2024: January Activities in Marathon FL

 January 2024 

January kept us busy with a variety of activities. The weather this month offered  a larger than normal number of days of high winds and chilly temperatures. More than one day found the boat rocking and bouncing in the boat slip. On occasion we found days to enjoy the pool. The boaters tend to congregate in one corner of the pool, so visiting the pool is a socializing event.

A variety of wildlife has joined us at or near the marina.

Flock of Ibis at the marina

Walking back to the boat from the library, I passed by the fishing boats at Keys Fisheries. Men were loading a boat with traps to go out for the day. Pelicans sat on and around the boat ready to take the ride out with the fishermen. 

Back at the marina, we had our own pelicans to contend with. They frequently stand on our dock fishing for their dinner. 

They usually move out of the way, but the one below refused to yield the right of way as I walked right up to him and politely asked that he let me pass. When I was about ready to step on him, he flew off in a huff.

On my birthday I got a nice surprise, a manatee came in to get a drink of fresh water. Someone "accidentally" left their hose dripping off the side of their boat. The manatee was practically high on the supply of water for no work on his part.

Later, he swam right next to our boat and under our neighbor's boat.

Besides watching the wildlife, we have had some fun outings. For my birthday, Clark took me out to lunch and to dinner. What fun not to have to cook at all that day! Best present ever! The pictures below are from our lunch at Overseas Pub.

The library in Marathon is second to none in its free offerings. I noticed an announcement for a free concert, listened online to hear a sample of the music, and convinced Clark we should attend the event.

"Hungrytown"
visiting FL from Vermont

A couple with one of the larger boats here invited a number of us to join them for a potluck dinner on board their boat. The majority of the attendees planned to go to the theater to see "Barefoot in the Park" performed live. Clark and I as well as one other couple opted to partake of the dinner only. 

Scrumptious dinner is served!

I continue to attend the art classes every Tuesday. The instructor has continued to promote learning the use of Chinese brushes for water color and ink art. I decided that this form of art was not my "cup of tea" and bring my acrylics with me to work on pictures of my choice. Several people in the class "do their own thing". 

One person sketches, one works on more traditional water color pictures, and another is working on a mixed media piece of art consisting of a bizarre collection of items from cardboard to string and anything in between. I am not sure even she knows what this piece of art will look like when completed. For someone who says they live on the road in a small trailer, and knows they will have no where to put this huge piece of art when completed, it seems like a strange undertaking, but she is having a great time doing it.

These are my most recent pieces of art that I created during class. 

not great lighting where I took photo 

For my birthday, our friend Allie whom we met here at Marlin Bay brought coconuts for us to paint. She had one and gave me two to paint.

Allie and Eve
getting ready to paint coconuts

When looking for inspiration, I found a number of coconuts painted online. I used one of them as a model for a beach scene. 

The other idea came from an unlikely source. That morning I noticed the beach towel hanging in our head, and it gave me a plan.

Our finished fish!

One day I got a text from another boater here to say she and and one other person were working on a jigsaw puzzle and invited me to join them. It turned out to be a devil of a puzzle with the weirdest shaped pieces in matching colors. The sky was the hardest part! We worked on it over a number of afternoons.

While I work on NY Times online puzzles (Wordle, Mini Crossword, Connections, Spelling Bee, etc) or my various forms of art, Clark has been heavily involved in playing his guitar. Besides playing at the church as part of the band every Sunday, he gets together with the band members on Tuesday to learn the music and practice. He and the person who told him about the church get together at other times as well just to play for fun. The folks at the church have thanked me several times for loaning Clark to them! 

The stained glass at the church is quite amazing. The piece below is located in the dining area of the church. After service the congregation is invited to partake of the lunch and desserts provided. As we ate lunch one day, Pastor Deb talked to us about the stained glass window below depicting St. Columba himself. St Columba (521 to 597 AD) lived in Ireland and Scotland. It makes sense that the church hosts the Celtic Festival every year in his honor.

The word "St Columba" appears in white over his head
Doves appear on either side of him
He sits at his desk as a scribe

When not playing guitar, Clark continues to be the "go to" man for questions about boat problems of an electrical nature. He has looked at everything from LED lights to bad wiring resulting in house batteries not being charged and anything else that might come up in question. Word has gotten around and even folks we have never met stop by the boat asking for his help. He takes no cash payment for any of his services. Sometimes we get a free meal out of it. Recently, an ecstatic recipient of his time and expertise donated money to St Columba as a show of his appreciation.

I find unusual pictures on Clark's phone. Many of them leave me scratching my head as to what I am looking at.

Engine oil pressure sensors and switches
responsible for port engine charging failure
and erroneous oil pressure meter readings

Misadjusted Smart battery combiners
responsible for house battery charging failure

He even helped the church fine tune the sound equipment as some of the instruments could not be heard during the services. 

Unlike prior years where we took the boat out every 7 to 10 days, we have hardly moved the boat this month. We did take it out for fuel on the 26th. We were gone from 10:20 until 12:30 as we went under the 7-Mile Bridge to Boot Key Harbor to get fuel at Marathon Safe Harbor Marina. While there fueling up Sunset Delight, we got gas for the dinghy as well. 

We have an ultrasonic system, Hull Shield, to keep growth off the bottom of the boat. The diver that comes each month to clean the hull says it is doing a pretty good job. We may need to add more units to cover a bit more area. 

Folks come and go here at the marina on the 1st or 15th of the month. Our neighbor with the dog, Captain Sully, left a couple of days ago with hopes of getting to the Bahamas. Clark grabbed a picture as Sully sailed away.

"Captain Sully" on "Dreamer" with his dad Scott

We are facing the wrong direction on the boat to see the sunset. Several times I have poked my head out to take a peak but not a picture. In lieu of a sunset, here is a novel picture of a cloud that looks like a feather / pen quill!