kayak lesson: Boca Ciega Bay

This past Sunday, with much of the dead fish washed away, we decided to venture into new waters. We purchased a new kayak saddle that mounts onto the bike rack, and up went Paxi & Inti to the roof for their first real car ride. Uff!
After about 35 minutes, we arrived at the small peninsular War Veteran's Memorial Park in St. Petersburg, FL. It boasts a small seashell crusted kayak/canoe launch that opens right up to the lovely-yet-shark-infested Boca Ciega Bay.

Maybe it should have been of significance that the park was practically deserted (clue #1) or that the wave swells were huge (clue #2). After a few minutes of paddling like usual, I began complaining that I wasn't moving forward; M. turned around and informed me that I was actually moving backwards (clue #3). When I realized that we had forgotten the tow rope, we re-docked, grabbed it, and ignoring M.'s protest (clue #4), launched again. This time, we paddled HARD and made it to the end of the peninsula. I wish I could say that at the moment, I stopped to appreciate the vast beauty, but actually I just stopped to catch my breath (clue #5). M. was only a kayak or two's length away, but he was yelling and I could barely hear him over the whooshing wind (clue #6). WIND?! The 15 - 20 mph gusts were not something we had had factored into our plans. We finally accepted what Mother Nature kept trying to tell us: come back another day. After quickly spinning the yaks, we rode in like bandits and arrived safely (and soaked) back to shore.Exhausted and exhilarated, we collapsed onto a bayside bench to enjoy a picnic of red gatorade (yum) & doritos (yummier). Gather 'round kids!
The lesson here: you can not beat Mother Nature. And you probably shouldn't challenge her too much either. But we'll be back...when the winds die down.

The Thaw

It's back. The warm and sunny weather that makes this place Paradise. Some people rejoiced in the reprieve of cool weather. But for local marine life, the temporary frost meant a major hit to its population. The Tampa Bay waters so infrequently reach these low temps, that many fish were frozen in a stupor, swimming erratically, or ultimately killed. The thaw finally came this weekend, and so many dead fish came floating to the surface, it looked like a fish cemetery. The high tides brought some of the fish up and over the seawall and into our backyard...

At first I wondered how Mother Nature could be so cruel. What was Pacha Mama's reason for all these deaths? I felt sadness (and ickyness) as the stench reached my nostrils. But then I thought of the fish who were suffering in the cold, and realized they were no longer suffering...

Weeks 69 - 80: Buh-Bye 2009

We (along with a couple guests) waved buh-bye to 2009 from the bubbling warmth of our hot tub. It was a year of demos and renos -- and we don't just mean the house. We put so many things aside to help family and friends in need. A couple months later, we did the same thing again. All the while, our jobs, our house projects and all of life's other obligations took more of our energy and attention away.

In the last 2 months of the year, M. installed lots of solar lights on the dock (step lights, tiki torches, and LED string lights) so that it is all twinkly at night and also so that boats wont crash into it; and he installed some solar worklights into the shed/workshop...ahem...mancave. And as we now find ourselves without houseguests, the 2 spare bedrooms are undergoing major work. Pics to come soon. Promise!

But by the end of 2009, all I really wanted was a nice cozy nap - because I was so exhausted. Looking around this house, it no longer looks like the one we bought. And that's a good thing! But in 2010, I hope the heavy steam engine that is home renovation will make more frequent rest stops for R & R. With the finish line in sight, we hope to blog more about everything else that makes up life at PMH (in between waiting for paint coats to dry). That means more boating & kayaking, maybe a few bike journal entries. We hope you'll follow us on this winding trail as we face all the twists and turns that 2010 will bring...

Happy Holidaze!

Somewhere amidst the rush-rush-rush of the Holidaze, we try to have a little bit of chill time, so we can reflect on how Christmas snuck up on us (again)...like it does every year. In Tampa, there is no "nip" in the air to give us a hint, nor morning ice to scrape off our cars. Today's 70-ish degree weather couldn't be more different than the snow-covered winters of our childhoods. Yet Christmas arrived and we had to make our own clues to remind us of what was to come...

Happy Holidays from Pacha Mama House to yours!

Backyard Boat Parade!

Nutin' says Florida Christmas like a holiday boat parade. Our 'hood hosts an annual one, and we're lucky enough to be on the last canal of the parade route. This year, we decided to mark the occasion by having a lil' viewing party (as if we needed an excuse to host dear friends & neighbors. ha!) Saturday night, just before 9pm, we all scooted down to the seawall to watch in wonder and awe. Our neighbors cruised by in their boats bedazzled with lights, cheery decor and holiday music.

