Raptor: genus falco

 

It's a good thing this guy is too small to pose a threat to our 2 or 3 backyard hobo cats. Rena caught him sitting on the back fence looking for a meal. I don't think that there are too many mice around our yard. I'm willing to bet that Willow caught and ate any she could find. It was quite a disgusting display to watch her eat. I never did see her eat a mouse, but I watched her catch and eat quite a few lizards. It was also quite primal and made me feel inadequate in a way. She would carefully stalk them and then when the time was right, *WHAM*, she would strike! Occasionally she would miss on the first pounce but she never gave up. She would quickly pounce again and come up with a lizard hanging out of her mouth. She still comes around once in a while, but I think she prefers hunting to eating the dry food we put out there.

Jezebel

 

The Oar House is located at the southern point of Pace Road/Blvd on Bayou Chico in Pensacola. Apparantly they have their own mascot. She can be found on the front of the menu and even has her own statue. I'm pretty sure her name is Jezebel, but I had 3 beers in me, so I can't be certain.
They have a great atmosphere, great food and really good prices. I heard they had a fire recently, but since I had never been there, I couldn't tell you what it looked like before. The seating area is a great big wooden deck (most of it covered.) They also had pretty big Tiki bar that I'm sure we'll revisit at another time.

Pelican #21? Mermaids in Paradise

 

 

We went to the airport today to see one miltons expatriots head for home. While there, we found another pelican. Actually, we found it before we found the one at the Oarhouse and before we decided to find and photograph them all. If I'd known we were going to try and find them all when I took these pictures I probably would have tried to get a better angle and I probably would have temporarily moved those stupid seatbelt things that they use to form lanes for lines and whatnot... Hmm, I wonder if I need permission from TSA to move them. This is not a political blog and I won't use it for personal rants (hopefully), so I'll only ask the question and not give my opinion.
I also would have taken a picture of its descriptive plaque. If I remember to take my camera I'll take another couple of photographs next time I'm at the airport.

Another blog entry tommorrow. can you guess what it is? hint: I've mentioned the Oarhouse in my last 2 posts.

Pelican #32: Blues Pelican

 
 

There are 41 reinforced fiberglass statues of pelicans scattered around downtown pensacola. It seems odd, but the Pensacola News Journal organized the whole thing in 2004. You can read all about it here: http://www.pensapedia.com/wiki/Pelicans_in_Paradise
I didn't know that there were that many of these things. I have seen a few of them, but never really thought about trying to find them all. Rena and I found this one at The Oarhouse restaurant. we were talking about it tonight, and we've decided to try and find them all in 2009. I'll post a picture of every one we find here along with its current location.

Sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. I promise to be more diligent about it. If you are a regular reader, 1st: I admit I am shocked. 2nd: If you notice that I am slacking off, please shoot me an email, IM or a post here.

Cheers everybody!

Under Repair

 

They are finally moving forward with plans to rebuild the fishing pier. yay! supposedly its going to be higher and longer which is why it took so long to get the project moving. I'm a terrible fisherman (I always get skunked), but I plan to go, throw my line in the water and drink ice cold beer once it is rebuilt.

As usual, click the image for a bigger version.


From Wear 3 (http://www.weartv.com): (03-Dec-08)
Since Hurricane Ivan destroyed it in 2004...Officials have been trying to rebuild the Navarre Beach Pier.
Now..the project is moving forward.
Yesterday, Santa Rosa County Commissioners received a "Permit To Construct" from the Corp Of Engineers.
They plan to take the project to bid in January and award it in March.
Construction plans include demolishing the old pier and building a new one.


From Wear 3 TV (http://www.weartv.com): (28-Aug-07)

FEMA has agreed to help pay to replace the Navarre Pier destroyed during hurricane Ivan.
The estimated cost of construction is about 4 point 5 million dollars, with FEMA footing 90 percent of the bill, and another 5 percent each, from the county and the state.
FEMA has agreed to replace the 12 hundred foot pier, but many fishermen say they'd like to see another 3 hundred feet added.
Any extra length on the pier would have to be funded separately.
The construction would take about a year, with work starting in July of 2008.

Sandia Peak Tramway

 

Here's another one from the archives that I thought I'd share. This is the Sandia Peak Tramway. I can't remember if it's going up or coming down though. I took this when we were in Albuquerque in January. It was either cold or I was feeling cheap that day since we didn't go to the top. We actually got married just a few steps from where I took this picture.

The following blurb has been copied from http://www.sandiapeak.com/
"A trip on the world’s longest aerial tramway transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain a distance of 2.7 miles. See some of nature’s more dramatic beauty unfold before you. At sunset the desert skies produce a spectacular array of color, and your vantage point from the observation deck atop 10,378 foot Sandia Peak in the Cibola National Forest affords an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley and the Land of Enchantment. Located on the eastern edge of Albuquerque in the Sandia Foothills at the end of Tramway Road."

