Party Food

I had a great time at the holiday party I went to last night.  The people were friendly and the conversation was lively.  What did we talk about?  The topics included the arms plant in Ramsey County, buckthorn, reptiles, bears taking purple pillows from campsites, politics, mushrooms, the North Star train, parks, city councils, Boy Scout Eagle projects, sporination, dragonflies, the Cuban missile crisis, LBJ, JFK, atomic bomb drills where we crouched under our desks at school, astronomy, Nikita Kruschev's offspring living in Coon Rapids,  and following the rules.  The food was awesome.  Our hosts served chipotle style.  They served lettuce, lime rice, corn, sauteed peppers, spicy chicken, black beans, pinto beans, beef, sour cream, guacamole and cheese.  Some of those items were brought by guests but most were supplied by the hosts.  It was delicious.  I tried two desserts.  In my life long quest to achieve a healthy body mass index, I am pretty picky on my desserts.  I'm not going to waste my calorie intake on a oreo cookie or a brownie made out of a box mix.  After listening to a partial list of the ingredients I chose to try the macadamia fudge torte.  I didn't know I was supposed to put caramel sauce on top.  I suppose that would make it even better.  I knew it was a Pillsbury bake-off prize winner.  Oh, heaven on earth, it was sooooo good.  You can find the recipe here:  http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/macadamia-fudge-torte/ccde1f39-f228-412b-a4ca-67ab206949fd/

I definitely will make this recipe.  I also tried a brownie that the baker said included an ingredient grown in his garden.  He meant jalapenos.  I took one bite.  Hello!  How strange to have chocolate and spicy jalapeno in the same bite.  The second bite was also "Hello!"  The third bite was not as spicy.  He added the jalapenos after they were dried and ground.  I liked the taste.  Good company, delicious food,  I had a great time at the party.

Biome Cookies

While making cookies for the annual north metro Master Naturalist party tonight I decided to make cut out cookies.  Unable to find my usual star, Santa, candy cane and other traditional shapes I was left with what I could find. What I could find was cutters in the shapes of a turkey, the state of Florida, and the state of Minnesota.  I didn't make any Florida cookies but I did make Minnesota cookies and turkey cookies.  When I went to frost the sugar cookies a big glob of green frosting fell across the cookie from the southeast to the northwest.  I was about to spread it out when I realized I was looking at the big woods, big river biome.  Biomes, in case you don't know are ecological areas distinct from each other.  Minnesota has four biomes but are generally combined into three - the big woods/big rivers, the prairie and potholes (to the west and south), and the north woods/great lakes (to the north and east) biomes.  With my frosting dribble I had accidentally created one of the most common Master Naturalist icons.  When I finished my class on the big woods, big river biome my pin was gold with a green stripe on it just like this frosting on the cookie.  Dribbling a glob of frosting diagonally across the cookie is easier than spreading it and is more iconic anyway so "win/win" for me.  Nerdy and delicious, I'm bringing biome cookies to the party tonight.

Chickens Are Ready For The Winter

Meredith's profile showing through the lighted doorway.

That is Meredith's head looking out on the right side and the south end of a buff Orpington headed north on the left.

After spending Thanksgiving Day roaming the woods and generally avoiding the company using the yard, the chickens gathered outside their coop on Thursday at night fall.  Because snow was falling, they were anxious to get inside their house.  The Buff Orpingtons had never seen snow before.  Meredith has been through four winters but who knows how far back she remembers?  On Saturday I wanted to move the coop to the winter location next to the garage door.  But first I had to get the chickens out of there.  With an inch of snow on the ground they did not want to leave.  They don't want to put their dainty feet in the cold white stuff.  I had to manually remove all six chickens and put them on the wood pile or the small section of patio that did not have any snow.   Meredith does not mind being picked up but the buff Orpington's really dislike being handled.  The chickens watched as I cleaned out the coop, put in fresh wood chips and installed the heat lamp.  Installing the heat lamp is tricky because in order to reach  the hook I must lie down on my back half in and half out of the coop.  Lying in a chicken coop is something I only want to do right after it has been cleaned out.  I filled up their food container and added grit to the mix. Now that the chicks will not want to wander they won't be ingesting rocks from the yard so I must add them to the feed.  The chickens need the rocks in their crop like I need my teeth in my mouth - to digest food.  With the light and six nearly full grown chickens in there they should be warm and cozy all winter even with the door open.

