Getting ready for the New Year in Key West.

Warm Christmas Greetings from The Cherrys

Clean Up Crew

Clean Up Crew
Originally uploaded by sache47

The last of the carolers relax after cleaning up from The Deck
Christmas Caroling party.

Opposites Attracted

Opposites Attracted
Originally uploaded by sache47

The garden meets the Christmas wreath on our balcony.

The Key Colony Beach Boat Parade drew a large crowd this year, and The Cay was well represented. There were about 7 boats in the parade and the wind was swift as they made the turn at our end of the canal, and this made for some excitement. I had my camera set on the night setting, but somehow, my photos didn't turn out that great. Next year I'll try for some better shots. I'm not sure who won, maybe everyone because there are several categories. There were all sized of boats, and even a kayak.

AGAIN??????
I'm sorry to say the story is not quite over for poor Andy Williams. He was arrested this week for cocaine possession, yet again, and having his license tag on the wrong vehicle. He gave his occupation during booking as "candidate." Maybe he doesn't know the election is over. On the other hand, for Mary Vanden Brook, Circuit Court Judge election loser, it may not be over. After 3 recounts and her opponent winning by just 4 votes, she is suing just about everyone involved in the election, except for me, and wants to either be declared the winner or have a new election. I tell ya, the political fun really never seems to end down here in the Keys. And if my second from the last sentence isn't a run on with dangling modifiers, I don't know what is.

KCB Lights
Originally uploaded by sache47

The halls are decked across the street at City Hall. This is the
gazebo in the park by the Key Colony Inn. Yes, an inch or two of snow
would have made a nice backdrop, but 70 degrees makes for a more
leisurely stroll across the street for photos.

Seen at Capt. Dave's Tackle Store
Originally uploaded by sache47

Brick is wet- Rain

Brick is dry- Not raining

Shadow on ground- Sunny

Can't see brick- Foggy

Brick is swinging- Windy

White on top- Snowing

Brick jumping- Earthquake

Brick gone- Hurricane

MY LAST ELECTION POST

This is probably the Andy Williams that 12,500 voters thought they were selecting for Mosquito Control Board. The real candidate was sitting in the Key West jail on election day for his latest drug test failure. If he was able to vote for himself, it was by absentee ballot. Luckily his opponent won the seat, otherwise, how would he have been able to make the meetings? Scary, isn't it?
A week after elections, and we still don't know who our Circuit Court judge is. The race between Tegan Slaton and Mary Vanden Brook was too close to call on election night with Tegan Slaton ahead by only nine votes. After a recount and counting all the provisional ballots, they are now exactly tied at 16,441 each. So today a special board will meet in Key West to look at the ballots that were over or undervoted to see if they can determine a winner. I hear that both candidates are very well-qualified for the job. OK, that's it, I am over the election excitement for at least 2 more years.

This is an unusual coincidence. Just as the snowbirds are arriving by the hour from the north, at the same time, we have Hurricane Paloma approaching from the south. The birds are landing mostly in pairs, loaded down after their stops in Miami at Costco, BJs, or Sam's Club. They have everything they could possibly need to settle in to their island nests for the winter. They will call relatives to let them know they made it safely, unpack their cars, and check to make sure everything is working properly. Then they will make their way down to the beach to breathe a sigh of relief that it is just as it was when they left. But now, as strange as it seems, they will need to keep the weather channel close at hand to make sure that Paloma doesn't fly in from the south. Yes, we all know hurricane season doesn't really end until Nov. 30th, but we also know that this one will miss us, thanks to Cuba, which has taken a beating from every storm we have had this year, and made things much easier on us. So forget the weather, enjoy the beach and pool and friends you haven't seen for a while, and say a kindly, "Gracias" to our neighbors to the south for running a little defense for us yet again.

