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Erin

Coddiwompling through life, guided by my love of nature and insatiable curiosity.

Found It!

Pepper Shaker, My Yard

Even though I’m still not feeling great I took advantage of the cooler weather this morning to get some yard work done. Hey, when it’s cloudy and under 90 degrees in the summer in Florida one would be foolish not to (I’m sick, not stupid).

As I was mowing I came across this pepper shaker (talk about a random thing to find). This is how my mind works: salt shakers are typically accompanied by pepper shakers. Since Jimmy Buffett wrote Margaritaville down in Key West, it stands to reason that the salt he sings about must be somewhere in this state.

So, Jimmy, if you ever find your ‘lost shaker of salt’ and need its dark and spicy companion, give me a call.

(P.S. If none of that makes any sense to you, I blame my fever.)

Sweltering

By Brian Bilston

Not sure where Brian was when he wrote this poem but it certainly seems to fit my weather. I’m really not complaining, I knew what I was getting into when I moved to Florida.

Truthfully, summers here aren’t much different from the ones I grew up with in Tucson. The monsoon season out there (where tropical storms blow up from Mexico) correlates with hurricane season here. Though we share the high humidity at least we don’t get into the triple digits. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

~ Oh the irony. I scheduled this post a few days ago when it was in the mid-90s, incredibly humid, and the sun was on full blast but today we won’t even break 90, it’s cloudy, and relatively mild. Still a cute poem though. πŸ€·β€β™€οΈπŸ˜‚

Wise Words

I was lucky and won one of the raffles at the house concert I attended a couple weeks ago. The best part? My prize was Monallo’s brand new CD, “Reflection”. (The other prize was a bottle of rum from a local distillery, which would have been wasted on me.)

The album has been in heavy rotation on my playlist and his style reminds me of one of my favorites, Jack Johnson. (As it probably should since he had help from one of Jack’s producers).

The title song is my current favorite, just listen to those lyrics…

Colorful Shows

Independence Day celebrations near me started with fireworks shows over the weekend. Much like they do with their lighted holiday boat parades, the nearby communities stagger their events.

St. Pete did theirs on Saturday, St.Pete Beach’s was last night, Madeira Beach is tonight, and Treasure Island will go off tomorrow evening. Which means I get multiple opportunities to enjoy the pretty lights.

Though to be honest, I think our sunsets can be just as showy and they happen way more often!

Hat Trick

Cesar Domico (with apologies for my poor photo)

Wednesday night the library near me hosted an adults only comedy and magic show featuring Cesar Domico. Since it was too hot for most outdoor activities I decided to pop in and I was not disappointed!

Cesar was not only funny but obviously quite skilled at his craft. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of his shows in the future. Many thanks to the St. Pete Beach Library for scheduling the entertainment!

Added bonus, I left with an armful of books that’d been on my reading list. Aren’t libraries amazing?

Be sure to watch all three videos…

Hat Trick pt. 1
Hat Trick pt. 2
Hat Trick pt. 3

Lucky Find

I spotted this Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata) while waiting for my car to be serviced this week. This moth is the largest noctuoid in the states. The term comes from Latin and translates as night owl which seems fitting.

While I was impressed by the roughly five inch wingspan, I wish it had been a female because they are twice as large. Now that would’ve been amazing!

I was happy to see this handsome specimen until I learned that in some parts of the world they are considered omens of death or misfortune. What a cheery thought, I think I’ll just ignore that part.

Speaking of…

This popped up in my Facebook feed, just a few days after I posted my recent bittern experience. Further proof that technology is spying on us all! Though trust me, most of us are way too boring for any agency to really care.

Kudos to the bird nerd that created this absolutely impossible β€œI’m not a robot” checkbox (also known as a CAPTCHA)! πŸ˜‚

By the way did you know it was an acronym? Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.

Evening Music

Saturday’s fun didn’t end with my morning of kayaking. After washing the salt off me I took an afternoon siesta, resting up for the evening ahead.

What better way to wrap up a beautiful summer day than with a backyard concert? The Habitat was featuring Jonas Lorence (who I first encountered at Parrothead events in Texas) and a relative newcomer to the Trop Rock scene, Monallo.

Heather and Ken started hosting concerts years ago, making improvements every off season. I have no idea what they’ll work on next because their backyard oasis is pretty darn near perfect. I especially love all the lights and quirky artwork.

Oh, and based on the back of Ken’s t-shirt, it appears he and I are kindred spirits! πŸ™„πŸ˜‚

Jonas Lorence
Monallo