I Love Mushrooms

I made myself a spinach pie the other day to balance out the over-indulgences of Thanksgiving. During my preparations I found a lovely little mushroom that had grown into a rounded heart shape.  A little spinach, some fennel, some feta cheese, and heart shaped mushrooms - what is not to love about spinach pie?

Project Feederwatch Update

Pileated woodpecker-1, Hairy woodpecker-2, Downy Woodpecker-2, Northern Flicker-2, Goldfinch-9, Black capped chickadee-5, White breasted Nuthatch-3, American Crow-2, Cardinal-2, Junco-5

Grateful

Alphabetical List of Things For Which We Are Most Grateful 2012 version

Automobile, brains, bus drivers, cowboy boots, chiropractors, David, doctors, education, family, food, Grandma and Grandpa, home, ice fishing, jails, kittens, love, liquor, money, not working, Obama, people, quiche, rainbows, sunsets, trees, uniforms, votes, working, warm dry house, x-rays, xylophones, yelling, zippers.

Happy Turkey Day

The Orchardist

Amanda Coplin's first novel is The Orchardist.  I struggled with the title.  Why the "ist' suffix on the job of running an orchard?  We don't call farmers farmists or ranchers ranchists.  Enough about that.  In this story a man named Talmadge is the guy with all the apple and apricot trees.  He came to this land in rural northeast Washington state with his mother and sister when he was a boy in the late 1880's.  Talmadge is a kind, hardworking, quiet yet not anti-social man.  His mother died when he was a teen leaving him to work the orchard and raise his little sister.  This the first in a series of tragedies in this novel.  Several years later, his sister Elsbeth, disappears.  Talmadge never finds out if she left, was abducted or got lost.  He never recovers from this tragedy.  So  30 years later, when a couple of wild, pregnant girls wander onto his property, he does all he can to help them and be responsible for them.  Through a series of tragedies Talmadge makes decisions to assist those who have wandered into his orchard and into his life. This riveting story, although very sad and full of tragedy, paints a colorful portrait of life at the time. 

 

Project Feederwatch Update

Hairy woodpecker-3, Downy Woodpecker-4, Northern Flicker-1, Red Bellied woodpecker-2 (see photo), Black capped chickadee-5, White Breasted Nuthatch-3, Goldfinch-4, American Crow-2, Northern Cardinal-2  This weekend I was watching a red bellied woodpecker eat at the suet feeder.  He would take a good sized chunk of suet, carry it over to the bird bath, drop it in the water, pick it up, drop it in the water, pick it up again and fly off with it.  Was he cleaning his food or just marinating it?  In any case, I really appreciated the beauty of the red bellied although if I could choose the name I think I would call it red necked woodpecker.  The black and white pattern on the back are very striking next to the orange-red head and vulnerable white neck and cheeks.  He looks like he's dressed up for a formal occasion.

American Dervish

Ayad Akhtar wrote American Dervish, a novel about a boy growing up in America.  Hayat is the boy and his parents are from Pakistan.  His parents are not religious and the arrival of his mother's best friend into his life sets Hayat on course to become a dervish.  A dervish does not necessarily whirl but does study the Muslin faith like a monk or a friar.  So Hayat studies and memorizes the Quran.  He hopes to praise Allah enough so his family can go to heaven, making up for their lack of faith, alcohol use and his father's womanizing.  Hayat is a serious little man and he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.  I found this book fascinating, eye opening and educational.  

Lincoln

Lat night a friend and I went to see the new movie Lincoln.  This is definitely a movie that is worth seeing on the big screen.  Spielberg is a genius director.  Sally Field is a great Mary Todd Lincoln and I could totally get past her Gidget and Flying Nun past. This movie is so great I might want to see it again. Lincoln's ability to focus on what is important really comes through.  Will we ever see such a great leader again?

