FEELING ALMOST LIKE A HOOMAN AGAIN

My Harley Stud and I decided that instead of doing something productive like working around the house today, we would take a ride on the bike and get some fresh air. Sometimes you’ve got to just ignore all that needs to be done and get away for a few hours or else you just might drop your basket. So off we went on his little two wheeled fun-mobile.

We stopped and bought a couple of subs and some water (Did I mention that Dr. Black Cloud said no more Diet Coke for MHS? EEK. The poor man is having withdrawals.) and rode to this park where we sat in the shade and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view. There were a bunch of pelicans begging for scraps, fish guts or anything else they could get. Little boys fishing, big boys fishing, lovers on benches and lots of boats in the water were all there for our amusement.

If you look carefully, you can see the lighthouse in the distance. I always feel more at ease when I can see the lighthouse. Like an old man at sea, it guides me home. It is my beacon of hope, a reminder of light and love and all things good. It nourishes my soul.

The weekend is almost over. I plan to relax for all that is left of it. Reruns for dinner combined with a fresh salad, a loaf of bread and some wine. MHS is mowing the yard, which is usually my chore. I’m in the middle of a book that I can’t seem to put down.

God’s in His heaven and all’s right with the world. Even if it’s just for tonight.

Hugs,

Smart Mouth Broad

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Daddy likes to tell a story about taking me fishing when I was about 3 years old.

Clever man that he is, he devised a plan where he could look after me while Mommy was at work and still knock out a few hours at one of his favorite past-times, fishing. Off we went to the dam (That’s dam, not damn. I’m not cursing again. Geesh) with tackle box and poles in tow.

Once Daddy found the perfect spot for us to fish, he set me up with a pole of my own. It was a cane pole with no line and no hook. Just a pole. Daddy busied himself with casting his line into the water while I sat contentedly with my pole. I was three. I didn’t know any better. I was fishing.

After awhile a man approached and set up his fishing gear near our spot. I was sitting between Daddy and this new arrival. He sat down and cast his line into the water. Every once in awhile he would look over at me and smile.

Fishing can be a little boring and eventually the man struck up a conversation with me. Daddy taught me that a good fisher(wo)man is quiet but I couldn’t resist the temptation to make a new friend. We chatted a bit and then he said, “You know you’re never going to catch any fish like that. You don’t even have a line in the water.”

After careful consideration of his observation, I replied, “I’m catching as many as you are.”

…….and so it was, a Smart Mouth Broad was born.

Hugs,

Smart Mouth Broad

LIFE'S A BEACH

Can you think of a better way to start a Saturday morning?

Before we went to bed on Friday night My Harley Stud suggested we go for a bagel in the morning as the cupboard was bare. We had no milk, no bread and no eggs. I said we should take a walk on the beach and then go for a bagel. I mean if you're going to consume all those carbs, you should get a little exercise first, right? Can you see the Juno pier in the distance? (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) We walked almost that far. That's like a hundred miles when you factor in the sand. It's a LOT harder to walk in the sand. I'm sure that was worth a bagel.It was a beautiful morning. There were a lot of boats out. If you click to enlarge the photo, you might be able to see the boats way out there on the horizon in the gulfstream. It's a great place for fishing and diving.


And what is this?

I really don't have any idea what type of shell these are or what animal they house but they were growing right on this piece of driftwood.

Isn't this a lovely blue balloon? No. Stay away from this fella. This is a man-o-war. Those lovely blue slimy things are the tentacles and they will sting you. Contrary to what we learned on "Friends" when Monica was stung, do not urinate on the affected area. Thank you, God. Ideas on treatment vary but the best thing to do is seek medical attention.

There are not a lot of shells on our beaches. MHS and I were surprised to come upon this section of the beach that was just covered in sea shells.

And looky here. Isn't he cute? A baby man-o-war. Same rule applies. Stay away.

There were a lot of dogs on the beach. These two were so cute. They had just made friends. The smaller, brown one is a boxer. I was very curious about the large white dog and had to ask the owner, "What is it?" She told me it's a Golden Doodle. A cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle. I've never seen a Golden or a Poodle this big. He wasn't in any mood to stand still for pics but is really the sweetest thing and has no idea just how big he is.
Maybe next time, we'll bring Mayzie.

This is an interesting way to fish. The poles are set in PVC pipe stuck in the sand. I thought maybe the poles were just resting there but the lines are going out into the water.

I was curious so of course I had to ask. "What are you fishing for?" This very nice man (A Seminole, by the way) explained to me that they were fishing for Pompano. The real season isn't until April but if you get them at high tide (which it was), you can catch some now. I caught this picture on our way back from our walk down the beach. They still weren't catching anything but they were enjoying themselves anyway. I had to snap my camera on the sly so he wouldn't think I was stalking him.

Notice how MHS doesn't want to be associated with the weird stalker lady who keeps taking pictures of complete strangers.

ESCAPE

There's too much to do at the MHS/SMB household these days. It seems like all we do is work, work, work. By Saturday afternoon, both My Harley Stud and I were feeling like "who did it and ran". We needed an escape. Fortunately for us, we have a motorcycle in the garage and a beach close by. It only took me a few minutes to get ready to ride when he suggested that we "get outtahere" for awhile. MHS knows where to go to calm my nerves, unruffle my feathers and soothe my soul: The Beach. More specifically to the inlet.

The inlet calls to me. The lighthouse beckons. I love to watch the boats come in and go out. It makes my day to walk along the fisherman on the jetty and peer into their buckets to see their daily catch. It gives me great joy to walk along the sea wall and look down into the crevices between the huge rocks to search for crabs that live there. The birds are flying overhead and diving into the water to show off their superior fishing skills. There are kids with boogie boards and old men chatting on park benches. It's a people watching feast. It's clear that I'm not the only one to which the inlet calls. Young and old, sportsman and photographers, tourists and locals, we all love the inlet.

It's easy to get caught up in the tasks of day to day life and forget to take time to smell the roses or the sea salt as the case may be. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we live in a sub-tropical paradise.

There were no crabs to be found that day. Darn!

I did find one Mountain Dew bottle but I didn't take a picture.

Littering makes me mad.

I like it when the fisherman are bold enough to climb out onto the rocks. Then I don't have to worry about getting tangled in their lines on my crab hunt along the sea wall.

I guess it wasn't a very good day for fishing because not one bucket had something fun to see.

Look at this handsome devil trying to pick up chicks.

Isn't it lovely?

Where do you go to get away from it all?