Celebrate It

Life in general,and ones specific situation in that life, can be massively improved by following a simple rule. I learned the concept years ago and my life has been inestimately altered for the better.

Are you ready for it? Here it is.

Join it,  don't fight it. Embrace it, don't hide from it. Can you see how applying this philosophy to your life could change everything? Life comes at you. Life hands you some unpleasantries. Don't fight life. Join it. Don't hide from life. Embrace it. I promise you this if you'll follow this simple life hack your existence will be immeasurably improved. 

Your life consists of many varied situations and circumstances both pleasant and unpleasant, enjoyable and bland, exciting and boring. So if you're in a tough place now...embrace it; join it. Make friends with your mountain. Don't hide from it.

A frozen lake in Anchorage

My grandson Nathanael is a US Army soldier. He and his beautiful wife Amber are a great example of applying this simple life principle. They are stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. Today December 31, 2020 the temperature didnt get above 10 degrees. The ground is frozen. And will be covered in snow until o, say May. This time of year around the winter solstice the sun rises only slightly 5 degrees above the horizon. This means that the sun will have almost no affect on the daytime temps.  It's cold! Nathanaels native Florida is a distant memory. What's he doing today?

Nathanaels small catch

He is embracing it. He is joining it. He"s not the hiding type. He and Amber are practicing the simple life philosophy I described above.

Amber catches more than him.

So today in the 11 degree temps They're ice fishing! On a frozen lake they drill holes in the ice and they catch fish.

The old tent...they have a better one now

They catch them, take them home, clean and prepare them. They bake their catch, they fry their catch, they smoke their catch. And they feed the scraps to their two dogs Lana & Archer. They could be hiding inside from the weather. But they have learned that's not the answer. The answer is joining life not hiding from it.

         The sun hugs the December horizon.

Amber & Nathanael love to ice fish. They catch trout and other varieties even some species of salmon. They have purchased a shelter and a heater as well which they carry onto the ice.

       Amber caught the first trout

So they could be hiding out inside by the TV. Playing a video game. But no Nathanael embraced Alaska. And he tells me often how much he loves Alaska and that he knows that Alaska is the exact place they should be. I think that it's because they're smart enough to join Alaska instead of hiding from it. Simple.

Manatees & Springs & Amazing Things

In winter when the gulf waters cool down to below 70 degrees the West Indian Manatees head for warmer waters. 

A place they love to "winter over" are the 1st magnitude springs where the year round water temperature is a balmy 72 degrees.

Today December 27 the outside temps were in the 60's snorkeling with these guys in the spring felt heavenly. 

The Manatees, a mama and her calf and two other adults, each probably more than 9 foot long are inquisitive and curious and have no fear of humans.

Manatees are mammals. They breath air and surface every few minutes to breath. They're nicknamed Sea Cows because of their massive size.

The Manatees & I got together today in a fantastic 1st magnitude spring. This means it produces an average of 64 million gallons of pure 72 degree water every 24 hours.

In winter the Bald Cypress Trees that live here along the Suwannee and surroundng the Spring are bare.

Asters bloom in in the winter sun along the slopes of the spring.

By December the Cypress needles have nearly gone and the last of them are pure gold in color.

The cypress that surround the spring are ancient and massive. Some as much as 24 ft. circumference and 60 feet tall. They are awesome living things.

The magnificence contained in this small north Florida bio zone can only be described as overwhelming. Within the space of less than one acre is the beautiful clear First Maginitude spring; the gigantic, friendly and amazing West Indian Manatees that swim in its waters; and the ancient and amazing Bald Cypress that live along its banks.

 It is a holy & sacred place and I am always awed and humbled when I'm here.

Tidal Estuary. Where the land meets the sea.

The low country, where the vast gulf of Mexico meets the land is a wide tidal zone dominated by a seemingly endless maze of forests of mangroves.

These Black Mangroves (avicinia germinims) form wide mosaics of impenetrable forests in the shallow seas that separates the uplands from the open Gulf. These amazing trees thrive in the salt water environment.

Every seed (and there are literally millions yearly) forms a sprout and roots before it falls from the tree. Seeds that fall during high tides are floated to other locations on the tides.

As the tides recede they rest in the mud and begin sending down their roots. In recent years another variety, in addition to the Black, has begun to take root in our estuaries here at latitude 29 degrees.

The Red Mangrove (risophora mangle). This tree that is most commonly found further south where freezes are rarely known has taken hold here due to a trend in the weather pattern producing milder winters without hard freezes.

This Esturine environment zone existing between the high tide line and low tide is home to dozens of varieties of birds,

crustaceans and mollusks and many fish as well. Many schools of young fish who spend their adult life in the open waters of the Gulf live their youth in these shallow mangrove forests safely avoiding becoming food for larger predators.

The little Mangrove Crab (Aratis Pissionii) spends his entire life here; happily living out his days on the roots, trunks & branches of his namesake trees. Many birds use the shelter of the trees for protection and nesting. Today I saw Black Crowned Night Herons, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and on a shell island a flock of American Avocets rested out the High tide. 

