We’re only into the first day of the new year. Yet how soon the seasonal revelry fizzles and evaporates – contaminated by sobriety, resolutions and fresh air. Thereafter the erstwhile wassailing – at least for us Canadians – is as quickly replaced by the more proximate concentration of escaping below the 49th Parallel.

Though we are obliged for a number of reasons during the upcoming winter to remain within the freezer, this does not embargo the fond memories we have accumulated over the past decade and a half in the southern United States of America. Lately we received an unanticipated but cheering Message from the parents of the little girl featured in the attached image. The little girl and her brother – together with their parents – were once again visiting Key Largo, Florida from their northern residence; and, they had the dignity to share with us an updated photograph of this beguiling child. I can assure you, dear Reader, that my friend Hal at Artificial Intelligence has only barely captured the enigma of this enchanting young lady! And while the photograph affords us painful reminder of the halcyon days years ago when she first knocked upon our cottage door on Key Largo, we are thrilled to discover that her unquestionable beauty and attraction continue yet undisturbed.

It is the blunt admission of those ancients such as I who have the perspicacity to confess the lingering though unreachable fondness of the past. The source of the avowal isn’t however so much intelligence as pure mechanics. In a word, things simply don’t work as well.  Gone, for example, are the days of cycling unhindered upon the sandy beach or coral pathways. Merely walking about the pool would, for me, be a challenge without a stick or perhaps a walker.  And who in their right mind would indulge themselves in any more than 25 minutes of continuous sunshine! The entire model of the Florida break free has been corrupted by a burgeoning health awareness and changing weather patterns. Perhaps too politics and unsettled global shifts of humanity have had something to do with it as well.

We are privileged to have abided an uncommonly sunny and decidedly fresh day today to mark the first day of the new year. Almost hourly I am reminded of having surpassed the Winter Solstice as the solar brilliance contemporaneously stretches further along the horizon.  While venturing out of the garage midday we encountered our neighbour (with whom we shared libations and goodies last evening) as she returned from having skied cross-country. The early morning image below captures the alternative atmosphere to that of our southern neighbours.