Top 7 Worst Website Names

from Bitsandpieces.us

Snakebook

Last night I went to a chapter meeting of the Master Naturalists. Our speaker was Dave Crawford who was a naturalist but is now a retired volunteer at a state park.  He spoke to us about snakes.  Now that he is not working he has time to research the snakes in this state park.  He focuses on the bull snakes and the Eastern hog-nosed snakes because they are less common.  He spent 365 hours this summer following snakes on the prairie.  Some of the snakes had chips implanted under their skin.  Scanning them with a reader gives you an identification number so you can tell which snake is which.  But he also learned that the bull snakes can be identified by looks.  Some snakes had scars from encounters with predators or skin infections.  Some snakes had an unusual number or shape of facial scales.  One had a black mark on a scale the exact shape of Texas. He, of course, was named Texas.  Another had black marks on a scale that looked like eyes, nose and a round mouth.  He was named Mr. Bill.  Each snake that he identified was documented regarding size and location, photographed from the top, right and left, measured and named.  In his observations he videotaped snakes fighting, mating, searching for mates, acting defensively, and basking.  He showed us some of the video footage.  I thought I would have nightmares last night from the video of snakes acting defensively but thankfully I didn't.  He had funny video's too such as one male bull snake entering the den of a female bull snake at the same moment a different male bull snake is trying to come out.  He showed another video of two bull snakes joined in mating.  The female bull snake notices the 170 pound omnivore with the camera and wants to go into her den for privacy.  She pulls the male bull snake (who isn't ready to let her go yet) backwards into the hole. He put all this information on a "Snakebook" website.  It's similar to facebook and you can like it on facebook by searching for snakebook/research.  Dave asks that the location of the snakes remain very vague because poachers are looking for hog nosed snakes and bull snakes to sell to pet stores.  He would also like volunteers to come out, walk the prairie, and tell him about any snake observation including photographs and gps locations.  Snakes are active in April and May.  Males are out scenting for females often traveling a mile or more in a day.  I can see myself snaking out on a prairie on a warm day in April and having a good time doing it. 

West With the Night

Beryl Markham wrote (we think) West With The Night, a memoir of her life growing up in Africa, training horses and flying planes.  According to her book, she grew up in Africa with her father and raised by native people.  When Beryl was 17,  he moved to Peru leaving her alone to get a job raising race horses.  When she saw a plane for the first time she exchanged planes for race horses.  She helped hunters by scouting elephant location by plane and passing on the information to the hunters.  She flew throughout Africa, often in the dark without radio contact.  In her thirties she was the first woman to fly solo west across the Atlantic.  She left from London but her fuel lines froze up over Nova Scotia and she dumped the plane nose first in a swamp, disappointed that she never made it to her destination of New York City.  Her story was marvelous and the high quality of the writing was remarkable.  I really enjoyed reading her story.  Some literature teachers suggest you read a book, enjoy it or not enjoy it, and leave it be.  Others suggest you do more research about the author, about other books they have written, and about the history of the time.  My opinion is more knowledge is better.  The more I know about an author or a book, the more I enjoy it.  In this case it didn't turn out that way.  Beryl leaves out a lot of facts in her memoir that could be considered important.  She doesn't tell us about her three marriages and many romantic liaisons.  Her first marriage was at age 16 which makes her father leaving the country when she was 17 years old less of a desertion.  She also doesn't mention her third husband, Raoul Schumacher who was a script-fixer in Hollywood and also a ghost writer.  Based on the fact none of her other writing was successful, some people believe Schumacher was her ghost writer on this book.  She doesn't mention her maiden name, Beryl Clutterbuck, and we can guess why.  Her book was on the best selling list in 1942 and then became obscure until it was republished in the 1980's.  The reemerging popularity of the book made the last three years of her life (83 to 86 years old) more comfortable because at that age she was impoverished and training horses in Nairobi again.  No matter how much was true, it is evident that Beryl Markham was a beautiful, non-comformist, adventurous, eccentric.  She lived her life not following the rules, not doing what people expected and not caring what people thought.  Beryl may not have been loyal, faithful or honest but she was interesting.

