Clouds For Summer

What a glorious morning it was around 6:40 still cool and no one around except me and Rusty.

The sun came up all right and I caught it low enough in the sky to create  some of those much liked golden effects, this time over the Old Bahia Honda bridge close up and the new bridge in the background. This is how lovely the morning was even if not quite the golden in color in real life.

 And the clouds are building and some of them like this one are dropping rain at random:

I love how the still waters in the heat of summer reflect the clouds on them: 

 Classic anvils towering up into the sky:

Slowly the clouds will grow, you'll see flashes of lightning everywhere after dark and you will sit there and wait for the relief  of the rain. 

 There's nothing like Florida in the summer. 

Working The Streets

I do like being on the streets of  Key West when the rest of the world sleeps. Perhaps that's another reason I have stayed on night shift in the 911 dispatch center after all these years. On my nights off I sometimes go into town and see the work that it takes to keep this little tourist town attracting people who are ready to pay $400 a night for a room. 

Street cleaning, refilling the stores, collecting trash, it all goes on after the bars have to close by 4 am and after the crowds if any, have dispersed and all is quiet. However this sort of thing doesn't please everyone. We got a 911 call recently from a distraught father who just got his baby to sleep and then had him re-awakened by a noisy garbage truck. The man was so angry all he could think to do was call 911. Nick calmed him down  somehow.

Not everyone wakes up at the sounds of laboring trucks and whirring street sweepers and clanging trash cans. 

I can only take so much of it, as necessary as it may be. Walking the waterfront at five in the morning is a pleasant contrast. Here at the Margaritaville Resort, formerly known as the Westin and before that the Hilton Resort. Why Jimmy Buffett needs more stuff I couldn't possibly say but he can't seem to stop. Boredom perhaps?  

No one was around to celebrate with me the slow and spectacular appearance of the sun over the city.

 Except Rusty, he was with me and we watched the bread delivery for a bit at Fausto's on Fleming. 

Much quieter, and it smelled good too.

Wood and Brick

Summer seems to be here, after a much prolonged cool season with strong winds and chilly nighttime breezes. I'm not sure how much time Rusty will be wanting to spend outdoors midday for the next few months but I took him downtown early in the morning on Monday.We hadn't been to Key West together ina while and I like getting up early after my nights off.

I was looking at the typical wooden homes of Key West, picturesque and pretty, like Chuck's old home shown below with the decorative bicycle his daughter painted. I believe he lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains now in California these days and I can't imagine more of a contrast. For someone who likes living in Old Town this would be a good spot, a lovely wooden home, quiet neighborhood but close to the action.

The city has been setting up a bold new bicycling program to get more people out of cars and the program is being received rather coldly by the citizenry in a  town where parking is at a premium and streets are narrow. Part of the program is to clear racks and sidewalks of abandoned bicycles. I think that part seems to be working. I never knew the racks outside Eden House on Fleming were owned by the guesthouse. I thought the inscription was rather cool: 

You  might think Key West could find a better way to build than with wood. This picture from the web shows Duval Street after the  October 11th 1909 hurricane, before they were named,  and the damage to wooden buildings.

There are some brick structures in Key West but bricks are heavy and expensive to ship. Some bricks did come out of ships where they used them for ballast but for most people homes had to be built out of wood which was cheaper.

 Nevertheless there are some brick buildings to be found if you look around...

The more usual adornment on the wooden homes, built from  ships' timbers they say was the deck at the top, the widow's walk where wives hoping not to become widows could look for their husband's returning ship.

Nowadays they seem blisteringly impractical under a blazing sun. A long way up to carry a tray of drinks.And if you want to know the status of ships there are better ways than looking for them, oddly enough.

Going Boating

For some reason I've been watching boats and I've enjoyed it.

 Some while I've been out myself.

 Highway One bridge, not much clearance:

 I find driving power boats to be inherently boring- aim and go leaves little room for finesse:

 The lifts are quite the thing keeping boats safe from weather and salt water growth on the hull:

 In the US red markers on the way home should be on the right side of the channel. 

They are triangular and even numbered.

 Green ones are square and odd numbered.

