...shadows, scenic sunday, AND our 'new' patio

I see a lot of this 'sport' lately. Well, since the waves and curls are not big here in the Gulf, this one makes more sense than trying to ride the surf like they do in Hawai'i. In fact I get a big 'kick outta' the energy the surfer dudes have down here. It's NOTHING compared to Hawai'i!! Okay...so, the 'new' sport I have witnessed on the water lately is called Paddle Surfing. Looks like fun [if you don't have a fear of water...lol]. What you have is your surf board, and an oar. Like the ones you use for kayaking/row boats....swim out far, get up on your board, and use the oar to ride the waves. Very seldom do the waves get huge around here. so it just seems like a 'brilliant' idea. Here are a couple of Scenic Sunday images...both have paddle surfers [dark figures in the distance -3 paddle surfers in the top photo] and one--who is dressed in a white shirt near the shoreline, is fishin' along with one paddle surfer off to the left ----




...and while walking the beach, I noticed ---trust me, 'gazillions' of what I call 'butterfly shells'. Bud calls them angel wings, I tend to stick with butterflies. They're actually called [from my 'Seashells of the World' book] -coquina shells. [to translate from Spanish...it, coquina, literally means: shellfish]

page 153..."Wedge Clams are small wedge shaped clams found in the sand of nearly every temperate and tropical beach. There are nearly 50 species, and are edible. The coquina are also known as the 'butterfly shell'. [See there, Bud! Told-ya so!!]

So, I'll share some that I photographed with their shadows, and one image shows you the relative size as I hold several in my hand...







Also, take note that in history, these shells were used for construction of a fort...an historical fort in Florida [still standing]...it withstood many attacks and strikes of cannon balls, etc. Built out of coquina shells!!! Read about it here: CASTILLO SAN MARCOS St. Augustine Florida





CONNECTING TO:






_ _ _


SUNDAY'S SUMMARY

After tearing a picnic table apart piece by piece and saving the good wood to recycle the use...and stacks of large stone...The week was mostly spent outdoors in our yard. After the curing and the refinishing the patio cement flooring, we commenced, making an 'outdoor' room. From stone and wood 'framing'. Friday, we completed the work, and called it done. Well, at least the construction part is finished. Most of the 'decor' is done also. From benches, to plants, to figurines, laying an edge of landscape timbers around the outside edges, [the taller lantern in the circular stone outcropping lights up at night]...etc. I still have plans of purchasing several tiny wind chimes [the real small ones that have just a hint of sound when the wind blows --I don't want anything over powering in sound] that I will place here and there. I also want to add some solar lighting soon. The project as a whole took us about 3 weeks.

Here is the before:




...after