Ginger Snead Elected Marathon City Councilwoman
Ginger Snead was the top vote-getter in an 8 way race for three city council seats in Marathon yesterday. She has become an important part of my life because she owns Advantage Rehab and Physical Therapy where I go four times a week to exercise and try to keep my back in line. Of course, I couldn't vote for her, being a Key Colony Beach resident, but Ginger jokes that if KCB could vote, she wouldn't have even needed to campaign because she has treated just about everyone on the island for one ailment or another. I'm impressed with her victory because she took on some incumbents to try to make a change in her city even though she has had no political experience. She started her campaign very early and has attended every city council meeting now for months. I think this is the kind of candidate that more and more voters are looking for. So congrats to Ginger! Listening to the ins and outs of Marathon political life while I am exercising at what we call "Ginger's House of Torment and Torture", sure has made my workouts go by faster.

MORE ELECTION COVERAGE\
You Northerners will love this. The headlines in the Miami Herald today were "Early Voters Brave 50 Degree Temperatures". This picture isn't exactly from Miami, but believe me, they really dress for the weather down here when it gets in the 50s. It's their one chance to wear a sweater, hooded sweatshirt, boots (fashion boots, of course) and hats, scarves and sometimes gloves. I know it looks silly to those of us who know that 50 degrees isn't really that cold, but to them, it's serious dangerous stuff. One guy that lined up in Miami at 4:30 this morning was reported to be running back and forth from his spot in line to his car to warm up. Looks like they are taking their voting pretty seriously too. As of Monday afternoon, a total of 1.2 million have early voted, that's 10% of registered voters. Way to go, Miami Dade and Broward Counties.

Today Governor Crist made the emergency decision to extend early voting hours for the rest of this week to 7am to 7 pm. In Miami Dade and Broward Counties, you can early vote through Sunday. In Florida, early voting runs for two weeks before election day. I am not sure if every state has early voting, but it sure is a great idea.
Here in The Keys, Monroe County, we have had 31% of registered voters who have already cast their ballots either by absentee (they call it vote by mail now) or by early voting. This is great news for me, since I am working the polls on Tuesday, but not such great news for my friends Connie and Germaine who work the early voting polls and usually go home at 4:30, but now will stay until 7 pm. In The Keys, I am pretty sure that the 6395 people that early voted did not have to wait in much of a line. It's not the same in Miami Dade and Broward where the lines all last week and so far this week have been a 1 to 4 hour wait. Even though the polls closed at 4:30 every day, the last person in line at 4:30 didn't cast their ballots until 8:30 or 9 pm. Most early voters in Miami Dade and Broward have been Democrats, I think that has been established. It was an honorable thing for our Republican Governor to extend the hours. On the other hand, most absentee ballots are requested by Republicans. I really don't understand why someone would rather early vote instead of requesting an absentee ballot, but that's the way they want their voice to be heard. It's a visual way to show that you are playing a part of the democratic process.
I am hoping that those people who wait to vote until Tuesday have a clear idea of what they are voting for before they get to the polls. The ballot is 2 legal sized pages, front and back, and the ammendments are just about impossible to figure out unless you have given them a lot of thought. In Marathon, there are 8 candidates running for 3 city council seats. Their biggest fear is by the time the voters get to their spot on the back page, they will be so weary of making decisions that they won't even bother to vote. And with every voter feeding two ballots into the acu-vote machine, there is twice as much chance for the machine to jam, and e-gads, that's where I take over!
I hope by the end of the week, almost everyone has early voted. But then, if Gov. Christ calls for extended hours on election night because we are still waiting for someone to vote in Miami or West Palm, there I will be, at the Precinct 20, Presbyterian Kirk, until 9:00 PM. It's my job! Someone has to do it! As my brother would say, "Vote early, cats!"

Crocodiles in The Keys
From The Keynoter
Complaints about American crocodiles in Islamorada are on the rise, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Monday.

"Our officer [in Islamorada] is getting complaints about [crocodiles at] boat ramps and marinas" in the Lower Matecumbe Key area, agency spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro said. That's about 35 miles south of the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

"They can live in brackish water, and people are feeding them, harassing them, touching them," she said.

She didn't have specific information about where there have been problems, but did say "the Keys are experiencing a growing number of crocodile-related complaints." She said some have even been spotted in residential swimming pools lately.

