WAS THAT SUMMER IN NOVEMBER?

Can you list the 6 states on the drive back from Florida? All on familiar Interstate 75 as the weather morphed from sunny to cloudy to cold to snow when we crossed the border. After those 1400 miles the driver got over-confident and tried going up the hill. Dumb. The poor car and the passenger spent the night off-kilter, worrying about how to get up or down without a skilift...

Luckily the next few days warmed up and the rain melted the snow and the car got safely horizontal. The mobs of turkeys reminded me to wish our American family, friends, and followers a belated Happy U.S. Thanksgiving.

Or is it an early Christmas? B-I-L Walt surprised me with a new Mustang! Well, it's a perfect rendition of the speedometer area of a (red) 1965. The speed is a thermometer, the oil pressure is a hygrometer, and the gas gauge is a clock. On the hour, a sound effect plays of a 289 V8 starting up and revving. This is an excellent excuse--- now I can go out and get the rest of the car.  (Pat says --- "Again?") And this year the Christmas tree will be played by apple trees dressed up with red or yellow ornaments. If the leaves fall off, why doesn't the fruit?

But the major oddity of the week was the hordes of birds flitting and feeding. Woodpeckers crawled upside down like building inspectors --- both looking for bugs. Cardinals posed 2-by-2 like waiting to board Noah's Ark.  Strangest of all was the arrival of a bird we have never seen here. The bright colours make it easy to spot in the bare trees, but it isn't spooked by people or other birds. It has been sitting in the feeder all week, eating more than its body weight every day.

All our research points to it being a Summer Tanager --- anyone got a better idea? It's far from its usual habitat, glowing and intriguing. But any kind of Summer is welcome around here!

CASTLES IN THE SAND, AND GOING NORTH TO OUR OWN

The week started off hot, humid, and sunny which was the whole idea of being here but there was record warmth and sunny days back home too. Go figure. Morning beach hikes always scatter the shore birds. Sunset walks always include regal pelicans photobombing the view as they go fishbombing for dinner.

Revisiting nearby St. Petersburg reveals the iconic 1970's pier has been demolished and a dazzling replacement scheduled for 2018! The Dali Museum is fun even on the outside; we could reflect on the master's works. Can you see the dragon in the bushes? Personally inscribed admission tags wrapped around a ficus tree express dreams and desires and a return to Dali's melting bench...

The main local event this week was the 7th annual World Masters Sand Sculpting Championships --- "Sanding Ovations"!! It seems the 100 vendor tents are just another place to eat and shop too much. But the artists from 7 countries (2 of them from Canada!) are professionals on the circuit, vying for big ca$h prizes. The 3 days before the judging were spent in the setup, framing, and concept; the competitors create whatever their mood dictates each time. Intricate, detailed, unique.

It seemed like one row was traditional figures such as boy and dog, the sea god Neptune, and a giant face. But the other row was topical (girl in Muslim niqab), whimsical (mosquito bites man's pride), and universal (eternal love). We added our votes to the Peoples' Choice selection --- which do you think won the $12,000?

Bottle nose dolphins patrol the shores daily. They've become our Spirit Animal, bringing the luck and guidance of the ancestors. They're a common theme, being seen on everything from football teams to bar signs to  Dali's deli. We'll need all that luck and guidance because we drive off tomorrow before dawn, heading north and into some iffy weather. Follow that fin!

COAST TO COAST, FOR PETE'S SAKE!

For Part 2 of this short trip we drove across the state, from Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico --- in about 4 hours. Sunrise in Daytona Beach, sunset same day in a place called Sunset Beach but really a part of St. PETE's Beach. The condo doesn't look like much from the outside but it's a good-sized one-bedroom with all mod cons and parking at the door. Across the street is miles of sandy shore and out back is a tidal inlet of the intracoastal waterway.

The neighbourhood has one narrow main road and no thru-traffic. So it's quiet, friendly and reminiscent of the tropic-laidback-funky vibe of Toronto Islands or old Key West. Green parrots, darting lizards, kazillions of shells, washed-up junk --- and washed-out people?

Lots of fishing going on but with different levels of luck. Guys use hand-nets as well as old school rod+reel. Flocks of shore birds seem pretty well-fed from the sea. Larger birds pole-sit and rely on scraps thrown their way. Dolphins coast by, gorging on fish they easily outswim ---- but as graceful as a DWTS Viennese Waltz...

But Best Fishers hands down (beaks down??) are the herons. No fancy gear --- just scoop, spear, or steal!