A huge jelly fish washed up on the beach.
Seagulls on the beach.
More white sand, snow fence and beach grass.
Just another day in paradise!
Another huge, but dead, jelly fish, with my pedicureless foot for comparison.
Could be up north, but it's down south...........sand, not snow.
I heard a beautiful song as I was washing my hair this morning. It kept going, on and on, so I opened my door to hear better. The cardinal just looked at me and kept right on singing! I went outside to get a bottle of water out of the cooler, went back inside, got my camera, and he just sat there, singing away! What a special treat on this gray morning.
Yesterday afternoon we stopped at the fruit stand that advertised Plant City Strawberries. I bought a flat and took them home to make into freezer jam. I made seven jars of jam and sliced up five baggies and stuffed them in my teeny tiny freezer, which was almost empty because we're heading out on Monday and I'm clearing out stuff. Plant City Strawberries are the best, and I'm excited to have some to share at home.
Want some? Aren't they delicious looking?
Back home in Minnesota, this would be snow covering the walkway. Here the sand has drifted across in huge drifts. 
This guy was waiting on the dock to say goodbye to us.
This old dock was by the gas station where we stopped to fill up on our way back.
This is the home port for our pontoon. And another welcoming committee! We had returned safely from our trip. The guys were hungry from all the fresh air, so we headed off to the AYCE spaghetti dinner at the local cafe, called The Runway. A perfect ending to a perfect day.
There was even a welcoming committee as we arrived on Shell Island.
Another photo of fences and sand and beach weeds. I think I need to get a couple of those enlarged and framed for my bedroom. I have some watercolors I bought in Nova Scotia of Peggy's Cove, so these would fit right in. My bed quilt is a solid blue, like the sky, and I'm going to make a couple of blue and white patchwork pillows. And I have my jar of sea glass on a shelf, so I could fit these pictures into the theme very easily.
The six of us were the only people on this island which is very long and narrow. Our pontoon boat is on the other side of the island on the inland waterway. This is the gulf side.
The sky was incredible that day. I could have stayed for hours, but we had a deadline on the rented pontoon, so had to leave. But take my word for it, this was a beautiful spot!
And my favorite birds, the F22, known as the Rapture. They fly out over the gulf, making lots of noise, but each time I hear them and see them up against the lovely blue sky, I am thankful that they are ours and not some enemy on a bombing run. We are so blessed to have these men and women in blue protecting our country!
We were entertained by these dolphins, but the photographer didn't get good pictures. Those guys are quick and you never know where they'll surface. I should have videoed.
But they were fun to watch and we were happy that they chose to show us a few of their tricks.
I broke my favorite coffee cup. The wireless hasn't worked for two days. The sun isn't out. Yup, Life Is Crap!
Jammin' Jaden both took out the beach towels and stretched out for a sun bath. The two frisky babies, Chip and Bob-a-Lou found a couple of large shells and started playing in them. Venus on the Half Shell they're not!
The sun was so bright that I had a hard time taking many shots. With white sand, sparkling water, and bright sun, it did a good job of blinding me. I did spy a sea urchin just washed ashore
And this creature from outer space was laying in the sand, too.
Walking back to the truck we passed this huge flock? of ducks. (Help, what are a big group of ducks called? I know it's a gaggle of geese, a herd of cattle, a pride of lions, and a flock of birds, but ducks?) Anyhow, one guy was standing guard over the rest of them.
And I have this thing about white sand, snow fences, beach grass and shadows. And that is smoke far off on the horizon. I don't know what the fire was, but it could have been just a controlled burn. They do that often in the brush along the highways.
This is the boardwalk leading from the parking lot on base to the beach on the gulf. I think it's at least a quarter of a mile long, maybe more. I'm glad it's there. It crosses a swampy looking area where I can imagine alligators and rattlesnakes and who knows what else living there.
Yes, it was a beautiful day. We were with God in church this morning, and then on the beach with Him this afternoon. A beautiful day.
I also bought an open foot for my Janome machine. And then we went home.
1930's reproduction or vintage prints. I bought enough for a quilt. It makes me miss my mom and my grandmothers when I look at these fabrics. I know they had "house dresses" and aprons out of fabric like these. I can't wait to pick a pattern and start on this quilt. Now I'm ready to go home so I can start!
Then I looked down and found this lovely lichen and fungus and moss.
This red stuff is weird, but is some kind of fungus or lichen, I guess.
Then looking back up I saw this sweet dove. I love doves. I think they are so cool.
This growth must have impressed me.......it's posted twice! I deleted the html for the second picture but it wouldn't go away.
This guy would not come out in the open. Not when he was up in the tree, or when he was
down by the ground.
And this guy insisted on staying mostly out of sight, too.
A colorful and expensive shopping mall is located down in Panama City Beach, by the big hotels and the beach scene. We stopped there the other day, just to walk around and see what it's all about. And no, we did not have ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery.
Palm trees instead of snow banks line the streets!
It was noon, but this sidewalk cafe area was empty.
Love the color!
This is for Molly. Not especially beautiful, but, hey, it's color, it's flowers, and it's February!
I finished two more bags........this darker colored one and