Project Feederwatch Update

Northern Flicker-1, Brown Creeper-1, Red bellied woodpecker-2, Hairy Woodpecker-2, Downy Woodpecker-2, Black Capped Chickadee-2, Blue Jay-2, House Finch-2, Goldfinch-1, White breasted Nuthatch-3, Junco-3, American Crow.  A good turn out for the first weekend of watching!

Things That Make Me Cringe

A chef on television explaining the need to cut strip steak into "little fingers."  I guess I will stay a vegetarian a little longer.

Office Creatures

I've been in my new office for 7 months now.  As I adjust to my new surroundings I find more things to like and more things to dislike.  I like the warmth of the office.  In my old office I had to use an electric throw to maintain my temperature.  This office is warmer.  On sunny days the afternoon can be downright warm in there.  I like having a window.  I like my new neighbors.  I like the proximity to the conference rooms, copier, mailboxes and fax machine.  Turns out other creatures like my office too.  When the first boxelder bug landed I felt a little zen about it.  Live and let live and all that.  Then I had five.  Still feeling zen.  Then a visitor grabbed a tissue and killed one and I thought maybe I should do that too.  Live and squish bugs now.  With one tissue I can destroy up to four boxelder bugs.  They make a little snapping noise when you crush them.  With the cloudy weather I was gathering a half dozen bugs a day.  On Thursday I looked through a plastic box holding papers I seldom use.  The box sits right next to the office window.  I pulled papers out looking for one in particular.  I found several bugs between the pages.  When I got to the last page and picked it up I was totally disgusted to find a boxelder party going on.  At least 25 boxelder bugs were crowded together under the paper in this plastic bin.  I don't mind killing one or two or even four but 25 bugs at once?  Yuck!  Friday was a sunny day and the boxelder bugs were active.  I killed ten bugs yesterday.  An office neighbor tells me that before my office was constructed boxelder bugs congregated in the open space where my office now is.  I hope I am coming to the end of the boxelder bug population and can go back to my zen state.

The Sense of an Ending

Julian Barnes wrote The Sense of an Ending.  He uses his words like precision tools.  The book is short and concise, yet grand in scope.  The narrator, Anthony, is British and 60 years old.   An incident happened that has rocked his world and changed his perception of himself and his behavior.  He tells us a story about his friend, Andrian, who killed himself in his 20's.  Anthony has to go back to his childhood to tell the entire story.  The story includes Veronica who was involved with both Anthony and Andrian.  Veronica is a classic villain and villains make for such interesting stories.  She is both toxic and alluring.  Anthony has always tried to be a peaceable man but as evidence from his past is brought forward he questions the accuracy of his memories.  I didn't always like Anthony.  Sometimes he pitied himself and judged himself too harshly.  This was a great story - a riveting tale.

Every Man For Himself

Beryl Bainbridge wrote Every Man For Himself, a novel that takes place during four days in April, 1912 aboard the Titanic.  The narrator of the story is a young man named Morgan.  He reminds me of a male version of Paris Hilton in that he is rich and privileged yet destitute as far as having a purpose in life.  He drinks too much.  He acts outrageously.  He is a mess.  Through him the author describes the life and the lives of those onboard a luxury ship.  Morgan is not a likeable fellow and the sinking of the Titanic gives him an opportunity to truly be useful for the first time in his life.  The book is short and easy to read.  If you find yourself feeling envious of the rich and wealthy, this book will cure your jealousy in no time.

