Crab Cakes for breakfast

I get the ‘family discount’ at the marina now, so I’ve been taking home a few of Billy’s frozen crab cakes on the weekend for breakfast after our morning walk on the beach.  Could there be a better way to start the day?

The marina at Fort Morgan (now called the Gulf Shores Yacht Club and Marina) http://www.gulfshoresyachtclubandmarina.com/index.htm   has a freezer stocked with flash-frozen seafood from ‘Billy’s Seafood’ at Bon Secour just up the road (motto:  “If it swims, we’ve got it”)    http://www.billys-seafood.com/.

The boys and I have always gone out County Road 10 to the picturesque fish market for fresh shrimp and flounder when we vacationed here, but a bag of jumbo shrimp or scallops (the size of biscuits) conveniently available in a freezer 2 miles up the road is soooooooo tempting.

And fishing at the marina has certainly been exciting since the opening of Snapper season.  Honestly, it’s like Disney World for adults – everyone is happy to be here and the entertainment is absolutely world-class. Even I have several bags of snapper frozen in ice for the next lucky visitors to Thérapie in Fort Morgan!

The new marina is a far cry from the old dock where we chartered with Captain Ron’s twin brother 15 years ago. When my Mother flew into Pensacola to vacation with us after my Daddy died, she decided to treat the boys with a ‘deep sea’ fishing trip.  Our captain arrived 30 minutes late and obviously hung-over. The boys, having seen the movie, were delighted, but my poor mother was white-knuckled for the entire outing.

We never saw a fish, but my boys considered the trip a bigger success than the charter out of Orange Beach where they caught (and had to eat  in omlets, casseroles, salads, etc.) a zillion mackerel.

The new marina is efficient, professional, organized, and friendly.  I’m sure they have bad days, but I haven’t seen one in 4 weeks.  Last night the waiting line at the cleaning table was 45 minutes…. and no one was complaining.

Doctor Sam

My son, the doctor!

Although I dreaded the long trip, I have anticipated this journey for 7 years. After all the hard work and the unexpected detours, my youngest son is graduating from the University of Kentucky’s prestigious College of Pharmacy with his Doctorate. Next year he will be a Resident at St. Claire Hospital in Morehead (and spend his weekends on the lake at Cave Run).

So… I hit the road to Kentucky with the dog in the passenger seat and the poor cat in a crate and Willa Cather on the stereo.

Thank heavens!

Tom in limo

The weather was seasonally horrible in Kentucky, but Buck & Lane had anticipated this and reserved  a limo for the festivities!  We bypassed the parking and tornado problems and arrived at UK safe and, on time. The ceremony was absolutely awesome and Tom, Melinda, Buck & Lane and I had red hands from the applause and achy knees from the standing ovations.

Congratulations!

We were delighted when Sam and Erin accompanied us to dinner afterwards.

Erin and her family held a celebratory picnic Saturday

The picnic

at her home and I had the opportunity to meet her wonderful parents and brothers, Sam’s classmates, and some of his long-suffering teachers.

Beer pong?

And it was a real treat to see some of the old buddies from high school and learn  about their families and their successes.

Old friends

And the next day was, happily, Mother’s Day so I had a triple dose of family on my trip to Kentucky, plus lunch in Lexington one day, and Thursday Girls in Paris.

Poor, tired Erin!

My lovely grandchildren

After the parties

The trip was too short, but I loaded up and headed south Saturday with a smile on my face… secure in the knowledge that I will get the “good” drugs when I am in the nursing home!

Guilt Trip

Thelma & Louise tour LA (Lower Alabama)

With a detour through Jackson, Mississippi  (for the Raoul Dufy exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art – not exactly on the way from Kentucky to Alabama) Melinda braved the storms and cell phone problems and arrived for her FIRST visit to Fort Morgan in the wee hours of the morning.  Most of my buddies have been here at least once so Melinda claimed peer pressure and guilt were her motivations for renting a car and making the trek down here alone!

When the sun came up that morning we discovered her rental car was, TA DA, a convertible! The perfect car for the perfect weather. 

Thelma & Louise???

We had a week of walking on the beach, shopping, shelling, and rum drinks. We made a list of all the places she’d heard about over the years, and crossed them off as we sipped Bushwackers at the FloraBama (twice), selected fish at Billy’s, found the perfect mirror at Connie’s and hats & scarves at the Waterfront Rescue,  munched lunch at Lulu’s, met friends for drinks at The Happy Hooker,

Sunset at The Happy Hooker

closed down the Liz Claiborne outlet, and found gifts to take home at Al’s and Souvenir City. 

And we were styling in that sleek black Sebring Convertible!

One afternoon we donned our Thelma & Louise shades and headgear, and loaded Sophie in the backseat with her ‘doggles’, and motored to the legendary Pines for boiled peanuts, beer, and hardware.  We were quite the  sensation.

