Can I even begin to tell you how much I am NOT a morning person?!  It's not that I cannot appreciate a stunning sunrise, but a sunset is so much easier for me to enjoy, seeing as I've probably been conscious for over 10 hours at that point.  Until now that is.  With the crisp Fall air, the rustle of leaves in the morning breeze, the sweet smell of dry corn on the morning mist, fresh picked apples on the kitchen table, kids in their cute little plaid skirts and long white socks and mary janes.........OH wait...wrong state.  I'm in flip flop country!

I begrudgingly fell out of bed this morning at 5:45, which is after the bedside alarm went off, but seconds before the loud and annoying alarm I use on my cellphone as back up went off.  I swear I heard my sleep number bed say, "what? Where are you GOING?  Is the house on fire?  Take me with you!"

No, the house wasn't on fire.  It's the first day of school.  I joyous time in thousands of households across the state.  (Unless you are a resident of the county next door, then you've been at this for two weeks already !)  Yes, that day were the smell of peanut butter sandwiches on fresh white bread pervades the house, new crayons, new pencils, where new clothes, fresh haircuts, and eager and sleepy faces greet the flash bulbs before the great yellow beast pulls up the haul them away for 8 hours. 

I'm lucky enough to have an older child.  Not old enough to let him drive to campus, but old enough that he can get himself up, dressed, and fed.  My job?  To make sure he's wearing pants, is somewhat colour coordinated, and has his book bag.  I also walk him to the bus stop.  It's a long walk, and even this time of year it was dark, the sun barely above the horizon.  The birds weren't even awake.  Heaven knows I'm not.  I do know he got onto a large yellow vehicle, I'm pretty sure it was the school bus, as our trash truck is blue.  It did have blinky lights, so it COULD have been a yellow UFO. Anyway, I think about my friends this morning.  Two have sent their kiddos off to college for their freshman year, one is either weepy at sending off that kindergarten bus, or is breaking out the champagne - I'll find out later.

What on Earth does this have to do with the beach?  Not much.  It's just one of those monumental days of the year.  There is a little known tradition on Navarre Beach.  The first day of school brings out the mommy brigade!  We come down in the morning with a fresh cup of heaven and just sit and watch the waves and enjoy the quiet.  The kids aren't there screaming.  The tourists have left, until the snowbird migration,  and we look forward to cooler weather and our beach. (Don't get us wrong, we LOVE our tourists! It's just a transitional break back to normality and a much slower pace for us.) Much slower and we'll be going backwards!  Sigh. 

Unless you are me, and then you are looking ahead to the peak of hurricane season.  Danielle is ramping up in the Atlantic as we speak. As of this point she is still PROJECTED to say out to sea.  A quick vacay in Bermuda may be a poor choice this weekend, but as of RIGHT now she has not set her sights on either US or the Eastern US coast.  We all know that can change.  And we all know how fast things can pop up in our own backyard this time of year.  The PEAK of the season is still three weeks away.

I see on the web camera that the BP crews are out today WEST of the pier.  Good to see them out there in the daylight again.  Today has another heat advisory stuck to it.  OC in this heat and humidity, everything sticks to everything.  We're looking at another day with a heat index of over 105!  So take care of yourself.

The surf looks pleasant for the day, the chance of rain the whole week is low.  (YAY, for our landscaper.)  Our turtles are still brewing under the warm sand.  I've had no reports of tar balls, except the occasional ones that pops up from surf.  Crossing fingers.  OH, remember the log book stop at the firehouse is no longer needed.  Just email your hours to me at the surfnavarrebeach@gmail.com link and let me know when, where, and how long you were out.  I'll email everyone the day before I send in the report to the county as a reminder in case you forgot to report some hours.

Here's a little shot of an amazing sunset from the other night.  I hope you got to see it in person, the very AIR was yellow, then orange, then FIREY PINK.  It was great.

So with that, I'm heading out with my cold bottle of water and join the other mommies on the sand.  Or maybe I'll drag out the fishing rod.....or maybe...YAWWWWN......would a nap be out of the question?

