Evening on the jetty

Florida

I had no idea the place was so beautiful.

Alligator Alley Cloud Alligator

I met
my first


wild alligator yesterday.


She was panhandling


at a rest stop


along Florida's infamous


Alligator Alley.


She was such a willing and


lovely subject that I felt bad


not sharing my lunch with her.


She was clearly disappointed


but feeding wildlife snacks


isn't good for them or us


so I managed to resist

her mesmerizing charm.
She had incredible hands.
Larger photos here.

Night wrap

We are so busy everyday, it's hard finding the time to post anything. Like tonight, it's after 10 and I'm sitting in bed in the dark writing this on my very overheated netbook, sweat running down my face and body. Don't ask why. If you do a blog, you will understand or maybe that's the wrong word but you get it. If you don't, well... you're lucky I guess. Anyway, we rented shitty "comfort bikes" as they are called and have been riding a lot. The bikes suck but it's still fun. Then we cool off in the ocean. I am really loving Florida. Yes, yes... it's the honeymoon phase but still ... a warm ocean two blocks away?

Pelican tree in the morning

Tomorrow we drive across the state to spend the night with a couple of Mr. Lee's cousins. That should be interesting.

Love Buzzards
(They posed for this)

Yard birds

I (heart) Florida cranes

...which, in a round about way, reminds me of this little treasure Mr. Lee included on a Valentine card he made for me one year.

(UPDATE: Seems these birds are actually herons. (blush) Anyway, I heart cranes, herons, vultures, cockroaches. You name it. Life is cool.) Now on to the poem...

The Heart

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.

I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

-Hart Crane

Outtakes 09.05

Holy fucking god, there are a lot of rich people in Florida. The last few days we have been driving around the canals and keys. Palaces beside shacks but a boat in every backyard.

This crane didn't seem the least bit concerned when I took her photo.

but the crabs really hated it. I chanced upon about 100 basking in the setting sun. In about 10 seconds they managed to disappear.

The gestating turtles didn't seem to mind the camera but you never know.

I guess I was the lucky one here.

Just a little shack by the sea.

Outtakes

When I first saw it, I thought it was a shark

but a friendly stranger explained it was a dolphin

and that seeing one around that particular pier
is a fairly rare occurrence. Beginner's luck, I guess.
A dolphin!

This is just an urban park but
it still has the feel of a real Florida swamp.

Okay, it's been a long day so that's it for now but, if you'd like to see a few more, I posted some others here.

Nevada - Florida Express

We're here. Florida. What's not to love?

Nevada

Florida from the kitchen window

Don't get me wrong. I love Nevada but this is great. We're staying in a 50's era apt. for $28 a day, renting a black bug for $16 a day. It's nice as Hawaii at a fraction of the cost.

Anyway, gotta go. My only regret is that I didn't bring my bubblegum pink COEXIST tshirt. Pink. It's Florida, man. What was I thinking? There was a old guy Floridian on the plane returning home from Vegas,,. pink sport coat,white slacks, gold chain, over-sized sunglasses, white panama style hat... younger lady friend, talking about how he loved throwing bacon under the trailer to attract the bears. Florida...

Well... gotta go...

Local news at 11:19

Packing is really hard and especially this time as all we are taking is carry-on luggage. As it is, I chase myself through the day, picking up after myself and trying to figure out where I put the damn thing and things and where the hell is it? and now I have to plan what I am going to be wearing and needing for a month and a half. ARG! One thing I did decide. I'm not bringing my bubblegum pink tshirt even though it does say COEXIST. Anyway, back to work. Time's running out.

Babette's Lucky Day

This morning about 6 AM the magpies were screaming like hell so I went out to see what all the ruckus was about. Just then Babette (the squirrel formerly known as Bob) came skidding around the corner at top speed, blasted by and dove under the lilac bush, the cat coming behind her like a steely gray ground missile. Babette took advantage of the distraction, did a 180 and shot back to the Bird Park and I chased the fucking cat off in the opposite direction. It clawed its way up and disappeared over the fence and presumable went back to it's own yard. Talk about lucky. The magpies hate cats. This isn't the first time we've double teamed the bastards.

