Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is a great celebration for lovers and would be lovers!

I remember being in grade school and doing the obligatory Valentine exchange. I wold come home with a folder full of Valentines from my classmates, and I likewise would give a Valentine to each of my classmates. It was fun to go home and open each of the Valentines and realize that there were only so many different little Valentines in the packages--I would get multiple copies of the same greeting. I wonder if kids still do that in class today?

I'm not sure I understood the reason behind Valentines Day, but it was fun to give and get a folder full of Valentines. 

Here is a fun fact--there were multiple Christian martyrs that were named Valentinus! Wow, who knew?

Here is a paragraph Wikipedia about the day:

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[1] is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.

Have a great day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Big, Beautiful Wall

Hopefully the agreement to fully fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year will be inked today. 

The stumbling point continues to be the wall. The President emphatically states that the wall will be big and beautiful!

A ‘big, beautiful wall?’ Yeah, right . . . - The Miami Herald

It will be immovable. 

It will be a monument to 19th century thinking transformed into reality during the 21st Century. 

We there people will be spending our national treasure on a wall rather than actually doing some good in the world and even in our own country. 

The wall will not feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, nor heal the sick. 

The wall will not protect us from attack, deter aggression, nor stem the flow of drugs coming over the border through established ports of entry such as the recent largest drug bust in history.

An interesting article in the New York Times provides perspective of the magnitude of the wall project.

The Border Wall: WhatHas Trump Built So Far? - The New York Times

It appears that if the President wants a wall, he is going get a wall. I would rather build missile defense, or bolster the armed forces with the money--but the wall will certainly provide a fitting and historic commentary on the presidency.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Ice on the Orioles Season

We have been enjoying some really difficult weather lately. It was what they call a wintry-mix. In reality it was freezing rain.

The freezing rain was interesting. It covered the bare branches of the trees creating a surreal scene, but it also created some dangerous driving conditions.

I would have liked to get some pictures of the ice covered trees, however, since I was driving in some really heavy traffic it would have been far too dangerous. 

February, all-in-all has been relatively mild and as we roll into mid-month, I note that MLB Spring Training is underway. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota today! While the arrival of Spring Training is usually exciting, my enthusiasm is tempered with the knowledge that the Orioles do not look any better than the last year's team which secured 15th place on the all-time list of the worst major league teams during the modern era. The ice that we have been experiencing has extended apparently to Sarasota and the team which begins training there.

Last year's Orioles lost 115 games. I believe it is possible that this year's team could lose more! 120 losses is a definite possibility. The team has, so far, done nothing in the off season to improve the overall quality of the team. I am so underwhelmed at the Orioles that I have decided not to renew my season tickets for this year. It will be the first time in about 15 years that I will not have season tickets to see the Orioles.

I may not go attend Opening Day on April 4th. Fans vote with their feet and my feet are planning to stay away until the team decides to get serious about improving. Mediocrity is not a reason to go to the ballpark.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 11, 2019

1. It is the second Monday of February. That is awesome. Spring begins in 37 days on March 20th!

2. It is tax season and the initial indications are that last year's tax cuts aren't showing up in the returns.

3. Cold weather is part of February in the Northeast. Knowing this, I'd rather winter somewhere further south.

4. Believe it or not, the youth basketball season is already ending. That means baseball season is warming up in the bullpen. Sadly, Jax's team lost a tough playoff game yesterday. Ethan's team had a bye and competes in their first playoff game next week.

5. I woke up this morning to an ice storm. 

6. This weekend was the first weekend since August where there was no NFL on TV. It felt good.

7. Is it me, or are other drivers on the highways getting worse? They don't signal intentions and then make sudden lane changes. Wow!

Daffodils in the Garden
February 10, 2019

8. It is now two months since I completed treatments for prostate cancer! In another month I get tested for my first results! I cannot believe how time has flown. Keep supporting everyone who is battling cancer! No one fights alone!

9. And despite the cold weather guess what I found growing in the garden yesterday? The harbinger of Springtime--daffodils! OK, maybe they are pushing the envelope a bit.

10. Today in History. Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990. In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid–South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation. However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government.

Headlines

Talks Over Border Security Break Down, Imperiling Effort to Prevent Shutdown - The New York Times

He Survived More Than 40 Hours as Scores Drowned Around Him - The New York Times

Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink - The Washington Post

Climate change seen as top threat, but U.S. power a growing worry: poll - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People."