Oregon

 

 

test

These are a bit old, but I've been slacking on taking new photos and I didn't want to let the whole week go by without posting something. I took these when we visited Rena's dad the summer before last. Both shots are from Silver Falls National Park. It's a beautiful place! http://www.oregon.com/hiking/silver_falls.cfm

Caribbean Santa

 

It's Christmas in the Caribbean
Snowbirds fill the air
It's Christmas in the Caribbean
Lots of presents everywhere
We don't live in a hurry
Send away for mistletoe
It's christmas in the Caribbean
Got everything but snow

-Jimmy Buffett.

Triples

Today, a displaced friend posted some pictures of snow on her blog. It's very sad.
Here's 3 palms lining the sound. I was about to get in the car and the urge struck me to capture them. Anyway, I though I would share them with yall.
cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

??? what happened to the first photo??? WTF??

I took these this morning after we picked up some muffins and sticky buns from Sailor's Grill and Bakery to take to our Thanksgiving in Milton. Some of you probably had snow and/or frigid temperatures today, but I think we made it to the 70's.

I think was standing in the same spot for both pictures. The first one shows 1. How calm the sound was today and 2. How short the "Navarre Causeway" bridge actually is.
The second one is a great shot of the volleyball courts and Juana's Pagoda. On most summer days, the courts are alive with action and there are several small rental sailboats and waverunners/jetskis parked along the beach. If you look closely, you'll notice Rena is practicing her text messaging skills.

I just realized I forgot to sign these. Please don't steal them and pass them off as your own.
Special thanks to all of our military, law enforcement, fire fighters and other first responders for everything you do. Thanks to all the people who have embraced me as family and made a simple dork who grew up in the desert feel like I've lived here all my life.

One Tree, No decorations

After literally weeks of threatening to put the tree up, it is done. We do, however, have some self control. If you look closely, you will notice that there are no ornaments on the tree and that there are no other christmas decorations out yet. The exterior of the house isn't lit yet either. Those things wont happen until after Thanksgiving.
There is also one underfed orange kitten carefully hidden in this photo. Can you find it?

Merry Christmas everyone. Now, go get your shopping done.

mini lighthouse

This small lighthouse marks the entry to the marina at the Beau Rivage hotel and casino in biloxi, mississippi. Sorry, I got caught up at the tables and forgot to take a picture of it at night.

greekfest

"Give me a word, any word, and I show you that the root of that word is Greek. " Gus Portokalos, My BIG FAT Greek Wedding, 2002.

This weekend, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in pensacola hosted their annual greek festival. It's held on their church grounds. There you can find greek food, dancing and fun. This year the spanakopita was divine. If you didn't try a piece, you missed out on something great. the green beans were also really tasty as usual. We missed out on dolmathes since they were gone by the time we got there, but everything else was outstanding. Thanks for the food and fun.

desolation

Where is everyone?
Above is the Bob Sikes Bridge (from Gulf Breeze to Pensacola Beach.) Below is a view of pensacola beach from the 10th floor of the Emerald Isle. Last time we were at Emerald Isle, it was the for Blue Angels home show at the beach.. Coincidentally, The Blue Angels were flying their final show of the year down at NAS pensacola. It definitely feels like fall.

local heroes

Today was a 'hero' workout day. So I'd like to take a moment to thank our all of local heroes. Thanks to all the firemen, police officers, sheriff's deputies and all military personnel stationed here in NW FL.

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day!
Yesterday was the Marine Corps Birthday too... Semper Fi brothers.

For those of you who haven't seen it, this is the tomb of the unknown soldier. I took it when I was in DC in early October. Sorry for the quality, I wasn't expecting to have time to go see anything so I only had my camera phone.

the painted flyer

Is it the "crook eye?", "the evil eye?" or "the stink eye?"
Hopefully none of the above. She probably just thought I was pretty too.

red brick road

Here's another example of the solace that can be found almost anywhere on the gulf coast. Behind me, Seville Square is bustling with people attending the pensacola arts festival, but the path to the old cigar brewery was quiet and serene.

a gulf coast meal

I have been traveling too much lately. Being away from Navarre made me really miss the simpler things in life. Here's a shot of a basket of fried oysters, onion rings, coleslaw and a cold Yeungling from 'TC's front porch' before I devoured it. It's good to be back in town.

remain calm

This pretty much sums up how I am feeling today.

stumping

We went and voted yesterday. This morning someone "stumping" for one of the candidates wanted to bother me with propaganda while I washed the car. I had almost forgotten about it until I came across this picture while looking for something to post.

bored?

Sometimes I just sit around and zone out too.

This magnificent creature lives at the Northwest Florida Zoo. I think he's taking a few minutes to relax and enjoy a quiet moment while his new youngster plays with mom. He's probably thinking about how he can cast his vote on tuesday. They'd probably let him vote early if he asked.

sea shells by the sea shore

I wasn't able to capture the light correctly with my camera, but the way these shells reflected the sun was absolutely magnificent. Even though they are just shell fragments, the sunlight reflected off each one in a slightly different color and together they looked like a bed of gemstones. Even broken shells cam truly be treasure here :)