How Florida and Minnesota Differ

1. People in Florida use the word "Y'all."  My first meal in Florida was a place called Southern Buffet.  It was very similar to Old Country Buffet except we could have grits, okra and black eyed peas.  I had all three.  Our waitress used y'all in every single sentence she said to us.  I had to struggle not to giggle.  2. People in Florida have sand in their cars.  Where we in Minnesota have to vacuum out the grit and the slush and the leaves, I saw tidy piles of fine white sand collected in the seat corners and floor mats. 3. Florida political ads include judges.  I saw an ad for a supreme court judge in Alabama who asked voters to vote for him because he fought against the ACLU and fought to keep the church in (here is where I let out an expletive and I missed where he was trying to keep the church in).  Aren't judges supposed to be impartial and make their decisions based on law?  I never know much about the judges on my ballot.  Even if I look them up I don't learn much more than if they're married and have children.  4.  Florida drivers don't signal their turns.  I guess there is no need to put their blinkers on because it's none of our business if they're turning right or left.  5. Florida has Amber alerts and Silver alerts.  We saw a sign about a silver alert on a highway that included a description of the car and the number of the South Carolina plates.  I had never heard of silver alerts.  I joked it must be a senior citizen on the loose.  Turns out I was mostly right.  Silver alerts are for adults with cognition or memory issues.  6.  Trees are allowed to grow closer to the highways in Florida.  There is no need to keep the road sides open to store the snow.  Florida is the farthest state south and east of Minnesota and it's a very nice place.  I could easily spend a winter or two there.  I hope to have that chance someday.

Voting Misinterpreted

I got to the polls early on Tuesday morning.  With a group of 20 other people I waited for 15 minutes in the entry of a local church before we were allowed in.  One of the voters brought her two pre-school age boys.  The boys got tired of waiting quickly.  The mother had told them they would be voting.  The older boy, not knowing what voting was, assumed she meant boating.  He was very disappointed to be standing in a boring line at a church without a boat or body of water in sight. In an effort to cheer him up, another voter mentioned she should have brought dominoes.  The poor little kid brightened up again and said hopefully, "Dominoes Pizza!"  I found it painful to watch this little boy's mood rise and fall so quickly.  He was not happy to hear the definition of dominoes.  Although he won't be voting for about 15 years, he already knows the emotional roller coaster that is election day.

Down On The Bayou

After my exciting afternoon in the lighthouse we decide to do a little kayaking in the briny lagoon.  Active duty servicemen get a discount and it's only $4 to rent a two-seater kayak for two hours.  What a deal.  Our outfitter warns us there is six feet of salty silt below us so don't get out and don't drop anything overboard.  This kayak is the kind where you sit on top.  This means we don't have a back rest, our legs are higher than our seats, and we're uncomfortable after about 5 minutes.  We're not sure which way to go so we go to explore the bay to our left.  We made the perfect choice.  We paddle closer to the Navy airstrip.  Not only do we see egrets and a red shouldered hawk, we see vintage and unusual aircraft coming in.  Offspring #1 knows them all.  Even I can distinguish the unique sound of a WWII bomber.  We see two bi planes flying dangerously low and close together right over our heads.  A Russian plane flies by.  A strange plane that kind of looks like a helicopter flies by twice.  The first time it flies over us the propellers are facing forward.  On the second trip the pilot has moved the propellers overhead like a helicopter.  I didn't know that was possible.  We've paddled as far as we can get into this bay so we sit back, relax, let the waves carry us out and watch planes. I wave at the pilots. Some of them are low enough to see me and we're fairly visible out in the middle of a bayou in a orange kayak.  One plane passes us and is shaped like a triangle.  The next time it comes by the wings are outstretched.  On this plane the pilot can move the wings in and out.  I never knew planes had that capability. From the back seat of the kayak, Offspring #1 turns the kayak so we can clearly see each plane as it goes by.  This time I'm not nervous at all watching the planes because I can see them coming.  We paddle until all the planes have landed and the sun goes down.  What a great way to spend the afternoon!  Later he finds a vegan restaurant called "End of The Line Cafe" that serves only one meal.  For $15 dollars we get an 7 course meal including french onion soup with Gouda croutons, arugula salad with tomatoes and mint, chickpea rice almondine with tempeh sausage, onion mini muffins, steamed baby carrots, and glazed pumpkin cake for dessert.  I never knew vegan could be so delicious!  I love this place.

Pensacola Lighthouse Visit

Pensacola Lighthouse

View from the lighthouse.

