Greyhounds in Need of Homes

Passing this along for a friend. Please feel free to forward this on.

The Dairyland Race Track in Kenosha, WI will be closing on Dec. 31, 2009. 900 Greyhounds need to be adopted or they will be euthanized. there are only 6 weeks to get this task done. Contact Joanne Kehoe, Operations Director Ph: 312.559.0887 or Dairyland Race Track Adoption Center direct at 262.612.8256.

Laptop Computers

The old laptop died just in time for the holidays. I like to shop (online) the sales so I did a bit of shopping in the Dell Outlet this morning and got a good deal on a sweet little Dell Vostro. I've had good experiences with my Dells (the computer that died was an Acer Aspire One aka PoS) so it was only natural to hook myself up with a new one. The thing I like about the small laptops is that they fit in my shoulder bag and can go to work with me. If I need more power I've still got my desktop for backup.

What didn't I like about the AAO? Mine came with Linux-Lite, which for a Windows trained girl it just wasn't able to do what I needed. I was unable to download and install any updates, and Acer customer support was virtually non-existent. I'm a writer, so I need a computer that can keep up with my needs. This time around I'm going Dell.

Animal Cruelty on YouTube

If you're an animal lover you definitely don't want to watch this video. A group of "adults" show their ignorance by bashing an innocent and terrified 3 ounce flying squirrel to death with a shovel instead of humanely capturing it and releasing it outside like it should have been. What can you do? Go to YouTube and FLAG this video as offensive and list it as animal cruelty.

Why am I so upset? I actually own a flying squirrel that I have hand-raised since she was orphaned. Benji is a pure joy to be around. She is intelligent, playful and loving. And this is coming from someone who was most definitely not a big fan of squirrels until Benji came along. My world would be bleak indeed if this tiny angel wasn't in it. It would take a sick individual to deliberately harm a flying squirrel.

Please flag this video and get it removed from YouTube! Senseless killing of an innocent flying squirrel. http://tinyurl.com/yzbcflu

Benji and I thank you.

Kayaking Along the Emerald Coast

Last weekend turned out pretty good. On Saturday I purchased a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 120 kayak. It's a bright banana yellow (not my first choice, but hey—it was on sale) and I also picked up a kayak cart to help in transporting it when necessary. Then I just had to sit out a rainy Saturday and hope that Sunday would be clear enough to paddle Boiling Creek as planned.

Boiling Creek is a beautiful pristine creek located south of Milton on the Eglin Reservation. The last couple of miles of the paddle is along the Yellow River and although not as scenic, is still a nice place to paddle. I'd heard a lot about this creek in regard to its clear water and vibrant plant life, but I'd never done this particular float trip before and had looked forward to it for weeks. I am thrilled to say that I was not disappointed!

Getting there was a lot easier than getting to some of the other creeks on the Eglin Reservation, and the group that we were traveling with had a good shuttle plan in place so we were all able to drop our kayaks in the water as soon as we got there and head off. Immediately a sense of wonder takes over and it's almost as if you're transported to another time and place.

The water was clear even despite the previous day's rain. Beautiful pitcher plants lined the banks and various types of lilies decorated the surface of the creek. The current itself was slow and easy, allowing me to relax and just enjoy the ride, which was fine. It's easy to get absorbed in watching the aquatic life beneath while drifting along.

At one point an otter leaped into the water between Kris's kayak and my own. It was one of those moments in time that I didn't even bother to fiddle with the camera because I knew I'd never get it focused in time, rather, I just watched the otter swim easily beneath my kayak and disappear into a bed of lilies on the opposite side of the creek.

At one point I angled my kayak in closer so that I could get some detailed pictures of one of the lilies, and to my surprise my kayak started to sing! As the kayak drifted over the top of some of the underwater vegetation, it created the same effect as a bow being drawn across fiddle strings. I'm thinking about christening the new kayak “Siren Song.”

