There really is nothing quite so much fun as messing about in boats. Originally the boat in question was a wooden rowing boat, but for me the object of fun has transmogrified into a 14 foot (4 meter) fiberglass center console. A quick run down my canal and out into Newfound Harbor and I can park the boat somewhere smooth and out of the wind and take a swim in the turquoise waters. An hour of that, an outdoor shower when I get home and a leap into my uniform and I am relaxed and ready for a night of dealing with crises at work. Going swimming for me is the best release of tension, being on the water or in the water is my reason for living in the Keys, and having a dock on a canal is another reason why I like to live outside Key West proper. Twenty years of living on the freezing coastal waters of Central California will do that for you. And then there are days when you want to go for a boat ride as well as go for a swim.
Zipping down the south shore of Ramrod Key I headed out to Niles Channel, which is the deep water channel separating Ramrod from Summerland Keys. There is deepish water close in to the south shore of Ramrod, not too close in and you'll find several feet at low tide. My Dusky has no electronics and with a modest 25 horsepower outboard doesn't need much water to float so if I can barely see details on the bottom I've probably got three feet of water and that's plenty. But I still have to follow the bubba sticks to get out into deep water:
The first bubba stick you leave to port (the left side of the boat), and then there's another one to swing west to aim at Summerland in the distance, and then at the last one you are free to turn north:
Bubba sticks are the local name for homemade markers, usually made out of white PVC pipes planted somehow in the ground and sticking up above water. The trick is to know which side the bubba who planted them intended to find deep water. First approaches may need to be cautious but they are very handy. And then there it is: the tallest bridge between Big Pine Key and Key West, fully forty feet clearance above median high water:
I need much less to pass safely underneath:
That's the marker light hanging under the bridge to show the way at night. Beyond the bridge to the north Niles Channel stretches to the horizon and disappears beyond the mangroves that line either side of the deep water channel. On a calm day its a mirror of flat water and the boat flies along as though skimming an endless expanse of shimmering green sand. On a windy day its too much hassle in a small boat and one turns around to find a quiet spot to take a swim:
There are a bunch of boats anchored just south of the bridge and i see them everyday when I ride the Bonneville on my way to work:
And there's even one that's sunk at its anchor and the way it's lying in the water gives one some idea of how shallow it is around here:
People wonder why "they" don't remove these boats. The problem is what to do with them? It costs huge amounts of money to get the boats to the landfill, but even before that state officials have to carry out "due diligence" to seek out the owner and even if "they" get rid of these abandoned boats more appear. Constantly. Not so long ago a sailboat in this area broke loose and blew the fuse on the entire Lower Keys electrical supply when it's mast banged up against the wires that run alongside the highway. We were out of power for several hours in the Lower Keys, not least because the power company had no idea where the "break" was. They run trucks along the highway shining searchlights at the wires and that takes time.And then there's Flagler's old bridge which is used as a fishing pier alongside the new bridge. I took several views from my boat:
All original cement from the beginning of the 20th century, and you can see it took a fair bit of effort to blast the gap in the old bridge to make room for boats to pass through.
And then the State of Florida laid a roadway on top in 1938 after they bought the rights from the railroad company.Well, that was fun but its time to go back to the protected waters of Newfound Harbor and jump in the water.
This dude out fishing is doing a bit better than my 20 miles per hour, and he's through the bubba stick chicane before I even get close. That was a good day on the water.
To my eyes it has a South Pacific Polynesian flair, perhaps because I've never been there. The varnished wood curves up like one of those Tahitian canoes or something. And there's a Useful Secret about this place.
There are two parking spaces in front of the church. They are reserved for the church on Sundays according to a conveniently located sign, but the rest of the time they were there for the taking, and they aren't metered either. And the bonus is you get to park near the coolest church roof in Key West.
I've seen this little shrine before but it looked more noticeable as I came across it, on 
I like the sunflowers keeping the statue company, a sunny token in a sunny city. We find reminders of our youth in the most surprising places.
And in closing a pretty Key west picture, 
Key West, oh so pretty. This blog doesn't 
That low budget unit (thank you Dean) installed by the previous owner of my home (Dean) in the year 2000 has bought the farm. It has stopped working. This is a dead parrot (to misquote John Cleese) my air conditioning is no longer functional, it has ceased to exist, it has evaporated its last droplet of humidity. My house as a consequence is HOT. Everything inside the home is hot and rather than present you with a tedious list check out the lovely leather couch ignominiously covered by sackcloth. Hot leather is hard to sit on:
And in the bedroom all the fans are going, all four of them, moving the hot sticky air around:
Each of the ceiling fans spins silently. Usually they are busy moving cold air down from the a/c vents. Right now I'm glad to feel any air at all moving against my sweaty skin. And outside the sun shines white, like pure heat:
Did I mention its hot out there? Hot and dry. The salt ponds across the street from the house are looking parched and this is supposed to be the beginning of rainy season.