"We the People" tell the Government what to do, it doesn't tell us. "We the people" are the driver - the Government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the Government what it is allowed to do. "We the people" are free.

  -- Reagan's Farewell Address to American People, January 11, 1989

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thinking of Florida

Jupiter Island, Florida
 Intercostal Side
From Radio Flyer
January 25, 2019

Suffering through the cold of the past couple days, I have been thinking of being in a warmer place--Florida.

The Shops of Jupiter,
Jupiter, Florida
January 20, 2019

I was just there during late January and even though I complained that it was too cool, I dearly would love to have awakened there this morning with the temperature outside my door touching on 16 degrees!

Despite the bright sky, it is too cold. Much too cold. Yes, I know that it is February, but still, I enjoyed the taste of Spring last week and fervently wish that it would return. I know that Spring is officially 38 days away, but I have grown weary of winter: the cold, the rain, and the "wintery mix."

While I was in Florida a few weeks ago I was able to play three rounds of golf despite not being able to spend much time on the beach. I would not even think of touching my clubs right now here in Maryland. Well, I did consider it on Friday, but I was too busy at work.

Look at it this way--a cold day in Florida is a lot warmer than a cold day in Maryland. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Virginia is for Messes

The government of Virginia is in a mess.

The allegations become uglier with each passing day. 

It is an ethically and morally charged issue that dates back decades--and there is the fundamental problem. 

I think society is getting too sensitive about things that happened 40 years ago!


Is it possible that we are losing perspective and taking actions out of context? Are we engaging in what is called: revisionist history?

Do not misunderstand me--I am not condoning the activities of the leaders in question, I am just urging that actions be viewed in context with the norms of society at the time. Society changes over time and what is acceptable, likewise, changes. 

As an example of changing societal context, think about the Bugs Bunny cartoons or the Three Stooges. When I was young, Bugs Bunny was a very violent cartoon. They were funny but were filled with violence and biting, insulting comments which were, at the time, acceptable. Since then, the cartoons have edited for the current generation to remove the violence and the now unacceptable comments. This is an example of how what is societally acceptable changes over time. What was acceptable is not now accepted. It is the same with the Three Stooges--their humor was funny then, but now it is not accepted. In fact, I do not find the Three Stooges funny anymore and do not watch their antics.

I have to believe we are forgetting that what is acceptable to society changes over time and as we become enlightened we forget that applying the mores of today to the past confuses the issues. We need to ask ourselves, are the actions by someone in the past outside of the norms for the period of time? 

Put another way, for the time and the place, was the action egregious? 

Just a thought. Ultimately, it is for each of us to decide.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Mixing it Up

With the arrival of Friday, the weather will begin a transition form unseasonably warm and enjoyable to seasonable cold. There seems to be little consensus as to whether there will be rain, snow, or both as Monday arrives.

I received an enjoyable email yesterday. It was from a local golf course advertising that today, Friday, was going to be beautiful and recommending that I play hooky from work and hit the links. 

Haha. Maybe, had the situation been different, I would take them up on the offer, but I have been away from my desk for three days attending a course on managing conflict AND I have developed a really nasty case of plantar fasciitis--I am totally hobbled. 

Chris talked me out of playing racquetball yesterday morning and suggested that I go for a walk with her during the afternoon, just to see if I could. It was great for the first mile. After that is was very painful as I forced myself to walk, limp, crawl (OK, not really crawl) the last half-mile home.

I hope the weekend finds the heel better! 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Brush with Spring

It happened on Tuesday. We had a brush with Spring as the temperatures in the region touched 70 degrees! It was awesome. By the time I got home, the temperature had fallen to 66 degrees, but Chris and I enjoyed Happy Hour on the back deck savoring the warm, dry weather in advance of another cold, wet front.

It was great to be outside and not get freeze or get wet!

Spring is coming. 

Also on Tuesday, we received and interesting gift in the mail from a company we are doing business with. It was cute. Last week they sent us a lottery ticket and on Tuesday the Smore package. 

It was cute and thoughtful. 

February is going to be a great month! I can tell.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

So Here We Are

It was surreal watching the State of the Union (SOTU) address last evening. 

The divided nature of our government was obvious. 

The Speaker of the House was clearly more interested in making a statement of her own rather than listening to the President.

CNN has published a piece titled 
5 key takeaways from Donald Trump's State of the Union speech. 