Feeding and harassing crocodiles, which are endangered, is illegal -- and dangerous.

American crocodiles are generally shy and reclusive. However, when fed, crocodiles may overcome their natural wariness and learn to associate people with food, Ferraro said.

She said at marinas and boat ramps, dispose of fish scraps and carcasses in garbage cans; do not throw them in the water. The result can be the same as intentionally feeding crocodiles.

Report nuisance crocodiles to the FWC's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Hotline at (866) 392-4286.

A symbiotic relationship

A symbiotic relationship
Originally uploaded by sache47

Quick Work
Originally uploaded by sache47

I was totally amazed that the causeway has been paved and yellow-lined
in one week's time. Not only that, this is West Ocean, which has also
been completed. They worked day and night, sometimes until 10:00 or
!!:00 PM last week to complete it. Everytime I drove by, there was
our mayor, Ron Sutton, standing over them making sure that everything
was done correctly. It's such an improvement. Now it will be tough to
keep my speed down to 25 mph with all that nice smooth pavement to
ride on, but as they say, "What's your hurry? You're already here!"

Only In The Keys...I think
Cell phone service went out in Key West this morning for Verison customers for over an hour. Can you imagine the nightmare that would cause, especially if you worked for Verison! This is something that we just can't do without in this day and age, well it seems practically dangerous to be without your cell phone for more than a few minutes. Out of touch with the entire world? On second thought, maybe it would be kinda nice for a change. Let's try it, a cell phoneless day once a year. It sure would give everyone something to talk about... the next day.

New Fire Hydrants for Key Colony

New Fire Hydrants for Key Colony
Originally uploaded by sache47

Ever since Rocket Man's house burnt down this summer, there has been a
cry for more fire hydrants in Marathon. By the way, in case you didn't
know, Rocket Man is a somewhat famous local performer at Porky's and
The Dockside Bar. It seems that the first truck that showed up at his
house when tiki torches started the deck on fire didn't have a hose
long enough to reach his house from a fire hydrant. There was plenty
of water in a nearby canal, but then, by the time a pumper truck got
there, it was too late to save anything. As I see it, as a result, we
now have a new fire chief, or half of a fire chief as we now share
and one chief covers both Islamorada and Marathon, and also there has
been a plea around Marathon for more fire hydrants. We in Key Colony
Beach, served by the Marathon Fire Department, seem to be getting ours
first, but maybe ours were in the plan anyway, I don't know. It sure
is nice to know that we do have fire hydrants now. I really do feel
much safer. I'm also glad that they thought to put the ones on the
causeway first since the "One Lane Only" signs are all ready to be put
in place for the paving that will start next week. I don't know why
they didn't pave before all the snowbirds started arriving, but I
guess it will only slow you down a little getting to your favorite
winter retreat this year, and once you get here, you won't want to
leave.

More to come...

More to come...
Originally uploaded by sache47

Here's the ones that they still have to install. If you are lucky,
maybe a fire hydrant will be coming to your street sometime soon!

Due to popular demand, here's a photo of the wedding in Las Vegas. It was a beautiful ceremony, and quite exciting for Bill and I to welcome Lori into our family and see our boy finally take the plunge. We had a blast in Vegas before, during, and after the wedding with family and friends.

It was a great day in Key West with my sister Sue and my husband Bill, however this is another fisherman, Bill was taking the picture. We lunched at El Siboney, the sangria is THE BEST, then dropped Bill off at Rick's and shopped and shopped some more. On the way home we stopped for a cafe con leche at Baby's Coffee. The statues around the old customs house are fantastic. Ben Franklin's is starting to fill up with costumes and special glittery fabric for Fantasy Fest. Does anyone need another boa? What a diverse city, and there's never a dull moment.

Oh No! Not Again!
Yikes! Will it ever end? Looks like we are in the "cone of death" yet again. Yes, we know it's the middle of hurricane season, but enough is enough! We are sick of watching the weather channel. We hunkered down for Fay and Gustav, but Hanna, Ike, and Josephine are on the way, and if we have to hunker any more, we may just go somewhere else to do it. Tonight, though, is beautiful. We are going to ride down to sunset park to catch the view. Don't worry, you don't need the weather channel. As long as we are here, we'll keep you posted on the weather. And, the bobcat was here today, no more weeds on the beach. I'm not sure where they went, but I think they buried them.