We'd started early to avoid the threat of rain and managed to have a dry trip, even stopping for lunch right before Boiling Creek joins with the Yellow River. This trip has become my favorite float trip by far, even in comparison to Turkey and Econfina Creeks. The sheer peace and tranquility makes it a favorite and I can't wait to get back out there and do it again!

Plan your own float trip on Boiling Creek here.

Kayaking, Snorkeling, and Scalloping

I went snorkeling for scallops this weekend in Port St. Joe and the weather was perfect for it! Our group found the perfect spot to launch kayaks from, St. Joseph Bay Aquatic & Buffer Preserve Kayak & Canoe Launch. Parking was no problem. By sheer coincidence we managed to launch while the tide was in. I usually check the tides, but it completely slipped my mind on this trip.

The most remarkable thing about the kayak launch were the thousands of small fiddler crabs covering the path down to it. I thought my eyes might be playing tricks on me at first; the path looked like it was moving and I could hear clicking noises. As I got closer the chaos continued and I discovered a carpet of fiddler crabs scurrying away from my approach. I've never seen so many in my life!

We put in our kayaks after a brief conversation with another gentleman launching a kayak and then started paddling out into deeper water. Toward the end of scallop season the scallops start heading away from shore and out a bit deeper. Our target was 6-8 feet of water where we'd heard people had been pulling the bigger scallops from. The bigger the scallop, the less scallops you have to clean to get your limit, the limit being 1 pint (cleaned) per person or 2 gallons whole.

I'm not the world's strongest swimmer and I had a bit of trepidation about anchoring in water where I can't touch the bottom. It's hard enough to get in a kayak when it's in the shallows, let alone try to re-enter it when it's in deep water. My kayak is a sit-in, and what I affectionately refer to as a bobber. It's not a low-profile kayak that's made for easy in-and-out access. I'm telling you this because in writing this is called foreshadowing. This paragraph will be important later in the story.

After a few minutes we found a good spot to anchor and hopped in. I have learned from experience that it is much easier to put fins on while in the boat rather than in the water, so I rather awkwardly slithered over the side of the boat almost swamping my little bobber in the process. I put my mask and snorkel on, grabbed a dive bag and my new Canon PowerShot D10 Waterproof Camera and off I went in search of scallops and whatever else might swim my way.

My boyfriend, Kris, was a big help pointing things out for me to take pictures of. He used to be a diver at an aquarium when he was back in high school. He found a Queen Conch for me, a couple of adorable starfish, sand dollars, and a puffer fish. I followed the puffer fish around for quite some time taking pictures, only later to discover that, due to operator error, I hadn't taken a single one. :(

We'd probably been in the water about two or three hours, and as I was happily swimming back to my kayak with a bag full of scallops weighing me down, Kris yells out loud enough for me to hear, “There's a shark in the water.”

Clearly I didn't hear correctly and stopped swimming, “What?”

“The guy in that boat over there,” he says, pointing past me to one of several boats anchored nearby, “is telling everyone to get out of the water because they've spotted a shark.”

I swirled around and looked. Suddenly the other boats were a lot closer than I'd like them to be, but then again, I supposed yelling distance is a good distance. I closed the ten or twelve feet to my kayak in what I'd consider to be a new swimming speed record and somehow managed to not only hurl my dive bag full of scallops onto the closest kayak, but through sheer force of will managed to levitate up and out of the water to delicately plop myself into my kayak.

In truth, I flopped up and onto my kayak like a tired salmon fighting its way upstream. Then I hear Kris tell his friend Stuart, “See, I told you she could get back in her kayak in deep water.”

Normally I'd have some witty and clever comeback, but my next question was, “Where's the shark?” He points to the boat closest to us, maybe half a football field length away. “Alrighty then,” I said. “I'm not getting back into the water.”

I made sure all my arms and legs were onboard my bobber and waited. Our three kayaks were tethered together while we chatted and waited. Kris adjusted the bag of scallops, and as he was dropping it back into the water it grazed my foot (now out of the dive fin and dangling above the water outside of my bobber) and two toes started to bleed. Blood. Great. There's a shark somewhere nearby and my foot is bleeding. Perfect. Can you sense my excitement?