I have to admit that at the beginning of the speech, I was encouraged by the bipartisan call, but by the end of the speech it was clear that any bipartisan action would have to be made on the President's terms.

The President began by saying:

The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or Democrat agenda, it is the agenda of the American people. Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises, to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers, to rebuild and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure, to reduce the price of health care and prescription drugs, to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure, and to pursue a foreign policy that puts America’s interests first.

It was interesting to read the Fact Checker of the President's address. He takes credit for many things that began before he took office. The good note is that the good trends have continued, the bad is that he is taking whole credit for them and not recognizing that efforts of Presidents who preceded him.

State of the Union fact check: What's true and false in Trump's address - NBC News

One continual Trump claim that the NBC article focuses on is border security. I extracted the beginning of the item here:

CLAIM: TRUMP SAYS THE STATE OF THE SOUTHERN BORDER IS 'LAWLESS,' THREATENING THE SECURITY OF ALL AMERICANS

America's immigration system is broken — that's something experts, advocates and politicians across the spectrum can agree on — but there's little evidence the southern border is experiencing a new state of emergency. Violence isn't spilling over the border, and terrorists aren't being caught in droves trying to cross it. Illegal drugs largely come through legal ports of entry, not unguarded parts of the border, according to border authorities.

In the Democratic response to the SOTU, Stacy Abrams made a statement that really struck a chord with me:

My father has battled prostate cancer for years. To help cover the costs, I found myself sinking deeper into debt -- because while you can defer some payments, you can’t defer cancer treatment. In this great nation, Americans are skipping blood pressure pills, forced to choose between buying medicine or paying rent. Maternal mortality rates show that mothers, especially black mothers, risk death to give birth. And in 14 states, including my home state where a majority want it, our leaders refuse to expand Medicaid, which could save rural hospitals, economies, and lives.

I have read about people dying because they have been forced to choose between insulin injections and eating. This is wrong. This is not my vision for the America that I have served for my entire adult life. 

It was an interesting, if not scary evening as the gulf between the parties was on display. 

As a country and a society we need to do better. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

It has been a Week

Jupiter Lighthouse
January 28, 2019

It is hard to comprehend that it has been a week since I returned from South Florida. The weather here has ranged from bitter cold to unseasonably warm. I hope that we are on a warming trend, but I am a realist and know that it is only early February and Winter is just half over.

Chris and Finn on the Beach
January 28, 2019

I am reflecting fondly on the 10 days away from the cold. Although the weather in Florida was not idyllic, it was a very enjoyable trip nonetheless. Chris and I are looking forward to a return trip during the first days of Springtime. And, there should be many more visits to Florida in our future. 

I am, however, amazed at how quickly a week has passed since we departed Florida. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 4, 2019

1. It is the first Monday in February, the second month of the year. Where did January go?

2. The Super Bowl wasn't really super. It was a hard fought defensive struggle. As expected the Patriots won. The score was a lot lower than I predicted and set the record for the lowest scoring Super Bowl. People who had 3's and 0's in the office pools did really well!

3. It hit 50 degrees yesterday. Maybe it was an early Spring thaw?

4. Spring is closer with each passing day!

5. Isn't it amazing how myopic we become as a nation when the Super Bowl is being played. Who knows what happened around the world?

6. It was nice to be home this weekend. I was able to go to my favorite store, Lowe's, and get supplies for a small home improvement project, which I was also able to complete. However, that project started another painting project! No good deed goes unpunished!

7. I was amazed at how many drones authorities confiscated during the run-up to the Super Bowl. Drone flyers have got to get smarter and not do dumb things in order to protect our access to the skies. 

8. With the Super Bowl complete it is almost time for baseball season. Pitchers and catchers report for some teams in seven days! Play ball!

9. Pool opening day is tentatively scheduled for May 4, 2019. that is 89 days away!

10. Today in History. On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California, by two black men and a white woman, all three of whom are armed. Her fiance, Stephen Weed, was beaten and tied up along with a neighbor who tried to help. Witnesses reported seeing a struggling Hearst being carried away blindfolded, and she was put in the trunk of a car. Neighbors who came out into the street were forced to take cover after the kidnappers fired their guns to cover their escape.



