  I took a photo thus resulting in a color pencil drawing.

I took this with my cell so excuse the bad lighting but as of this post I have one petal left to do before filling in the leaves and background.  If you look closely, you'll see that I wasn't able to erase my pencil outline.  My eraser sucks.  I'm trying to get a "collection" together so that I can start showing and maybe selling(although that would be hard, I have a hard time parting with my work) some of my stuff.  It's just a thought, I'll keep you guys posted on how that turns out.

Also even though I've been living like an indoor cat again I have been making a point to walk to the beach as much as I can when the day heat starts to subside and the sea breeze  actually feels like a sea breeze.  I took a couple pictures with my cell because the clouds rising were so pretty and I've been depressed about that effing oil spill.  I pray for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast to get through this as quickly as possible.  And I beg that this doesn't happen to my beloved beach.  I won't know what to do with myself if this beautiful picture turns into an ocean of greasy brownblack sludge and dead animals.  NO I do know what I would do.  I would put some boots on and help clean, broken heart and all.  But I'm praying for the protection of this place, I really am.  Look at it, how could I not?

Sick Pea again, not to worry though. Pea will be ok

I don't like complaining about being sick and I'm just about to so I posted a picture of this washed up dead tree I took with my cell phone this past winter. That way anyone who doesn't want to hear about my being sick can still enjoy a pretty picture and then skip the rest.   I wish I had taken more to use for a drawing but I didn't know it was to be removed. Anyway, enjoy.  Isn't the winter sky just beautiful?  And the cold ocean so blue?  Ok now skip the rest if you're as bored as I am from all my health issues.  Go on, I won't be hurt.....don't be shy with a comment though.

So here we are again.  I have tonsillitis.  My doctor has me on penicillin and a mild steroid 4 times a day and told me to give myself and my  throat a rest. Talk only when necessary and no yelling for a few days.  I thought, "ummm Yeah. ok.  Easy as pie doc."  No talking and no yelling.  He must not know any Filipino women.  First thing I did when I got out of that office was call my best friend and then my sister.  After I got off the phone Mr.Pea said to me in his smartass voice, "I thought you weren't supposed to talk a lot?"  I said, "I know but I had to get it out of my system." Truth is I really don't like talking on the phone but I love my sister and my bff and they live so effing far away from me.  So today begins the silence............so far so good.  I think.


I'm also supposed to stay out of the sun because of the antibiotic and he said not to do too much physical activity until at least 48 hours after my last dose. I need more rest and I have to stay away from spicy & salty  foods and citrus.  Ok I can deal with the no talking.  I can even deal with the no yelling(I hope). I can ween myself off salt and I don't drink juice anyway.  But no beach and no jogging?  WTF!? There's a conspiracy against me I know it.   He's right though. Normally I take really good care of myself.  I mean I was sick for over a month this winter but everyone in Northern Florida was sick.  It was the worst winter I've ever seen in Florida and then pollen season snuck up on us all and tried to do us in.  But other than that I really do live a healthy lifestyle.  I jog 2-3 miles at least 3-4 times a week.  I have a healthy diet, I don't have to do manual labor and I don't have a lot of stress. For a girl my size, I'm pretty strong.  I don't get worn out that easily.  What's funny is that it wasn't physical activity that exhausted me, a person did.  I let a negative energy in my life and it exhausted me and distracted me from the most important thing to me which is my health.  And being exhausted effed up my immunity.

 I wish I could go into more detail about those "incidents" I was bitching about a week and a half ago.  But there's so many little tedious details that happened over a long period of time and I didn't start this blog for that kind of gossip or to complain endlessly about my health. But I was really forced into reevaluating and then redefining all the relationships in my life.  And I have only myself to blame, I'm the one who who wasn't taking care of myself  so I hold no negative feelings against this person.  BUT When I found out I had cancer, I had surgery to cut it out.  We should all be able to do the same with all that other stuff.  When there's something negative in your life, CUT IT OUT.  Or you'll end up with infected tonsils like me.  Stuck inside on a beautiful day.  No jogging so you'll feel crappy about your body.  No salt, so all your food will taste like crap. Not talking and no yelling so you can't yell at your husband(oh actually I guess that's a good thing oooh but that's so hard) or talk to your sister.  Take my advice peeps.  If there's anything or anyone in your life causing you stress, wearing you out, sucking your energy--- you can't get rid of it fast enough my friends......

At least with the no talking means I'll have to blog more.

Dead things and Shark teeth *warning* this post is not for the faint of heart

This weekend was wonderful.....I spent most of it at the beach.  I encountered a few little dead friends.  Of course for the sake of this blog and for myself I took photos.








DEAD JELLYFISH.  I'm not exactly sure what species this is, I'll look it up later but since I seem to collect pictures of dead jellyfish I couldn't break with tradition.

I tried in vain to help this funny looking bug out but he must have had a lot of salt water in his little brain because he kept crawling towards the water and unfortunately died.  Rest in Peace little buddy.

I found this crab shell and thought the color and design was rather pretty.

It even matched my nail polish but that's not why I included my finger.  I wanted to remember how small it was so I could look it up in my field guide later.  I was too lazy to do it before writing this post so you'll have to just go on with your life not knowing.

This dead sea turtle just broke my heart.  The spray paint on it indicates that the Florida Fish and Wildlife had been alerted and that they "investigated".  They were probably alerted by the local sea turtle patrol, an organization I love with all my heart.  I adore sea turtles.  There's just something magical about them so seeing this dead one really bothered me.  I stood there for along time just hoping that this poor beautiful animal died of old age and not from eating plastic.

And last but not least I came upon this baby Hammerhead shark.  Well actually I made friends with some random dogs who found it.  What a beauty!  Mr.Pea was nice enough to pick it up and examine it for me so that I could take pictures.  

We made sure it was actually dead, mind you, before I started taking pictures.  Otherwise he would have put it back into the water.  I would never harass an animal for my own photographic library.  I don't believe in that.

But look how beautiful it was.  I wish it had grown into an adult shark and had a thousand babies.  I really do.

We couldn't figure out how it died.  It didn't have any marks of attack on it.  I think it ate something toxic.  LIKE PLASTIC OR TOXINS THAT PEOPLE POLLUTE THE OCEAN WITH BUT DON'T GET ME STARTED....
Hopefully this little shark became food for some other animal.  Oh shark, I'm sorry your life ended so soon.  Too soon for me to find all your missing teeth.  But.....

... of course no day at the beach is complete for me without at least a few shark teeth.

Now do ya'll understand that I am absolutely afraid of sharks?  I love them, but, I try not to venture into their home for longer than I have to.


*BTW I'm still tweaking things over here so bear with all my changes for a few more days until I can get everything the way I like it.