Walmart In Rockland

I am told Walmart is planning on opening a store on Rockland Key in 18 months. I cannot imagine what this will do for local business but if the Lower Keys follow the pattern set in the rest of the world, it will do no good at all. Spend less live better is their slogan, but by buying junk from Third World factories Walmart helps send US jobs overseas in a pattern with which we are all too familiar. I have no doubt much rejoicing will greet the arrival of the store among people who live in the Lower Keys and wish they had mainland malls to shop in.

I am frankly amazed Walmart reckons the population in the Lower Keys would be sufficient to support a store at Mile Marker 9. However in light of a recent report in the paper on the low incidence of health insurance in the Keys, this new venture will presumably fit right in. This was news I could do without.

Garden Of Eden

Here's another view of the beauty of the Florida Keys. Miles from Fantasy Fest.


Lovely, no? And the man she was with was also out enjoying the sunshine and the ocean views. It was Crusoe's island made real (except for the goats).


Just enjoying the sea air with no body paint, masks, alcohol in hand or any other visible enhancers.


True, but they didn't have the best companion of all.


No paradise, be it ever so beautiful could be complete without a dog.


These are the Keys I enjoy when all the revelers have gone home.


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NewTown Pix

The big debate a few weeks ago was a proposal to allow boat parking on New Town streets. What a spat that idea created between Old Town and New Town residents.



To someone like myself, removed from the whole debate as I have room enough on my Lower Keys lot to park my tiny boat trailer, there seems to be room enough also on these streets to park an unsightly boat. As far as I recall the proposal went nowhere in a welter of recrimination.



No matter how much off street parking one may have it frequently seems the is not enough. Big foot in New Town:



This flower is of course a mystery as lovely as it is.



And I never do manage to remember their names.



I liked the look of this useful electric outfit:



For all that New Town is relatively modern the trees and greenery still make for a distinctive neighborhood.



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Patricia Street

My wife would love those purple shutters.


This picture lends the lie to the stereotype of the dog and the hydrant. Cheyenne, the white blob, strolled straight on by without a second glance.


One day my mailbox will be lush with bushes all round. Till then I have to admire those belonging to others.


I think aliens are coming and they've marked their landing spots with green circles.


I am not that fussed about hurricane fencing but my wife doesn't like it. I had thought we might need some when we got Cheyenne to keep her off the street, but she doesn't start out of the yard, this amazing dog, so the issue never came up. Mind you the fencing isn't really that pretty so I might be forced to concede the point to my wife...


Here's more of that ivy stuff that apparently grows straight up walls.


And a mysterious could of chain round a power pole's base. It had a padlock but no apparent purpose.


A few trees make the relatively modern bungalows of New town look quite mysterious.


I keep seeing gray clouds overhead.


This permanent rainy season must be over soon surely?



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Crane Boulevard

Crane Boulevard on Sugarloaf Key is gated beyond the residential area and a sign says it's part of the National Key Deer Refuge even though as far as I know the are no actual deer, yet on this island. There'd are people with guns though, as the refuge sign testifies:


Cheyenne got into some heavy sniffing near the gate and my projected walk up the closed portion of the paved road was put on hold.


It isn't as interesting as it might sound, Crane Boulevard. There was a plan a few years ago to tear it up and let it revert to nature, a plan that met massive resistance from residents and users. Such was the protest by walkers and cyclists that all such plans were dropped.


I have cycled to the end of the road but honestly it isn't that much fun. It's just mangroves and there is nothing much to see and there is no shade. Yet people love love to cycle it.


I have other trails I prefer, with growth and shade and a
little intrigue. Besides there are just too many bullet holes here.


Cheyenne finished sniffing and stood staring at the car. I got the hint and we left.



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Cheyenne's Outdoors

We walked for a while in bright sunshine and a breeze and when she seemed tired we repaired to the shade of a tree.


Fantasy Fest is always a hard week what with the sudden influx of crowds, big city traffic jams on the highway and drivers who have no clue where they re going or why. I always enjoy lying under a tree looking at the sky, but never more so than the
last week in October.


The pleasure of greenery overhead is so restful it will knock out a dog that has been running chasing her own tail.


I laid myself down next to her and looked up at the sky. It's been a nard week for me too, even though I don't work in the bars and guest houses.


Listening to Cheyenne snore is almost as peaceful as watching the wavelets break on shore, calm and regular.


By afternoon the rain was back in Seattle South under dark angry clouds.


I know snow is falling Up North and that must be horrible but what else does one expect at this time of year?


In the Keys it's supposed to be cool and dry with cold fronts coming and going not hanging around like guests outstaying their welcome.


We lounged around for a while Cheyenne and I, she snoring, me reading, until some visitor from Pennsylvania arrived with two cheerful dogs which he started shouting at, thus sounding like a sergeant major at a hippie gathering.


That's what I mean. These people bring money and too much stress with them. Bring the cash, spend lavishly and leave the stress at home. We left.



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