Headlines

How Boring Was the Super Bowl? The Punts Got Exciting - The New York Times

How a ‘Monster’ Texas Oil Field Made the U.S. a Star in the World Market - The New York Times

Trump embraces a new nuclear arms race - The Washington Post

French fighter jets back Chadian forces after incursion from Libya - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week



“Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuing revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions. It is the right to put forth an idea, scoffed at by the experts, and watch it catch fire among the people. It is the right to dream — to follow your dream or stick to your conscience, even if you’re the only one in a sea of doubters. Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put on this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer.”

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Super Sunday

I had hoped that the snow would melt with the warmer temperatures yesterday, but sadly that did not happen.

The snow remains covering much of the ground.

But at least we are in the midst of a heat wave! It was 21 degrees this morning as I awoke with the promise of possibly seeing 46 degrees!

Today is the special Sunday that arrives but once per year. Of the 52 Sundays that comprise a year, this day has been designated as Super Sunday because of the Super Bowl! It is the crowning of the NFL Champion after a grueling season the 32 teams have been whittled down to 2 contenders to be crowned Champions! 

Many other American professional sports, for instance basketball, hockey, baseball; play a best of seven series to determine the league champion and so there is not the hype and drama that is associated with football's one game winner-take-all format. We do not have to wait out a grueling series to determine the eventual champion. Tonight the Lombardi Trophy signifying the NFL champion will be awarded to the final survivor.

So, here is my prediction for the big game: Patriots 35 to Rams 31.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Warming Up - Groundhog Day

Driveway
February 2, 2019

Happy Groundhog Day!

Amazingly, it is going to get up to 40 degrees today. 

I am thinking that I will get outside and cut some more wood for the fireplace. We still have a lot of wood laying on the ground to cut up and burn but the wet weather which preceded the cold weather has pretty much kept me from getting it prepared for burning.

Finnegan on the Beach
January 21, 2019

I believe 40 degrees will feel very warm! Hard to believe but after such frigid weather warming up over 30 degrees will be a welcome relief. 

It will not be as warm as it was in Florida two weeks ago, but it will feel much better than the 12 degrees that greeted me as I went to work yesterday. 

AND THIS JUST IN

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow and predicted an early Spring! 

Spring cannot arrive soon enough!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

State of the Union

The State of the Union address, mandated by the Constitution, is finally scheduled for next Tuesday. The address will take place during what is apparently going to be a brief reopening of the government.

The Congress and the President are still at odds and there is no forward movement on keeping the government open.

What is the state of our union?

Here's Bob's opinion.

Divided! I have never seen the country so polarized and divided. The invectives being used daily by both parties are divisive and not conducive to a progressive government devoted to protecting civil liberties and providing for the common defense.

The "Wall" is a red herring. Almost everyone wants border security. It is just that the "Wall" has become a rallying cry.

I was encouraged yesterday when Customs and Border Security displayed the biggest drug bust in history. Did it come over where the wall would have been? No! It was at a known border crossing. 

My take? We need to tone down the rhetoric, infighting, and invectives and get to work restoring our country as the shining beacon for the world.  

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

How Cold is it?

Too cold!

I awoke this morning to a thermometer reading 4 degrees. Last least we are on the positive side of the scale.

I am almost afraid to go outside, except that I already had the dogs out to do their business. 

I checked some temperatures around the country this morning via the magic of Alexa and discovered where the heart of the polar vortex is positioned.

Chicago, IL: -17
Fargo, ND: -24
Pittsburgh, PA: -5
Ithaca, NY: -7
Houston, TX: 52
Jupiter, FL: 63

I wonder where I'd rather be? Yes, Florida!

We will survive the cold and the upside is that it should help to reduce the insect population for next summer!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And it is Over

I crawled onto a Southwest flight in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon with Chris and Finnegan and returned to Maryland.

Blue Skies Over the Condo in Tequesta
January 29, 2019

We boarded the jet under crystal blue skies with temperatures near the 70's and a warm sun invigorating the world and my mood. It was the best weather day of the entire vacation--truly. We are missing really good weather by one week it seems. The rain and cold of the past week is transforming into 70's and 80's and sun for the week ahead in the Palm Beach area or, as it is called by the locals, the Treasure Coast.

I was greeted by snow, ice, and cold upon arrival in Baltimore. Ugh. It is 15 degrees this morning. Back to the cold, hard reality of life.

A View from Tequesta, Florida
Radio Flyer
January 29, 2019

The time away was awesome and Fran and Mary were great hosts. Chris and I played three rounds of golf! That was fantastic. Even though the weather was not beach-worthy, it was golf-worthy. Sadly, my short game still sucks. So does my putting and my driving, lol. I am glad that golf clubs fly free on Southwest.