GUSTAV

What a Difference a Weekend Makes!
Originally uploaded by sache47

One day the ocean just beckons you to come on in and enjoy the calm.
The next day things can turn pretty ugly in almost no time.
It's Labor Day. In Michigan that would mean a family picnic, or a
trip up "North" for the weekend, then maybe a union meeting to find
out if there would be a teachers' raise, or a strike. The kids would
have all their supplies for school; there might be tomatoes to can,
and definitely fresh corn for dinner. Everyone mentally prepares
themselves for the fact that the season will be changing very soon.
Down here we don't have the change of seasons. On or around Labor Day
we join the "Four H Club here", that's high winds, heavy rain, heat
and humidity, but so far, no hurricanes! Gustav has been gentle here,
we have nothing to complain about. We had some rain, the wind blew
the seaweed from Fay back onto our beach, but it also brought a lot of
sand back to our beach. There's some cleanup to do. It's really a
mess next door at Oceanfront Condos where the wind blew lots of weeds
up onto their dock and into their pool, major clean up there, minor
cleanup here. After Fay, the city made the decision not to haul away
seaweed, don't ask me why, they recieved $95,000. for disaster
recovery. What they spent it on I don't know, but now as you can see,
we have all that seaweed still with us. But I know we definitely have
nothing to complain about, it could be so much worse. It's just one
minor delay in getting on with life in paradise.

Only in The Keys...


Candidate jailed
Andy Williams was arrested on Friday for violating probation that he was serving for a felony charge of cocaine possession from earlier this year. The warrant for the arrest was signed on Wednesday -- the day after Williams defeated Pat Unferth in the Republican primary for the District 1 Mosquito Control Board seat.

Posted - Friday, August 29, 2008 06:43 PM EDT

Gosh, I don't think this story in the Keynoter is going to help his campaign much.

Oh no!!! It looks like we are in a two way squeeze here. This is wind probability, and the darker areas are worse, but still, it does make one a bit nervous. I just hope Gustav and Hannah will leave us alone and go somewhere else. In the meantime, it's sunny and beautiful on the beach today, a nice breeze and warm water. Hmmm...that may not be a good thing.

Beach Discovery After the Storm

Beach Discovery After the Storm
Originally uploaded by sache47

I found this on the beach the morning after the storm, and wondered
about it for quite a while. Could it be from a shark or some other
large fish? Finally I got out a book that my sister Sue gave me, "
Florida's Living Beaches A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber", and boy
is that me, a 'curious beachcomber'. Right away I was able to find and
identify it, and then, of course, do a little more research for
confirmation on the internet. I can't help it, once a science teacher,
always a curious learner. The post below shows what animal it belongs
to.

It's the hyoplastron bone from the lower shell of a sea turtle, probably a loggerhead, but that's just a guess. I'd have to find some more of the bones of this turtle to be sure of the species. By the size, it's probably not full grown, as this would only be about one quarter of the skeleton size, they have 4 bones like this on the bottom. You just wonder how this sea turtle died, and how old the bone really is. I don't think it's legal to collect sea turtle bones, and it smells terrible! I better put it back where I found it, so someone else can find and wonder about it's previous life.

A Day After Fay

A Day After Fay
Originally uploaded by sache47

T. S. Fay blew through the night and we woke up to sunshine, but still
lots of wind. We were fooled when we heard that the storm had passed
over Key West at about 4 PM yestserday...it blew harder after in the
bands that arrived after the storm. We had our doorwall shutters
opened a bit in the evening, but pulled them closed again at 2 AM when
the winds picked up. There's not as much seaweed on the beach as in
past hurricanes, but we did lose a lot of sand. Our cable went out
last night, no internet, it came back on this morning at 9 AM, but I
think it has gone out again! Oh drat! This post will probably be
delayed!

