Anyone know what kind of bird this is? Looks like some kind of heron to me. (click the images to enlarge them)

Leave a comment if you know! I’m curious!

I had to turn around and head back the other direction. You can see just barely see Portofino in the distance:

I’m not sure if this is re-opened now or not… please comment if you know otherwise!

This is a perfect example of the sea oats doing their job. You can see where the surf ate away at the dune until it reached the sea oats:

See these blocks of wood in the sand? There used to be 4 foot high fences on those. The sea oats certainly outperformed the sand fences.

Other than the beach erosion, Pensacola Beach held up fine. I didn’t see any damage on my walk this morning. Fort Pickens Road is washed over, and still closed, but that’s about it!

Down at the pier, the local photographers and Weather Channel reporters congregate… I saw Jim Cantore, Stephanie Abrams:

but my favorite sighting was David from Beach Bum Photography.  He and his wife took our wedding photos!

The island authority has been busy removing anything that hangs, swings, or could blow away. I took this from my iPhone this morning while driving. They are taking down the road signs:

Here’s what the radar looks like as of 11am:

Stay tuned for updates. I’m riding the storm out on the island, so I’ll be updating as long as I have power!

Fun times!

We found all kinds of shells and creatures. Look at this little guy:

We had a few jelly stings, even though we didn’t see any actual jellyfish. Their tentacles can still float around and cause a bit of pain, but sometimes I don’t even notice it until I’m out of the water. Here’s a tip for the jellyfish stings: If you feel a sting, don’t rub it or rinse it with fresh water. These actions will only make the sting worse by activating more nematocysts (poison filled sacs) on the tentacle. I simply try to ignore it and the pain usually stops within 10 minutes or so, but if you feel the need to take action, try using meat tenderizer on the affected area. I’ve personally never done this, but I suppose if I ever get a bad sting I would give it a try. Of course, if you’re feeling severe pain, light hotheadedness, chest pain, or shortness of breath, get yourself to the hospital!

This surfboard was a gift from my parents. I love it! No matter where we end up in life, we’ll always have this to remember Pensacola Beach.

Let’s get all of the rain out of the way this week! Folks start arriving on Monday for our wedding next week! 8 days!

I was working on some photos this morning and I felt like I was being watched. I turned in my chair and sure enough, this little guy was peeking through the tree at me! I was quick, and snapped the picture above from my computer chair. After he figured out that I spotted him, he lost interest:

He’s just the friendly neighborhood cat. Not sure what his name is… I love it when he visits me, and this encounter had me laughing all morning!

Bye for now, island cat!

They eat insects, so I don’t mind them at all. The color of their skin can change from green to brown depending on their mood, or their surrounding colors, but they usually stay green when the temperature is above 70 degrees.

You can tell the males from the females by a white stripe down their back. The females have one, the males do not. It is a little hard to see in the first two photos, but you can see it on the tail here:

Sorry these pictures aren’t “tack sharp”, but I’m still getting used to my new 50mm lens! I went a little overboard with the aperture. I guess you don’t learn if you don’t make mistakes!