Old Harris School

Change comes slowly to 812 Southard Street.


In fact I dare say nothing much has changed at the Old Harris School in ages. This was, at the turn of the 20th century the pride of Key West, a purpose built public school.


Nowadays the school sits on a large piece of land and the whole ensemble is unloved and unused except for the incessant No Trespassing signs stuck all over the place.


Eventually some buyer will be found or renters or a development or something. The school district in a rare moment of radical insight nearly sold it to the defunct Rodel Foundation before they got wiped out by the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. The idea was to create an artists' colony in the building. Key West as a whole might actually have benefited.


There it sits, a No Trespassing sign hosting site and nothing more. An eyesore ready to lure squatters, a development with no developers. What a waste.



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Key West Pictures

I am strictly utilitarian when it comes to my wheels. I would no more do this to my Bonneville than I would to myself. It's typical Key West though.


I thought this sign was rather vague. Are the firefighters supposed to mooch around inside the structure until either a) no living thing seems to be inside or b) the house falls on their heads while they take an animal inventory?


I am not completely sure what a Fellowship Hall is but it appears to be some kind of church though I suppose in some respects it must be different to a church. I like the title Fellowship, it seems rather chummy and cheerful. I wonder why all churches aren't called fellowship halls.


This mansion is attached to the church on Simonton Street. The church has towers and the mansion has delicious light blue...


...shutters. You can see the church's crenellated tower in the background.


On the subject of crenellations some industrious person went to a lot of trouble to build this wall with artfully angled bricks.


There were a lot of them lining the property and it's walkways. I hope they are a daily source of pleasure to somebody because they seem mighty labor intensive.


Cheap and cheerful is more my style, though I do like my air conditioning. All the same old Florida louvers fascinate me.


This is how Key West works it's magic, small details on houses and streets and in the air that set this town aside as unique.


That and the constant message of inclusiveness.


Not always achieved but always in the forefront of the mind, this one human family thing.



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Overseas Highway At Dawn

I took a drive with Cheyenne and the sky was such that the clouds, the sunlight, the impending rain perhaps, all conspired to make for some memorable seascapes. This is what you can expect to see riding the Overseas Highway on a morning pregnant with the promise of rain and sun in equal measures.


Bahia Honda Bridge:


Seven Mile Bridge:





Long Key Bridge:


Matecumbe Key:


Indian Key:


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Simonton Street

Seventy three degrees didn't last long when the latest cold front got through ravaging us.


Temperatures dropped to the mid 50s a couple of nights after I took these pictures and daytime highs were in the mid 60s. I had got complacent and had just finished remarking to my wife how we had had a lovely mild winter, just how I like them.


Simonton Street named for one of the four Anglo founders of the town is a useful street to get from one side to the other without dealing with the cruising on neighboring Duval. It's also useful because the Bottle Cap Bar is on the corner of Catherine Street.


Not being a barfly myself this is not really my scene but the easy liquor to go window has a certain appeal.


And when you are done at the Bottle Cap you can put your used beer here in this conveniently located toilet strewn lovingly along the side of the street, part of the artful urban landscaping that occasionally overwhelms good taste.


Instead of filling in the hole they just chose to paint it. You Have Been Warned.


A fine accoutrement for any Key West bicycle.


I barely saw the banana until a thunderstruck passerby pointed it out.


Which led inevitably to this:


And there it was, at the end of my little walk, the real mural.


I rather liked the individual take on the usual coral reef scene strewn all around the walls of Key West. Underwater life reflected in a dive mask.



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My Dog And Other Wildlife

I used this picture in this morning's essay on the park behind Baby's Coffee on Highway One. I like Cheyenne's pose, not least because she never sits smartly for me when I have a treat, like she did for this stranger, but also because it is classic Labrador.


Like I said she never sits obediently for me. She knows I'm a soft touch and all she has to do is look at me with her liquid brown eyes.


Wildlife on the other hand mistrusts me and prefers to step delicately away.


It's this delicacy of poise that attracts me to Florida's native waders over the rambunctious and messy and noisy imported chickens. Labradors are perfect anywhere.



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Baby's Coffee

I was ambling with Cheyenne when I saw this blob and I had to trot back to the car to get my camera. These things are everywhere and if you search Facebook for Key West Blob there is apparently an explanation.


Call me eccentric but I prefer not to know so I just note them in passing and keep on keeping on. My wife was inside Baby's Coffee buying us an afternoon pick-me-up so I had Cheyenne to myself for a few minutes.


The coffee shop is at Mile Marker 15, whence they moved after starting out life in downtown Key West at the KW Peppers building if I remember correctly.


Then they moved the roasting operation to the mainland to save money and took the retail store to Bay Point.


Which island has it turns out a nice chunk of Monroe County open space behind the coffee shop.


The Lower Keys Shuttle between Key West and Marathon has a stop here, seen above. Below, my dog decided this was where we would have our coffee:


In the company of some locals resting comfortably in the grass.


Soon enough my wife appeared with the coffee and we watched the clouds scud overhead while I listened to my wife's latest tale of woe from the horribly administered school district. I am hoping the idiot Superintendent gets his marching orders before he ruins local schools completely. He is under qualified, inexperienced and as a result has a very inflated ego and a total lack of self confidence. And he hates strong women which puts my wife at risk.


A passing dog walker very kindly offered Cheyenne a treat which made her the poor woman's best friend for life.


Jeez Cheyenne! It's just a cookie!


It's a fine spot behind Baby's. The best place to stop and enjoy coffee on a lovely Keys afternoon.



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