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description=7 posts published by Johna Till Johnson during February 2018;

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archives, zlarin, links, recent, monthly, february, 2018, circumnavigating, sanibel, island, florida, berries, in, the, snow, urban, garden, center, nyc, welcome, to, spanish, harlem, rainbow, different, anchors, at, sunset, copyright, search, authors, our, posts, comments, categories, tags, calendar, kayaking, blogroll, humor, email, subscription, rss, feeds,

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in favorable conditions you can complete a circumnavigation of manhattan 26 miles in 6 to 7 leisurely hours averaging around 4 knots so in theory you could zip around sanibel in four hours plus stops clockwise around sanibel island but in florida you re lucky if you can average much more than two to three knots unless you re doing a one way run with wind and current consistently in your favor even then florida conditions have a way of confounding the best made plans as i was about to re discover to get around sanibel island i figured a conservative 7 hours maybe 8 just to be on the safe side i had picked a perfect day not only was the air temp in the 80s and water temp in the 70s but the winds were predicted to be a modest 7 mph 6 knots if i timed things correctly i should be able to travel up coast on the flood and down coast on the ebb the first inkling that florida planned otherwise came the day before my trip when i was checking the tides to decide which direction to go clockwise or counterclockwise to catch the flood and the ebb as i d planned what was this the mid day low tide was missing entirely see tide chart below that meant no matter what i did i d be paddling against the current for at least half the trip still i figured if i launched by 10 am with the predicted light breeze i d make it home by dark where did the midday low tide go just to be sure though i packed a headlamp and a backup headlamp and a gps and boat lights good thing as it turned out that morning there was a lively dumping surf on the beach not big waves but strong ones so i was pleased to make a successful surf launch and set off a few minutes after 10 the sun sparkled off the waves the moderate breeze was behind me and i was flying up the gulf towards captiva island propelled by the rising tide in what seemed like no time i reached the bridge separating sanibel from captiva i briefly entertained the notion of continuing on toward the next inlet but it would add miles to the trip and if my calculations were correct i d be traveling against both the wind and the current soon so i regretfully decided to turn in as originally planned good thing idle speed no wake as i passed under the bridge the environment made the usual shift from outside to inside outside on the gulf coast are rolling swells crashing onto long sandy beaches inside the water is placid and peaceful gently lapping the roots of mangroves i paddled past a cormorant blinking lazily on the sun atop an idle speed sign up ahead was that a tiny island made up of gray boulders no it was a tightly packed flock of pelicans roosting together on a sand bar passel of pelicans a little further on i tried to take a photo of some white birds in trees either ibises or egrets i couldn t tell from the distance but characteristically though they tolerated my approach without fear the sight of the camera sent them flapping away i rounded the western point of sanibel island and began heading east down the coast up ahead i saw a fin lazily slicing through the water was that a shark dolphins typically arc up and down disappearing for long moments then reappearing with somewhere else but this fin was moving in a level horizontal motion it wasn t until i saw a fine spray and heard the characteristic gasp that i was confident the fin belonged to a dolphin i paddled up close and got a shot then continued on my way not a shark true to my prediction i was paddling against both the current and what seemed to be a light but stronger than predicted breeze i was now moving quite a bit more slowly and having to work harder at it seemingly endless mangrove swamps and keys unspooled to my right my mind spun free and for long stretches of time all i thought about was the next stroke slowly a line of electrical poles appeared in front of me linking sanibel with the mainland i remembered with a jolt when i d seen them last in the middle of the night during the everglades challenge the first traces of the hallucinations that would dog both me and vlad at night had just begun i had begun hallucinating a giant george washington bridge overhead vlad was seeing pop up decoy ducks on the waves things looked very different in the bright light of early afternoon but one thing that hadn t changed was the frustrating slowness of my pace i recalled how the ding darling preserve seemed to go on forever the mangroves dark against the starry sky now they were dark green against bright blue but it still seemed as though i was inching along and there was something else the wind was picking up there were small whitecaps everywhere and the placid water had become choppy when i caught sight of a flag on a boat it was usually straight out and flapping crisply the predicted 6 knot wind had become more like 16 knots it was coming from the south which meant i could shelter from it by staying close to the mangroves except where there were shoals as i drew closer to the embayment right before tarpon bay i realized i had to make a choice either cut straight across the embayment and deal with the full force of the wind or go a couple miles out of my way to keep out of the wind lighthouse in late afternoon i decided to cut across after a few minutes maybe half an hour a boat pulled up to me are you okay the captain asked it s pretty windy out i explained that i was fine note to concerned boaters if a paddler is making steady progress with regular strokes not attempting to attract your attention the chances are extremely good that she is fine even if she s alone even if she s a woman still it was good of him to check and he was right the wind had picked up nearly every swell sported a wind against current whitecap it was definitely bouncy slowly slowly i pulled across the embayment and once again approached