Blue Angels

Today I visited the naval base and had lunch at the commissary.  Not used to military life, I find it very strange. The uniforms, the signs, and the hustle are all foreign to me. Strangest of all is the saluting.  It used to be Offspring #1 saluting others outside.  Now that he's an officer, they're saluting him and he returns the salute.  Weird!  They do this every day?  After lunch at Panda Express, I went to visit the Pensacola light house because he had to go back to work for a while.  I toured the lighthouse keeper's house and then ascended the 177 stairs to the top of the lighthouse.  Heights scare me just a little bit so I'm not relaxed up there.  I went outside and met the volunteer guide.  This senior citizen also has to ascend 177 steps to do her volunteer work. I look out.  I can see the Florida seashore to the east and to the west.  The tall building of downtown Pensacola are visible.  As I walk around I see a C130 plane go by and three people jump out spreading pink and purple smoke.  The lighthouse is across the street from the Navy airport and the Aviation Museum.  Saturday is the big air show and today they are practicing.  The three parachuters don't have the typical chutes.  These look more like hang gliders.  The shoots are rectangular, not round and they're moving them fast through the sky like hang gliders or air skiers.  They start out really close together and then move apart.  I watch all three land on their feet and walk away unharmed. Next I see a helicopter rise in the air straight up.  As it gains heights it starts to spin.  I nervously wonder why it is spinning when it stops and flies forward, up and over.  This helicopter flew upside down!  I didn't know helicopters could do that?  Why wouldn't the blades push it crashing down?  I am freaking out a little, some of it out loud, and I see the other observers smile at me.  They're watching it too and they must be used to air shows because they act interested but calmer than I do.  I think the top of a lighthouse is a fine place to watch a free air show.  The helicopter does all kinds of barrel rolls and tricks and then it goes down.  I watch in horrified fascination,  Next another fighter jet takes off.  I ask a man next to me and he say's it's a F18.  Up goes the F18, straight up, upside down making a sonic boom in it's descent.  Wow.  It flies super fast really low past the airport.  Before I know it it flies right past the lighthouse.  I can see the guy inside.  I'm hanging on for deal life to the railing wishing this guy would get the h___ away from the lighthouse.  He does aerial acrobats for 15 minutes and next a little yellow plane is up.  This one if much more maneuverable.  The yellow plane does not need as much height to do it's barrel rolls.  By this time the anxiety of being up so high added to the anxiety of watching dangerous feats of flying has put me over the top.  I decide to watch the rest of the show from ground level.  I descend the 177 steps.  I buy a diet Coke from the concession stand and sit on a wooden rocking chair on the veranda to compose myself. I can hear the occasional sonic boom from the practicing and decide to go to the other side of the lighthouse so I can watch more of the show.  I sit on the steps to the light house.  Trees are blocking some of my view.  All of a sudden I hear and feel the sonic boom.  Two blue angels roar past the right side of the light house and two more on the left.  They scared the crap out of me.  I think they were lower than the top of the light house. The sonic boom rocked my chest cavity.  I'm alone out here so despite my best intentions a swear word comes out out loud.  I don't count silent swear words; audible ones cost $1 in my self-improvement program.  Swearing out loud seems to vent the steam of my anxiety.  I don't know why I am so anxious because I'm on the ground.  I think it's the fact that I can't see them coming is bothering me.  These blue angel bastards are unpredictable and it's driving me crazy.  Sometimes I can see them flying low between the trees and that is okay, I know the sonic boom is coming.  Other times I see five of them flying high and in tight formation way up in the sky.  As they break away they release smoke forming a chevron in the air.  I'm cool with that.  When they come flying low and loud beside the lighthouse I start cursing like, well, a sailor.  "G-- D-- F---ing blue angels!"  I think I owe approximately $27 to the swearing envelope.  I photograph the butterflies in the butterfly garden next to where I am sitting.  The garden is full of colorful bugs, bees and butterflies.  One dark butterfly flies over my left shoulder and I flinch mistaking it for a blue angel.  By the time Offspring #1 comes to get me I am close to nervous exhaustion.  I have a little too much excitement today.

