Siesta Key

cool solar ring

We love the east coast of Florida--the ocean breezes, tempestuous surf, worm reefs, and snorkeling and diving--but the west coast of Florida is amazing for wildlife, at least it was in April when we spent a week on Siesta Key off of Sarasota.

We didn't take nearly enough photos. I wish I had a video of the crazy sea hares that were everywhere in the bay. Dozens! I was trying to steer the boat around them. I was so afraid I'd hit one.

One day sea urchins started washing up on the beach. Why? I probably shouldn't have messed with Mother Nature, but I started throwing them all back into deep water. They'll die without water.

a fever of manta rays off of Anna Maria Island

SCUBA

Food like art

churrasco at Cabana el Rey in Delray Beach, Florida

The Everglades 2014

River of Grass

baby anhingas

no-good, lazy gators!

endangered wood storks, roseate spoonbills

baby blue herons waiting for breakfast to be delivered

my first good look at a manatee

beware the gator!

I can see all the way down to the tail!

Smokin'!

Here's Marcus with his new toy--a smoker! He's had fun playing with it and figuring out how best to smoke meat, fish, and turkey. Delicious results!

I'm still here!

Even though I haven't been posting frequently, I'm still here and enjoying life in Florida immensely--especially this past gorgeous winter. The weather was beautiful, which you may think is always the case in Florida in winter, but we do get cold weather now and then. There were a few days I could wear sweaters and boots, and--believe me--I took full advantage! But overall it was sunny and a delightful 70-something degrees during the day. We slept with windows open a good deal of the time, and sat outside in the evenings. We only used the fire pit once, and the outdoor sun deck in the evenings twice. Otherwise it was too warm for either.

I've been writing my book, Scotland at the Speed of Life: making ourselves at home on the road, since we got back from the UK in November. I finished it, for the most part, the first week of February. Then I spent the next two months editing with the help of my fabulous editor, Katie. It's now in production, and should be released as an ebook in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on my website, www.spinningcompass.net for updates about the release.

In between bouts of writing, I managed to escape to the Everglades for what I hope will be an annual trip. And we spent a week on Siesta Key, off the west coast of Florida near Sarasota. I'll post some photos soon.

We also had some very welcome visitors from up north, out west, and even central Florida this winter. Lots of fun!

Right now we're enjoying some extraordinary, low-humidity weather. We have the windows open in mid-May!!!

Bald eagle!

We were driving to the grocery store (on our adopted road, of all places) when we saw a woman pulled off the road and taking a photo of something high up in a tree. (I call it a tree loosely. The wetlands around here have these fantastic old trees that are actually dead. No leaves or needles, no bark or branches even. Like nature’s utility poles, just waiting for the next hurricane to take them out. They make great nesting places for birds of prey, however.) Marcus glanced up and saw it, and immediately pulled off the road himself. “An eagle,” he shouted. “A real bald eagle.”

We got out of our car, pulled out our phones, and started snapping away. Cars, on what we consider to be a not-too-widely-traveled stretch of road, starting pulling off left and right, everyone jumping out of their cars with cell phones in hand. The eagle calmly turned his head from left to right, surveying the crazy people below him. 

I don’t know which excited me more: seeing a bald eagle in the wild or seeing all the people who were excited about seeing a bald eagle in the wild.