I think our Derby celebration was my most memorable since the year Betsy helped the waitress at Big O’s make Mint Juleps with dried mint flakes from Brunos (not a memorable recipe).

Derby menu

We were crabbing in the bay with Horton & Sharon until post time, then we zipped back to their beach house just in time to pour the Bourbon.

While we watched the coverage, wearing our hats decorated with sea horses and shells, Chef Horton boiled our catch in a turkey fryer (!! Who knew??)  We didn’t pick the winner, but loved the fairy tale ending and toasted to long-shots.

Then we were escorted to the deck with trays of crabs, rolls of paper towels, and butter and we were instructed by experts on the ‘right way’ to eat a crab. They were absolutely right! Too much fun and too much fabulous food.

That evening she unveiled her creative contribution to my little Thérapie beach house. 

I have many precious gifts contributed by my many wonderful guests and it makes me smile when I dust to remember the visits and those thoughtful mementos. I have Betsy’s Craftsman furniture, Sam & Erin’s Margarita bar, Laura’s pottery, Danny’s bamboo curtain rods, Allison’s frame, Ted’s garden, Claudia’s frog, Charmaine’s beads, Terry’s kitchen faucet… and now Melinda’s mirror.

After relentless shopping, she finally found the perfect vintage mirror, coated it in our white sugar sand and then collected, arranged and glued the shells to create a masterpiece for the blue bedroom. 

Melinda's Mirror

The collage includes Blue’s molted claw, driftwood collected in the fall, barnacles found five years ago, seaweed from the recent storm, and my favorite weathered shells.  It is a treasure!

But the visit was over too soon and on Sunday she was headed back for another tour of the exhibit in Mississippi and then home to Kentucky with her colorful hermit crabs.

It is my hope she found LA as enchanting as I do and will be back very, very, very soon for another week of Thérapie.

Thursday Girls at the Beach?

Computer update

My Dell Computer is on its third week in the shop and it looks like the data and photos can’t be recovered…

BUT I have many new photos still on my camera of Doctor Sam and the UK graduation and the marina to bring this blog up to speed when the programs are reloaded and I can download again.

Sadly, I think the figure from Gordon Bradt’s sculpture was stolen when the high school grads invaded Surfside. I do not understand why sane parents would rent  beach houses for gangs of 18 year olds.  It was a rough weekend for this subdivision.

Growing pains

My poor Stone Crab has been raised on shrimp and flounder (poor guy) since he was rescued from the drying driftwood last fall. But last week the storms dislodged some barnacles and he had fresh shellfish for the very first time!   I found a little clan of shells on the tip of a bamboo stalk and he attacked it like a kid with cotton candy when I dipped it in the aquarium.

Barnacles on a stick

 

The tank was littered with little shells within minutes and he crawled under the giant cockerel shell for a siesta.

Yummy!

But two days later he had completely removed every pebble from his corner of the little tank. No mean feat when each little rock has to be transported individually to the other side of the aquarium!

And he started to molt, again.

The next morning I was confused when I looked at the tank, he seemed to be sitting on top of his driftwood – normally he hides for a few days after molting. 

Then I discovered he had carefully taken his discarded shell and arranged it on the top of his driftwood!!!!  What????

I left it just as he arranged it, but the next morning it was dismembered and scattered throughout the tank. What?????

Ouch

I doubt anyone has made a study of crab behavior that would explain this bizarre action.

But then I doubt there are many people with a little crab in a tank next to the computer  observing the daily comings and goings of an adolescent Stone Crab….

Absolutely bizarre – maybe I should write a children’s book about my little under-water spider….. “Charlotte’s Shell”

But who would believe it??

My decorator crab

Earth Day in Paradise!

I captured some images this week illustrating how we celebrate Earth Day every day in Fort Morgan…

Windy day for a walk

A little help in the garden

Water lillies after the drought

Luna rescued from the gale

Marsh hawk?

Prickley pear in bloom

Lizard love

What are you looking at?

 And our sunsets are magnificent…

Happy Easter!

Gardening on the Gulf Coast is challenging. The forecasters are always wrong about the rain (we’re still suffering from a 4-year drought), the soil is sand, the bugs are bad, the wind is fierce, and the rabbits are fearless.

I have two confused Roma tomato plants swinging from the railing in my new Topsy Turvy planters, a slew of herbs on the deck, a few plants in an old wheelbarrow, and a small raised garden at the foot of the steps.

Yesterday, as I walked with Sophie back from the beach, I saw a large bunny eyeing the wheelbarrow and I started shouting threats from the driveway.

She watched us for a moment as we approached, then made two short hops over to the steps and nipped off the top 8 inches of the clematis.

