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heidiiiii

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My niece from England had been looking forward to staying at my Vero Beach cottage since March. Unfortunately, the Red Tide has invaded our beach and it is closed for the next 2 to 10 days. My neighbors are telling me that the smell of dead fish and respiratory irritation is awful! I’m hoping it moves on before she arrives on Monday.

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16 minutes ago, Sable said:

the smell of dead fish and respiratory irritation is awful!

What a repugnant greeting  for a visitor expecting lovely weather for a beach holiday. Does the red tide tend to move on fairly rapidly or does it hang around? 

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1 hour ago, KathieB said:

Does the red tide tend to move on fairly rapidly or does it hang around? 

It completely destroyed the west coast’s economy in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer as it stuck around for months. There are fish dead zones in the Gulf now. Depending on the winds and Atlantic currents it should move along in a few days. There are a number of theories as to what is causing it, I truly believe the Saharan Dust that has been so prevalent this year is a major contributor. The Virgin Islands have been hit hard with the Red Tide and the Saharan Dust this year, also.

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1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

The current theory is that the Red Tide is a virus; frightening to think it's borne by that Saharan dust!

I’d be interested to see the article that states may be a virus. I believe they did some studies a few years ago to fight it with a virus but as far as I understand it’s an algae. I don’t think it is borne by the dust. The dust carries a lot of iron and nutrients which may be feeding existing blooms causing them to expand.

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That was the explanation given when our local news station was reporting on it.  I seem to remember efforts to fight it as an algae back when I was growing up and it was mostly a rare seasonal problem on the west coast south of Tampa.  I don't guess in all these years they really know.

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So I Googled it.

From Wikipedia:

Certain species of phytoplankton and dinoflagellates found in red tides contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from brown to red. When the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discolored or murky, varying in color from a rust color to pink to blood red. Specifically, red tide species can be found in oceans, bays, and places where fresh water meets salt water, but they can not thrive in freshwater environments due to the lack of salinity. The growth of the algal bloom depends on wind, temperature, nutrients, and salinity.[1][2] Some red tide algal blooms are associated with fish kills. The production of natural toxins such as brevetoxins[3] and ichthyotoxins are harmful to marine life. Generally, red tides are described as harmful algal blooms. The most conspicuous effects of these kinds of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities, as well as harmful human exposure.

Red tide is a colloquial term used to refer to one of a variety of natural phenomena known as harmful algal blooms. The term specifically refers to blooms of a species of dinoflagellate.[18] It is being phased out among researchers because:

  1. Red tides are not necessarily red and many have no discoloration at all.
  2. They are unrelated to movements of the tides.
  3. The term is imprecisely used to refer to a wide variety of algal species that are known as bloom-formers.

As a technical term, it is being replaced in favor of more precise terminology, including the generic term "harmful algal bloom" for harmful species, and "algal bloom" for benign species.

Other factors such as iron-rich dust influx from large desert areas such as the Sahara Desert are thought to play a major role in causing red tides.[29] 

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My lot is mowed! I went up there yesterday and saw it and oh my! Only about half the lot was cleared and then mowed, but there is so much land! I was originally thinking about removing the remaining trees, but now, I don't think I will. The trees are so nicely placed that I think I may keep them and maybe just clear out the underbrush. Yeah, I'm stoked!

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1 hour ago, rodentraiser said:

My lot is mowed! I went up there yesterday and saw it and oh my! Only about half the lot was cleared and then mowed, but there is so much land! I was originally thinking about removing the remaining trees, but now, I don't think I will. The trees are so nicely placed that I think I may keep them and maybe just clear out the underbrush. Yeah, I'm stoked!

Good for you Kelly. That is wonderful to hear.

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Thank you and yes, it is good to hear. Now if I need a place to live, I have one. I'm supposed to meet the guy who mowed it out there sometime today to pay him, but he hasn't called yet. Anytime after 3 pm is bad to try driving, since the roads will be packed and it'll take me about an hour to get there instead of 20 minutes. So I hope he calls soon or waits till tomorrow.

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well done Kelly, my pom pomss are flying for you.

I am very very thrilled to say for just an hour each day for the last three days I have managed to get comfortable enough to work on my big English house.As I have been unable to do any minis since my surgery in May this is a great step forward for me. Hopefully if this continues I may be able to sit in car long enough to get over the line and mail the several things I have for some members  that have had to be shelved.. Doing that hour was a much bigger thing than you may think. I was actually planning to let all my mini stuff go as I was quite sure I would never be able to do them again, but I am sort of hopeful now, this sorta why I have been off the forum a lot. I didn't feel I had anything to share.

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Popping in after a couple hectic weeks. I'm finally starting on my Van Buren and I'm super stoked about it! Pics are in the gallery under Hygge House. 

The past few weeks have been...trying. My beloved dog Bacon has been extremely ill with pancreatic cancer. He is my baby boy and I love him so much. He went from being a super active, happy dog to a complete invalid in the span of 3 weeks. He couldn't get up by himself at all. The vet couldn't find any specific tumors, they could only rule out everything except pancreatic cancer. We did test after test after test trying to decide what to do. He finally got so bad that I was ready to put him to sleep to end his misery. The vet took pity on me and suggested we try one last Hail Mary experimental treatment and, by golly, it's working! My life for the past couple weeks has been a blur of feedings every two hours, vet visits, and medication distribution. I think we finally have him figured out and I am so happy. He may not live a full life, but he's looking so much better.

I hope everyone is doing well! I'm off to get caught up.

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7 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Welcome home and a {hug} for you and a gentle pet for Bacon.  Is that your Van Buren with the gorgeous beadboard exterior?

It is! I'm so happy with how it came out and such a simple technique too. It was admittedly born out of pure laziness but it really only took me about an hour to get it all done. 

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My lot!

lot3.png.d8b7d17421ca295d73cbc8d6c2afaff

 

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I was assured that all the stuff laying on the ground would rot and turn into nice mulch in 6 months, and that it would keep all the weeds from sprouting. Obviously I'll still need to do a lot more work. This is just the cleared area in the first picture. As you can tell, there are more trees that can be cleared and what I'll leave standing can be thinned a bit. Now for the water (an outside water faucet) and then with the minimum done, I should be able to move on to it. By 2020, I should be able to get electric on the property and by 2022 I should have the septic put in and a manufactured home fixed up to live in. And no mortgage to pay. Just taxes.

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Jeannine, I’m glad to hear you were well enough to work on your house, even for a short time. I miss your more frequent presence on the forum, you have much to contribute, even if not actively doing minis. With all that you’ve helped me with I’m forever grateful. 

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