Monthly Archives: June 2012

Walton County Issues Beach Water Quality Advisories

http://www.waltonoutdoors.com/walton-county-health-department-issues-health-advisory-for-miramar-beach-blue-mountain-beach-grayton-beach-eastern-lake-beach-and-inlet-beach-access/

Okaloosa County Issues Water Quality Warning for Three Beaches

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/department-50493-water-advisories.html

June Grass Update for Dune Allen Public Access

June grass update for Dune Allen Public Access 6/18/12:AM

0-2 on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

Weather is much the same as the last few days but with less wind and the waves seem to have died down a bit. I am cautiously optimistic about the water clarity.

At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow, but check them again before you head to the beach.
image

If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

Beach Flag Safety System

Recently there have been drownings and closed beaches along our shores. A double red beach flag means the water is closed to the public, but apparently many visitors do not pay attention or are unaware of the reason for the flags. This is one of the reasons I posted the bit about situational awareness and responsible beach enjoyment when I started this blog last year. Fortunately, we have SWFD life guards and WCSO Beach Patrol to help keep people safe.

June Grass Update for Stallworth Public Access & Main THPSP Beach Access

June grass update for Stallworth Public Access & Main THPSP Beach Access 6/17/12:AM

6-10 on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

Wind and water conditions are much the same as yesterday, but perhaps the waves are a bit bigger.

Flies are starting to congregate at the beach but they aren’t biting yellow flies, they look more like small barnyard flies and are a bit annoying.

There is a lot of trash on the beach, being tossed up from the waves, so a beach clean up might be a nice family activity today. Picnicing, frisbee/any other beach sport, or building sandcastles could also be fun. Take Dad to the beach! Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!

I saw 5 least terns and 1 Forster’s tern on the beach, a few brown pelicans, and a flock of snowy egrets. Please remember that dogs are not allowed on state beaches and must be properly leashed and permitted on beaches where they are allowed.

Shorebird nesting season is starting and sea turtle nesting season has already begun. Please don’t let your pet, or children, harass wildlife but rather enjoy them from a distance.

Today’s suggested beach reading: “The Sea Brings Forth” by Jack Rudloe, a Florida Panhandle author.

At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow, but check them again before you head to the beach.
image

image

If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

Guest Reports?

Would you be interested in doing an occasional guest June Grass Report from your location?

I am especially interested in recruiting guest reporters from Navarre, the general Okaloosa Island area, Rosemary Beach, Panama City Beach, and anywhere in between.

How it would work: Make your report to me via email and I’ll post it on the webpage. I retain editorial rights (tweaking content, grammar, spelling) but you will be credited (or not if you so wish).

Why? I think it would be a good way to get more/better beach condition reports out to a wider audience. I got the idea when “Bill” commented about the conditions on Okaloosa Island earlier this week.

If you are interested PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW. This automatically gives me your contact email without it being posted publicly, which can save you from spam and identity thieves. I will get in touch with you later in the next week or so.

Thanks!

June Grass Update 6/16/12

June grass update for Walton County 6/16/12:AM

5-8 on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

The wind is coming from the northeast and the waves are coming from the southeast (don’t ask me how that works). The June Grass is pretty concentrated in some areas and not as much in others.

The water is warm and it’s nice and sunny. It might be a good day for a little surfing or boogie boarding, but probably not SUP or kayaking, due to the wind pushing offshore, which can make it easy to capsize and hard to return to the beach. There was quite a lot of fish activity just off the beach including bait balls and larger fish jumping.

At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow and purple, but check them again before you head to the beach.

image
image

image

image

If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

June Grass Update 6/13/12

June grass update for Walton County 6/13/12:AM

on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

Well it looks like the storms brought the June Grass in.

image

image

Speaking of storms: here is the high tide line for the surge from last weekend’s storms. Please don’t disregard the beach safety flags.

image

Finally: a deer enjoying the bounty of the dunes.

image

If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

Extreme Beach Caution

Today the Double Red beach flags were downgraded to red and purple. However, over the past three days there have been many swimmers in need of rescue, so please use extreme caution and consider just enjoying sand-only beach activities if you are visiting the beaches today. In my opinion children and adolescents who are not strong swimmers should not go in the water at all on a red flag and teens and adults should really think before going in. I personally don’t do more than stick my feet in on a red flag.

The Beach is That Way

Since it is going to rain all weekend: here is an interesting article on why South Walton County(including the resorts, which are not towns, of Seaside, Watercolor, and Sandestin, and the unicorporated towns of Santa Rosa Beach and Miramar Beach) are NOT Destin, which is a city located in adjacent Okaloosa County.