One evening during March as I was walking along St. Pete Beach I discovered hundreds of these live lettered olive shells by the water’s edge. They are one of the most beautiful shells to be found on Florida beaches because of their intricate patterns and because they have the most brilliant shine you can imagine.
They are often overlooked because they move very slowly and spend much of their time half buried in the wet sand. I pointed them out to several families playing on the beach and they were amazed that they had not notice these beautiful shells.
If you want to take one home, please wait until you find one that is not alive. Better to leave the live ones to grow and reproduce. It isn’t hard to find olive shells that are no longer living.
[Photo taken on North Beach at Fort Desoto Park, right on Bunces Pass]
I love this photo because of the way the Skyway bridge asserts itself so significantly. This beautiful bridge is a link between Pinellas County and Manatee County. It is the only practical route for me to take when driving back to my hometown of Bradenton to visit my parents, or to enjoy my favorite beaches in Florida on Anna Maria Island. My dad actually worked on the construction of the original Skyway Bridge span (not this current, new bridge). I drove this bridge twice each day from 1997 to 2002, when I lived in Bradenton and worked in downtown St. Pete. Many people are afraid to drive on the bridge, but I found it to be a beautiful and mind-clearing experience.
The above photo was taken on a weekend morning in early summer on North Beach, in Fort Desoto County Park. This beach was chosen by Dr. Stephen Leatherman (Dr. Beach) as the number one beach in the nation for 2005. It is a great beach. The sand is pure white quartz crystals, like sugar; the water is shallow and calm; there are usually lifeguards on duty; and the beach is unspoiled by homes or buildings (just the concession building). I generally prefer coming during the week when there are fewer people. Come here early morning on a weekday and this is a very, very quiet place. Take a walk up to Bunces Pass and enjoy the view of undeveloped Shell Key. It is also a superb place to enjoy a quiet sunset. And this park has some pretty big raccoons. If you are here at dusk you will see them scavenging the picnic area and the beach.
Saturday, June 21st, 2008, a dedicated and concerned group of members from the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation assembled quietly at Upham Beach under the watchful eye of nearby condominium owners and a single police officer who appeared briefly, to protest the beach erosion control tactics of Pinellas County. [Mike and Jessica pictured above]
The Suncoast Surfrider Foundation’s Mike Meehan informally led the group out onto the beach to demonstrate disapproval of the methods being used by Pinellas County to control erosion on Upham Beach. Unsightly enormous yellow sandbags have been positioned on this public beach in an attempt to mitigate the severe erosion problem caused by the jetties constructed at Blind Pass, to the north, and by the construction of several large condominiums irresponsibly close to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Surfrider Foundation and its supporters say that it makes more sense to continue with beach renourishment every 4 years or so, as has been done since the 1970’s, rather than ruin the safety and aesthetics of the beach with these unsightly experimental sandbags called Geotubes.
[Above: Demonstraters in front of the offending Geotubes]
I would imagine that the condominium owners, for whose private benefit this erosion control project was undertaken, did not welcome this outward display of disapproval. Some of them perhaps take it as a personal attack. It is not meant as such. I am sure all of the folks who live in the condos are very nice people who are rightfully and understandably concerned about their property.
The fault lies with the developers of the condominiums and whatever governmental body approved the construction of the condos and the alterations to Blind Pass. Unfortunately, when you buy into a condo, you are not only buying the view, you are buying the problems that come with living just a few feet from the Gulf on a beach known as having the worst erosion problem on the west coast of Florida. Since the beach is public property, the public has a right to influence taxpayer funded projects on the beach.
[Above: Sailboat and crew make a statement in the Free Upham demonstration]
[Above: Demonstrators in front of the GeoTubes under threat of rain and lightning ]
Helpful links if you want to know more about what’s going on at Upham and why you should care:
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Memorial Day Weekend I found myself in Daytona Beach shooting a video with the Open Florida video crew. Amon Focus was behind the camcorder. Here we are riding the sky lift over the Main Street Pier. The Hilton Daytona is in the background. Amon takes his cameras fearlessly to all corners of Florida to get the perfect shot. And he puts together some serious video. He can even make me look like I know what I’m doing in front of a video camera.
Here I managed to cover up my fear of being 50 feet in the air in a rattletrap sky lift, dangling from a steel cable that’s exposed to pure salt air 24/7/365, even with a camcorder inches from my face recording every drop of sweat cascading from my brow.
Of course, Amon has his own website where he displays some of his most excellent creative work–lots of great videos–some serious, and some…well…not so serious. My personal favorite: Amon Focus, The Mr. Focus Golf Tutorial Check it out for a few laughs.
If you like creative stuff, you’ll appreciate Amon’s Blog, at http://af27.com, where he shares his work and things he finds interesting. If you like creative rich media, you’ll like Amon’s blog.