Halloween in Florida

After visiting the National Naval Aviation Museum we went for another long walk on the beach.  This time we were on Johnson Beach.  We walked east (away from the sun) for an hour or more and then walked back.  Most of the beach slanted gradually to the water.  Several spots had sandy cliffs at the water's edge and they ranged in height from a couple inches to three feet high.  We must have been there at high tide because the waves splashed in and knocked sand off the sand cliffs.  Sometimes chunks of wet sand would drop off and cover my feet.  Yesterday when I walked the beach I had blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up.  Those got wet.  Today I wore capris.  Those got wet too.  Shorts would have been a better choice.  Sometimes if a wave came in when I was right next to a cliff the undertow would almost tip me over.  I tended to watch the waves coming in behind me when I approached these sand cliffs to avoid the highest water.  We collected shells and examined the stuff we found in the sand.  Sometimes it's hard to tell if we were holding a piece of an animal or a piece of a plant.  After an hour or so of walking at a slant my ankles would get tired of walking on a slant and we'd turn back so the ankles could enjoy a different angle.  Now we were looking into the sun and could better see the waves as they angled in toward us.  All our footsteps were already washed away.  The sand is so white and the sun so bright it's hard to see.  The beach is so beautiful and so relaxing.  The air is fresh and the sand is so clean.  This sand is fine enough to fill an hour glass.  Up away from the shore the wind distributes the sand into tiny dunes.  The asphalt road out on this peninsula is partly covered with sand in some spots.  As we drove west from this beach we unknowingly crossed into Alabama.  We looked for a restaurant but chose a Publix grocery instead. It was Halloween night and I had to keep reminding myself of that because I saw some pretty strange people in the grocery store.  I really hope most of them were in costume!  We bought fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and sliced meat and had a picnic on the Alabama shore. By now the sun had set.  In the dark we ate our caprese salads with our bare hands and watched the visible white caps of the waves as they rolled in.  The sand was cold to sit on and it clung to everything so we had to be very careful not to get sand into our food.  I love caprese salad anyway but caprese salad on the shore in the dark is especially tasty. We drove back into Florida towards Pensacola.  We saw a few trick or treaters on the road.  These Florida kids are lucky. They don't have to wear winter coats over their costumes.  I saw an big orange blob in the sky and thought, "What kind of strange Florida abomination is this?"  Turns out it was a full, reddish-orange Halloween moon looking especially large right at the horizon.  I tried to take a picture but they didn't turn out probably because I was in a moving car.  This was a perfect Halloween moon and a perfect Halloween night.

National Naval Aviation Museum

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We visited the National Naval Aviation Museum on the base.  This place is huge.  Aircraft of all kinds are parked or suspended from the ceiling.  I saw a plane similar to the last one Amelia Earhart flew.  I saw the "Mission Accomplished" plane that George W. Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier.  They actually had a simulated aircraft carrier experience where we could feel the wind, see the sights, hear the loud sounds and smell the jet fuel.  That was pretty cool.  I saw a plane where the gun shot through the propeller.  When my father in law was in the service during WWII, his job in Florida was to time the gun so it shot between the propeller blades.  If he didn't get it right, the propeller would be shot off.  The aeronautical acrobats, the Blue Angels are based here in Pensacola.  As we toured the museum we kept hearing the sound barrier being broken.  One section on the upper floor had a glass ceiling. We watched the Blue Angels practicing for the air show on Saturday.  Wow.  They are something to see.  They fly so close together it looks like they're only inches apart.  Barrel rolls in the sky - loop de loo's - all kinds of crazy stunts.  More than once I have grabbed Offspring #1's arm in terror saying, "Look!  That one is crashing!"  He calmly assures me they're doing that on purpose.  And he's right.  It's just that it looks like their engine died and they're falling from the sky to a certain death.  It makes me quite anxious.  We saw some planes doing tricks on the beach last night and I freaked out then too.  In Minnesota we just don't see planes spiraling downward looking out of control.  Here in Pensacola, it's common.  One section of the museum was dedicated to the Vietnam prisoners of war.  They had a film clip taken by the Vietnamese Government showing a service man being interviewed.  He kept blinking his eyes.  In Morse code his blinks spelled out the word t o r t u r e.  Golly.  What those guys had to go through was incredible.  They had their own tapping alphabet code and they did communicate.  Some communicated for years before they got to meet face to face.  I can't imagine.  John McCain was interviewed about it and he said that the POW bracelets that people wore along with the public outcry about the treatment of the POW's made a difference.  In the final year of imprisonment conditions improved.  He was taking out of solitary confinement and allowed to mingle with the other prisoners.  For him being able to mingle with others was a greater pleasure than being released.  I wore one of those POW bracelets.  After visiting this museum I am more proud that I did wear it.

