3rin's View…

Since I wasn’t able to get to the beach yesterday, this shot from Monday will have to do. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this view!

According to his family, one of Jimmy Buffett’s last wishes was that we keep the party going. This past Saturday, The Landsharks threw a free concert in downtown St. Pete in his honor.

The band had a special connection to Jimmy, he discovered them years ago in Key West and hired them to play at one of his properties.

It was a wonderful night full of music, dancing, and laughter – just exactly what Jimmy wanted.

I worked the grand opening of a new Sprouts last week. They had special demonstrations as part of the celebration, one of which was fruit carving. I expected radish flowers but her artistry with the melons was quite impressive!

I was supposed to mow yesterday morning but when I heard there were flamingos at Shell Key I grabbed my paddle instead. The only good to come from Hurricane Idalia has been the multiple sightings of flamingos around the state.

At the end of August, Hurricane Idalia brought at least 20 flamingos to Florida (and points further inland). According to ornithologists, the birds were en route from the Yucatan Peninsula to Cuba when they were caught in the strong winds.

As wild animals, the birds have been moving around the state looking for food. There are at least 10 that have been spotted in various locations around Pinellas County. Wisely, a handful have recently gathered at Shell Key, a nearby wildlife preserve.

The various sandbars and mangrove islands that make up the preserve are a popular kayaking destination which I’ve paddled to before. It’s a lovely trip, even without flamingos. Lucky for me, four of them were hanging about. I had a fantastic time watching them, it was a great way to spend a morning (far better than mowing).

Here’s hoping that the flamingos find suitable habitat and decide to stay!

While relocating the fire wood in my backyard yesterday I uncovered a stash of little, round eggs. While I’m by no means a herpetologist, based on the egg and clutch size as well as the way they were buried in the sand, my educated guess is that these were laid by a Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei).

There are certainly plenty of them dashing around my yard! Unfortunately, it’s an invasive species which is putting immense pressure on our native Green Anoles (Anolis carolinensis). Not much I can do about it, so I will just enjoy my hardworking team of insectivores.

I stopped by the beach for a stroll after work the other day. The sun and the clouds played peekaboo as dolphins cruised by. Yet another stunner for the books…

I’m not much of a professional sports fan (though my preferred football team is Green Bay – a habit I picked up when I worked in Wisconsin decades ago). But when the local football team is throwing a free concert on a nearby beach it’d be silly not to go.

Best part of the evening was running into May, a friend from Sarasota. Another fun, sandy night!

I checked out Fort de Soto Park last weekend to see the changes wrought by Hurricane Idalia. While strolling the beach I found this yard-long burrow. Looking closely at the lumpy end, I noticed something cream-colored buried in the sand.

Ever curious, I gently dug down and uncovered this lumpy mass. In an attempt to determine heads or tails I gave it a quick rinse in the waves. I snapped photos of both sides before tucking it back into its burrow and continuing on my way.

A few steps later, a gelatinous blob drifting in the water caught my eye. I’ve spotted blobs like this before but never was able to identify them. After going down the sand worm/sea slug/gastropod rabbit hole, all I can definitively tell you is that my mystery photos are different stages of one species’ lifecycle.

Annoyingly, I cannot tell you which species. The closest I can determine is Sand Slug (Philine aperta), a predatory sea slug which looks very similar. It also produces translucent egg masses that it attaches to the sea bottom with a mucous thread. However, that species is only known in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

So, I’m officially stumped…

After a couple construction and design setbacks, I finally finished setting up my hammock area. It’s been said that any project is easy with the right tools. Narrator: She did not have the right tools and the project was the opposite of easy. Thankfully, Westley, my project supervisor, approved of the final outcome.

The solar lights were a gift from my friend Hector, while the vines were “appropriated” from a nearby alley. They are climbing well and will soon provide much needed shade. Now I’m just waiting for the grass to grow…