On the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)

On the ICW
Jupiter Island, FL
June c22, 2023

 Yesterday was a boating day. 

The thunderstorms held off long enough for Chris and I and two friends to get in a great boating day on the ICW. We actually enjoyed hot sun while sitting on an ocean beach accessible only by boat from the ICW. We motored past some the high end homes on Jupiter Island and we enjoyed looking longingly at the private gold course situated along the ICW upon which we will never swing a club. 

It is fun looking at how the uber-rich live. Some of them have very big boats! Wait, they are so big they might be ships.

It was a great day and it felt good to be back on the water. There are many more places that we are planning to explore including the St Lucie River and the ICW towards Ft Pearce. After four more trips, I can apply for training to allow me to go out on the open Atlantic Ocean! I am looking forward to doing that. 

There is just something great about being out on the water in a boat. We had a 21 foot Hurricane yesterday. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Golfing in the Heat

 

Chris on the 12th Tee
Jupiter Dunes, FL
June 22, 2023

Chris and I could not resist yesterday. We had to get out and hit the golf course yesterday.

We managed to get out early, but it was still very hot and humid. By the time our round was over it was 87 degrees and the humidity was over 90 percent. Did I mention that we walk when we play this course? 

The course is undergoing summer upgrading. I know that sounds funny to golfers up north, but here in South Florida Summer is the low season and courses do their improvements. About half the course was undergoing Tee-box or green improvements. I had an unusually good round, for me. I mean really. I was just 15 over par, which is 3 strokes better than my bogie golf goal. The heat began to get to me at the end and I gave up a few strokes on the last couple holes. Chris also had a very good round. 

We were tired, hot, and more than ready to be done when I finally sank my putt on the 18th. But, we had finished the round and enjoyed our time together.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

For the Birds

Two Canada Geese Families
Odenton, MD
June 10, 2023

 Watching the geese became a daily pastime while we were in Maryland. There was a small catch pond next-door to Nicole's, where we were staying, and two goose families would walk over the small hill and spend part of the day swimming and eating in the relatively protected, fenced pond. 

What was interesting was that there were two goose families with between them 8 goslings. One family had 5 and the other 3 goslings. The goslings were hatched about a week or two apart, meaning one family was developing ahead of the other. But, they all got along and worked together as a small flock.

During the month we were in Maryland, Chris and I watched the geese and marveled at how the goslings so quickly developed from small, almost helpless creatures into beautiful Canadian Geese. We worried about the transient foxes that we occasionally saw at the pond. One day we saw a bunch of feathers and worried that one of the goslings had met an untimely end, but upon further examination I determined that there were not enough feathers. Later that same day we were happy to see the full compliment of both families. 

Since we departed, a week ago, it has been reported that the maturing goslings and their families no longer come to the pond for daily feedings. They are likely now part of a larger flock that will fly around Maryland, but never leave. Perhaps next year there will be additional families in the grouping. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Dog in a Blanket

Finnegan in Bed
Tequesta, FL
June 18, 2023

 Finnegan is a strange little dog. 

He loves to meet people and is a regular at the senior living facility next door. He is also good with the other dogs we meet during our daily walks. 

In addition to walking and meeting other dogs and people, Finnegan likes to sleep under the bedcovers and under a blanket on Chris's lap.

The other day, as a joke, I wrapped Finn in a blanket that was on the bed. He stayed there. All the while that Chris and I were doing some work in the closet, he just stayed under the blanket and slept. 

His biggest problem is that he is a picky eater. Chris is always trying to find a food that he will eat. When she is successful, he enjoys that food for a week or so and then goes back onto his permanent hunger strike. 

He is a strange little dog. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Monday Musings - June 19, 2023

 

1. It is the 3rd Monday of June. We are nearing the halfway point of the year. There are just 27 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. The Solstice (which for the Northern Hemisphere is the Summer version) occurs Wednesday, June 21 at 10:57 AM. Enjoy the light. It has taken 6 months to get here from the last Solstice.

Skies over Tequesta
Bridge over the Loxahatchee River
Tequesta, FL
June 18, 2023

3. Welcome to the Juneteenth Holiday. It is the 11th holiday designated by the Congress and this year marks the third celebration of the day as a Federal Holiday. I find it interesting that there are 11 Federal Holidays, but yet 3 months do not have a holiday: March, April, and August. January and November each have 2 holidays.

4. I managed a short bike ride yesterday, just over 12 miles. I took an image which recorded the state of the morning skies over Tequesta and South Florida. And that state is dark and brooding. Rain and thunder were on the horizon headed East. Ultimately, during the afternoon the skies cleared and the sun returned, but we have more days with similar conditions coming.

5. I think I am going to stop using Jiffy Lube for oil changes. It seems every time I go there they are trying to hit me up for hundreds of dollars in additional services. This last time they showed me something they said needed to be done and I have decided to take my truck to my regular mechanic to check it out. I still paid almost $200 for an oil change. What happened to roll-in and roll-out no hassle $30 oil changes? I guess they went the way of the dodo.

6. Today in History. In what is now known as Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States is abolished. 

A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of slavery in America. Despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863, a lack of Union troops in the rebel state of Texas made the order difficult to enforce. 

