Is It An Earthquake?!

Is It An Earthquake?

So I was sitting here this afternoon, working, when I felt the ground shake. Remembering the recent quake that shook my cousins up in Georgia, I wondered if we were having another!

But then it kept happening. My cats were also freaking out, and it sounded like heavy equipment. And it sounded nearby! Walking into the den, I noticed a huge yellow machine over the back hedges, and it looked for all the world like it was taking down the house behind me! Sure enough, when I walked around the block to find a group of my neighbors watching, this was the view of the nice one-story brick house with the barrel-tile roof that used to stand there. There was a sign on the front of the lot saying something about a custom home going up on the lot. My neighbors across the street checked Sunday's paper and found that it had recently sold for a lot more than my property is valued by the tax assessor...I guess my assessment will be going up this year!

That house was solidly built, had survived many hurricanes and near-misses with them, and was always kept up nicely by the older couple who lived there. I remember them as being older from the time we'd moved into this house when I was 8, and their grandson was actually one of my classmates in school. It's a shame to see it go, but I guess everybody wants only the new these days. Here's hoping that the replacement is an attractive addition to the neighborhood!

Beautiful Sunday Morning!

Sunday Sunrise in Neptune Beach

Harriet captured this beautiful pre-sunrise pic just as her phone was dying! The weather's supposed to be gorgeous today, warm (but not too warm) and sunny. Great day for a little pre-St. Paddy's Day celebrating!

Sunrise, March 15

Sunrise in Neptune Beach

I haven't posted to this blog in ages. That's mainly because I have little time to actually get down to the beach lately, since all I seem do is work.

Luckily, I have a friend - who also happens to be our mayor - and she goes down onto the beach every morning to photograph the ocean at sunrise. She posts her wonderful photos to Facebook, and has given me permission to use them here on this blog. So when I get time, I'll be posting Harriet's beautiful sunrise photos on this blog.

Doesn't solve my original purpose of encouraging me to get down onto the beach and walk daily, but at least people who may want to follow this blog will have something beautiful to look at each day! Today's a gorgeous, sunny, early spring day here in Neptune Beach. It's the Ides of March. And this is how it began. Enjoy!

A Taste of Fall

Although the cool weather of fall is still a couple of months away here in northeast Florida, a mild cold front moved through over the weekend that dropped our temperatures down into the 80s for a few days, and chased away the daily storms we'd had recently.

A couple of passing hurricanes off the coast had brought the rain. Along with them came rougher surf and bigger waves that thrilled the local surfers, but few others braved the ocean with its increased risk of rip currents.

But today, all that was past. While the ocean was still a little choppy and there was a brisk breeze from the north, flocks of sandpipers skittered across the sand and windsurfers skimmed across the water. There were a few other walkers and one surf fisherman. Not much litter other than one plastic bag mostly embedded in the sand at the edge of the surf.

It was high tide when I walked today so the sand was softer, and you could see a more angular drop-off to the beach from the erosion caused by the storms. Few shells were in the edge of the surf, and only a few a little higher up into the softer dunes that don't get washed by the waves. That nice breeze was to my back as I turned around to return home, and its little push was a welcome help for this middle-aged and out-of-shape walker!

I'm enjoying this weather for the next few days, because by the weekend the daily thunderstorms and temperatures back in the 90s are expected to return.

Surf's Up!

Hurricane Irene is scheduled to pass by our area tomorrow, but we aren't supposed to get much wind or rain from it. The surfers, however, have been enjoying the bigger waves. Reports are that the form is sloppy, but the size of the waves is drawing out all the surfers in this usually-flat area.

Parade Day!

It was the annual "Opening of the Beaches" parade today here. The weather couldn't have been better, with a slight cool-down from our recent spring heat wave bringing temps into the high 70s. The theme for this year's parade was "Rock Star", and for the second time in my life, I was involved in making a float for it.

I'd spent the last two weeks building two large cats to go on the back of the float for Friends of Jacksonville Animals (FOJA). They're a group that helps find homes for animals at the county's animal shelter. As are most government-run shelters, it's a kill shelter, so if they get too crowded, more animals have to be euthanized to make room for the steady intake. The founders of FOJA saw the euthanasia rate and decided something must be done to lower it. FOJA helps by fostering animals with colds or heartworms, giving them time away from the shelter to recuperate. FOJA volunteers also spend time at the shelter taking dogs outside for walks, or cats into the play rooms for a little stimulation and human interaction. It keeps them better socialized for potential adopters and helps their mental health by giving them some time out of the cages. They also have a "Down to Zero" campaign to get euthanasias at the county shelter completely eliminated.

So why did FOJA have a float in the parade? They've recently formed a beaches chapter, to help animals from the beaches, and to find more beaches-area homes for shelter animals. We wanted to draw attention to the cause and make people aware of the shelter animals available for adoption. Most of the folks involved with the beaches chapter are dog-centric; I'm the one who's constantly saying, "What about the cats?" Six fostered dogs rode on the float with their handlers, but you can't have live cats on a parade float. Not much about a terrified cat huddling in a carrier would say, "Adopt me!" So I volunteered to make two large cat cut-outs to be mounted onto the back of the float.

I say "cut-outs" because that was honestly how they originally popped into my imagination. But as the project developed, soon they were full-fledged cats, with fabric coats, 3-D noses, arms, legs, and tails. I also made a sign for them to hold that said, "MEOW if you kitties!" The backdrop of the float for the dogs was a panel painted to look like a stage, with spotlights above. So the cats would look like they were backstage, saying, "Don't forget about us!" It turned out even better than I'd envisioned...see what you think! The video below shows the end result.

At Long Last, and a Last Launch

Finally getting a walk in today after what seems like forever! Temps in the low 70s and a gorgeous, sunny day are too much temptation. Work, schmerk, I need a nice walk. Got the "Happy Songs" playlist going on the iPod, my visor and sunscreen on, and here I go.

Lots of other folks seem to have the same idea. Why are so many people off work on a Thursday afternoon? Some are tanning, while others are playing with their dogs, walking, biking, playing with their kids, or running. Pretty much the gamut. The water is fairly calm, but with a few waves. Warm air from over the land is hitting the colder air over the water and making a haze that obscures the distance where the shore curves out toward the jetties. A couple of surfers in wetsuits pass me to catch a few waves.

My prodigal nature at Pilates starts to become evident as a dull ache starts to creep into my left tailbone area. I try to tighten my lower abs and glutes to support it, but that doesn't help much. It'll be accompanying me for the rest of my walk.

At my turning-around point, I take a look up to the corner and see that the traffic light is green. After stretching out my lower back a little, I turn and head back toward home. Reaching the boardwalk over the dunes at my street, I pause to stretch out a little more, the pain in my you-know-what finally subsiding a little. Got to get back to my Pilates.

I feel better after returning to the house and showering; a nice beach walk was just what I needed! Space Shuttle Discovery has just launched for the final time, and I step outside to see if I can catch a glimpse of it. Usually, I can see it over my neighbor's trees. But that haze that made the shoreline invisible earlier on the beach has also obscured the fire under the rocket and its vapor trail today. Looks like I'll have to watch history on TV.