The Chill is Back in Yulee

At least it was still in the 40s this morning when the first rays of sunlight burst through the trees to the east -- tomorrow morning will be in the 30s I've heard (with some frost warnings farther inland).  So, I had thoughts of sleeping in a little later this morning since I had gotten up early the past three mornings to try my luck at catching some fish around the time of the low tides -- the a.m. tides not the ones after dark.  However, Tiger seemed to have a different idea about me continuing to sleep and he began to break into one of his Alley Cat courses and made a couple trips back to the bedroom to climb onto my chest and beg for attention (probably asking for food too).

Yesterday, I headed out by 8:00 a.m. with a Gatorade and one bag of those frozen Mullet thinking I might look for the jetty (or rocks) at the southern tip of the beach but, after driving past the "No Vehicles Beyond this Point" and the "Caution Rocks" signs, I had no luck even seeing those rocks or the jetty.  So, I took up a familiar spot just upstream from the last sand bar where I had caught one of those nice Flounder and I tried to put the chilly north wind to my back (parked the Jeep close to my poles too in hopes of blocking some of the wind and sand -- and sat inside with the door open).  I only passed one other angler who had walked onto the beach near the access point by the parking lot -- no one else showed except the Pelicans, Sea Gulls and the Osprey.  Even the sun didn't make an appearance after more than an hour and a half of fishing -- no bites and no fish.

I decided to move farther back upstream on the beach and stopped at the other spot where I had caught the second Flounder.  This spot proved to be more productive and there actually was another angler in sight just a bit farther on -- another Jeep driver it turns out too.  I caught more than a half dozen Blues and one was about 16 or 17 inches (a keeper in my mind).  Since there were numerous Osprey in the skies above, I decided to play the game again of attempting to lure one out of the clouds above but, the first Blue I tossed onto the beach to my left only seemed to draw the sea gulls and they only seemed to peck at the fishes eyes so, I threw it back into the water.

A little later, I saw more Osprey hovering above the waters where I seemed to be catching the Blues so, when I caught another fish, I threw it onto the wet sand to my left.  This time, it caught the eyes of one of the Osprey and it made a pass and it missed but, it adjusted and came again for its prey (my bait) and I had my camera pointed in its direction this time.  Not a great shot but, it's the best I could manage with my fuzzy eyes and fumbling fingers on the small camera.

Well, I wish I could have caught another Flounder or a nice Spotted Sea Trout but, at least I have that one Blue in the fridge -- will filet it later today or this morning.  Anyway, I came back and had a nice late breakfast around noon -- bacon, eggs and toast.

After eating, I dug out my power washer and headed up to one of my neighbors (Denise and Larry's) and cleaned their picnic table, two rocking chairs and small side table.  Later in the evening, she brought me a nice container full of fresh, home made potato soup she had prepared -- tasted really good with my salad.

When I finished with their outdoor furniture, I headed across the campground road to power-wash another neighbor's trailer (a mother and daughter from Maine) -- turned out to be more of a chore than I had anticipated as the northern side had so much green mold and mildew that I only got one half of the trailer done when my arms got too tired to continue.  The daughter helped me and we found that we had to use brushes and some detergent in the power washer to get down to the white (or nearly white) color of the siding on the trailer.  I had done the roof myself using my ladder, the power washer and their rake -- removed nearly two inches of pine needles, branches and leaves (a real blanket of stuff that had accumulated over a few years). I told them that they might have to crank up their heat after removing the blanket.  I didn't risk walking on their roof as I wasn't sure it would support me or anybody.

Today, I will head up again around mid day to attempt to get that trailer finished.  First, I will have some hashed brown potatoes, eggs and toast while watching the temps get to around 60 or more (closer to my comfort level).  After that, more packing and putting away of things.