The crew begins

The crew begins
Originally uploaded by sache47

Steve had Oscar and the crew here early with the bobcat to start
cleaning up the beach.

Guess what blew in?

Guess what blew in?
Originally uploaded by sache47

Do you recognize what this is that blew off and onto our beach? Hint:
The winds came in from the southeast.

Manuel

Manuel
Originally uploaded by sache47

Manuel was wielding the machette early this morning.

"I'm OK"

"I'm OK"
Originally uploaded by sache47

Even the smallest of critters survived.

Island damage

Island damage
Originally uploaded by sache47

The rest of Key Colony Beach was mostly a matter of downed palm fronds
and various branches to clean up.

No comment needed.

No comment needed.
Originally uploaded by sache47

Our Beach at 12 noon

Our Beach at 12 noon
Originally uploaded by sache47

The waves are really rolling in now. We had high tide at about 10:50,
and it's really raining at the moment... large cats and large dogs.
Yes, everything has been moved in off the beach and off of the deck.

Sunday Night Sunset

Sunday Night Sunset
Originally uploaded by sache47

The dark clouds that chased us off the beach this afternoon must have
been just a squal. A few hours later the sun was out, and we have had
no rain. This evening we motored down to Sunset Beach to see if there
would be one, sunset, that is. The sky was pretty, but the sun was
not visible. On our way down to the pool, the sky turned a beautiful
shade of pink, not only in the west, but also in the south, and east.
"Red at night, sailor's delight; Red in the morn, sailors take warn."

Tropical Storm Fay, and we're in the 3 day cone!

Tropical Storm Fay, and we're in the 3 day cone!
Originally uploaded by sache47

But last night from the water, we observed a beautiful sunset over Key
Colony Beach.

The ibis

The ibis
Originally uploaded by sache47

are said to be the last to leave the island when a hurricane
approaches. They, as us were just watching to the east as the sun
rose as usual this morning. The sounds of preparation were in the air,
however; boats being taken out of the water, shutters going up, and
the cars on US1 heading north.

Shutters

Shutters
Originally uploaded by sache47

were up at Sunset beach by about 2:00 today, and that was no small
feat. They have the old fashioned kind that you have to put up by hand
one by one. Here at The Cay, most of the shutters are up, but we still
have some visitors and some year-rounders, like us who are staying for
now. All of the beach and deck furniture has been removed from the
beach, except for what we are sitting on for the moment.

To the north

To the north
Originally uploaded by sache47

at The Cay, there were people still enjoying a nice warm day in the pool.

To the south

To the south
Originally uploaded by sache47

At 3:15 the clouds started to build up to the south, and we decided it
was time for us to come off of the beach.

Lazy Days of August We took the kayak out tonight at about 7:30, and just parked ourselves out at the sandbar for a while to enjoy the evening. The water was so calm, and there were almost no boats out, except for the Marathon Lady off in the distance for the night fishing trip. We took our time on the way back to admire the beautiful white clouds off to the west with the sunset lighting up the sky behind them. From where we were, we couldn't actually see the sun drop below the horizon, but it was still a gorgeous sight behind the skyline of the white condos of Key Colony Beach. I still am not too sure about taking my camera out in the boat because we do take on water, so I'm posting a photo I took at Sunset Beach a few weeks ago.

Baby Loggerheads return to sea at Sea Isle

Baby Loggerheads return to sea at Sea Isle
Originally uploaded by sache47

Last Thursday, with a little help, baby loggerheads made their way
back to the ocean in search of a nice patch of sargasso weed to feed
on, and right now, there is tons of it out there! A nest was
discovered back in June on the beach at Sea Isle, here on Key Colony
Beach. The eggs were taken to The Turtle Hospital for safe keeping
until it was time to hatch. Then they were returned to the Sea Isle
beach, and a trench was dug to help them find their way to the ocean.
Some lucky locals, including the mayor, got to watch the march of the
babies. Unfortunately, we were still on vacation at the time and
missed the performance...maybe next year! Hopefully some of them will
find their way back to one of our beaches in the future to make a new
next.