Weathered the storm and had a wedding

Tropical storm Debby kept us sitting inside for a few days. There were fierce winds and it rained and poured and rained and poured some more. There were flood warnings and tornado warnings, but we were safe inside. We watched the weather reports on TV, and sat on the back porch and watched the rain pour down and the trees bend in the wind. I didn't sleep well at night because the rain pelted against the house and the window next to my bed, the winds howled and  I waited for a tornado to sweep the house away with us inside. But in the end the storm blew over, the winds died down and the sun came out. 

One day we braved the storm to go to the doctor for my mother's follow up appointment - it was good news! What a relief! After the storm passed we took a drive around the area. Lots of tree branches had been broken off, a few trees pulled out of the ground, tossed aside as though they were tumbleweeds. There wasn't any flooding in our area, so we headed for the beach and watched the waves, and stayed to watch the sun set. There were others on the beach doing the same.

We were relieved that the storm had passed and the weather had cleared because my sister Holly was getting married... and the wedding was going to be held on the beach. It was a simple wedding, with close friends and family attending, and a druid priestess presiding. 

the vows... at sunset

And the picture I like the best.... the newlyweds kissed while my sister Kristen's son, Jeremiah, made sand angels (completely oblivious to everything). 

Another sunset picture that I took before the ceremony began.

This morning we got up and decided to head back to the beach to visit the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. It's the largest wild bird hospital in the USA and is a treatment and rehabilitation center for wild birds injured in oil spills, by fish hooks, plastic bags, and accidents. There is always something interesting to see there. 

I took my camera... and my four-year-old nephew... so of course I didn't have much luck with pictures. Here are a few.

I think this one's called the Dodo bird...