Friday

 

John got these awesome shots of a roseate spoonbill on one of our afternoon walks around Lake Saundra.

Amazing wings

This morning, we rode our bikes out to the causeway drawbridge and then walked to the ticket booth at the entrance to Honeymoon Island. The shot above is looking north to the island with the entrance off to the left. I don't think the construction will be completed before Memorial Day, which means there will be a huge backup on the causeway.

The water in the lagoon at the island entrance was very clear.

This morning's walk was beautiful. Temperatures were in the low 80s, and the breeze was about 12 mph, keeping things comfortable.

I drank three bottles of water, using the fountain at the restrooms for refills.

We got buzzed by a pelican on the bridge. The wind was so strong that he just hovered without flapping his wings. He kept going back and forth, clearly enjoying the flight.

I could almost reach out and touch him. 

John got this shot of an old VW bus. The sign says: "Be a Mermaid. Make waves."

We passed a family of three manatees on the Pinellas Trail bridge over Curlew Creek. At high tide, this is a favorite spot for these three.

We stopped by Publix on the way home and picked up some fruit and milk. We brought home a canteloupe and added it to our usual fruit bowl.

John got this shot of a  flower that came up between the asphalt and the gutter of the street. That takes courage.

Our last walk of the day. The temperature was 82 degrees. The high temperature today was 86. We had lots of cloud cover and the threat of a shower, but it never came.

One of our neighbors drew this image on her driveway in response to the school shooting in Texas. She's the artist who drew pictures on her driveway during the pandemic to keep everyone's spirit up. This time, she drew because she was angry and needed to express it, she said as we walked by. The image is of The Incredible Hulk, who bulks up whenever he's angry. He's looking at the news of the school shooting.

I learned from an article in the New York Times that it wasn't until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s that gun ownership skyrocketed and became such a heated and divisive political issue. Whites, mostly in the South, rushed to arm themselves in response to the legislation protecting the rights of Blacks, outlawing discrimination in public accommodations, employment, voting, and schools. The Jim Crow laws that humiliated Blacks and "kept them in their place" were gone. Many Whites felt threatened by the rising power of Blacks in their communities and felt the need to arm themselves. The Civil Rights legislation, was opposed by most Southern legislators--92%, according to Wikipedia, who were mostly Democrats at the time. (All 11 Southern Republicans also voted against the legislation.) The vote signaled a massive realignment of political parties, especially in the South, when white Democrats switched parties and started voting for Republicans. I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I have to admit I was. 

Miles walked: 14.3

Miles biked: 5.74