ACK!

(I have nursed that little plant since I bought it on sale in December, covering it for every freeze advisory.  I wanted a flowering vine across from the jasmine Melinda brought from New Orleans. )

She hopped calmly into the scrub oak with my flower hanging from her mouth like a trophy cigar.

I immediately sprinkled more cayenne pepper on the poor stump and on every other plant that looked to be in harm’s way.

But when I went out to inspect my garden this morning, I decided it was probably wasted energy.  These are LA bunnies and they probably like their salad spicy, so the pepper just will be appreciated.

But who knows….. maybe it was the Easter Bunny! 

Mullet Toss

Mullet drying on the line

Gyotaku, the Japanese style of fish printing, is the perfect art form for an old biology teacher.

I made my first print 25 years ago after reading an article about preserving your child’s first catch in ink. I think that old print on construction paper is still hanging in Tom’s room.

Many years later I was invited to join my friends on the ‘ Escape Artists’ weekend at Lee’s Ford Marina on Lake Cumberland. They are artists, I am not….

Lees Ford prints

I was invited because we once owned a little houseboat at Lee’s Ford and they thought I could captain the pontoon while they sketched and painted. But I had to register as an artist of some description, so I revived my old talent and actually produced some credible prints.

Since that time I will occasionally drag out the paints and pins when I am inspired by a fishing trip at LeBus pond or a really sturdy cardboard box (essential for fish printing because they need to be discarded after a couple days. CPAP boxes from ResMed are especially inspirational!)

I had a couple boxes, but no fish. I have asked at the markets, but whole fish of printable size are difficult to find.

So I settled on a couple mullet (sold frozen to use as cut bait) and had a little fun this weekend.  The only mullet I’ve had personal experience with were being tossed at the Flora -Bama across the state line! So…

I think flounder would make wonderful subjects so I’m on the lookout for surf fishermen over spring break!

bass printed in 2007

bluegill printed in 2007

closeup of bass print

Update

In response to the questions…. yes, I have printed fish on tee shirts.

So, if you win the Mullet Toss in your division and want a trophy shirt, I can do that. Please be sure to refridgerate the fish as soon as possible, or you will have a VERY fragrant shirt!

Storm damage

Alberta's iconic butterflies

There was little storm damage to the homes in Surfside. A strip of roofing on one house, a screen door on another, and one of Alberta’s butterflies was unhinged.  But we noticed very little damage from the high winds on our first walk in three days… until we reached the beach.

I’d seen the story in the Mobile Press-Register about the beach invasion but didn’t realize it affected Fort Morgan. 

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/03/millions_of_bythewind_sailors.html

 http://www.al.com/press-register/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/123814536599410.xml&coll=3

But, when we reached Beach Shore Drive we found it covered in sand and littered with Portuguese man-o-war, not a good sign. We walked down to the beach beside the Governor’s House and I could see that water and debris was under some of the homes, and tidal pools made walking on the beach dangerous. I’ve stepped in quicksand after a storm once, and that was enough for my lifetime. (Mr. Bradt’s sculpture was intact and spinning lazily in the breeze)

As we made our way back to the safety of the road I could see that the debris high on the beach and under the homes was irridescent and quivering.  And, honestly, it smelled.

Surfside debris - just nasty

My photo, Saturday, was a dried up version of the photo posted by Ryan&nbsp Dezember on the Press-Register site Thursday.

photo posted by Ryan Dezember on Mobile Press-Register

But the storms raised the water level in the lagoons and prompted an immediate turtle migration. 

As we were walking back to the house we came upon a turtle parade, three of Alberta’s pets were moving to the pond west of the Surfside lagoon.                                                                               

Parade of turtles after storm

And some of them were migrating north to my lagoon.

cutting through the front yard

 One  liked the bottle tree and one was craving veggies (and I had blamed the rabbits for that damage)

I absolutely, positively have to do a water change in the aquarium today, poor Blue has just molted and is in hiding.

out of reach?

I may need a ‘restorative cocktail’  before I wade into the surf with my bucket…

A timely correction

A Gordon Bradt original?

I have been told, by a reliable source, that the sculpture on the beach in Surfside I described as ‘whimsical’ is most likely a kinetic sculpture by Gordon Bradt of Kinetico Studios! 

A Kinetico clock

Judging by the footprints in the sand, it has been quite popular with our Spring Breakers this week.

 

The top spins one way (armed with copper post caps) and the bottom turns in the opposite direction, always at about the same speed regardless of the wind. It is intriguing and, I still maintain, whimsical!

How fabulous to have an artist-in-residence (occasionally) who would take the time to create a public sculpture designed to make us stop for a moment and smile!

I encourage you to visit his website and watch the video of his extraordinary clocks.

http://www.gordonbradt.com/