Summer came to a quiet and uneventful end on Friday, September 23. For us down here at the end of US-1, the first day of autumn resembled the last day of summer, warm and humid. No drastic temperature swings or sweeping cold fronts down here in the tropics.
Our good friend Edie invited us for a late afternoon boat ride to Marvin Key on Saturday. It has been a couple of weeks since our last visit to the sand bar south of Marvin, and it would be nice to be a passenger not having to worry about the shallows, coral heads, and running out of gas, which actually did happen to us one hot afternoon coming back from Marvin. Edie was a phone call away and rescued us with fuel and a filter wrench!
This afternoon was worry free, just a nice boat ride on Edie's skiff with Kimberly and Ron and their three dogs, Oakley, Hooligan, and Jack, and Edie's dog Bart. Zuzu and Tootie were a bit restless during the twenty minute ride out. They were missing their cushioned cuddy cabin no doubt. But, once arrived, they leapt off the boat and were ready to run, play with the other dogs, and explore the island.
Zuzu seems to be more and more expressive everyday. Here, she's smiling for Edie who took these pictures and graciously shared them with us.
The light level was amazing, completely different from our usual afternoon sunlight. With the sun low in the sky, the mangrove islands popped even more against the blue water of Turkey Basin, and the water left from the receding tide on the sandbar shimmered.
We all took a long walk around the side of the island to look for small horseshoe crabs, which was a bit difficult with six dogs running and chasing each other, kicking up the sand making it very difficult to look for shoe trails on the bottom.
Once back at the skiff, it was time for pictures. With the sun setting behind us casting a warm light and stretching our shadows across the sand, Edie captured some excellent shots of the dogs.
Zuzu and Tootie posed for the camera as if they were in a photo shoot for a Vizsla magazine. Their expressions are priceless. Zuzu on the right always on alert while Tootie on the left is probably contemplating the setting sun.
There, both looking in the same direction, fixated on some distant object. Is it the heron searching for his dinner in the shallows or the ever sinking orb on the horizon?
With each passing minute our shadows grow longer and the light more magical. Zuzu, however, wanted to remind us that it would soon be dark and she's not fond of the night.
Another sniff around the anchor, the favorite spot for dogs to leave their mark, before heading back to Sugarloaf Shores.
The setting sun was amazing. We had a fantastic sunset boat ride across Turkey Basin.
Absolutely magical as the sun sets on this first day of autumn down here in paradise.
Thank you, Edie, for the ride out to Marvin and for the fantastic pictures!
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