3rin's View…

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…

Hurricane Idalia swamped Gulfport just a few days before the tiny town’s annual Gecko Fest but that did not dampen their spirits. Wandering the streets, listening to live music, and watching people dance was a welcome reminder of resiliency.

Sadly, I’ll never get a chance to experience so many of the iconic things that symbolize Old Florida. They are long gone, having succumbed to “progress”. Cypress Gardens, Florida’s first theme park, is one of those.

The park opened in 1936 as a botanical garden but during WWII, water ski shows were added. Over the decades, as the park’s appeal grew numerous movies were filmed there. It became known as the Water Ski Capital of the World and it seemed poised for continued success.

But, the mouse is formidable. After Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the park struggled along but bankruptcy was inevitable. In 2010, the gardens were incorporated as part of Legoland Florida but the ski shows ended.

So, imagine my excitement when I learned that the water ski team continues to travel and compete under the Cypress Gardens name. The town of Winter Haven, in central Florida, set up a water ski course on Lake Silver and the team offers free shows every 3rd Saturday, March -October.

After a couple misses this summer, last weekend some friends and I finally made it over for the show. I was duly impressed. Not only with the music and theme but with the athletic ability of all the skiers (the youngest was 3 years old, while the eldest was in her 60s).

The coaches, boat captains, and ski team obviously put a tremendous amount of effort into their costumes, choreography, and skills. I definitely enjoyed the show!

Earlier in the week I learned that some friends would be paddling to Jack’s Island this morning. It’s near my house and since I had yet to visit, I was excited to join.

The juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on my neighbor’s dock was not thrilled with me when I dropped in the water a little after 8am. After paddling under Gulfport Boulevard, I entered Boca Ciega Bay to find it absolutely glassy. Such a quiet, calm morning!

I was the only person, but I wasn’t alone. I was joined by dolphins, manatees, pelicans, and terns as I kayaked past the little community of Gulfport.

When I made the turn into Clam Bayou, I was on schedule but the winding mangrove tunnels waylaid me. I wasn’t too worried about being lost since I could hear my friends. It gave them something to laugh about when I popped out of a thicket to join them.

We headed back past Gulfport to Jack’s Island. Yes, I could’ve just met them there but it would’ve been a short paddle and not nearly as much fun. The shallow, seagrass meadows that surround the island were teeming with bait fish. Easy to see why this special area has been protected as the Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve.

We spent some time relaxing and chatting before loading back into our vessels. I waved goodbye and headed north while the rest of the group headed east. I was home in 20 minutes, good thing too, since it was really starting to get hot. Such a wonderful way to spend the morning!

I discovered this adorable alligator at a thrift store a couple weeks ago. While I’m a huge fan of hand-crafted items, I’m not University of Florida fan (as a University of Arizona alum, I’ll always be a Wildcat).

But I figured with some minor repairs and a bit of paint, he’d turn out to be a pretty handsome addition to my yard. I’m pretty pleased with my $5 find!

This butt bin in downtown Raleigh cracked me up. I appreciate the intended message but they really needed a comma after Smokers. Without it, the implication is that the act of smoking reduces conflagrations.

Regardless, please dispose of your butts properly (or better yet, don’t smoke at all).