The strong weekend wind blew a lot of the water out of the mitigation site. This heron takes advantage to walk out to the middle. Looks about 8 inches deep.

 The wind left some dry land next to the breakwater wall too.

 Looks like a good picture of my shadow, but what I am trying to show is this bench that the wind blew completely over while I had two rods staked out in the rod holders.  The rods were totally obliterated. The top of the bench acted like a chopping blade as it sliced the rods in half against the wall. Oh well.

 Lina didn't let the wind slow down her painting. She came out both Saturday and Sunday.

The mitigation site looks more like a big mud hole with all the water blown out.

 I donated two old tires and Jerry cut them up and attached them to our boat ramp to prevent the sharp concrete edges from scarring up boats. We had the original ones there for years before the bolts rusted out. I don't see why anyone would build a ramp for boats with 90 degree sharp edges. My trailer is missing the guide pole on the starboard side and I have drifted off my trailer so many times and gotten scratches from the concrete.

Our light poles on the crossbridge did not last long. Nearly every one has rusted off the base like this. The consistently high tides have caused electrical problems because the wiring and junction boxes were installed under the walkway. We got a bid to raise the wiring to up under the handrail and replace these posts. The cost was just over $6,000. Our board will have to evaluate this.

We have received a final count of 235 bad foundation piers. We have a fairly good bid to do the work to replace these. Our board has hired our old friend and former property manger, JR Gimler, to be the project manager for this. We have, in the past, taken the low bid only to see that the work was not up to par. JR's role will be to insure we are getting a good job that will pass all inspections.

I had seen a few drum and sheepshead just off the bulkhead last week so I purchased some dead shrimp. I had not purchased dead shrimp in years and was a bit surprised when the price was $6 per pound and the shrimp were tiny. Oh well. I put my first bait out on Monday from off my deck. Within minutes one of the rods began to bend strongly. This 19 inch sheepshead had been hooked from inside his gill plate. Had I not been using a stainless steel hook, he would never have been hooked. I don't usually keep a sheepshead since they are so difficult to fillet, this one was so big I knew I could get some fillets off of it. It was a challenge, but did get two good meals. One fried and one baked.
I decided I didn't want any more sheepshead, so I switched to live mullet for the rest of the week. So far, four poles, all day and night, three days, and not a bite. The guys going out in boats have had the same luck, no bites.

Several new LED lights were used to replace some old lights last week. They are so much more efficient and look at the difference. The first light is LED and the second is a barely visible old metal halide. Beyond that are some more LED lights. I visited the new accounting office today and all their interior lighting is now LED.
The tides continue to be as high as I've ever seen in January. The fish have been hard to find. Scott took Paul and Ray out last week and they never had a bite. However, today George took three guys out to the Seadrift barge canal and they got their trout limit. Don had one that measured 22.5 inches. They were all caught on plastics.
My electrical contract ends on Feb. 02. I hope prices don't change between now and then The glut of natural gas in Texas has really lowered electrical costs. I've done well with Infinite Electric, but Discount Power has a "No Gimmicks" plan that I want to get into. For less than 8 cents per KWH they supply electrical without any surcharges for usage. Most companies charge more for little usage or  more for a lot of usage and they get you one way or the other. Our seasons here give up high usage for six months and low usage for six months so it's hard to find a plan that won't hurt you on one end or the other. I plan to lock in for at least two years at this rate. I would have saved 25% this month.
An owner called this morning to say their contents windstorm premium had jumped from $327 to $10,000. I knew there had been some changes. I went to GSM and visited with Pam. This owner was using an independent agent from Portland. Apparently, they did not have an elevation certificate and assigned him the highest rating of Zone A. We are in Zone A, but with an elevation certificate the premium should be much less. I think he is changing to GSM. I did find out a new FEMA policy now in effect will cost owners an additional $250 a year if they rent their condo.
I also discussed with Pam a problem we had at renewal last year. We had a property appraisal done in 2012 and never entered those limits for coverage. She will check to see if we can get any policy adjustment.
We are pushing to get some solid figures for the assessment for the foundation, but the numbers have not yet quite come together. We hope to get this done in time for the monthly statements going out in January.
With warm weather and frequent rains, Lina had to call for a lawn trimming. I have never seen us cut our grass in the winter time, but this time the lawn was, indeed, getting pretty shaggy.