Evening Storm over Garcon Point Bridge

An evening thunderstorm to cool the air. A few minutes after this photo was taken, the bridge was invisible, lost in the rain.

Driftwood at Ft. Pickens

One Love, One Ocean

On a hot summer Saturday night, the front door of Surf Burger on Pensacola Beach brings a smile to my face... the hula fries were top notch, as always!

A Gorgeous Mid-Summer Day

This morning, the water felt wonderful. The sand felt wonderful. The air smelled wonderful. But...



Once the oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster began washing ashore in June, my enthusiasm for taking photos took a vacation. However, this morning I wandered out to Pensacola Beach just to see how things were going. On July 21, on a beautiful, warm morning at around 10:00 a.m., I witnessed water as clear and beautiful as I'd ever seen here. Sand clean and soft, and bright white. And a surreal almost complete lack of people to enjoy it all.



Sadly, with health warning signs posted everywhere and BP clean-up crews still here, this community is suffering in a huge way. The unknowns are frightening people -- both locals and tourists -- away. Even though the water and beach "look" great, and the air is salty and fresh, no one seems to know if there are unseen dangers in the waters, the air, and buried just under the surface of the sugar white sands. Some are taking their chances and enjoying themselves anyway. But most others are staying away. And Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach and the surrounding communities are hurting. Badly.

Oil begins to come ashore today

On this picture perfect warm summer morning, Margaret and I went out to Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island to walk along the water's edge and take some pictures of the still-pristine waters and sand. As we pulled in to the parking lot at Casino Beach, we heard the news that tarballs were beginning to be found on the beach this morning. It is impossible to describe the sorrow that permeates this community today.

After a long day in the sand and salt water on Pensacola Beach, a rinsing off at the showers feels sooooooo good...

A Quiet Sunday Morning on Santa Rosa Sound

This shot was taken on another recent Sunday morning from the pier at Shoreline Park South in Gulf Breeze, and looks east across Santa Rosa Sound towards the Bob Sykes bridge which connects Gulf Breeze to Pensacola Beach and Santa Rosa Island. Many, many fish are caught from this pier.

Skywatch Friday - Gulf of Mexico Sunrise

Margaret was wading into the surf early Sunday morning to capture the sun rising over the Pensacola Beach highrises. A lovely photo for Skywatch Friday!

Sunrise on the Beach

Since 13-year-old Margaret is the most frequent contributor to this blog, I thought a photo of her would be appropriate today. This was taken this morning as the sun was rising in the Ft. Pickens Area of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Margaret and I have made sunrise on the beach a tradition for the two of us, enjoying the peaceful beauty of the coastline when no one else is around except the shore birds (below) and sand crabs.

At sunrise and sunset, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico change hues every few seconds. It is impossible to convey in photographs the hundreds of shades of blues and greens and grays... but we try.

Breakfast at... Shoreline

This great blue heron was fishing for breakfast Sunday morning at Shoreline Park South, and didn't seem to mind the two young girls 5-10 feet away snapping pictures. These serene creatures, some of whom nest and hunt in our neighborhood, are quite accepting of people... as long as we don't get TOO close.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

It is a picture perfect morning in Gulf Breeze, for seagulls, young photographers, and everyone else enjoying the water in Santa Rosa Sound.

Almost there...

On the Pensacola Bay Bridge, about to enter Gulf Breeze on the way to the Gulf of Mexico and some hopefully choice waves.

Blue Angels Weekend

Thousands of visitors are visiting in and driving through town today for the annual Blue Angels air show out at Pensacola Beach. Below, swimmers enjoy the waters of Santa Rosa Sound from Gulf Breeze's Shoreline Park Pier (a good alternate viewing site) while waiting for the show to start. Pensacola Beach is in the distance, with the Gulf of Mexico beyond it.

A Boy and His Board

What summertime is all about - a boy heads for the beach on a Friday afternoon in the town of Seaside, Florida.

Sunset over Pensacola Bay

Margaret's latest sunset shot, taken Thursday evening looking towards NAS Pensacola from Ft. Pickens gate on Santa Rosa Island.

Sunflower of Spring

Our sunflowers are starting to bloom here at the end of May, a sure sign of the approaching summer. Margaret took this one, a photo that demonstrates beautifully why the flower deserves its name.



Ah! Sunflower

Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sunflower wishes to go!

~ William Blake

Baby Blues on the Beach

Taking a break from bodysurfing at Pensacola Beach this morning, an exhausted young girl poses for a portrait.

Dragonfly

A dragonfly poses for a portrait as he rests and soaks in the warmth of the bricks. These beautiful creatures are plentiful in the summer, dipping to drink from pools, puddles and ponds as they fly through neighborhoods. This was one of the first photographs Margaret took late last spring when we first arrived in Gulf Breeze.