Even in Winter

The 30A corridor has many second homes and vacation rentals but more and more people live here year round. The area is known for it's summer season but I tell anyone who will listen to me how nice it is to live along the Northwest Florida coast even in Winter. Especially in Winter. It is different from the southern part of Florida in that the weather here gets cold. Cold enough to brown up the foliage. You won't find a lot of human swimmers out in the Gulf of Mexico but you will see birds. No matter what the weather is doing the beach is just much more interesting this time of the year. It's just great for birdwatching. American Bald eagles are apt to fly overhead, the loons bob in the surf, even the gulls seem happier, as to the pipers and the pelicans. Birds are one of the reasons I recommend any one looking to retire to consider South Walton County.

This year I gave "Johnny's Garden" up to the wild flowers. Container plants are my new passion. The plants seem to be happy on the porch where they get several hours of eastern sun exposure. We have Meyers lemon, peppers, parsley, tropical sage, mosquito plant, hibiscus, papyrus and palm. I planted some lettuce from seed last week and it's already coming up nicely. Winter and lettuce work fine here. I will lose some of these plants to frost but most will be protected by the colorful sheets I cover them with on the nights we get to freezing temperatures. The porch looks odd those nights but allow the plants to come back to me each spring.