Unequivocally I had intended to spend time at the pool today.  Last night, in recognition of my advanced age and associated (incremental) decomposition, I had resolved to “take it easy”. That meant, lounging by  the pool and swimming.  Swimming was the alternate to bicycling. And because the weather was predicted to be favourable – mostly sunny with some cloud beginning early in the afternoon – it all bode well for my project.  Afterwards I would entertain my photography hobby by attending the yacht basin on the other side of the condominium.

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Things began accelerating precisely at 7:30 am this morning when after a night of rambling reflection I sprung from bed determined to begin the day. It was a half-hour later than usual but with some application I knew I could meet my eight o’clock deadline for the car wash. Nor was I far off the mark. It was 7:59 am when putting on my shoes after having showered, shaved and dressed. With the recent time change I am back to coping with the rising sun directly in my eyes as I head out in the car along Lighthouse Road to Plantation Drive past Lawton Stables and Sea Pines Forest Preserve to Greenwood Drive and then the roundabout.

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The much touted sea breeze is not to be diminished.  Although the wind today was from the southwest (that is, from Sea Pines Beach Club towards Coligny Beach Park), I chose to cycle on the beach in the opposite direction with the wind in my face, not at my back as I would customarily have done.  It was a brilliantly sunny day and the sea breeze of 8 km/h was welcome and relieving.

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The “Great American Songbook” is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century that have stood the test of time in their life and legacy. Often referred to as “American Standards”, the songs published during the Golden Age of this genre include those popular and enduring tunes from the 1920s to the 1950s that were created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre and Hollywood musical film.

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I ousted myself from bed before eight o’clock this morning and did thereafter all that is customarily entailed. Breakfast was at its customary time. The only event which prolonged the performance was a welcome communication with a retail supplier with whom we’ve lately had some controversy. By the time I cycled to Coligny Beach Park shortly after noon the crowds had already begun streaming off the beach homeward bound. They and their beach wagon contraptions laden with umbrellas, towels and foldable chairs were cluttering the bicycle paths in the vicinity to the point of obstruction. The blue sky had been overtaken by an uninteresting grey map. The beachgoers vanish like gnats when Sol disappears from view. There lingered groups of shirtless young men playing volleyball or other beach games. But the serious sun worshippers had packed it up.

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Barefeet Rentals is located in the upper Florida Keys. Our Key Largo vacation rentals are situated just a short drive to Islamorada and surrounded by beachfront views of the azure waters of the Atlantic and the calm waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico, known locally as Florida Bay.

It has started already.  The emails from Barefeet Rentals.  I’ve subscribed to their general mailing list.  But most importantly it reminds me of our upcoming contract at Buttonwood Bay condominium beginning next November 1st. We first introduced ourselves to the property manager in the winter of 2020. At that time we had a look at the property where we’re going to stay next winter. While the complex is from my initial look at it more than satisfactory (boat slip, beach, multiple pools, gym and library), my primary interest is the “azure waters of the Atlantic and the calm waters of Florida Bay“.

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The crowds have multiplied on the beach and the bicycle paths!  Everywhere there are young people, students and families. It signals that it shall soon be time for us to leave this treasured island retreat for another year. Not to mention the people who have yet to arrive early April for the PGA RBC Heritage golf tournament. To my discredit it was only today that by chance I saw for the first time the logo on the iconic lighthouse in the nearby yacht basin!

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Sir William Mulock, PC, PC (Can), KCMG,QC
(January 19, 1843 – October 1, 1944) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist.

At a luncheon in his honour shortly after his 87th birthday, Mulock described his attitude on growing old:

I’m still at work with my hand to the plough and my face to the future. The shadows of evening …lengthen about me but morning is in my heart…the testimony I bear is this: that the castle of enchantment is not yet behind me, it is before me still and daily I catch glimpses of its battlements and towers. The best of life is always further on. The real lure is hidden from our eyes, somewhere behind the hills of time.

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The wangling of blossoming talent among young people is forever an enigma of the universe! And it is a conundrum as unfathomable as it is rhapsodizing! Recently we were acquainted with the burgeoning flair of a young lady on the pianoforte which happens to be my instrument of choice. It inspired me to see and hear her dispatch her task so assiduously. Her posture on the bench was perfection! The performance on the keys was mastery! Clearly it is an artistic devotion of untold consequence for her as well. It was long ago that I played for others in an audience. Championing the production is not to be taken lightly. It requires preparation, practice and application – not exactly what one expects naturally to exude among the sometimes distracted youth of society. The youthful performer – her name is Maeve – is the granddaughter of dear friends of ours.

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Living by the sea for a prolonged period one becomes accustomed to fronts; that is, strong winds that sweep across the island, bearing warm or cold air, rain or blue sky. Whatever the nature of the front it always signals a variation of what preceded it. Today’s “wind advisory” for example heralded plummeting temperatures and sunny skies from the Northwest at 37 km/h. It was for me an invitation to the beach where the crashing waves, swirling sand and powerful blasts would be ideal for photography and bicycling in the right direction.

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