Motha' Nature

Woa! This is some force. Luckily, this storm moved past us, and didn't get it together to become a manifested threat. But it sure looked like an impressive bit of rage. And we finally got some rain. They call it a drought here when a few dry weeks go by... despite the swamps. I don't think California's kiln-like conditions are on the imagination radar screen. It'd be like imagining Mars.

The clouds lifted high over the pines later in the afternoon, (sidebar.) To listen to the news, we might have gotten an inch of rain that afternoon. But I find that difficult to believe. An inch??

Besides deflating the barometer and watering my sunflowers, the rain brought some potentially good side effects. There is a huge fire here. In the swamp.That's right, everyone, THE SWAMP IS BURNING. The Okeefenokee Swamp, (Scully and Mulder muse over its name on an early X-Files episode, for you fans.) The park -- and it is a protected area, except private timber is harvested -- is pretty large, and almost one third of it (115,000 acres and still going) is fried. The newspaper can't decide which is bigger news: a huge wildlife fire or Tiger Woods' Achilles tendon woes, so they kind of split the front page (sidebar.)

So back in our neck of the woods, routine is setting in. Walking the dogs, walking the dogs at the beach, physical therapy for Brian, remember, older than Amy!) And sitting in the back yard with the dogs, who don't yet like the new environment , while I do the Soduko puzzle or the crossword. Resting before... walking the dogs later!

Special event tomorrow (Monday): the "Endeavor" launch is supposed to be visible from the beach right here... soI may try and catch that, since there won't be many others to see... Sort of a piece of history, I suppose, in what has changed into a piece more of bureaucratic definition, since it's controlled and choked off by the misanthropic budget process in Congress.

Shrimp, Art and Pirates

Yep. All in one day. The 46th Annual Fernandina Shrimp Festival!

I took the scenic route -- no surprise for all who know me!-- and got to see the world-renowned locale of Mayport, home to Mayport shrimp boats that bring us Mayport shrimp here in Jacksonville. Once there, the road ended and I hopped a car-ferry across the river to continue. Waiting for the ferry I talked to a ex-trucker on a motorcycle. We shared disdain for bad drivers and an appreciation of the Jersey shore, where he used to deliver.

Past Amelia Island, I reach the area with a schizto-history: no fewer than eight sovereignties claimed Fernandina, hence it's slogan "Isle of the Eight Flags." I parked at a high school and took the yellow school bus shuttle. It delivered me to a cute downtown of close-together (unusual around here) brick buildings, dating from before the turn of the century. A sign in a church courtyard declares: "Thou shalt not skate," presumably meaning at church, though there may be a larger message intended.

The town could be a Sausalito-of-the-South. I saw bakeries, restaurants, clothing, a grocery/convenience store, art galleries, a coffee roastery, bars and churches. And at least on this day, it was pedestrian friendly. A huge turnout snaked down nine blocks of main street and onto the spurs of side streets. Most art was predictable, but some above the level I expected. I even bought a framed piece that reminded me of Heather Wilcoxon's style. Booths also showed stained glass, ceramics, photography, fish and all-things-seashore-sculpture, and antiques.

Before my big purchase, to settle my nerves, I had to stop for lunch, and I selected the one item I had never before tried: a shrimp pie. I recalled that I have a two-hundred year old recipe for this, but I've never attempted it. I had to have one! (It was worth taking the risk and ingesting the cream sauce! Good work, Vietnam vets who made them.)

The way back toward Mayport, and then home, was still great weather, and very scenic, and I enjoyed noticing the ferry's flag masts - one flew the American flag, the other, by statute but perhaps not in spirit a hair lower, flew the standard of pirates!