Sunday, February 10, 2013

In Palatka, Florida

By the time the trip was over, we had seen prices for gas rise 74-cents a gallon, from $2.99 in Oklahoma to $3.73 at Lake City, FL. What happened to all those promises about how we could drill at home and avoid being at the mercy of the price gouging Middle East oil barons? All the drilling, the oil sands, free rein to build pipelines anywhere and everywhere, all kinds of tax concessions so they aren’t responsible for all the roads they tear up with their heavy equipment, and still the fuel prices sky rocket. So who’s going to rescue us from the greedy, price gouging American oil barons? It’s not the drilling that’s the problem. It’s the screwing.


Anyhow, these are some of the wild orchids that grow everywhere in Florida. These were on the side of a store, and the day I paddled the St. Johns at Palatka, I saw hundreds growing under the Rt. 17 bridge along with the swallow nests. They just attach themselves to anything, and prosper. As I said in the original post, it’s hard to get anything to grow in NW Oklahoma. In Florida, it’s hard sometimes to get things to stop growing.


 
One of the things Palatka is noted for is its murals. Many businesses in town are covered with murals featuring river scenes along the St. Johns River, the history, even the natural beauty of the area. Here is the side of building that ran a full block, all covered with natural scenes and local flowers. One of our friends, Ellen Price, did one of the flower paintings, but there are dozens of local artists that participate. 
 
Ibi and the Ram in Florida.
 
 

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