#82 Badass Christmas Wishes to All

Twas the day before Christmas

And all through the beach

Not a creature was stirring.....

Because they were all super frozen solid!!!!

It might be negative 30 degrees in Chicago, but here in St. Pete, we are experiencing our own cold. On my early morning trip to the beach today, my car suddenly flashed an icon that it hasn't in two years: "Warning -- freezing temperatures make icy roads".

Whaaaaattt? Yup. 37 degrees when I got started. That meant my beach walk started with me wearing two hats (Allison -- your beautiful hat was well used, appreciated, and admired. Thanks for making it for me!), three jackets, socks (I had to dig into my wardrobe to find some) and boots.

And still, it was hecka cold.

And really, really, really low tide.

And a rough surf.

And red tide.

Which added up to the perfect storm of an absolutely deserted beach that was absolutely covered with tons and tons of shells, creatures, and fish. And they were all absolutely frozen. And absolutely dead. RIP.

But, wow! Did I enjoy checking everything out.

I saw lots of old standards, a few new interesting things (the classic oxymoron of jumbo shrimp), gigantic shells with frozen occupants and lots and lots of poor dead fish.

Instead of getting sad at all the dead beings, I choose to believe they are temporarily frozen and will all thaw out with no damage done when the sun comes out.

In the Christmas Spirit, here is a list of all I saw. Feel free to sing along:

On the 12th day of Christmas, the ocean gave to me...

12 Sea urchins (including a cool black one)

11 solid snails

10 giant whelks

9 sand dollars

8 frozen eel sticks

7 projectile clams (When I was working in my first hospital job, we used to have a term for people who might be getting ready for a celestial discharge. We called it "Doing a Q", because when they slept, their tongue fell out of the side of their mouth and looked like a Q. I know, I know...totally inappropriate and disrespectful, but night shift does crazy things to your brain. Some day I'll tell you even better stories about night shift that include Spider Man climbing into other people's beds, a Sinking Ship and Captain announcements, and thermometer cart races.) Anyways, these clams totally look like they are doing a "Q", don't they?

6 neat-o crabs

5 kinds of dead fish

4 Starfish

3 Gigantic lumps of Sea Pork

2 jumbo shrimp

and 1 sweet frozen octopus.

What a wonderful morning, even though by the end of it, I felt about as frozen as the poor little sea dudes.

Wishing you a warm, cozy, and snug Christmas with those you love, and looking forward to many more adventures to come. Merry Christmas!