FAIR WEATHER WALK.

Yesterday was a beautiful weather day. Jim fixed a blown fuse on the back-up camera, and a few other little chores. I lost my mobile home to an indoor flood and dealt with the related issues much of the morning and late in the day. Jim received news that Aaron Canvasser, a good friend of his died and he was feeling blue.



This is Aaron giving me a haircut on the first day that we met in 2010.  He came to visit us where we were staying in Yuma. Then I gave him a haircut. He was so much fun to be around. It is a haircut I’ll never forget.


We didn’t feel like doing much so we drove around the park, took more swamp pictures. The swamp was  gray and cheerless. I kept trying to find color.


Moving water and shadows produced an abstract.


This one tree near the boardwalk had three different pieces of tackle stuck in it.


This piece was hanging in the wind. The third piece was one of those yo-yos.


I talked to five fishermen on the board walk. This guy was using a baby crawfish for bait. He said he usually gets perch in this lake, and an occasional bass. None of them had fish yet. He told us about an alligator farm nearby.


The boardwalk here is lengthy and makes a pretty pattern.


A clump of iris. The green just emphasizes the gray of the cypress.


But, spring is just around the corner. I expect to see  green leaves soon. We spent the late part of the day sitting outside for the second time this winter. It was comfortable enough to read our books and enjoy the fresh air right up to supper time. Life is good.

POWER IN NUMBERS

Through the magic of the internet we can change the world we live in with people power. I just put out a petition about invasive plants with change.org  that may or may not change anything, but read one started September 30th by Molly Katchpole that has had an impact:
Dear Mary ,
When Molly Katchpole found out that Bank of America would charge $5 a month to use a debit card, she was upset — so she started a petition on Change.org.
Since then, 225,000 Change.org members have signed her petition. And now Bank of America is under enormous pressure to cancel its new debit card fee. A Bank of America executive even called Molly and told her that while cancelling the fee would be “premature,” the bank was “closely monitoring customer feedback.”
More public pressure could be enough to push the bank to cancel its new $5 debit card fee. Can you sign Molly’s petition asking Bank of America to cancel its new debit card fee? Bank of America is listening to you — and other banks are, too.
In less than three weeks, Bank of America went from announcing a new $5 monthly debit card fee, to reeling under huge pressure from the media, Congress, and Change.org members. Here’s a quick review of what happened:

• September 29: Bank of America announces a new $5 monthly debit card fee.
• September 30: Molly creates her petition on Change.org; more than 150,000 people sign in the next 5 days.
• October 5: The petition becomes a major national story. ABC News interviews Molly, then tracks down Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan and forces him to respond to it.
• October 6: Molly delivers 153,000 petitions to Bank of America and closes her account. She appears on ABC World News again to discuss the petition. Local media in Charlotte (where Bank of America is based) openly speculate that the growing controversy could lead to the firing of Moynihan.
• October 9: Molly is featured in a major article in the New York Times as an example of the public’s frustration with big banks.
• October 10: Bank of America executive Andrew Pepler calls Molly Katchpole to discuss her petition.
• October 13: Molly meets with Congressman Brad Miller to discuss a bill in Congress to make it easier to switch banks. The two later appear on CNN together.
• October 18: Molly’s petition reaches 225,000, as Bank of America reports a $6 billion profit. The outrage continues to grow.

Other banks are paying attention to the public reaction to Bank of America’s new debit card fee. Citibank even said its “customers made it abundantly clear” that they wouldn’t like a debit card fee. 
What’s next in this campaign to cancel Bank of America’s $5 debit card fees? It’s up to you.
Please sign the petition demanding Bank of America cancel its new $5 monthly debit card fee. Click here to add your name: 
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-bank-of-america-no-5-debit-card-fees
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Jess and the Change.org team
People power, by the numbers, works. In fact, people were so outraged by Netflix separating their streaming service with their subscription service, but maintaining the same charge, their customers quit them in huge numbers. Their stock  lost 50% of its value.  Netflix apologized and put in a fix. (I’m not a subscriber and I’ve forgotten what the fix is.)
Never underestimate the power of a  people {woman} scorned.

WHEN IT RAINS IT PUDDLES, BUT A GREAT BEACH

A storm kicked up rather suddenly and sheets of rain drenched everything, tents, bicycle seats, people's bags, towels, chairs, tables... Even under a canopy it hit the camp stove and everything we'd quickly moved under to stay dry. Twenty minutes later it stopped and the kids played in a huge puddle. Earlier, someone was camped in this spot.  Lucky for them, it was their day to go home.

The driest place to be was the motor home. Four kids and Jim and I managed a card game called BS on the bed, while others spread out on the table and played Quiddler or sat and read in the front seats. Wendy's brother Mike arrived after the first drenching with two more little girl cousins. It rained off and on most of the day and we enjoyed a "full house" for much of the day.
When the weather cleared, I biked to the beach late in the day. The kids did too. The little girl below, (not one of our group) engaged in a common practice around the beach, dragging a raw chicken leg for crabs. The crabs hang on and get plopped in a bucket. Its catch and release and great fun.

The problem is, some families use fishing line and it ends up on the beach. I questioned them about making sure they don't leave fishing line on the beach and pointed out the dangers to the birds. Don't know if they objected to my intrusiveness or not.

This young man used a string, rather than fishing line. I spotted two gulls in trouble. One with its legs tangled together in a piece of fishing line, limiting its motion, ability to fly and groom itself. Couldn't catch it though. Another trying to swallow a piece of chicken on a string with the string hanging out of its mouth. I was able to step on the long string because it had another piece of chicken on the opposing end, and pull it out and rescue this bird.

Rocky Neck State Park beach is a wonderfully friendly, spacious, and enjoyable place. A full boardwalk with shade, plenty of life guards, a designated swimming area, good signage, a breakwater, fishing spots, huge picnic area for groups and many spots for individuals, fencing to protect the dunes...lovely place for all.

This sand castle was about 4 feet tall.

For someone like myself, who likes to rock climb and take pictures, it was a perfect spot.