Return of Bob or is he Babette?

I don't have any new photos of little Leo but I hear he is happily nursing at all hours of the night.


But Bob is back and I not only got more photos of him, here's an :11 sec. short of him dining on a tiny sunflower. One thing though. On closer examination, it seems Bob may be a girl.

Baby Leo, one day old

Here he is.

Baby Leo, one day old.

We got to meet him last night on skype, hence the grainy photos but still... such a beautiful, beautiful little boy. He's far far away in Montana so I'm so grateful for even this.

FOX News and Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal

Here's one for the brain drain....

Jon Stewart points out how Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a New Corps co-owner, is the same man FOX News accuses of funding terrorism. You can watch the hilarious, astute revelation of this FOX News circle jerk here.

Prince Alwaleed heads a board of directors meeting attended by
News Corporation executives. (AN photo)

There is a baby!

"There is a baby."

This was the message our very exhausted son-in-law left on our answering machine today.

Happy Birthday Baby!

He was born this evening. I don't know much more than that, just got the call, but it sounds like all's well. So, whew and YAY! More later.

Baby Watch 11, tomorrow's the day.

No more waiting. Tomorrow they will induce labor.

Source

Baby Watch 10, the time has come

The time has come

It is now two weeks past the due date so tomorrow, unless the baby comes today, they are going to induce labor.

Baby Watch 9 or Tumbleweeds to Black Rock

It's that time again so...

Full size here for details.

my G'ville expat friends now living in Mexico showed up the other day. They are like human tumbleweeds...


that blow in from the Sonora Desert enroute to the Black Rock Desert where they do the Hokey Pokey Consortium


then blow back to Mexico. As usual, I'm not attending. I have no interest in hanging out on a wind ravaged desert playa for a week even with The Spectacle. Is that so wrong?


Anyway, September 1 we leave for Florida then Costa Rica, in all for a month and a half. And yes. We are still waiting for Baby.

Baby Watch 8 or Equation for BABY + Dinosaur Plant

source

And now in a Language Barrier exclusive.....

a renown mystery guest blogger aka the Itinerant Mathematician I encountered wandering in a desert dust storm on the Black Rock playa or was it somewhere outside of Las Vegas?, aka my brother (not the guy on the bike), combines the pure art and science of poetry and mathematics in this brilliant proof showing that indeed patience IS virtue, virtue IS grace and put TOGETHER make a very pretty face + Dinosaur Plant in bottom right-hand corner. Thank you Itinerant Mathematician.

(Click for a better look)

All available sizes here.

And thus and still... we wait.

Baby Watch 7 or Power of Pretty Face + Magic of Dinosaurs

“Patience is a virtue,
Virtue is a grace;
Both put together
Make a very pretty face”
~ Anonymous

Anita recently graduated from the University of Montana with a Masters in Accounting so it seems fitting, given that we are still waiting for her to go into labor, some math is in order. My brother is a scientist so I asked him if he would kindly provide us with a tidy little equation for the occasion. As always, he graciously agreed. Thanks, lil' bro. It's great having a scientist in the family.

Okay. Here's the deal. This morning Kristiana noticed that her Dinosaur Plant was dry. Now, the box says that the Dinosaur Plant represents the coming of new life and Baby Thea was born the day she put the Dinosaur Plant in water. Coincidence or science? Seems like science to me.


Anyway, at this point, we've got nothing to lose so Kristiana re-hydrated the Dinosaur Plant and Brother Jim will soon be sending in an equation weaving together the power of patience, virtue, Anita's lovely face and the magic of the Dinosaurs.

Asa Nisi Masa!

Now..... we wait.