We saw boats with Florida style...

Some with LIVE performers...
And MANY, MANY Santas...
It was hard to pick a favorite, but we fell for this one. Anyone else got a fave?

We had so much fun, we are considering making the boat viewing party an annual tradition. Sweet!

Giving Gracias

It's our first time hosting T-day at Pacha Mama House. We had so much to be thankful for.

Gracias for a kitchen with family and friends...

Gracias for warm & sunny Florida weather...

Gracias for happy moments...

Gracias for a delicious meal...

Yakin: Lagoon (part 1)

Many months ago, our neighbors told us a tale of a canoe trip where they discovered a lagoon hidden in the nearby mangrove preserve. We never forgot this story. After bringing home Inti & Paxi (our new yaks), we knew we would seek out this lagoon. This weekend, we packed up the yaks and set out on that quest...
M. had a rough start getting into his kayak. He lost his balance and SpLoOsH!

Undaunted, we continued. Within a few minutes, we were deep amidst the mangrove waterways...

We hadn't gotten too far before the water level became too low to paddle. After anchoring the yaks, we hiked on foot...right alongside birdy footprints...

Finally, we arrived at the mouth of the mysterious sparkling lagoon. We felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie. A great heron sailed past the entry, surely inviting us in...

But as we tried to hike (wade) those last few steps, we sank into the muck -- up to our knees. Rather than risk losing our favorite Keens (or worse), we decided to turn back and have lunch at our newest and most favorite bar: the sandbar...

Although we didn't make it INTO the mysterious lagoon, we did find it. M. says the trip was a success because we had fun. I say it was a success because we made some new friends, pictured here:

So, will we ever get to swim in the mysterious lagoon? We sure hope so.

To be continued...

(ka)Yak Attack

Welcome home kayaks. We hemmed. We hawed. We won't ever look back. Our local kayak retailer Wind-n-Watersports made our 1st kayak purchase ez-peazy. We have simple needs, but we love all the little details we got: self-bailing, sit-on-top style, with a bungeed cargo area for storage, paddle rests on both sides, fold-down seat backs, and cup holders -- we luv us sum cup holders. They nest for ez storage and they ride oh-so-smoov. We named 'em Paxi (moon) and Inti (sun).

This weekend, we launched our new kayaks from the dock...

And we were off on an adventure yakin' to Old Tampa Bay...

Where we discovered a sandbar along the edge of a mangrove preserve...

And enjoyed a private sunset that made us smile for miles...

DIY:salvage to art

1st time making a metal sculpture...ok, 1st time making ANY sculpture. In the process, I gained aching hands and mucho respect for anyone who works with metal. It all started when M. decided to finally remove a mud-covered rope that was tied onto our seawall (yup, it's been there all this time). At the other end of that rope, we found a flat crushed derelict crabtrap that had been abandoned for who-knows-how-many years. M. hosed off the excess muck and left it to dry in the yard. I don't know how I convinced him to let me use it for a "project", but after a couple hours, we had our 1st DIY salvage art piece. If I can make a manatee wall hanging out of a derelict crabtrap, anyone can. Here's how:
1. CLEAN: Using pliers, I removed the excess debris and heavily damaged parts from the crabtrap.

2. PLAN: I stared at the crabtrap for a LONG time until inspiration hit me (ow!). Using sharpie marker on newspaper, I sketched out a simple manatee silhouette. I put the template under the crabtrap to trace the outline onto the metal.

3. SCULPT: Using pliers, I cut out a rough shape, following the manatee outline as best I could. Then, using jute rope (found at Michael's craft store), I traced the manatee outline more carefully. I tied rope knots along the way to keep the rope in place [while singing connect-the-dots-la-la-la].

4.FINISH: I used a round nose plier to bend down the pointy metal ends safely and coated the whole manatee with leftover silver spraypaint. My sis encouraged me to add an eyeball, so I sewed on an old button. Finally, I reused the line rope that once tethered it to our seawallL: I snipped it and knotted it to become a hanger so it is ready to be hung up. Voila: salvage art.

This week, my awesome sis took our manatee over to the Hillsborough County Fair where it will be displayed Nov 4th - Nov 8th, as part of the 2009 Recycled Yard Art contest. We got our fingers crossed, but are just as happy to be participating.

P.S. Safety 1st: Despite using non-slip gloves and a foam-handled pliers set, my hand were aching. I took breaks often to let my hands rest.