Walking the Beach

 The beaches in Pensacola are white and the sand is very fine almost like silica.  Where the water touches the sand it feels like I'm walking in brown sugar.    Every step is hard going but I really enjoying walking in the water and letting the sand rub the calluses off my feet. The great blue herons are tamer down here and allow us to come really close.  The herons are most interested in the anglers.  We saw one heron kick at an angler's backpack.  Seconds later we saw him moving something around in it's beak and take a big swallow.  I am not sure if he got a piece of bait or a peanut butter sandwich out of that backpack.  I like to plan  my steps on the beach so that the sand I walk on is more solid from the waves but not deep enough to get my clothes wet.  As the waves come in I must change my course accordingly.  It's mindless fun.  Snowy plovers and other shore birds do the same thing and they also let me get really close.  One couple sat on beach towels with a flock of 30 gulls hovering above them.  The couple was throwing crackers at the gulls which must have been fun but not worth the risk of getting soiled for me.  I really wanted to see the sunset on the water.   With the clouds bracketing the sun and reflecting warm colors, it was a beautiful sight. : )  I will try to keep this moment in my mind to bring me comfort during the cold, dark winter nights.

Observation Wheel

Offspring #1's car parked down there.

After the museum tour we drove across the bay to the beach.  It was my idea to go on the observation wheel.  It stood out on the beach dominating the landscape.  We were in enclosed glass rooms and although it was a little windy, we didn't rock very much.  We went around the wheel four times.  The ride lasted 10 minutes.  Yes it was a little scary but having a floor and a bench to sit on is always comforting.

Old Town Pensacola, Florida

Window in Old Christ Church

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Death and Mourning Tour Guide in old town Pensacola.  She is pointing out the hair wreath on the wall.

This bread safe was suspended from the ceiling in the kitchen and kept the bread safe from vermin.

I got off the plane in Pensacola, Florida prepared to throw off my fleece jacket and lift my chin in the warm gulf breezes.  I pulled my suitcase outside and - hello - zipped my fleece jacket up to my chin and waited in the sunshine because the shade was too cold.  Lucky for me things warmed up after that.  We visited old town Pensacola.  We saw homes of the working class and the upper middle class.  They explained how Pensacola is the oldest European settlement in the United States.  St. Augustine, also in Florida, is the oldest continuous settlement.  One of those August hurricanes destroyed Pensacola and it went uninhabited for a few years.  Over time the city has flown under five flags - Spanish, French, British, US, and confederate.  We went on a Halloween related mourning tour.  Our tour guide wore black over her bustle.  A black wreath on the door of a house indicated a family death.  The mirrors were covered with black cloth so the soul of the departed would not be trapped in the mirror and not make it to the correct destination. According to our tour guide, people followed the example of Queen Victoria.  She lost her husband and wore black for the last 40+ years of her life.  And she made all her servants wear black too.  Women of this time were expected to wear black for 2.5 years if their parent, sibling or husband died.  In public they had to wear a black veil over their face.  They could attend no social events outside of their home or risk public shunning or giving the perception they didn't love their parent/sibling/husband very much.  Men wore black for a few days but had to get back into daily life to support the family.  People kept snippets of hair of the deceased to remember them and made the hair into ornamental wreaths, brooches and watch straps.  I left feeling grateful to be born in later times.