A BANANA SPIDER...

...captures the photographic attention of my morning's companions, Larry and Sandy while we did a self-guided hike of the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area; just around the corner from our winter digs in Vero Beach.

Known as ORCA (with a whale-sized smile) it is 336 acres of protected land along the inter-coastal waterway which has recorded 220 species of birds and 132 different, sub-tropical plants.

A unique feature of the area is the two impoundments of 132 and 52 acres respectively that create coastal wetlands by a system of dikes which are flooded during mosquito breeding season.  Salt marsh mosquitoes will not lay their eggs on standing water thus preventing mosquito production without using pesticides.

The area features a couple miles of hiking trails in its jungle-like environment and an elevated pier which gives visitors a splendid view of the wetland foliage and brackish water inlets.

The area, however, is showing the ravages of little maintenance while suffering budgetary constraints in these difficult, economic times.  In the photo (left) you can see the roof of the display structure has nearly decayed away and the graphics have faded from the harsh environment and the disgusting work of vandals.

A sign at the entrance advertises guided tours each, seasonal Saturday but the tours have long been abandoned and the sign stands uncorrected.

A fairly long hike is required to arrive at the site of the "Largest Slash Pine in the World," where visitors now find only the decaying trunk of what was once a majestic tree with a pathetic sign that proclaims "Awesome Pine, You are here" like a bad joke.

The sign also points to an "Historic Quarry."  At that trail's end we found not a "quarry" but what Ohioans would describe as a Vernal Pool; a depression that fills with water in the Spring and creates a breeding environment for many creatures.

As I constructed this story the local paper arrived with an article headlined, "Self-Interest, Audacity of Lawmakers is Astounding."  The writer concluded their self-interest knows no bounds; "The only members of the public they truly are committed to serving is themselves."

He made the point of their scandalous perk of nearly free medical insurance as opposed to what folks in the private sector must pay--if they have any insurance at all.

Eliminating that perk alone would be a helpful step toward restoring funding for preservation and enjoyment of essential areas like ORCA.

NIGHT HERON--

A late night snack was on the mind of this wading bird in the inter coastal waterway at the end of Royal Palm Pointe, in Vero Beach.  There is a small, city park on the shoreline offering this nice view of the Merril P. Barber bridge which spans the waterway and its channel, outlined by the colorful, lights on the left.

The photo was done with an exposure of 6/10 second, f/4 and ISO 3200 with a Canon Rebel T3i digital SLR camera perched firmly on a walkway railing.

Mark and Nancy Meinzer are enjoying artful columns decorating the park's shoreline while my lady, Sue Brooks, walks by in the background (below).

THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER--

A dramatic, holographic presentation (above) took space center visitors along for the historic 1969 landing on the moon; one of the featured venues at the visitor's complex for our gateway to space exploration. 

The lunar landing module remained on the moon while an artistic view of the starry sky, nebulae, a spiral galaxy, the sun, earth and the space station celebrated this early achievement in space after--in the above view--the lander's module returned to the service vehicle orbiting above the lunar landing site.

Another dramatic venue at the space complex was the Saturn 5 display of the largest rocket ever built.  The rocket's five massive engines (left) dwarf visitors walking below.

Our visit to the complex included a bus ride to the observation gantry for the 39 A and B launch pads of the Apollo program, in addition to the Apollo/Saturn 5 center located near the Vehicle Assembly Building where those massive rockets were assembled and made ready to fly.

My tour of the center was rattled by noting all of the programs were done in the present tense while our current space shuttle flights to the International Space Station have now been stopped.

We have abandoned our capacity to resupply astronauts and supplies to that historic, scientific platform that orbits overhead, about 17 times each day.

We have left that mission in the hands of the Russians and their Soyuz spacecraft--with its checkered history of recent, safe launches.

NASA's base of operations for some of the most amazing achievements of mankind now has no mission--except for an occasional military or civilian satellite launch.

Yet, the dream is still there; to return to the moon and fly to Mars.  Maybe.  Someday.

Mark Meinzer enjoys a peek at the model of the Space Shuttle with its launch gantry (above).  The control room for the Saturn/Apollo launch program is pictured below, treating visitors to an animated view of an actual Saturn launch.

US Astronaut deaths in the space program are memorialized at the space center (above) and include the loss of 7 astronauts in the 1986 Challenger disaster, 6 who died in the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, 5 in training flights and 3 who died in a fire on the pad in Apollo 1 in 1967.

THE McKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN--
Revisited

Square dancing friends Mark and Nancy Meinzer (above) from Mansfield enjoy a "Whispering Seat" sculpture on display with many other artistic creations at this popular garden in Vero Beach.  They recently spent a week visiting with Sue and yours truly.

Nancy is whispering in the tube and Mark can clearly hear her remarks, transmitted without amplification through the pipes circling between the blue mouthpieces--cleverly presented as blooming flowers on their metallic vines.

The lower photo shows the world's largest table in the Hall of Giants, a building constructed by an eccentric philanthropist in the style of his other local creation, The Driftwood Inn, featured on the blog in January.

This table also was featured on the blog (in early January) when it was festooned with colorful little Christmas trees made of scraps of wrapping paper.

SOUTH FLORIDA TRI-RAIL--

Last year we rode this train system from West Palm Beach to downtown Miami.  It was an efficient and cost-free way to zip through the insanity of the area's dense population and traffic.

