Thursday, March 31, 2011

The "Torn-IDES" of March


Tornadoes. Ides of March. Get it? Maybe not so catchy, but I couldn't NOT try it. Yes, our first TORNADO warning. And it's March. We've been here less than two months. As Amy would say, "Really??" And the weather says, "Yep." --NOTE-- To those who'd like to click on the photos, or the word photo in the text, there is no further link. The pics are mine, (as you all probably know) and if you like one I'll gladly send you a bigger file version to check out, or even to keep as a desktop on your laptops. But there are no hidden depths in this blog. -- -- Several claps of thunder and a lot lighter rain than I would have guessed. And the rain comes and goes - unlike California, where it can rain for two or three days straight. Sure, rain pooled up on the streets, and everything drips for a while afterward, so you're not "safe" to go out and walk the dogs without getting wet, no matter how you time it. But not to be confused with the term, "torrential." Yesterday evening - during the warning -I walked Grover on the beach. He proudly explored a sand castle someone left, and made a move to claim it as his own.


Walking along the beach - yes, get used to that phrase!! - a number of creatures at high were driven to shore, probably helped by the currents of the storm. Several tiny and small crabs, several medium and one very large jellyfish. The two large crabs. Either different species, or male/female specimens. Amy thinks the one with a single large blue claw is a stone crab. I don't know "diddly" about crab species, but it was very photogenic. The beach at high tide is much more narrow than at low tide - by a factor of three or four times the space. But with practically nobody there, it was plenty large for us, (and three surfers in wetsuits, two dogwalkers and a couple walking.) Looking along the grey water under the grey sky, towards the grey horizon created an interesting composition. Blurred and distinctionless shapes, a bit like some of my blurry low-light photographs. Very unlike the long sweeping landscapes of northern California and the West in general. The not-so-good aspect of walking along the beach is that every day turns into a trash pickup exercise. Not that I'd rather let it sit out there. But it's a shame that that much is constantly out there, waiting to jump into the intestines of birds and other aquatic life that knows no better than to ingest brightly colored items. Sigh. More tornado alert - but it's just a"watch" until mid-day today. Cheers.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Beach Cruiser no. 1

One of has a beach cruiser. I ordered one for Amy weeks ago, but hers is still not here. (See the cool website at http://www.affordabike.com/.) While waiting, I followed an ad in the local paper and got a Huffy. Yup. Single speed, two-tone brown, with basket up front and a rack in back. Impatience got the better of me. Plus, it was less than seventy dollars.
So what else could I do but take it to the beach and get sand all in the chain? I rode up to the county line and the surf area -- Jacksonville Beach/AtlanticBeach Pier. Hundreds of people on the beach that day.
This is a slow weekend. No bike ride for me; pinched a back muscle. We keep looking out the door for the UPS truck, but I suppose it'll get here while Amy's at work... another day, a weekday. An non-climactic day.
We had visitors last weekend - the Hooleys and their mobile home. They were able to park it a while, and we went out to brunch. A good Mexican place w ith cool t-shirts and even better food. Afterward we walked on the beach. Yep, we live in a beach town, so that's what we do a lot of. And a vast shell collection is growing. With Chris and Helen we lolled atthe eater's edge and talked some philosophy, some food and some "other." Chris found a perfectly flattened scallop shell -- a variety I haven't yet seen. Helen's thinking of certification in an herbal/nutrition program. Though, like all Hooleys, she may know more than those who offer to be "authorities" at school.
A few days later I got do my wrastling with the pick-up service. Not only do they pick up trash two times a week, they also come by a THIRD day to pick up anything oversized. Cardboard, brooms, electrical cord, computers, even appliances. Or that's the theory. For some reason, they don't like to pick up our neatly stacked moving boxes, left out the night before, in plenty of time, and in the correct location relative to the street. So I call in each week and inform the city our stuff is still on the lawn. Every Wednesday, like clockwork.
Until next Wednesday...(!)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Fixing Up and Settling In

Kind of. We're trying. Amy's still fighting off a persistent cold/flu/virus thing. The dogs are getting used to the lack of an open vista to patrol (except when Grover is at the beach, which appears to be a necessity for him to keep his mind.) And I'm going to give up the ice cream and pick up the riding. Soon. After the house gets its second coat of paint. Yep, I'm painting the whole inside, and the color is light, so it'll need a second coat. PHOTO So things are a bit, ahem, in progress.

The beach walks with Grover aren't so bad, really. But it's generally cold and windy -- surprise! Think Stinson Beach, people, (people who know.) But the after-five crowd at the beach is dog people, and I've met a few. Grover's sniffed them. The shells are still amazing - quantity and quality. I hope the diversity is not seasonal. I'd like Lana to go shell-hunting in the summer. We'll get a collection going.

Grendel, the small dog, is an accomplished coach potato all of a sudden. His recent leg surgery, combined with his age and the stress or relocation have probably made him into the expert he is. And what a bed-head he is when he wakes up! PHOTO If only the cable TV remote were smaller...

Going to the grocery is also a little different for us. As acknowledged Trader Joe's addicts, we are agape at some of the food items not here. On the bright side, though, that opens the door for items that are new for us... and let us align more with the local color. Last night, for example, I cooked eggs and grits with mustard greens. For dinner. And it was good. Now we have 'his' and 'hers' bags of grits! PHOTO

The bicycling is interesting. As with anywhere, the new routes and clubs can demand some adjustments. Here, the rides seem to be Saturday and Tuesday mornings, the latter with a smaller, slower group (18-21 mph) which is very convenient since it gathers two block from the house! This week we rode the coast highway all the way into St. Augustine. When we turned around to comeback, though, the wind was right in our faces for the entire 27-28 miles. It was blowing at about 16-17 mph, with stronger gusts. What a relentless push that was...

Along the highway, that coastal huighway, the side offers a nice bike route. But occasionally the side is obstructed by roadwork, or contractors' trucks. Getting around those obstacles is tricky, and perilous. This Tuesday I had some bad rapport with cars. I was honked at, flipped off, and yelled at by a landscaper towing mowers and such. He stopped his rig in the middle of the highway, leaned out the window and yelled, "You're a bleeping idiot!" Oh, the comeback lines that almost came out of my mouth. But this is gun country, so I just shut up and smiled and kept riding. Away from the idiot driving the truck.

That's why Amy splurged on our license plate. PHOTO

Next: A weekend visit from the Hooleys!