Flat Waters

It's that time of year: flat water time in the Keys, also known simply as "summer." This picture I took from my street over the mangrove flats west of Ramrod Key, completely protected waters:

Thursday afternoon I needed to get out of the house, so in addition to going to the Post Office and the bank on Big Pine Key I took a ride north towards Bahia Honda. Even though I know this road quite well enough I just wanted to see what might appear in the lense of the camera. Flat water it turned out; the waters between the mangrove islands was looking as they should in summer, all flat and mirror-like. The effect wasn't even spoiled by the hazy skies covered by indeterminate cirrus clouds. I rode and I photographed.

That last picture I took of the Bonneville in a parking area on the south end of the Bahia Honda bridge. I went just to poke around and lo and behold I found yet another little piece of Keys back country previously unknown to me. I've been by here a million times too...

It was just another of those little parking areas off the highway, one of the nice features of riding through Monroe county, come as you are and park where you feel like, trash cans provided:Apparently other people have already discovered this small corner of wilderness:I'm sure i don't know what he found to dive on, and swimming with a regulation dive flag indicates he knows the rules, I just wondered if he was doing some reconnaissance for next week's mini lobster season, the annual summer massacre of lobster by amateur hunters, that precedes the official commercial lobster season. The area in back of the parking lot was easily accessible to divers or walkers:

And then home to a quick swim in Newfound Harbor followed by grilled chicken from the barbecue, braised spinach and the satisfaction of a small summer ride on my Bonneville:

Ten miles there, ten miles back.