WOW! This old TD5 is a royal pain in the patootie!  Not only has it angered my arthritis and an inner ear condition, which makes me fairly grumpy and therefor not much fun to be around, but it doing a number on our beaches!

High and rough surf has been battering our beach for days! We've had winds from all directions this week but due West.  That will come later today/tonight.   I noticed what had been a quiet slope to the water's edge down by the pier is now a drop of 3 feet, and that was Saturday.  Today the ocean is really rocking again.  Winds are HOWLING out of the South as the old TD travels into MS and LA.  Our sands are a shiftin' for sure! But that's what sand does! Semper gumby folks!

If you get out today, please continue to inform guests on the flag system.  RED flags continue to fly.  It continues to astound me that people either don't even SEE the flags, or don't know what they mean.  When visitors come to the beach, they get what I call "Ocean Blindness".  They are so excited to see the ocean, that they bound from the car, and focus on the water, blinders on, missing everything around them.  That includes the GIANT signs all over about the flags, the blinking super sign on the bridge, and the flapping flags on the beach.  There was a drowning this past week down near PCB, vacationer, family had no idea about the flag system.  His son and friend went in the water on DOUBLE RED FLAG.  He went in to save them and he drown.  It sounds like the lifeguard had no picnic trying to save him. 

Anyway, keep an eye out for old tar washing in.  With the surf as heavy as it is, it would be hard to spot before it was whisked out again, but the chance of old stuff washing in and up is higher with the wave action as it is.

On the fishing front, the Spanish mackerel are making their presence know around the pier, that is, when the water is in decent calm conditons to fish.  I had a lovely one on the line on Saturday, when one of those sharks with a cup holder, ummm I mean Dolphin, decided "Mackerel, it's what's for dinner!" took it, line, $8 lure, fish and all! ARGH!

Back to the blowhole gang that infests the Pier!  :) ( Doesn't that conjure funny images?  Upright dolphins, wearing short jackets, headbands, blowhole rings, and cans of spray paint in their flippers, tagging the pier ! HA!) Yes, I LOVE Dolphins, I really do.  When I"m NOT fishing!  BOY OH BOY did they have a show this week for the tourists on the pier!  Saturday night there must have been half a dozen.  While diving and rolling, chasing fish, stealing fish, and blowing porpoise hork in the air, a few decided to entertain the crowd with amazing leaps, twirls, and belly flops.  I was starting to wonder if the tank at the Gulfarium had a leak and an escapee or two.  The crowd of course enjoyed this free entertainment to no end.  I was, however, starting to wonder if the Dolphins have figured out that if they jump and twirl, the people cheer, take pictures and clap.  Hmmmm......who's entertaining WHO?

Sadly, I have no photos of that.  I was busy tying a new lure to the line.

Also on the beach critter front, we have two nests in the 40 day incubation area.  I will report back later on their move, IF they move.

On to the area of PEOPLE food.  I need a headcount for FRIDAY night's dinner.  It sounds like we're going to do pizza or sandwiches with salad.  But that head count is important.  I am going with whatever is in my email box by NOON on THURSDAY the 19th.  If you want to bring a dish to share, that's super too.  If the weather holds, we're going to get the kayaks to the sound and such, and you can bring your snorkels!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Due to what's left of TD#5 spinning over sweet home Alabama, my joints are screaming.  And, oh joy, it's going to spin there and twirls down over PCB, and across the GOM again, and then over LA again.  So, I'm making this easy on me today.  Here is the Santa Rosa County Action report from yesterday. Enjoy! (Now where's the Tylenol?)
==================
Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #75


(Highlighted sections indicate new information)
· As efforts to stop the oil spill have been successful to date and impacts to our area are expected to be limited to sporadic sightings of tar balls and oiled debris, Santa Rosa County's response to Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident will right-size efforts accordingly. The emergency operation center is expected to return to a level three activation, or monitoring phase, on Friday, August 13. Staff will remain engaged in daily operations as needed. Beach video updates, Mediacom Channel 27 presentations and news releases will end to correspond with the lowered EOC activation level. Web site updates will continue at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.
· Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners and their staff are committed to ensuring that long-term recovery efforts are taken to restore our shorelines and economic, health and environmental needs are addressed. In the event of any new major developments, emergency management will activate the emergency operations center and its support functions as needed and news releases will be issued as warranted to safeguard our county.

