The Manatee - An Infuriating Creature, To Be Sure

The manatees are back, lured by the warm - or at least warmer - waters of Florida, and so I stopped by Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon to take a look at them. Manatee Lagoon is located just across from a Florida Power and Light Plant, which makes the waters warmer and attracts those manatees. This center has a large facility with many exhibits, and in front of the building is the statue of two manatees, as seen in the photograph on the left, which is the only good view I have ever got of one.

I have been to this place on at least three or four different occasions, and each time I have seen any manatees, they are only dark shapes in the water, such as the one in the lower right of the photograph on the right. They constantly stay under the water, only sticking their nose above the surface to get air before immediately heading back down again. Sometimes, if the sun is on them and they get close to the surface, it would be possible to identify and photograph them, but that has never happened when I have been there. But I keep stopping by every once in a while in hopes of finally getting a clear view of one of those manatees, not to mention a photograph. And some year I very well might. But I am not holding my breath until I do.

The Snowbird Problem. I Finally Get It...

This past Wednesday afternoon around 5:00 my sister Susan and I drove to the Sailor's Return to have a beer, or in Susan's case, a glass of wine, on their outdoor patio. It is our favorite spot in Stuart, Florida to have a drink, since it is located at the Sunset Bay Marina, and allows everyone to have a drink while gazing at the yachts and to be able to watch the sun set over the St. Lucie River. But I forgot that this is "The Season" here in Florida, which runs from January through March. The parking lot at the Sailor's Return was completely full, and the valet stand was doing a booming business. In fact, those valets were parking cars right in front of the cars that were parked in the lot, forcing those drivers to ask the valet to move the car blocking them when they left. In contrast, the last time we were there, in December, we practically had the place to ourselves. In other words, there are a hell of a lot of snowbirds down here, and they make life much more difficult for the locals. And so, we drove to Ocean Republic Brewing to have a drink instead. I have never been there before, and it was a nice enough place. We sat at a table in an area with glass windows overlooking a tree-lined patio, where a child's birthday party was taking place, despite the chilly temperature. Inside, there were lots of families with kids running around, and plenty of locals at the bar, as seen in the photograph above. But it did not have a view of the yachts in the various marinas, or of the St. Lucie or Indian Rivers, or the ocean to enjoy while you had your drink. That seems to be the province of the snowbirds until April 1st, when they all fly away. I can't wait.

One Positive To Florida's Cold Weather

I was planning to skip spring training here in Florida this year since practically every seat in the house at Roger Dean Stadium. located in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, cost $51 (plus fees, of course), which is way too high to watch a baseball game where most of the players you are watching will wind up back in the minor leagues or out of baseball entirely. But then Rodger Dean Stadium had a promotion where you could buy tickets during a 48-hour period that would be priced at the lowest temperature recorded in Jupiter during a recent arctic blast. And happily, that temperature was 29 degrees, which meant that I could buy seats to two games at a total cost of $35 each (including fees, of course). Since the more people buy tickets on the internet, the fewer ticket sellers needed to be employed, I would think internet tickets would be cheaper, but I guess that's baseball for you. I just hope it will not be 29 degrees on game day.

Returning To Stuart, Florida!

My sister Susan and I returned to Stuart, Florida yesterday afternoon, looking forward to spending late winter and early spring enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. Ironically, when we left Denver, the temperature was 70 degrees, and when we arrived in Stuart, the high was 60, not to mention a low of 42. And this was by no means the first time this winter that it has been warmer in Denver than Stuart. What's wrong with this picture? Denver has not really had winter yet, with a mere 13 inches of snow so far, way below average. Since March and April are Colorado's snowiest months, people there are hoping the shortfall will be made up in the spring. I hope so, too, but I will be pretty damned mad if it winds up snowing here in Stuart instead of Denver. That would definitely be a world turned upside down.

A European Flashback: Milano!

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina concluded this past Sunday, and although I did not watch any of the coverage on television, it did remind me of my only visit to Milan, which was pretty brief, to say the least. Back in 2019, my sister Susan and I traveled to Paris and Italy, and after a number of days in Paris, we took the night train to Florence, which required a change of trains in Milan. We shared a compartment with 6 other people, and when it came time to retire for the night, the porter converted the compartment into 3 beds on each side. I got one of the top bunks, Susan sleeping just below me. As soon as the lights were off, everyone started complaining about the heat, and so someone opened the window, after which everyone complained about the noise. Eventually it was decided to just deal with the heat, after which I fell asleep, although afterwards I learned that most did not. The woman sleeping across from me complained about having to watch an older guy undress right in front of her, didn't sleep the entire night, and said she would never travel like that again. Susan was not able to sleep either, but said it was an interesting experience. As we got off the train in Milan, I took the photograph above, and as we headed to the terminal, we watched a train pulling out, which of course was the train to Florence. Why would it not be? We got tickets for the next train and still got to Florence before we could check into our bed and breakfast, although the couple that owned it were kind enough to keep our suitcases for us so we could wander around town a bit. Which was fun, since the whole area was from the 1400s or 1500s. All in all, a good day, at least for me. Good thing I can sleep anywhere, anytime. A useful trait. 

I Know It's Only Spring Training, But...

My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, have played only 3 spring training games so far, and I know I shouldn't get too excited too early, but the Sox won all three of those games and scored 24 runs in the process. They are currently playing like the '27 Yankees. Has White Sox GM Chris Getz managed to put together a contender only two years after the team lost 121 games and set the record for worst team in the history of major league baseball? Did he sell his soul to the devil in exchange for winning it all this year? Did the Pope put in a good word for the White Sox with the big man upstairs? Will the fans at Rate Field be singing "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" once again as the opposing pitchers leave the game? Have the "South Side Hit Men" returned after all these years? Only time will tell. Perhaps even as soon as this week. But you have to admit, it is indeed a good start. By the way, the photograph above is of Yoan Moncada, currently third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, who parted ways with the White Sox after the 2024 season. And yes, that was the season the White Sox lost those 121 games. Couldn't have done it without you, Yoan!

Celebrating Lunar New Year 2026

I drove over to the Far East Center, located at the corner of Alameda and Federal here in Denver, yesterday morning to take in the celebration of Lunar New Year 2026, the Year of the Horse. Sadly, there is no parking available for this event, and so everyone has to drive through the surrounding neighborhood to find parking on the street, which is a challenge, since there are something like 1000 other cars doing the same thing. Persistence paid off, and happily, I was able to find a spot. I arrived there at 11:00 A.M. and watched the Gu Zheng Instrumentalists and the Taiko Drummers, before the crowds parted and the Shaolin Hung Mei Lion Dancers made their entrance, as seen in the photograph above. This is the 35th annual Lunar New Year celebration at the Far East Center, which has just been made a historic landmark and is the heart of the Asian community in Denver. This is a quirky area, made up of both Asian and Hispanic businesses, but pretty interesting to visit. I enjoyed this festival very much, and there is good news if you are in the Denver area: the festival continues today from 11:00 until 4:00. This time with dragon dancers. What could be better than that?