If on the morning of Saturday, January 25, I went out to fish, I don’t remember it. Maybe that is because there was a distraction—the sun was back.
When I went for my morning run the temperature was 54 degrees, wind was whipping out of the north at 12 mph, with gusts up to 28. But the sun was out against a clear blue backdrop.
For this run, I ran north along the highway on the left side facing the traffic. The road’s shoulder was a combination of sidewalks and driveway entrances into parking lots for businesses.
I ended up running past Crane Point Hammock. Then, I turned around and retraced my steps to Tranquility Bay. I clocked my time at 40:59. A good workout into a stiff breeze.
Along the way, there were a few early risers. At some point, from the other side of the highway, I heard these words: “get off the road.” I spun around to see if those words were meant for me.
I determined the words came from a passing vehicle on the other side of the road. Probably some driver with a car racked out with the technology to annoy old men on a singular Saturday morning run.
I imagine the driver had quite a laugh when he/she saw me whip around searching to find the culprit.
Back at Tranquility Bay, we were in motion. We were gathering ourselves for a short walk to The Stuffed Pig for breakfast.
Bundled up for the wind, we made the walk to the restaurant. Inside seats were already taken. So, we were directed to an outside seating area in back of the restaurant.
Yes, the air was a bit brisk, but we settled into our table, and placed our orders. When the delicious food arrived, the chilled air was forgotten.
I can only describe our orders as this—a cardiologist would see dollars signs. I’m sure my arteries, heart chambers, and veins enjoyed every bite of my homemade biscuits smothered in warm sausage gravy. For the next six days, I was powerfully tempted to return to The Stuffed Pig to up my cholesterol, but I resisted.
Along with the delightful breakfast, the staff at this restaurant is most impressive—they are polite, hardworking hustlers.
With this cool air, we had read a notice from weather forecasters to be on the outlook for iguanas falling out of trees. This cool air impacts their metabolism.
Iguanas crawl into trees to sleep. Being cold blooded, in these cool temperatures iguanas can lose their grip on the tree limbs.
When the grip goes, the iguana falls. If an iguana had clunked down on me after breakfast at The Stuffed Pig any health problems related to cholesterol, bladder, and bowel would have been instantly cleared.
But we did see a green iguana poking his head up out of shrubbery. It was if the iguana was seeking the warmth of the sun. Perhaps, this iguana was silently saying to the sun—thank the good Lord you are back this morning.
Past breakfast, Saturday was quiet. The abundant sunshine kept us in motion.
My Richmond friend, Mike Cross, had alerted me before heading to the Keys that an alignment of planets would take place while we were there.
So prior to sundown, Betsy, Dan, and I made the trek to Seven Mile Bridge. Butch, Marian, and Judy would follow later in the car.
Our location looked to be a perfect for watching the sun set and planet searching.
Prior to the sunset and planet search, we walked around. We noticed an iguana on a concrete ledge. Our guess was that earlier in the afternoon, the iguana had been reheating his body from the warm concrete.
Gradually, darkness began to arrive. The shades of color in the sky dimmed. Our first glimpses of sparkles in the heavens began to appear.
For the next half hour, our necks craned toward the dark yonder. Anything with some size and brightness caught our attention.
I’m no expert on the twinkling stars at night. I can find the dippers, but that’s about it.
Consulting the internet and a variety of apps, Dan and Betsy started to piece together the appearance of the planets.
Here is what our pals at NASA had to say about our search for this alignment of planets:
“In the first couple of hours after dark, you’ll find Venus and Saturn in the southwest, Jupiter high overhead, and Mars in the east. (Uranus and Neptune are there too, but a telescope is needed to see them.) Planets always appear along a line in the sky, so the “alignment” isn’t special. What’s less common is seeing four or five bright planets at once, which doesn’t happen every year. Is it a “planet parade”? This isn’t a technical term in astronomy, so call it what you wish!”
So, we kept looking and rationalizing what our eyes were seeing. By the time the rest of our gang showed up, I’m reasonably sure that Dan and Betsy had spotted Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.
With creaky necks and weary eyes, we piled back into the car. A shrimp dinner and another round of Marian’s charades await us.
The shrimp were delicious, and the charades always bring some surprises and laughter.
Before turning in, we talked briefly about an outing to explore Pigeon Key on Sunday morning, and a sneak peak at Key West for Monday.
What a difference the return of the sun made. Its light certainly casts us into many different directions.
And in those directions, I’m thankful for the caring light found in our dear college friends, the solitude of an early morning run, the people skills at The Stuffed Pig, any iguana that didn’t clunk my head, sunsets and aligned planets, shrimp catchers and shrimp cooks, and the heartfelt laughter in a game of charades.
Good night.
might be baloney 