Apalach/St.George Island

St. George Island, Florida.

With a mouth full of sand-encrusted mango Moss waves to his mother.

The modern world has finally caught up with my desire to relax on the beach without any sun exposure...the beach tent.

Giles had his first bite of ice cream (it was actually gelato).  His pleasure was suddenly snuffed out with an ice cream headache.  He wearily demanded more.

Within five minutes of arriving at our rental house Moss tumbled face first onto a bed frame sustaining an abrasion to his face.  He then fell face first onto the tile floor.  I prematurely declared the weekend a total disaster.  Things improved dramatically after the initial injuries.

Cirsium horridulum. Purple thistle growing in the yard of our rental on St. George.

Boss Oyster in Apalachicola. We had oysters raw in the half shell and the boys had cheese grits.  My father noticed that they were advertising 'oil-free seafood' (the BP oil spill was a few hundred miles away) and he asked if there was a deal on the seafood with oil.

   

Giles enjoying some crumbs while looking out on the Apalachicola River.

Dredging the Apalachicola River.

Commerce Street, Apalachicola.

Commerce Street, Apalachicola.

Cymande, Nana and Papa discuss chocolate.  Giles and Moss await a decision on the gelato.

Cottage on St.George Island  (this was not our rental).

Giles and Nana amuse each other while I prepare my famous pea, zucchini and cheese omelette.  The omelette is available in an edible version and also, a wearable version.

Early morning walk on St.George.

Moss distracts me from my vacation cable viewing (no cable on Old Wire Road yet).  I learned interesting things about gold mining in Alaska and how some guy named Bear eats unspeakable things in the rain forests of Borneo.

On our way back to Old Wire Road we stopped off at Wakulla Springs.  We sat around the lobby and pretended that we were staying at Lake Quinault Lodge or the Mt.Washington Hotel.

A boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major) over the Apalachicola marsh.  

Scanned Objects, March 2011

Post Cards

Cape Ann, MA 1947

reverse: copyright 1947 Roy Lane, Rockport, Mass

Front Beach, Rockport, MA 

reverse: Front Beach and Observatory Point, Rockport, Mass

Carver's Pond, Bridgewater, MA 1913

reverse: "I'm a long way from home - Bridgewater. It reminds me of ? Hope all's well. You may remember I always do things well on Tuesdays.  Greetings, Abe"

Post Office, Lake City, FL

Red Barn Restaurant, Lake City, FL

reverse: Red Barn Restaurant, 2 miles South of Lake City on US 41 & 441. Amid good courts. Air Conditioned. "Just Good Food" on beautiful Lake Hiawatha.  Mr and Mrs Leo R Law, Managers.  Phone Lake City 9154

Whispering Pines Motel, Starke, FL

reverse: Whispering PInes. 4.5 acres of beautifully shaded grounds.  Modern Guest Cottages, each with private bath and auto shelter.  Panel Ray Heat, Electric fans. Dining room serving excellent food to our guests. Tel 450.  Mr and Mrs TR Connell, Owners.  On US 301 and Fla 200.  3.5 miles south of Starke, Florida

Lazy Lodge Motel, Lake City, FL

reverse: Lazy Lodge Motel. 13 miles South of Lake City.  US 41 and I 75

The Next Floridian Environmental Disaster

The abandoned Trinity Hospital in Jasper, Florida.  Like the new Governor, Trinity Hospital was making money by fraudulently over billing the federal government.

Last Summer, the Deep Water Horizon exploded, sank and subsequently pumped over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  When they burned off the corralled oil we could smell the toxic stench in Lake City. We all endured the embarrassing 'junk shot,' the ineffective 'top kill,' and the 'lower marine riser' for several months to solve a preventable disaster.  There were known problems with the rig, there was lax regulation and blatant disregard for safety but, it was an accident.  We can be thankful that it was not planned.

The next great environmental disaster to strike Florida is Governor Rick Scott and this one is being meticulously planned.  The people of Florida (49% of the 42% that voted, which equals 20% of Floridians) voted for the Tea Party favorite, Gov. Scott.  The Tea Party thought "Oh let's endorse a guy who ran a company that committed the greatest Medicaid fraud in history because that is fiscally responsible, right?"  The irony doesn't stop there.

Rick Scott is worried about regulation, all kinds of regulation: no regulation, imaginary regulation and some of the most lax environmental regulation in the US.  To combat any regulation that would hamper any development, no matter how destructive or unneeded, he has proposed something that only an anti-science, anti-environment Tea Party radical would. He is going to merge the state's environmental, growth management and transportation departments and call it, drum roll please...The Department of Growth Leadership.  Is anyone feeling like an 8 year old yet?  This new agency will be mandated to equally weigh any environmental protections with job creation.  Since Florida already has some of the weakest environmental regulations this bodes poorly for our fragile ecosystems.

