Merry Christmas Eve From Cedar Key

Breakfast dilemma. How do I eat the leftover snow crab? Part of last night's dinner. No cracker in the kitchen.  A can opener is the heaviest utensil.  Use it as a mallet. Wait, it opens, vise like Put the leg in between, close, crack, dig out the meat.

 

 

 

 

After the sunrise and breakfast of crab and burger, I was on the water at 9:25

 

 

 

Lesser scaup

 

Great blue heron takes of from the Old Fennimore Mill pier.  I paddled into Channel Number 2, as it was a bit wavy on the Gulf

 

 

Two spoonbills. The one above, on my right, and a second, in the area too shallow to navigate at low tide

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oyster catcher

 

 

Yellow crowned night heron

Tri colored heron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the engines in the middle of the boats? If it were on the stern, it would get in the way when pulling in traps and nets.

 

 

Cemetery Point boardwalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number 3 Bridge

 

 

Black skimmers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bufflehead

 

 

Scale Key.  I could not get any closer, due to low water, so after scaping bottom, I turned around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the black skimmers are playing musical chairs as the incoming tide shrinks their bar.  Taking off, flying about, landing on the same spot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mzridbxejno

 

There was even music coming from this clamming operation

 

 

Took a break at Cemetery Point. Always nice to have a place to pee.  Other than the great outdoors.

 

 

 

Back on the water

 

Church bells began to ring. I looked at my watch. Noon. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear pealed over the water.  Followed by one I don't remember. Lastly Silent Night

 

 

I assume this is the source of Silent Night

 

 

 

Osprey in front of another church.  So I went to church twice on Christmas Eve.

 

 

 

 

 

The wreck almost under water meant I could explore the area on the other side,  But first, I went into the inlet at Nature's Landing, also only accesible at high tide, and into the black crowned night heron rookery.

 

 

 

 

Paddled back to the main channel, past the wreck. To where spoonbills roost at high tide.

 

 

Probably the same two I saw feeding in the shallows in the morning.

 

It became windy.  Very windy.  Whitecaps on the Gulf.

So, I landed at Fennimore Mill and wheeled the kayak back to Park Place. Which was a little difficult as I lost one of the cotter pins that holds wheel to axel. Only fell off once.

 

 

After a sandwich and beer, I went for a bike ride

 

 

 

 

 

Whitman House at Cedar Key Museum State Park

 

 

 

 

 

Just one other person in the Park.  The ranger.  I asked about launching a kayak at the Park.  I was thinking about carrying down the nature trail.  He suggested another access point. If I ever use it, I'll let you know.

 

 

Bird killer

 

Back on the bike

 

 

 

Private, neighborhood,

 ramp. I am standing at a gate

 

Did some Cannons turn south after leaving Ireland?

The new Cedar Key Cemetery

 

The old one is on Atsena Otie Key

 

 

 

The fence reminds me of an old joke

 

 

 

 

 

I was about to leave, and thought, maybe the cotter pin for my cart fell out here.  When I took the cart out of the yak to get to the cooler.  I did not see it.  Did a fish eat it?

 

 

 

Back on the road

 

Airport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ceder Key is Mayberry by the Sea

 

 

I did not see shepards at the inn under the star fish.

 

 

 

 

Clouds obscured the sunset as viewed from the Big Dock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the sunset display wasn't very impressive, but I like Cedar Key's Christmas lights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to my lodging. 90 minutes later, dinner was served

Cedar Key clams in the Stove Top stuffing

Waiting for Santa's kayak to come