It was a great trip, all in all, it is always good to get away and now that Chris is retired, we are free to move about the country when school is in session. On the down side, it is only January and I have already consumed six of my precious leave days for the year! Hmmmm. The image I took from above the place where we were staying in Tequesta of Jupiter Island in the distance with the ocean on the horizon  will remind me of the beautiful weather until Chris and I return. Sooner than later, I hope.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Angry Ocean

Atlantic Ocean crashing on Jupiter Island
from Radio Flyer
January 28, 2019

For those of you wondering whether I had moved to Florida on a permanent basis, do not fear. Today is a travel day and Chris, Finnegan, and I are returning to the frozen northland.

Birdseye View of the Ocean Crashing on the Rocks
Jupiter Island
from Radio Flyer
January 29, 2019

And the weather apparently is preparing for our return as well  by providing record setting cold and snow. Thanks! 

Yesterday the weather cleared and I was able to get Radio Flyer, my trusty drone, into the skies to get some images of the angry Atlantic Ocean as it crashed onto the rocks that adorn the beach of Jupiter Island. i made three flights off the beach and attempted to capture the power of the waves as they crashed on the rocks. Given the amount of sea foam, however, the white of the waves in the rocks gets lost, sadly.  

I put together a compilation of the short videos that I shot yesterday of the ocean from Radio Flyer.

In looking at the weather report for the next week in Florida, it is clear that Chris and I chose the wrong week to be here. The weather next week is going to be fantastic! Well, for February!

Well--here's hoping for on-time flights and a good travel day.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Tequesta, Florida

Monday Musings - January 28, 2019

1. Amazingly, the last Monday of January is upon us and the first month of the year will soon be in the books. 

Picture of Magazine in a Rack

2. It has been great being in Florida, the weather has not been idyllic, but is warm and not snowing--for which I am grateful. I am not excited about returning to winter in Baltimore.

Flamingo Room
Stuart, Florida

3. There are some weird magazines out there. The one about Gardens and Gun seems really extreme.

4. We went shopping in Stuart, Florida at some boutiques and ran across a very interesting room. I can definitely say, I would consider a toned down version of a Flamingo room for our house.

5. Despite the less than optimal weather, it has been a great time away with friends in Florida.   Hopefully, today we will be able to get outside again and enjoy not being in the middle of winter in the north.

6. The government has reopened! Yay! The Congress and the President should strive to keep it open and functioning.

7. I have witnessed some really crazy driving while I have been enjoying Florida. And I though Maryland drivers were bad.

8. Next Sunday is the Super Bowl! I'm not sure how much of it I will watch,

9. The fate of winter will be decided on Saturday as Punxsutawney Phil provides his Ground Hog day prediction for the arrival of Spring.

Challenger Tragedy
January 28, 1986

10. Today in History. At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger‘s launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted off.

Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.

Headlines

Your 2019 Tax Refund Might Be Higher, Lower or Later Than Usual - The New York Times

‘It feels like we are still hostages’: Federal contractors who lost health insurance during shutdown remain in limbo - The Washington Post

As West turns on him, Venezuela's Maduro flexes military muscle - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week 

“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”


-- Bob Doan, writing from Tequesta, Florida

Going to the Birds

Snowy Egret on Car
Tequesta Trace, Tequesta, Florida
January 26, 2019

I will refrain from making obvious statements about leadership, but I am extremely happy that the government is reopened. Hopefully, they can figure out how to get back pay to those affected outside of the normal pay period process which would make them wait about two weeks more! 

Little Blue Heron Silhouetted
Intercostal Waterway, Jupiter Island, Florida
January 25, 2019

The rain is falling, or rather it is hitting the Earth in sheets of water much like Noah must have experienced. 

Yesterday, however, before the rain, we were able to get out for a walk and I came across this bird sitting on a car. The bird seemed as if it owned the car. It did not fly away as I tried to get better images of it, but it jumped onto the hood of the car, making it difficult for my attempts to capture the bird on the car. 

On Friday evening, during our brief but cool happy hour, the little blue heron was back again and I was able to get a nice image of the bird silhouetted against the water. 

Despite the less than ideal weather, this January trip to Florida has been great. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time in Florida in the future.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Tequesta, Florida