Number 1 is at the destination while the highest numbers are furthest out at sea.

It's a simple and effective system monitored b y the US Coastguard.

 Robert's Salty Dog, unlike Rusty likes going out on Robert's catamaran:

 Lovely colors. 

 Not all Keys homes are modest affairs. Some have miles of docks.

 Robert uses whips to keep his 26-footer in tension away from the seawall. 

 I enjoy watching the parade of sailboats from shore. Sometimes on this hot summer days I miss it...

 ...but reality sets in with a jolt. It's a lot of work for not much exploration, coasting around countries.

 And fishing has never appealed to me.

 Commercial fishing is a tough life:

A Tale Of Two Dogs

I find dog ownership in this country to be rather peculiar.There is a widespread belief that dogs are as angry and unpredictable as their owners. Frequently when people snap at me asking if my dog is friendly the answer that comes pat is "much more friendly than you."  My neighbor marvels how Rusty has the run of the house and unfenced yard and is happy to sit in the driveway bothering no one and simply watching the world go by. Of course he is, he gets great walks and lots of attention and he knows not to piss me off. He is my companion, not an ornament or a status symbol. He doesn't like to see me annoyed so he behaves. We have a deal. 

He's a smart dog so it didn't take much to train him, but I don't hit him or yell at him, I just give him the cold treatment and he hates that. I use unconventional sounds to obey me. I say "stay" instead of sit so he only knows to obey me. If I want him to stop I clear my throat and he sits down just like that. As he lived on the streets for a long time he is very well versed with traffic and pays attention to passing cars and stays out of their way. I clear my throat and he sits and waits. 

Out walking I saw a distant figure with a dog tightly restrained barely visible. No sooner than they saw Rusty sitting waiting they turned tail and walked rapidly back out of sight, so far away they were barely stick figures. I can't imagine living with a dog that can't cross paths with another dog. I see them all the time struggling with leashes and and dogs that can't run free and be dogs. It seems a rough deal for dog and owner.

 Later that morning I wanted to sit by the ocean for a few minutes so I stopped with Ruty at a little waterfront pocket park. A man roughly my age, sun tanned skin with bleached blonde hair looking like  a surfer dude or a laid back long time Keys resident. He had a snow white dog sharing his space and I mentioned Rusty was friendly, he nodded, the dogs met and went nose-to-nose, no drama nothing needing to be said. It was a very satisfying moment to see the two dogs sizing each other up and enjoying their company.  

Maybe I extrapolated too much from the two encounters but in some way I felt they typified life in the Keys these days, the uptight incomer who loves the Keys and wants to make them conform to what she knows and the old tramp, millionaire or pauper who cares, who goes with the flow and lets  things sort themselves out as they should. I fear the leash-less shambling lifestyle is being pushed over the edge and away. Rusty and I agree that would be a shame.

Business Changes

Last week someone called 911 to report an incident on North Roosevelt Boulevard somewhere near the Banana Bay Motel "near the construction where they are tearing it down" they said. Tearing down Banana Bay? First I'd heard of that, another character-filled motel disappearing I figured. I like to check locations when I can't visualize them so I stopped by the motel parking area to see what was being torn down and I found nothing. Everything looked as normal. I wasn't even surprised as eye witnesses frequently get confused. 

Relieved to see no change at the iconic motel I started thinking about the latest changes planned for the city's biggest business strip. On big one is the Duncan Ford dealership now about 60 years old and just recently sold by the daughter of the founder. The new owners have retained all the employees according to the newspaper but have big changes planned. I suppose it's reasonable to think the place could use some refreshing.

Another old time business that could use some refurbishment is the tire shop on the Boulevard. Apparently this place will be torn down to make way for a restaurant to be built later. Glad I get my tires

 Mixed emotions among the people I have talked to with the news that the old TGIF building will be replaced by a Sonic hamburger joint. Not an inspired choice but franchises are the way this world works and the Conch Republic can't set its own standards, more's the pity.

This is a time of ferment in Key West I never know what will disappear suddenly. I keep checking Banana Bay on my way to work to make sure it's still there.