Other ominous signs from Gov.Scott include:

1. His selection of environmental department heads.  Instead of scientists or conservationists he appointed businessmen, a former executive of the St.Joe company (the second largest land owner in Florida) and a former executive of a shipyard in Jacksonville.  
2. He already has suspended all rule making and regulations pending his review.
3. He has proposed eliminating the State's regulatory power over major residential and commercial development.  This includes 'streamlining' the wetland permitting process that is already only 45 days long.  Wetland?  What wetland? Endangered species? No such thing!
4. I'll call his next proposal the Tea Party Delight and it demonstrates the infuriating magical thinking that he and his supporters engage in.  He wants to end concurrence.  What is concurrence you ask?  Concurrence requires that developers pay for infrastructure upgrades to accommodate increased population and usage (roads, sewer, etc).  By eliminating concurrence who pays?  That's right, you and me, because that is fiscally responsible...
5. He wants to end oversight of Developments of Regional Impact.  This has major implications for my community.  Florida is famous for enormous developments that often impact areas outside the local community by draining aquifers.  This oversight also protects less developed regions from being used as water supplies for poorly managed urban sprawl.  
6. He wants to stop local governments from enforcing more restrictive regulations than the state.  So much for 'We the People.'
7. He wants to prohibit counties from suing each other over water supplies or upstream pollution due to strip mining.  There have been proposals for water pipelines to South Florida in the past.  Gov. Scott who won these rural communities with his anti-government zeal now proposes to stop protecting our springs and rivers.  I wonder how the people of Columbia County will feel when they have no recourse if the Santa Fe and Suwanee Rivers become water supplies for the Tampa Bay area.

One would imagine with all this whining about regulation that Florida has been unable to develop for decades. Reality check Gov. Scott:  300,000 vacant homes in Florida.  I repeat: Three. Hundred. Thousand. Vacant. Homes.  Only in Florida...

ps: in case you were thinking he is a unique independent thinking libertarian type: he is also opposed to gay adoption; he is anti-choice; he favors a Arizona-style immigration policy; he is a climate change denialist; and he is apparently still up to his old tricks. Solantic health clinics (which Scott founded and is the primary share holder) is being investigated for Medicaid/Medicare fraud.  Oh the irony of a tea party wingnut making millions by over-billing the government...     

On more than one occasion I asked my patients to sign out of Trinity Hospital against medical advice and come to our clinic and I would  readmit them to a proper hospital if necessary.  I never had to admit anyone.  One patient had been hospitalized for three days with strep throat (and no, he did not have rheumatic fever.  He had strep throat.)  Gov. Scott might want to check out this property as a new Solantic clinic site.

Post Number 101

The Twelve Days of...Oh Hell, I Give Up.

On the first day of Christmas, Gio brought himself to Old Wire Road.  Additionally, he brought with him tales of the Peruvian rainforest, covetous bird scientists, masked gunmen, unsanitary rice and beans and all manner of ex-girlfriends.  We expected nothing less.

   

On day two, Moss needed a bath.  

Day Three...Giles' acute glaucoma resolved and that was exactly what we asked ol' St. Druid for.  Thanks to everyone that made a positive contribution to his well being, especially: Dr.WTF, Shands UF, science and all his well wishers.   

On the forth day of Christmas, Gio and I took a paddle down the Ichetucknee River.  Two limpkins, five river otters, ten kingfishers and an osprey in a cypress tree...

On day five, I gave up on the entire '12 Days of Christmas' motif.   Allison visited us from Portland and brought gifts from the civilized world.  Thanks for brightening our holiday.         

Gio courted various surgeons and rock climbers online.  Who could blame him after three months in the Amazon Basin eating E.coli infused beans with members of a Columbian drug cartel.  I expressed to him my concerns with women who start their online dating profile with the sentence, 'I love rock climbing.'  I have nothing against rock climbers (except their muscular bodies and funny shoes).  As an old friend of mine would say, "please don't say, "I love rock climbing."'

   

I promised Gio that I would get him some time with a wild manatee.  Instead, we visited a zoo.  I tried to promote the zoo by relating heartfelt stories of how the imprisoned beasts were all rescued from certain and painful deaths.  I almost convinced myself, but I feel Gio never bought in.  He did manage to shoot a nausea-inducing composition of a vapid Bald Eagle standing in front of Old Glory.  And yes, Cymande is feeding Giles in the reptile exhibit.

Air: 50 degrees.  Water: 73 degrees.  Steam.

We were again the only visitors to the park for several hours.  When we were pulling our kayaks out of the water we met an entomologist.  Somehow, we started talking about ascariasis or giant human roundworm and she explained how she found one, well, in her stool.  Which allows me to state for the millionth time: no one might actually read this blog, but I have the number one or two google image hit for ascariasis.  I had so much potential in this life...but here I am..giant human roundworm...I always had a thing for parasites.

After we visited the Florida Animal Prison we found the most amazing Italian Deli in Inverness, The Little Italy Deli.  The owner berated Gio for being an Italian vegetarian.  The food was unbelievably good, a rarity in Florida...I felt like I was back in Gloucester being scolded for ordering incorrectly at Cafe Sicilia.

   

Count them: 12 manatees, one for every day of Christmas.  Actually there were several others that were in the manatee hospital, but they don't count because: A. they were not wild and/or B. they were manatee specters. 

Elves!