Manatees in the Water

 

Chris in the Intracoastal
Jupiter Island, FL
June 24, 2023

Chris and I managed to escape the heat yesterday. In fact, the day presented some uniqueness that we will remember for quite a while. 

We began the day with a bike ride. Not just our usual bike route around Tequesta, but Chris decided she was ready to tackle the drawbridge and wanted to ride along Beach Road on Jupiter Island. And so we took an easy 12 mile ride across the drawbridge and onto Beach Road riding partway up the island. As we rode by some of our favorite beach locations on the intracoastal waterway (ICW), Chris decided that she wanted to come to the beach. 

The weather has not been suitable for beach activity, but yesterday, during the morning hours, the beach was calling! So we shortened our ride, went home, changed from biking gear to swim gear, grabbed our chairs and headed back to the ICW. It was a beautiful time and even though the area was crowded with other Floridians trying to escape from the oppressive heat and humidity, we found an excellent place to enjoy the water.

The highlight of the day, however, came shortly after we arrived and were out in the water near the boating channel. Two manatees, presumably a mother and her calf, came along feasting on the sea grass growing on the bottom of the ICW. They were close enough to shore that many people, including ourselves, paddled out to the relatively shallow water where they were feasting to marvel at the gentle giants. We were able to just make out their forms while they were underwater, but they often pushed their heads out to get air and we could see them clearly. It was an event and the manatees were unconcerned by our presence. Amazingly, no one actually did anything stupid, like trying to touch or disturb them. Even a dog riding on a paddle board was mesmerized by the giant creatures lurking beneath the water's surface.

Although we live in South Florida, manatee encounters are very rare. Both Chris and I enjoyed watching them. Sadly, the water was too deep for me to get my iPhone out to get an image of them, but I will remember our manatee encounter for a long time.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Costco Frustration

 Sometimes it is very frustrating to shop at Costco.

Take yesterday, for example. 

Costco is a 30 minute drive and so Chris and I wait until we require a significant amount of supplies before sojourning down the interstate into the northern reaches of West Palm Beach, the high traffic area, to visit Costco. The store has to be one of the larger Costco warehouses in the entire network. Friday's are not a particularly good day to visit the store due to the volume of shoppers, but we arrived there early yesterday. 

The problem with the Costco we visit is that they are often out of stock on two of the main reasons we shop there: Kirkland Sparkling Mineral Water and Vitamin Water. We are then forced to buy name brand products for more cost and usually less volume. 

It happened again yesterday. It is hard to understand how a Costco could be out of a Kirkland product--but it happens at this store about 50 percent of the time. Yes, I like Pellegrino, I just don't like to pay for it. And at $1 a bottle, the name brand vitamin water, which I like to drink after biking, is a bit pricey. 

Of course, we save a lot on the other things we buy, but the primary reason we head to Costco is the vitamin water and the sparkling water. So, for the next couple of weeks we will be having name brand items in the house. That is just the way it is. 

While I was frustrated that Costco was out of their own brand of items, I did, however, manage to buy a couple dozen of their golf balls while I was there. I would rather lose a $1 golf ball than a $4 ball.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

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