After this year's experience I will personally install a gernade in the shorts of the person who proposes another such trip.

We arrived at out departure station in advance of the recommended time to obtain tickets and board the train.  Our train arrived at the station on time...and departed for Miami while many of our group were still in the abysmal line waiting for the processing of our tickets.

We caught the next train an hour later, very grateful we were not held up for a second hour, which, at that time, was beginning to appear quite likely.

When you arrive in the Miami area you have to negotiate a transfer station where you board the Metrorail system which takes you into downtown where a people-mover, elevated rail system meanders to the various downtown attractions.

This transfer process was just as pathetic.  A train load of folks were hearded to three automated machines; two for cash purchases and one for credit card use where the proper documentation could be acquired to ride to your chosen destination.

One of the cash machines was out of order and the credit card machine appeared to be working intermittently.  Instructions for passengers were virtually unrecognizable and the security guy, whose task it was to sort out the mess, began his English lessons earlier that morning.

When we inquired about the noticeable deterioration in service a hapless clerk said "...the politicians have made some changes." 
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Downtown Miami can be seen in the distance of the lead photo at the Tri-Rail/Metrorail transfer station.  Our travel group included Mark and Nancy Meinzer who were visiting briefly from Mansfield and we joined long-time Bellville friends, Dick and Jan Shafer and 5 other couples from their winter digs in Vero Beach.

Sue and Nancy are in the foreground of the little photo, top right.  Dick (green shirt) and Jan are on the left in the next lower picture.  Mark and Nancy are enduring some kidding (bottom photo) about the sign between them which reads, "Elderly and Handicapped."

THUNDER ON THE BEACH!
the ninth annual PowWow

Smoke is used as a cleansing ritual in ceremonies preceding the "grand entry" for participants celebrating American Indian culture at the Vero Beach fairgrounds while a chief and a young "squaw" enter the parade circle.

About 50 Native Americans in the regalia of their ancestors celebrated their history and culture with marvelous costumes and visually poetic dance to the delight of a capacity audience.

As they circled the show ring in preparation for presenting their colors (native flags and the US flag), they invited all veterans in the crowd to join their ceremonial march.

I did and it was an experience punctuated with patriotic shivers as I moved slowly around the ring and pondered the meaning of these devout natives saluting the veterans of ancestors who themselves were responsible for enforcing the removal of these historic tribes from their land.

As the march concluded the Indians formed a receiving line and shook the hand of the veterans and thanked us for our service.  More often, the handshake was followed by a softly sincere hug.

Each of us was given a small, cloth sack which I learned later contained tobacco, "a substance Indians revered as they revered our service to our country."

I enjoyed the private scene of the "cowboy" sharing thoughtful comments with his "Indian" son prior to the ceremony.

I chuckled at the cultural clash between the modern cigarette and the  squaw in her historic regalia.

I left the arena that day with a richly enhanced sense of brotherhood with these folks whose ancestors suffered the loss of their land at the hands of ancestors of mine.

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Thanks also to long-time Bellville friends, Dick and Jan Shafer who introduced us to the Vero Beach area a couple of years ago and accompanied us on this special day.

MY NEW BIKE...

and a ride to the beach

Just like the white lines in the above photo, many main roads around Vero Beach have bike lanes.

However, the town also has lots and lots of aging snow birders (like this bike rider) and riding a bike on the road's surface can be hazardous.  In fact our very first advice at the bike shop last year was ride on the sidewalks. 

That's largely how this ride was accomplished.  It was about 2 1/2 miles from our RV park on the sidewalks along US 1 into downtown then a right turn on 17th Street's sidewalks to the causeway bridge in the above photo--and another couple of miles east to the beach.

Largely folks are courteous and readily give way to pedestrians.  I'm not too sure that civility is always extended to bikes.

As a matter of fact, I also yield to pedestrians by stopping until they have passed by on the sidewalk, as I was doing one time this day--when a bicyclist buzzed right between us.  The lady pedestrian in this case seemed to appreciate my courtesy all the more.

In another incident a panel truck motioned me to cross a very busy continuous turn lane which gave rise to a howl of blaring horns from a couple of big SUVs behind him who were entirely put upon by this 3 second delay in their endless pursuit of personal gratification.

Vero has two of these bridges over the inter coastal waterway which passes about directly beneath my bike in the top photo.  You can judge a bit how high this bridge is by noting the pontoon boat below and just to the right of my bike's seat.

The little photo top right is looking straight down from my bike's parked location.

Sue bought an older, conventional bike earlier so I began to search for a ride for myself.  You can imagine my delight when I encountered this recumbent in a bike shop at a relatively modest price.  The original owner couldn't ride it according to the salesman and it isn't a popular design down here so I benefited from it's being a little showroom worn.

It's a Sun Easy Rider just like my bike back home, but a noticeably smaller model.

I did both bridge climbs on the middle chain ring and in third or fourth gear--about in the middle range of the bike's 24 speeds.

In fact, I almost caught up with the kid who blasted between me and that lady pedestrian.  About half way up the bridge he began to walk and push his bike.

I'm really kind of glad he beat me to the top and was long gone when I crested the hill.

The conversation might have been a bit lively--about like my animated, lip gestures to the horn blaring SUVers.