Situation Update· Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa’s entire coastline is open for swimming and fishing. Two links to live Web cams on Navarre Beach are available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Links for Visitors” tab.
· There are currently no swimming or fishing restrictions on Navarre Beach or anywhere in Santa Rosa County.
· Today, August 12, a post storm assessment by the BP contractor reported that tar balls were spotted on Navarre Beach. Clean up crews responded.
· BP will host an Oil Response Information Fair on Saturday, August 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gulf Breeze Recreational Center located at 800 Shoreline Drive. The fair is meant to create a comfortable environment for the public to have one-on-one conversations with representatives about oil spill response efforts. The fair is free to the public and will be catered by Billy Bob’s Beach Barbecue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information contact Molly Patterson at (850) 691-9116.

Health
For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Health” tab.
· University of West Florida shoreline water samples for August 9 showed no dissolved petroleum contaminants detected above what is normal at the Navarre Pier or at Santa Rosa Island.
· The August 10 water sampling report from The Department of Environmental Protection showed that there were no dispersants found on Navarre beach and no petroleum-related contaminants found by Navarre Beach Park.

Booms
· All boom has been removed.

BP Claims
For more information, including how to file a claim, visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the
“Claims” tab.
· BP claims in Florida total 37,835 with approximately $68,278.617.48 paid.
· BP claims in Santa Rosa County total 5,170 with approximately $9,645,146 paid.

Small Business Disaster & Bridge Loans
For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Business” tab.
· Total Loan Applications: Issued: 756 Accepted: 258 Declined: 104 Approved: 49Loan amount approved: $4,715,700.00

Fishing

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Boating, Fishing and Wildlife” tab.· All Santa Rosa County waters are currently open to fishing.
· NOAA re-opened 5,144 square miles of area it had previously closed for finfish only on August 10. Fishing for non-finfish species, such as shrimp, is still prohibited in this area. The area closed to all fishing now measures 52,395 square miles and covers about 22 percent of the Gulf of Mexico economic zone. All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area. For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Boating, Fishing and Wildlife tab.”

Monday Monday

It's going to be another hot and humid day down on the beach with Heat Indexes of well over 100.  There is also a good chance for thunderstorms today.  If you hear thunder, or see lightning, please come in off the beach.

We now have plenty of informational binders available for reading.  (We only had one ready at training to show.)  Please feel free to pick one up for reading or carrying with you on your beach walks.  They are on the SURF table at the firehouse.

The AmeriCorp group( http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/choose/state_national.asp ) will be joining us down at the beach this week.  They are here from all over the country to work along side us, not for us.  They are here as their own group with their own informational programs and services about the beach and the BP spill.  As it stands now, it sounds like they will have a home base station near the Pier.  Stop by and meet them and see what they have brought to support our beach and it's guests.

The turtles have been busy and I hope to get a turtle nest report soon.  I have heard many people comment on the moving of the eggs, and they wonder WHY we (those in charge of the turtle eggs)  are waiting SO long to do it.  "Move them, move them now, before the oil kills them." You just can't move a reptile egg.  They are extremely fragile.  They must remain in the same orientation as they are laid in the nest.  If an egg is tipped or turned from "UP", the embryo can actually drown in the egg.  SO, with the incubation period of a sea turtle being 50-60 days, and our beach spotters knowing which nest was laid when, they are waiting until the LAST possible day to move the eggs to ensure the highest number of viable hatchlings.  Also, since the way the hatchings imprints on the beach it was laid at is not really understood, they are hoping to leave them in their native sand as long as possible.  IF they have to move them at all.  Time will tell. 

Just added to the useful links to the left, DEP Daily Report, the Quick link to Santa Rosa County reports, and the Daily Air Report.

And with that, I'll let you go out and enjoy your Monday.  Have fun, and be safe.