While the dominant, and almost exclusive tree in these forests is the mangrove; many grasses and salt tolerant plants also thrive here.

Saltwort, Glass wort, Spartina (smooth cordgrass) and Black Needle Rush are some.

Storms and the accompanying high tides often break boats loose and push them far into the mangrove coves and hidden bays.

When the storm tides recede the boats are left stranded and most often abandoned as well. 

As the tidal estuary gradually gives way to the slightly higher, dryer & hotter zone above the high tide line the vegetation changes dramatically.

Sabal palms,

Red Cedar,

Bay, and

Live Oaks and Black Jack Oaks struggle for survival in the instantly hot arid zone. Drought tolerant plants such as the

Coral Bean,

Prickly Pear Cactus, Lantana all are found here in the hot sandy and dry area above the high tide.

Here more than 150 years ago (1861) the first Florida rail road track arrived. Crossing the several miles of estuary to end in Cedar Key. Today I walked along a portion of that raised track bed. Remnants of the long since vanished railroad still remain. Old pilings from a trestle and

cinders from the coal fired steam locomotives. 

Paddleing these calm, shallow waters home to the mangrove forests, here where the land meets the sea, is an excursion that never grows old to me. I recomend you explore for yourself this most amazing of marine eco zones.

Islands of the Caribbean

The only way to avoid ever having to say i could've, i would've & i should've is to chase down, with wreckless abandon EVERY SINGLE DREAM!

Ready for a day of ballyhoo fishing Aruba

    Christmas pageant solo in St. Kitts.

Pamela Thatcher sells jewelry in St. Kitts

         A Christmas welcome to Curacao

      Dancing in the streets of Curacao

  Raoul raises pigs in Dominican Republic

In Wilemstad locks are attached to a heart

          He makes pottery in San Juan.

    San Juan, treasure of sights & sounds.

           Growing up in Barbados

"Cant see the forest for the trees"

The forest is your life. The trees represent the obstacles, challenges problems & even the blessings that you experience every day.

Being unable to see the forest for the trees means you're so absorbed by the "stuff" in your daily life that you are unable to lift your eyes upward and outward and look at life and how amazing your future can be.

Giving smiles & flowers in Puerto Rico

Some say "if it is meant to be it will be"

I'm not a proponent of that thinking.

I say:  "go make it happen and when it happens then it was meant to be". So get up & get out there and make your dreams & plans happen.

Ya Just Gotta Love This Kind of Stuff

This little female Brown Anole was exhibiting some odd behavior. I just had a feeling that something was up. And something was up. She was about to deposit an egg into the soil of a succulent container sitting on my patio table.

Cuban Brown Anoles are a species of lizard that are native to Cuba and the Bahamas. They were brought to South Florida many years ago, probably in cargo ships, and have steadily spread all over the peninsula of the state. By the way they have nearly wiped out the population of the less aggressive and native Green Anole.

We have probably thousands here on Cedar Key. They like a hot and sunny climate and probably think they're still on Cuba. Males are bigger than the females and average around six inches, I'm guessing. The male exhibits the odd behavior of pumping up and down as though he's doing push ups and he also displays what is called a dewlap. This is a bright orange and intricately designed fan like object which he projects outward from his throat skin. Very impressive to me. I can imagine how impressed is the object of his attention, the female anole.

After mating the female lays one or two tiny white eggs in  the warm soil and goes on her way. In 30 to 40 days the egg hatches and the tiny creature is on his own to fend for himself by catching insects, the anoles primary food.

A side note here. Couple years ago I was digging in the soil up close to the house and discovered one of the anole eggs. I picked it up and while holding it in my hand it began to hatch. In less than a minute the tiny little creature had escaped his shell, stepped out onto the palm of my hand, shook himself, and darted up my arm. He was a fully formed and perfect little brown anole completely ready to take on the world.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with the Anole lizard; now you are at least somewhat acquainted.

So back to the event I witnessed today. The female had chosen the little succulent planter and was about to deposit her egg. I sat across the porch and watched with my binoculars. I know what you're thinking..."what a nerd" well maybe but I also have another side that you'd not believe if I told you. But back to the story. She, what I call, rooted her nose into the soil going deeper and deeper till i estimate the hole was slightly over one inch deep. This took time for she appeared to be designing the repository for her egg in a specific manner. She would dig a bit then step back and take a look then dig more and withdraw and observe. Finally done she turned her tail over the opening she'd made and wait for it...popped out a tiny white egg which she nudged into the hole with her nose.

Then she quickly filled the opening in and covered the egg with soil. She even finished by replanting a tiny succulent that had been uprooted in the process. 

The female brown Anole then cleaned all the dirt from her face by sliding it around on the flat surface and then went on her way to find lunch. In a week or so she will do it all over again. Hey, that's what Anoles do.

The tiny little Anole egg.

She covered her egg & repotted the plant

So in a few weeks I'll try and get a look at her offspring. Maybe even get a photo. Stay tuned.