The Back of Big Pine

So who named the streets that are hidden behind the Blue Hole in the backwoods of Big Pine Key?I look in the air to see the trees and clouds and sky while my dog sticks her nose in the gutter. Or where the gutter would be if there were sidewalks in these hidden streets.I read with amusement how some visitors to these islands think they know them well enough yet have no idea at all these places exits, people live here and thrive.A cheerful mailbox decorated with nothing remotely resembling anything tropical.
I've got a couple of these these and my tomatoes this year are not exactly thriving. Perhaps better empty like this topsy turvy.A conch car, fine except for the dreadful gas mileage. For a high mileage driver like me this is out of the question. It's too hot and humid to follow the deer trails through the pine woods.
A fine Panga out of it's element. I like these wooded homes but prefer my canal side house. Car alert. I am not a car nut, even though I like to drive, but everyone seems to like these classics, and here is one tucked up in the pine woods. When in raccoon country protect those trash cans! Cheyenne found these trash can protectors unneighborly.

A poinciana tree lurking in the backwoods. Actually it is a back yard tree on the next street.This pretty home appeared through the trees. Isolation in the Keys is possible if you want it.

Cheyenne and I were not alone.

I keep seeing stuff growing that looks totally alien to me.

This dude was hauling piles of mulch, with a cheery smile that he turned away as I snapped his picture...

He had a huge pile to move. I find the residents of these back streets to be cheerful and friendly whenever I come across them. Perhaps canals make people grumpy. Nice cactus.Some days Cheyenne has more energy than others, and this day was one of them.

I love this vegetation.

This a driveway anyone could desire.

I have photographed Dade Pine homes in Key West. They exist out here as well.

Dade Pine has been cut to death in Dade County and is now found in the Florida Panhandle. It's oily nature is resistant to weather and insects (and paint which is unnecessary).

This Aryan Naturist surprised me by popping out after we passed and started making cooing noises at my dog who ignored him.

I could have used a swig of something refreshing but the advent of rainy season means Cheyenne is rarely short of a puddle of something good.

There seems to be a revival of key deer this year, they are everywhere, but on this walk this was the closest we got to one. They are training their offspring this time of year which makes them extra skittish.

And so we stumped back to the car and the relief of air conditioning. It has been, as climate change has predicted, a hotter than average summer.