Having an acute sense of survival, I decided that I will not only wait until my foot stops bleeding, but I'm going to have some lunch while I wait for Mr. Shark to get tired of hanging around before I even think about reentering the water.

About an hour later we paddled to a spot just past the boat that signaled the warning and were able to get more details about the shark as we passed them. While they were cleaning scallops a six foot bull shark swam up and circled the boat a few times before disappearing. That's good enough for me. Bull sharks are aggressive and I was glad I stayed in my bobber. Better safe than sorry.

We anchored one last time and did a bit more diving, but it was hitting mid afternoon so we started cleaning scallops (I stayed in my bobber) so we could load up and head back to the hotel. We collected more than the limit and had to put a bunch back. That's okay though, that just means it was a great season for scallops.

Paddling back in was a bit different. When we had first put our kayaks in, I was very perplexed that I hadn't seen the large island that I saw when I looked at the map on Google. Apparently the satellite image had been taken at low tide because the island revealed itself as I was trying to paddle over it. Mystery solved! Luckily my bobber rides high in the water and I only needed a few inches of clearance to paddle. Whew!

We got back to the “fiddler crab” kayak launch, loaded up shop, headed to the hotel, checked in and got cleaned up. Then it was off to “Jo Mama's” for the best brick-oven pizza I've ever tasted. Port St. Joe has a real hometown feel to it, complete with an unhurried, quiet ambiance. You won't find towering condominiums here. This is a destination for people who really want to relax and just enjoy “being.”

All-in-all it was a great trip. We'll definitely be back next year. :)

Scallop photos @ Flickr.

Test Driving Canon's New PowerShot D10 Digital Camera

I couldn't wait to get my hands on Canon's new PowerShot D10 Waterproof Digital Camera. I was practically chomping at the bit while after it wound up on back order, but finally it has arrived and I put it to the test this weekend. Read the full review here

I'd actually combed through other camera brand reviews before choosing to give the PowerShot D10 a chance. At first glance it looks a little bulbous, but after getting my hands on it and seeing what it can do, I'm less worried about it's looks and more thrilled about what it can do.

The PowerShot D10 comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that takes a couple of hours to charge, so while it was doing its thing, I was familiarizing myself with the user manual, something I think everyone could benefit from. You can unlock amazing little secrets that most people never uncover.

As soon as the battery was ready I started putting this little gem through its paces. Closeups? No problem. Underwater? No problem, especially if you make sure to read the manual and take all of the precautions to help protect the camera like ensuring that the seals are free of dust or sand and that the seals are tight. I took the camera out to Choctawhatchee Bay this afternoon, and even though recent rains had clouded the bay up pretty good, I still managed to get sharp, clear photos of aquatic life and had no problems using it while snorkeling around the dock.

Once home I thoroughly rinsed all of the salt water off and uploaded my pics. Everything about this camera is easy. It's destined to become the primary camera in this household.

Outdoor Adventure

Meet the newest Tampa Bay Outdoor Adventure Examiner! I just started writing for the Tampa Bay Examiner, and so far things are going very well. I'd been looking at the Examiner for some time as another paid online writing job in addition to my Feature Writer position over at Suite101.com, but I always felt that it might be a bit too much to take on while still working a 40 hr a week job at the local courthouse, but I finally bit the bullet, applied, and got accepted.

The great thing about the Examiner, besides getting paid to write, is that you can select a specific topic of interest to you and simply write in that topic. Articles are short and examiners need only post 3-4 per week. No sweat, right?

But seriously, someone looking to get into online writing would do good to check out places like the Examiner or Suite101.com. New writers stand to gain valuable feedback and experience from editors and other writers, writers earn money for each article they produce, and writers and their articles receive widespread exposure . If you'd like to try the Examiner, go to the referral page and once you've filled out the application, be sure to select the Examiner that referred you--me-- Beverly Hill or ID #18666.

Gotta get back to work. I've got a few more articles on the burner and they're just itching to be "published." :)