Clouds

It felt like a summer day all heat humidity and sunlight. Overhead the clouds were big and puffy, which I believe makes them of the cumulus type and they were being pushed by a breeze that was cool to the skin even at ground level.

My wife was working but I had the day off and Rusty had let me sleep in so the mangroves appeared to be our destination. I follow Rusty's lead on these occasions and he led me away from his usual haunts and sat and a looked and I wished he had the power of speech.

My compromise was to take him to the end of the paved road and let him decide for himself if the location appealed. It did.

He was intent running back and forth with his nose down while I took my cloud gazing.

I had hoped for bright reflections on the water but the sun was too low in the sky, so we did our best.

Summer is the time to be alone in the Keys, families storm the beaches and the attractions, but the snowbirds with their bicycles and kayaks are heading north now and the backroads are much quiter.

Manatee swallowed a mailbox. When my wife first saw one of these twenty five years ago when we lived in California she figured we could load one in the back of the car and haul it back to our California home where manatees are unknown. For some reason she didn't follow through which now that I think about it is a shame as I could have collection of pictures of fiberglass manatees in strange places along I-10. Come to think I could load one in the back of the van for future photo opps....

The clouds were boiling in the sky reminding there is something good to look at in the months of heat and heavy rains.

I am terrible at discerning shapes in the clouds but I do like watching them boil in the sky, like mountains coiling up on themselves.

The best way to do this is to lie flat on your back and listen to your dog panting.

No one was around so I figured I could get away with doing something you aren't supposed to see. I prefer lying on the asphalt as it is smoother and I enjoy the massage-like heat on my back b ut in order to be sensible I stretched out on the verge, not a bad compromise.

Wouldn't you know it - as soon as I got comfortable two old geezers, older even than me, came pedaling slowly by discussing a neighbor's character flaws at the tops of their voices until they saw me and asked as they rode if I was okay. I had sat up at this point to reassure them so I did the same with my voice and they came back a few minutes later by now used to me and ignoring me. Their irritating neighbor was not improving with time apparently as they had no compunction about discretion. I wonder who it was?

This next picture I took  out of boredom and had no expectation of posting it. When I looked at the picture I saw Rusty framed by my legs; it was an act of sheer brilliance and forward thinking and not a chance photograph at all. I suppose if you take enough some few must come out okay.

I used to cloud watch as a child and the habit has stuck with me though I am one of the happy few it seems.  A car came by bearing a  business logo with the fearful proposition that they might be the people to call to unblock your drains. He stopped and asked if I was okay.  

Oh yes I said I am very well thank you, a day off, a happy dog, a few clouds and hardly anyone passing by at all. How could I not be okay?

Later I met Rachel and Hunter and Rusty whined piteously to be let out of the car and after they played for a few minutes they each went their separate ways sniffing different clumps of grass. Rachel had to changed a wheel on her golf cart which seemed a chore I should offer to help, being a strong man and everything. She waved me away, indicating she gets as much pleasure from doing a chore as I get from cloud gazing. There is no accounting for taste. 

Birds

Flying things I have seen.

Sunday Sunset

I thought that a Sunday without words might be suitable. I hope it is.

Old Bahia Honda

The seasons are changing at last in the Keys as we move from Winter High Season to Summer High Season by  way of the few weeks of doldrums in between when there is a period of fewer visitors and more open space.

I know there are fewer winter residents in the Keys because my street has no more dog walkers shuffling up and down it all hours. They'll be back after the first snowfalls blanket unspeakable places Up North, but by Easter they all leave to escape summer, much dreaded, in the Keys.

Summer visitors will start showing up when school gets out and families show up expecting to see beaches, not knowing that mainland Florida is where the beaches are...

...and the rocky Florida Keys are where the beaches look like this:

The arrival of summer means migratory birds are migrating away, just like the people so a chance to snag a pelican or two is a late season pleasure.

Ospreys hang around for the summer so life for fish remains fraught with danger. I wonder how they feel about that last flight far out of their element before ending up on the breakfast table. Not happy probably.

Down on Earth I will always take advantage of a day off to drive the van, even if its just twenty minutes from home. It feels like a road trip! 

A nice fresh breeze to blow through the vehicle, but first Rusty needs to scope out the scene.

The new (1982) road bridge across the deep waters of Bahia Honda, always good for a moment of abstract art:

I don't think the scenery is improved by scribbles but the meessage caught my eye:

Bottoms Up! Fishermen trolling like ducks ona  pond....

The old pump house was blown away finally by hurricane Irma after 75 years on this spot. 

It sits next to to the original water line which was  run from Miami to key West during World War Two to supply the expanded Naval Base.

I took the advice given to me on this page and removed the shackles from the new winch which has the added benefit of making the installation even less obvious. My next move will be to organize a driving lesson to learn how to use the thing as necessary when necessary. Which I hope won't be often.

Parking to receive the breeze through the side door made for a pleasant moment drinking tea and reading and not being close to a ringing phone.

I bought a door mat for the van, a stiff piece of PVC that I can use to lie on the ground to change a tire say, or to step on before I step inside. It works well and folds easily away.

I also used it to lie on the ground and test the spare tire arrangement. The driving to Alaska books stress having a  full sized spare onboard and the Promaster arrangement requires winching the spare down from under the back of the van. Having a firm pad to lie on is invaluable it turns out. I blanched at the cost of $80 but at 63 years of age I think I'm entitled to lie down comfortably as I insert the winch into the slot on the frame to lift the van. 

I then stuck my foot onto the bumper step and waxed the windshield, my monthly chore. It's an odd occupation waxing a windshield but a few months ago I had a plastic cover put on the glass which is supposed to prevent gravel strikes cracking the windshield. My wife says she's noticed two strikes here in Florida and the glass is prefect. To keep the plastic coat supple I have to keep waxing it. I'm motivated as I'm told Alaskan roads are full of gravelly bits thrown up by passing vehicles.

All these nuances Rusty ignores. He's grown to enjoy the van and jumps up immediately and takes his place ready to ride. When we arrive he knows how to handle the great outdoors. With a sound nap.