Susan, my friend from Tucson, is in town for a quick visit this week. Since we’re both animal lovers we popped into the Dog Bar to cool off yesterday afternoon.

As you can see from the pup requesting a drink at the bar and the ones in the ice-filled pool it was a bit on the hot side. In other words, it was a perfect December day for me!

Since I already had blisters, sore knees, and an aching back I figured I might as well tackle another yard project. Today I set up the pad for a long anticipated hot tub. A good soak in hot, bubbling water would certainly come in handy tonight!

And yes, those of you with a discerning eye will notice the slight slope, that was intentional to direct water away from my house.

This. This is how much I despise mowing…I would rather spend the afternoon digging. The planting area is now ready, though I still have a lot of grass to deal with.

After living in my house for a little over two years, I realized that the southwest corner of my backyard could be put to much better use. My dad used to say that if you’re going plant something and care for it, it should give back to you.

Using his logic and the physical restraints of my space, I finally decided to plant a couple guava trees. Of the several varieties available, I settled on the Strawberry Guava (Psidium littoralei). It is a smaller tree that not only produces a delicious fruit but is generally carefree.

It will be a couple years before my first harvest but I’m looking forward to it!

Last night’s sunset entertainment was provided by this duo of feeding Brown Pelicans. The pair was working a large school of fish in the shallows along the jetty, so their flights were at a low angle. Regardless, their seemingly breakneck dives never cease to amaze me…

Playing around with the Slo-Mo feature at the beach last night when a pelican dropped in.

While sitting around my bonfire last night I decided to have some fun with the camera settings on my iPhone. I like the result of the Slo-Mo feature best (it takes a couple seconds for it to slow down for some reason).

We were waylaid by this scene on our way to watch the St. Pete Beach holiday boat parade. It warranted a brief stop so I could snap a couple photos. And yes, we still made it to the bridge in time to watch the decorated boats float by.

There are at least four more boat parades coming up in the next couple weeks, hopefully I’ll get a few shots of the festive vessels to share.

This is the weather forecast I woke up to this morning:

This is what I would’ve seen if I still lived in Lincoln City, Oregon:

I happily traded snow for sand a few years ago, it remains one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!

From the big events to the little moments, there’s just so much to be thankful for! ❤