Thursday – A Little Personal – Lucy and Bailey Face the Elements

February 8, 2018February 7, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

“Hey, Boss.”

“Hi, Lucy. What’s up?”

“Um. Do we have to go for a walk today?”

“What’s the matter? We always go for a walk.”

“The wind chill is in the thirties.”

“Oh, come on you big sissy. You have fur after all.”

“Well ask Bailey. She’ll tell you.”

“Is that right Bailey?”

“Pops. it is a little cold out there.”

“Aw, come on you two. Let’s go.”

“This is not going to be fun, Boss. I’m just sayin’.”

“You have to buck up, Lucy. Look at Bailey.”

“Hey, Lucy. Do you see what I see?”

“My eyes are frozen shut. Tell me.”

“It’s a grader down the beach. Oh, Maddie’s papa is going to like this one.”

“Who wee. The wind is a little stiff, Lucy. Hang on to your ears.”

“I see you are right Bailey. Look the other way. There are front loaders too.”

“What are they doing?”

“They are grooming the beach. Taking sand and putting it back in the water.”

“What? I can’t hear you. This wind is crazy.”

“Look the other way. Just do it.”

“For heaven’s sake, Bailey. I’m freezing. We need to get going.”

“Okay, you lead I’ll follow.”

“Come on, Bailey. Run down here and take a look at that thing.”

“Okay, I see what you mean. That thing sure is noisy. Why does it beep like that when it backs up?

“That is so the slow-witted among us won’t get run over. It’s called a back-up signal. It only makes that noise when it backs up and it is the law.”

“You would have to be pretty dumb to stand behind that thing in the first place.”

“Human regulations for humans. Need I say more?”

“Well, this has been exciting, Lucy. I don’t know about you but that couch is calling my name.”

“I hear it too, Bailey. Let’s grab the humans and head back. I wonder if there is bacon today?”

“Naw you wouldn’t know these two are carnivores. Yogurt and apple for breakfast.”

“Yogurt is tasty.”

“Yeah with some turkey stirred in.”

“Never happen, Bailey.”

“I can dream. Let’s go.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Beach Time

January 25, 2018January 24, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 74 Comments

“Well, Lucy. We finally have some time for a good old walk without freezing to death.”

“I know. I’m just wondering about the sun though. There isn’t any.”

“I know, but think of it this way. No panting. Besides look up there. I see some sun.”

“I suppose you are right. We can’t have everything so we should be positive. Let’s go down by the water. Come on humans.”

“Look at that Lucy.”

“What is it?”

“Take a sniff. What does it smell like?”

“Oh, it has a briny, fishy smell.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I wonder?”

“Wonder what?”

“What it tastes like?”

“Muufff. Strong bouquet of fish. Definitely has mouthfeel issues along with a distinctive eel-like finish. Patoo. Not for me.”

“I’ll pass too. Look over there. Shells”

“Hey neat. Good source of calcium.”

“You two leave those shells alone.”

“Yes pops. What’s he doing, Lucy? I don’t want to look.”

“He’s fine.”

“Have I ever shown you my bird dog imitation, Bailey?”

“No. I think you might need to work on it though.”

“How about my tracking bloodhound impersonation?”

“The same advice you gave me.”

“Okay, so who’s the wiseacre dropping plastic shampoo bottles in the Gulf?”

“I would love to test my locking jaw on their leg if I knew.”

“What do you say, humans? You had enough?”

“Yeah, Boss. Look at the cart over way down there. I would hate to have to carry you.”

“I guess you ladies want to go back, huh?”

“Well, here we are, Bailey. I had fun. How about you?”

“Yes indeed. Thanks, parents for the walk.”

“Our pleasure, Ladies. I mean it happens every day but if you want to thank us that is very nice.”

“Hey, Lucy. I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“How come your leash is always loose.”

“Trustworthy, Bailey. Trustworthy.”

Tuesday – Anything possible

July 28, 2015July 21, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 35 Comments

I have often mentioned the fact that the city grooms the beach so that the poor tourists do not get stuck. Although to the casual observer this looks like a good idea there are other problems connected with grading the beach. Among those are the burying of trash and firewood, disturbing the eco-system and making the beach a passable road. (more cars ). Here are a few pictures.

This is the grader at work. Yes, it is a full-size piece of equipment.

This will give you an idea of how the beach looks after the monster passes a few times. He will work the sand to the water’s edge. Guess how hard it is to ride a bike on groomed sand.

Sunday – Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf

April 26, 2015April 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 15 Comments

It occurred to me that I have mislabeled this feature. Instead of fifty-two views of the Gulf it should be called one view of the Gulf fifty-two times. You’ll forgive me, right? I thought so.

The photo above is the fourth picture of the Gulf taken from the dune walkover. It is the fourth picture taken while it is raining. While it has not rained every day for the last month, it certainly has been when the photo time comes around. Compare this to last week’s photo and you can see the rain is not hard enough to keep folks from walking on the sand.

Sunday – Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf.

April 19, 2015April 18, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 17 Comments

Here is the number three view of the gulf. As you can see if you look at number two below very little has changed. We still have cloudy skies and rain. The lack of Footprints is a clue the rain washed them away. Saturday morning was a frog strangler with lightning and thunder to rattle grandma’s teeth. One loud clap of thunder and a lightning bolt brought all four animals into the bed. Each wanted to be closer to me than the next. Hopefully next week we will have beautiful blue and sunshine.

Thursday – A Little Personal

April 9, 2015April 7, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 30 Comments

Today I thought I would post a few pictures which I took on three bike rides. These are all beach scenes since that is the place I do my riding. I hope you like these.

The first is a picture of a group of pelicans who were headed away from where I was going. Notice the birds fly in a V formation like geese. This allows the lead bird to fall back and coast once he/she becomes tired.

Here is a rather far away shot of the Coast Guard helicopter that patrols the beach daily. They are on the look out for drug runners and a possible stray soviet submarine. *chuckle* Also you can see Sunday was a beautiful day. The rest of the photos are taken in cloudy conditions.

Early in the week I came across a lonely Portuguese Man o’ War washed up on the beach. When the surf is rough (as it has been for a few days) these guys have no propulsion system and are at the mercy of the current. They usually wash in from far out in the Gulf.

Monday morning saw this sculpture left behind by someone expressing his belief in the Resurrection. I believe the sign read “He has Risen originally and someone came along and changed it to “He Has Fred.” I hope Fred has an iron clad story. He may need it someday.

I can see the tragedy written all over this scene. “Help me make a sandcastle daddy.” “Sure honey. Here I’ll use this shovel to dig the foundation….Damn.”

This was taken yesterday and you can see the effects of the Gulf high surf. There are thousands of Portuguese Man o’ War and assorted pieces of wood and seaweed washed onto the beach.This is a continuous process and by next week things could change dramatically.

Man O’ War are not the only things washed up. I have yet to find treasure but now and then an interesting item will appear. This is some kind of cover which has the instructions, “close before starting engine” on the top. I wonder if someone started the engine with it open and this is all that is left of whatever it is with an engine. I guess we’ll never know.