November 2024 began on a hopeful note…

Siesta beach on November 3 was heartbreakingly beautiful.

I arrived early and could barely drag myself home.

The air was warm but crisp…no humidity and oh those clouds 💙

I walked for almost two hours finding high tide when I arrived at Patriot’s Pier. Like really high tide🩵

Afternoons on our patio are beyond peaceful and quiet…one day I looked up from my book and spied this little guy. So tiny.

💚

Another day I look up and here’s a bunny…thank goodness Freddie was inside.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen an Osprey on Siesta beach…here he is in the yucky runoff

I was delighted to see a work crew at Patriot’s Pier

I took these photos on November 6…I desperately needed soul soothing …

…and the beach offered solace

I wrote the following in my journal: Love Heals Nature Soothes Gratitude Sustains Me

A dear friend sent me this meme the day after the election. I was so blindsided and my heart was so broken…

November 8 and the gulf still needs time … me too…

.

…progress…

Surf’s up…along with the wind

It is such a gift to be able to walk this beach

This mid November day reminds me of walks I’ve taken at Montauk Point…the wind, the surf, the isolation

🩵💙🩵
.

The shore birds are steady companions and soothe me as much as the sea does

🩵

The large tree at Crescent beach is not a priority for removal.

The gulf on Crescent beach seems clearer, less murky…however Red Tide is still very much present

My favorite Tower…most likely because it’s the first one I see when I arrive

One day I couldn’t access Siesta… The South bridge was backed up for miles and there was an accident on the way to the North bridge so I decided to walk across the Ringling Bridge. I parked at Bayfront Park…which still was not open to the public …

That’s someone’s sailboat in the distance…washed up at O’Learys

I snapped this pic on my way to the Ringling bridge…Took me about 40 minutes to walk across…and I probably wouldn’t do it again… too noisy… too windy…not peaceful at all

Next day found me back with my friends

🩵
♥️

More folks on the beach…less birds

💙

1592 Wood Fired Kitchen…downtown Sarasota

One of our favorite places

.

We always order Affogato for dessert

We headed to the park one afternoon …peaceful, quiet, relaxing

.

All along the Key…tons of activity …streets full of work trucks.

I do wonder if any of these folks question the advisability of re-habbing in the face of these recurring hurricanes.

It is disheartening that the gulf is still not healthy

Every few days I walked the trails in Urfer Park

I began taking this next series of photos on November 20 from our patio…

Sometimes you just know the sky is going to be spectacular

Nature in all its glory

You must know that I took a ridiculous number of photos…

…these are my favorites 🩷

Next day back to Urfer

Kojo on a chilly evening

Lot’s of yummy choices, including miso soup to start

♥️

The noodles and bao buns were the highlights of the evening

As I walked to the car, headed to the beach, I spied these Sandhill Cranes in my neighbors’ yard

.

Each day I hoped against hope that the gulf would be clear…after more than a month, it was discouraging that the yellow flags (Red Tide warning) were still flying

One afternoon we headed off to Longboat Key for lunch at Shore.

Fried calamari for two

.

My favorite lobster cobb

Tacos for Timmy

Thanksgiving on Siesta Key…more visitors arriving every day …but still plenty of parking

.

This adorable family from New Jersey asked me to take their photo and then I snapped this one

🩵

Poor little Ibis…

Day after Thanksgiving found us at Michael’s on East

As we hoped, less folks and a more relaxed experience than a holiday visit

Everything was yummy and the service was perfect

We enjoyed these “Brownies” … for several days

So there you have our November. We stopped watching cable news on the evening of November 5. And barely turned on local news.

I read a host of novels, including the entire Slough House series. I also discovered Louisa Luna (love her Alice Vega trilogy) and slogged through a bunch of drek in search of meaningful escape. I also binged the Blacklist…I’m still on season 10…so no spoilers please.
Thanks for checking in on us.