Some historians blame the lapse in time on poor communication in that era, while others believe Texan slave-owners purposely withheld the information.

Ukraine’s Offensive Is a Battle of Readiness - The Wall Street Journal

US and China take a potentially crucial step - CNN

Hundreds of thousands are without power as the South swelters under record-breaking temperatures - CNN

A 33-year-old man fell 4,000 feet to his death from the Grand Canyon Skywalk, authorities say - CNN

North Korea says botched satellite launch was 'gravest failure' - Reuters

Paris air show returns with jets and missiles in demand - Reuters

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus harbors essential elements for life - Reuters

600-pound marlin almost won a crew $3.5 million — then it was disqualified - The Washington Post

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Sitting out the Heat

Weather Radar from Channel 5 at 7:15 AM
June 18, 2023

 Chris and I sat out the heat yesterday.

There was an obligatory trip to the grocery store for supplies, but aside from that, we avoided direct exposure to the 105 degree stress index day. 

It was weird. 

The sky looked as if it were going to storm all day and it did storm during the afternoon. Today looks like more of the same. The weather radar from 7:15 AM shows storms to the south and coming from the west. We are likely to get storms all the day. I am glad that I do not have any outdoors activities planned.

Definitely not a good boating day, and I may not be able to get in a bike ride even though the heat indices are getting into a more normal range. 

It can be frustrating, but no more so than dealing with the poor air quality of the northeast caused by the Canadian wildfires. 

Have a Happy Sunday. 

And BTW, Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there. Don't forget Dad! 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

South Florida in June

It is the stormy, wet time of year here in South Florida. 

The afternoon/evening thunderstorms are just a part of life and we are used to having them roll through. A particularly fierce storm with driving rain came through last evening as Chris and I were watching TV. We didn't even acknowledge it until be both heard the thunder. Looking outside, the driving rain and wind reminded me of the glancing blow we took from a hurricane, with the key difference being it only lasted a few minutes. 

We have also been experiencing somewhat unbearable heat. The stress index has been over 100 degrees every day this week limiting outdoors activity. That written, I did manage an almost 17 mile bike ride yesterday, but I was very hot when I returned home. I actually enjoyed the ride, but the stiff west wind make it a challenge in some areas. I added in a one-mile loop in the middle of the ride. I am thinking that this will become my new base ride. I look at the elevation data form the ride and it seems almost humorous when compared to the rides I made in Maryland. I mean, how can 51 ft descent and 41 ft descent compare to the last ride I took in Maryland with 407 ft ascent and 411 ft descent? Very different riding.

I just saw this afternoon's stress index forecast: 105-108 degrees! 

Hot! Thank goodness for air conditioning.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

After Sitting a Month -- A New Tool

My Compressor
Tequesta, FL
June 16, 2023

 Chris and I experienced one of those car care moments when we returned to Tequesta after being away for almost a month. The tires on our Toyota Highlander were soft. We noticed the softness when we moved it from the parking space and were preparing to go shopping. The screech and rub on the pavement was too obvious. 

Well, I got out the hand tire pump that I use for bikes and proceeded to pump the tires to proper inflation. It took a while because the tires were all equally at 20 psi and I needed to get them to 35 psi. 

Do you know how many pumps it takes to put 15 psi into an automobile tire? 

I counted: about 120!

The inflation process took a while and in the heat I began sweating profusely. 

I was smart, however, and asked Chris to help inflate the third of the four tires. After her experience she suggested we get a real compressor! 

I was ecstatic! I have wanted one for a while, but could not figure out how to justify the purchase. Later, that same afternoon, we were at Home Depot and I came home with a new portable, battery powered compressor with a short hose. I already had the inflation kit, which I saved from the compressor I had in Elkridge. 

I am so happy. Being batter powered, I can take it almost anywhere even across the street to pump up the tires on the truck! 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

After the Storms

New Outlet Installed and Ready for the Cover
Tequesta, FL
June 15, 2023

 We had some exciting storms last evening. Not so much rain, but the lightning was fabulous! It was one of those storms that was right atop us and as soon as the flash occurred, the thunder arrived. Chris and I really appreciate a good storm. 

There were, however, consequences. 

The outlet on the patio which controls the electric screen stopped working. I was able to determine that two things were at play. The outlet was bad and it was not getting electricity. After a two hour search and phoning a friend, we finally determined which GFI in the house controlled the outlet. It was not an easy search. Turns out the GFI that controls the patio outlet is all the way across the house at the front of the garage! Who knew?

But, with perseverance the job was completed and we are back in business. I was lucky to actually have had another outlet in my tool box, which made the repair faster. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Aliens? Possibly?

 

Are we alone in the universe?

Recent discussions about UAP's (unidentified aerial phenomenon) leave open the possibility that we (humankind) are not the only intelligent life forms in the universe. I use the term "intelligent" loosely given all of the dumb things we do to each other and our planet. 

Although when directly asked, a NASA spokesperson responded: “One of Nasa’s key priorities is the search for life elsewhere in the universe, but so far, NASA has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life and there is no evidence that UAPs are extraterrestrial. However, Nasa is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe.” (The Guardian)

I suppose we may never really know if we are alone--but the possibilities are there, as of late, that we are not. 

Happy Flag Day!

Happy Hump Day!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL