Summer

This post is inspired by an article from Odyssey Online.

“Summer in the south can be described as sunny, sweaty, humid, sandy, more humid and amazing. It really is the best of times, and the worst of times. No school, some work and all 90-degree plus days. You start to wish for rain just to cool things down a bit.”
Very true. My office is kept at a slightly refrigerated temperature, to the point where many offices have space heaters and many people keep sweaters or light jackets on hand. Then you step outside at the end of the day and melt, then enter your vehicle and totally dissolve. Those windshield reflectors that are sold to keep your car’s interior ‘less hot’ may help for a short stop but have no impact on a full workday. 

“Somehow, there is sand everywhere. Even if you have not been to a beach, lake or river in weeks, you will find sand in your shoes, sand in your shower, sand everywhere.”
Also true, especially since ‘sand = soil” in this area of Florida. There is no ‘dirt’ unless you buy
it. All sand. Really.

“Afternoon thunderstorm when you watch the lightning pass by are amazing. So are afternoon thunderstorms when you can be lazy and nap.”

Storms in Florida appear like clockwork every afternoon in the summer. They last for a far shorter time period than thunderstorms up north, but are daily. Really. It is not at all unusual for these thunderstorms to have a clear, sharp, beginning and end. No drizzling building to a storm, then diminishing to a drizzle. Weird. 

“Humid. Every day. Every moment of every day. You walk outside with glasses or sunglasses on and the lenses immediately fog up.”

Once more, true. My glasses fog up on a daily basis as I leave the refrigerated office and hit the heat and humidity of a Florida summer. I believe that if I stepped straight from the office door to the car, the glass would actually crack from the thermal shock.
Summer begins in March/April and lasts until October/November here. It’s nice at first, but endless. July and August seem to be the hardest months to live this far south.

Politics - Republican Debate #1

I watched both of the Republican debates last week, and had a couple of conversations with various friends, family, and co-workers. Keep in mind that personally, I am purple. My father was a Republican and my mother a Democrat. There were no significant arguments while I was growing up, but then, things were not so polarized back then. Personally, I look at both candidates and choose the one I think is best for the country. I voted for both Reagan and Clinton. 

Now, things are different. My blue Democrat friends/family hope that Mr. Trump is the candidate, as they feel their candidate would be a shoo-in. My red Republican friends/family feel the same about Mr. Sanders, feeling he is too Socialist for the general election.  

My personal feeling is that regardless if you lean Red or Blue, you need to pay attention to BOTH sides and hope for the best candidate possible on both sides. Why? Let's pretend that Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders (both a bit on the fringes of their respective parties) are the candidates. This means that one of them will be our next President, while neither seem to have the mainstream's values at heart. What if ii is 'fringe candidate' vs. 'ideal candidate?' What is something happens? What is 'ideal candidate,' who is a shoo-in against the 'fringe candidate,' suddenly has a serious scandal, or even a serious accident/health issue?  We've seen promising candidates, over the years, who fell suddenly due to one or another of these types of issues. 

'What if' the candidate you consider 'fringe' actually wins? I doubt it would be good for the overall country. I feel it is my responsibility as a voter to root for two viable candidates, who are both centrist enough to potentially win, and neither of whom would be a disaster for the mainstream voter. 

Personally, I was more impressed with the 'JV' roster of debaters than the 'prime time' candidates, but then again, the atmosphere was different for each group. I can't wait for the first Democratic debate!

Palmetto Leaves

Over the past few days, I read a book called Palmetto Leaves by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Wikipedai says:

"Palmetto Leaves is a memoir and travel guide written by ... Stowe about her winters in the town of Mandarin, Florida, published in 1873. Already famous for having written Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Stowe came to Florida after the U.S. Civil War.

After visiting [her son in the area], she became so enamored with the region she purchased a cottage and orange grove for herself and wintered there until 1884. Parts of Palmetto Leaves appeared in a newspaper published by Stowe's brother, as a series of letters and essays about life in northeast Florida.”

I wish I'd read it in my first months. I landed in Mandarin (now a neighborhood of Jacksonville) on New Year's Eve 2012, and the book begins with Stowe's arrival in January of 1872, so the season fit. This excellent guide to Florida in its early years of being noticed would have helped me learn more about the area at the time, instead of the stark change I experienced. It is summer now, but my husband only arrived mid-May, so I hope he reads it soon. It's a wonderful introduction to the area.

Amelia Island/Mayport visit

My son is visiting for a few days, on leave from his Navy station in the Seattle area. He’d been to Florida before on a visit, but this was the first time in the new house.

My boss live in Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island, and I’d heard a lot of good things about it so we decided to head up there. We first went to Little Talbot Island State Park. It’s part of a group of nearby parks. The State Park website says “We welcome you to visit all seven of the parks which collectively comprise Talbot Islands State Parks: Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park, Amelia Island State Park, Fort George Island Cultural State Park, Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park, Big Talbot Island State Park and George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park.”

 
We’d originally planned to hike on of the trails but my lovely husband hurt his knee so we strolled to the beach instead. It was beautiful white sand, with small dunes hosting sea oats, morning glories, and the odd cactus here and there. Parts of the sand looked like an old washboard dirt road, from the tides. As we walked I noted that areas of the beach seemed ‘pebbly’ but once we got there we found it was all small shells.

The area is known for shark teeth, and we spent a bit of time looking for one. We may have found one that we didn’t recognize, and discarded it, and later saw that it might have been a shark’s tooth. 

My son did, however, found the remains of a large horseshoe crab. I knew they had some size, but didn’t think they were *that* large. The two pieces fit together nicely to show it came from one animal. We headed out from the beach along the boardwalk, and when we got to the parking lot there were swarms of dragonflies. I caught six in one photo.

Later, we drove up to the shops and such of Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach and wandered the little boutiques. We spotted a place for some ice cream, and I thought I’d said ‘single’ for my cone but seemed to get a double, so my son also ordered a double and received a vat of ice cream. Apparently ‘single’ is just a starting point. 

We took the Mayport Ferry across the river to Singleton’s Seafood Shack, where we all had a nice dinner of shrimp, triggerfish, and sheepshead fish.

 

A great ending to a beautiful day.

Bridge of Lions 5k

I neglected to post last week, so we’ll get two today.

My husband and I participated in the Bridge of Lions 5k last weekend. Picturesque start at the Castillo de San Marco (the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, built beginning in 1672), then crossing the Bridge of Lions, then continuing through neighborhoods in St. Augustine.

Wikipedia says:
“The Bridge of Lions is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927 across Matanzas Bay.

From its earliest days, it was hailed as "The Most Beautiful Bridge in Dixie." It has long been a symbol of the nation's oldest city.
It gets its name from two Carrara marble Medici lions statues that are copies of those found in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy. The statues were a gift of Dr. Andrew Anderson (1839–1924), the builder of the Markland House, who spent the last decade of his life putting works of art in public places in the Ancient City. The statues were his last gift, and he did not live long enough to see them installed. He had them made by the Romanelli Studios in Florence, Italy, which a decade earlier had provided him with smaller versions which he displayed on the front steps at Markland. The lions are a symbol of the Spanish royal family.”
A week or so before the race, St. Augustine unveiled a set of two lions on the other side of the bridge. I was eager to see them, but was disappointed. For one, they are positioned facing the bridge, a short distance from the base, so they don’t offer the same ‘guarding the bridge’ look that the original lions present.  Secondly, we are told they are made of granite instead of marble. That is obvious, but to me they look more like poured concrete. Can you cast granite? They are grey and monotone and don’t have the same detail. Oh well, I guess it is better than no lions, but I’d have tried harder for a more art-like look rather than the more ‘pedestrian’ result. 

Just my opinion.

Raptors

Many species of birds may be considered partly or exclusively predatory. However, in ornithology, the term "bird of prey," or "raptor" applies only to birds that have very good eyesight for finding food, strong feet for holding food, and a strong curved beak for tearing flesh. Most birds of prey also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey. Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the size of the bird. Most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures and condors eat carrion as their main food source. Many raptor species are considered apex predators.

I doubt that there are *more* birds of prey in Florida, but I certainly see more. I've only spotted owls up north, though I have heard them here. Up north, vultures are migratory birds - we'd see them ominously flying in large groups overhead during the Halloween parade at the grade school, and the first one back were the true harbingers of spring (some robins north stay year 'round nowadays). Here in the South we have two types of vulture - turkey and black. The head of a turkey vulture is red, while that of the black is, well, black. The position of the grey wing feathers helps you tell them apart in flight.

I was surprised at how many bald eagles I've seen. I certainly know they are primarily fishing birds, and of course I'm by a coast, but except for the occasional eagle seen along the Great Lakes or the Mississippi River, my mind has come to accept the media connection between bald eagles and snow-capped mountains. 

Hawks are a bit different here, and there are LOTS of ospreys. Again, I've seen one before here and there, but a good number hang around one of the longest bridges over the St. Johns River, so you can nearly always see one when you cross. Just this Friday I saw one flying with a large fish in its talons. Very cool.

But the coolest raptor here is the Swallow-Tailed Kite. It winters in Brazil and returns to Florida each spring to nest. They can be seen, usually soaring overhead, between March and August. A stunning and distinctive bird.

To me, more than beaches and palm trees, the best part of Florida is the birds.   

Refusing Service

I have my own religious beliefs, and while I may *wish* that others were of a similar mindset, I would never think to impose my beliefs on others, particularly if the other person has no expectation of a confrontation. If I wander into someone else's church, I am fair game for persuasive discussion. What I do not understand is why normally sensible people think they can bully someone into changing their viewpoint. Even if the other person caved and agreed, everyone knows that is not from the heart - the change is not sincere. This goes for the (so-called) Islamic State, but also closer to home.

I read a news report "Kentucky Clerk Sued Over Marriage Licenses - 
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis states that her Christian beliefs prevented her from complying with the decision, so she opted to not issue any more licenses to couples regardless of their orientation."


This goes far beyond simply making a point If gay marriage is such a major insult to your belief system, find another job. Will you refuse to update civil records (or whatever else county clerks do) if one partner in a same-sex marriage changes the last name to that of the other partner? It seems to me that you can no longer do your job, so move on.


This line of thinking can spread beyond a county clerk, or even beyond the marriage issue. There are other religious tenets regarding marriage.

So if I am an Orthodox Jew or observant Catholic or Muslim, I can deny marriage licenses where one party is Jewish/Catholic/Muslim and the other is not? Not necessarily forbidden (the Bible does not specifically *forbid* same-sex marriage either) but frowned upon by those religions.

Divorce and remarriage without an annulment is against Catholic Canon Law, so I won't issue licenses to anyone who is divorced.

My church teaches that the purpose of marriage is procreation, therefore I won't issue a marriage license to the elderly.

I am a grocery store cashier, and I won't sell you bacon because my religion forbids pork.

I am a grocery store cashier, and I won't sell you coffee because I am Mormon.

You'll need to ask another waitress for a glass of wine because alcohol is evil and I won't serve it.

This can go on and on. If your job is a publicly-paid position, such as a county clerk, then you don't get to choose which laws you will comply with or which job duties you will perform. If you are in a job which serves the public, then completing the duties of the job is a requirement.

Now, churches are a different matter altogether. Churches have always restricted their sacraments to their members in good standing. Religious institutions should be able to decide how to apply their tenets to their members.

Private businesses are where things get tricky. I don't have a problem with the Hobby Lobby decision IF:

• Hobby Lobby gets no government perks or tax breaks from the public as a whole.
• The employees knew upon hire that certain medications/procedures were excluded from their health care.
• The employees NEVER had access to this coverage (as in their insurance coverage did not change).

In some respects, this is no different from a restaurant owner declining to sell alcohol or pork in the first place because those items violate the owner's religious beliefs. There are plenty of local businesses here in the South which are closed on Sundays. Not a change - it's always been that way. Everyone here knows Chick-fil-A will be closed on Sundays. Employees know this upon hire that they won't work on Sundays regardless of their own personal beliefs. I'm ok with health insurance limitations as long as applicants understand this from the beginning, and it was not available before then suddenly taken away due to new ownership. 



This type of service refusal, in the name of religion, is just nasty and in conflict with Christian teaching, and probably everyone else's as well. People can't be bullied into seeing another point of view.