You could cook an egg on the plaque put up by the Nature Conservancy to honor the Spottswood family for taking a tax break and donating 90 acres of mud to the county. I'm glad they did because I'm guaranteed a westward view as long as I own the house, uninterrupted by development. Meanwhile my water cistern has run out of water. It's been 18 months that I've survived without falling back on aqueduct water, but this drought has run me dry. My pumps are turned off:
And I had to switch the cistern off until it rains again.
Those are Dean's marks on the wood, and though he never used the cistern I love using rain water. And though they seem rather crude they work. I hope it rains soon. I never used to wish for rain in my previous lives because I lived in places where rain meant cold, mud and being stuck indoors. In the Keys most rain comes in the hot season and rain means refreshment and variety and a delicious smell of crisp ozone lingering in the air. Besides the rain comes and usually goes and usually doesn't linger in the form of endless drizzle.
We're not even seeing thunder heads building. Its just blue sky day after boring day. Which in the ordinary course of things suits me just fine but the aqueduct water tastes of chlorine and the jug water I buy costs money. On the subject of money I can't wait to get the bill to refill my hundred gallon propane tank which has sunk to almost empty:
Good Lord! It's all happening at once! Suburban will be out next week and my a/c company has promised my brand new $4,000 unit will be installed and cooling my house by next Tuesday evening. I can't wait, I have to admit we've survived without climate control, though cooking anything in the kitchen is out of the question, any exercise not involving swimming is impossible and I hate to think what the humidity would do to my books, clothes and furniture if we went for a long time without a/c. 
And still the drought persists, and the mud shrivels and my cistern remains as dry as an English sense of humour. Gotta be tough to hack it in the Keys. I need some whine with my cheese.
It happened that I was in town in the car because even I have not yet figured out how to haul 4 cases of mineral water 26 miles to my home from GFS, the bulk food store, on the back of a Bonneville. So I was forced to park the car on Elizabeth Street, the street closest to Duval without meters, and walk, which is anyway a pleasure. I saw a few interesting little things that I recorded for posterity. The cleaners on Elizabeth street for instance, that I find reminiscent of an earlier time, the terrazzo floor, the big fan whirring and the couch for the customers!
I am one of the few in Key West that really enjoy the summer heat that is upon us. I like the bright white light of summer, I enjoy the sheen of sweat that comes so easily to one's limbs, I like breathing the hot sticky air as I walk, I feel as though I am swimming underwater. I took a picture of the ATM at Bank of America which shone bright white in the sunlight 
On Fleming Street the city wants to remind people that bicycles have to follow the rules of the road, and I rather liked this sign so I took a picture for no particular reason:
For some people its getting too warm to use their bicycles so they park the in the garage during the heat of the day. This is a typical Key West,Old Town garage:
Or, if you rented an apartment in Old Town you might have a flight of stairs to climb, a long one too, like Jacob's Ladder. It looks romantic but imagine a 600 square foot apartment with uneven floors and funky cupboards cooled by a noisy expensive window air conditioner blowing cold air in one spot. And for all this at the top of these stairs, or any others like them, you could be paying $1200 a month. 
I mention it as an example, to remind those of you contemplating a move to the coolest city of a possible pitfall. Perhaps the person living in this Paradise pays just $500 a month and monitors the homeowner's cat. You just never know. On the subject of homes I liked the plaque on this porch, not to mention the balloon:
If I lived in Old Town I'd like a brass sign like that on my porch. I'd like friends who sent balloons while i was at work, too, though I have no idea what this is all about. When writing about downtown key West one feels a certain obligation to illustrate the streets with any number of pretty conch homes. Here's one of no particular merit or demerit for the record:
I like the combination of formal frontage combined with the greenery and the delicate porches; Tara meets Conch. There is a ton of them like this around town, you practically can't point a camera without snapping one.
Others embrace Key West's preference for alternative transportation, an embrace that goes back far beyond the first stirrings of high cost gasoline:
Note the black garbage bag for a seat cover, the absence of a left hand mirror and the ever useful basket. These old Honda Elite 50s haven't been built for years but they keep on running. Mine carried me down the Boulevard at 38 miles per hour day after day on my way to work downtown. I regretted selling it when I went for the flashier and unreliable Stella 150. I view all Elite work horses with a certain fondness these days. 