land thankful for the shelter i set my sights on the next milestone the sanibel causeway once again my mind flashed back to the last time i d seen it from the water in the middle of the night surrounded by bioluminescence four years ago it seemed like another lifetime i passed under the bridge without incident and began pulling towards the lighthouse the sun was low in the sky by this time but i was still fairly confident i d make it home by dark how far could it be an hour tops i stopped to take pictures of the lighthouse where people and pelicans clustered in a happy riot then i rounded the tip of the island skirting the predictable chop at the point home stretch it would be a straight shot up the beach from here the only challenge would be locating which among the seemingly identical condos was the place i was staying the wind had died down slightly and the current was at last with me once more but i was still riding swell after swell trees houses and white sandy beach unspooled to my right and the sun sank slowly in the sky i stopped to take a photo as it sank behind knapps point lovely but it meant that for sure i d be paddling home in the dark sanibel sunset i put on the headlamp and kept going as the sky faded into purplish dusk before long stars began to appear the moon was waning last quarter so i knew better than to expect the help of moonlight slowly the buildings blurred into the night sky where was the condo even with the headlamp the silhouettes of the condos seemed frustratingly similar which one was mine finally i picked a location that i thought looked good and did a surf landing i dragged the boat up the beach and looked around there was a sign hurricane house i remembered the location just a bit short of where i was staying could i walk there pulling the boat along in the water behind me using the tow rope as i d done in the past nope the surf was too strong the first incoming wave swamped the boat damn it now i had to drag the boat back up the beach and empty it after doing that i launched again and paddled further up the beach i glimpsed down at my deck and realized that the wave that had swamped the boat had also washed away my chart double damn it note to self when making surf landings in the dark stow chart inside deck bag oh well i could always order another one i kept paddling into the deepening night after about fifteen minutes i pulled into shore again once again i dragged the boat up the beach once again i looked around this time i saw the silhouette of someone a woman on the balcony i asked her for the street address which she gave me figures this time i d overshot by now it was pitch dark i got back into the boat and paddled back in the direction from which i d come suddenly the silhouettes to my left began looking familiar two palm trees a big space and a cluster of palm trees this was it third time s a charm sure enough that was the silhouette of my condo i checked my watch after dragging the boat up the beach 7 45 pm it had taken me nearly 10 hours to travel a dozen nautical miles including about 45 minutes of going back and forth in the dark i could feel the sunburn on my cheeks and my hands were blistered and of course i d lost a chart but i was home and it had been a splendid paddle florida rules and all 23 comments posted in kayaking life nature tagged cormorant dolphin florida gulf coast kayaking light house pelicans sanibel island sunrise sunset berries in the snow posted on february 19 2018 by johna till johnson 5 comments berries against the snow connecticut by johna till johnson berries in the snow bright hopeful against the cold how long will they last 5 comments posted in life nature philosophy tagged berries connecticut snow urban garden center nyc posted on february 10 2018 by johna till johnson 10 comments urban garden center by johna till johnson when it s cold and snowy out where does a new yorker in search of lush greenery go the urban garden center of course it s a whimsical wonderland hidden under park ave at 116th st and one of the many crown jewels of spanish harlem in summer there are live chickens because what s a garden center without chickens children love to come and visit and feed the chickens in winter the fauna are more limited teddy bears and mermaids fairyland with teddy bears and speaking of fairyland the center s owner intrigued by my picture taking regaled me with stories of new york back in the day we are pretty much the same age my favorite was the time when he as an 18 year old from long island city queens drove his brand new honda crx right into the middle of a gang war in spanish harlem as he drove into a narrow alley the two sides stopped fighting each other and attacked him they lobbed a molotov cocktail at his car lighting the hood on fire there was nowhere for him to turn so he threw the car into reverse and burned rubber backing out of the alleyway flaming hood and all ah new york those were the days fairyland fauna mermaid 10 comments posted in art life nature new york city photography society tagged long island city mermaid new york city queens spanish harlem teddy bear urban garden center welcome to spanish harlem posted on february 8 2018 by johna till johnson 10 comments welcome to spanish harlem by johna till johnson they say old new york is dead the city s hot lifeblood has gone thick and sluggish starbucks and suburbanization have driven a stake through its heart they re wrong the beating heart of new york never dies you just need to know where to find it the pulse is particularly alive in spanish harlem which shimmers with dynamic energy it s bright with color even on a dark snowy day spanish harlem street corner like much of old new york spanish harlem also known as east harlem or el barrio is known for many things poverty addiction gang violence the area is home to the most dangerous block in the city according to police statistics but spanish harlem is not defined by those things or not defined only by them it s diverse puerto ricans african americans asians and a remnant of the original italians who settled there in the early 1900s mingle with displaced wasp upper east siders and the influx of international staffers working at mt sinai the steadily growing medical complex that dominates the southern part of the neighborhood there s also a spirit of pride and neighborliness you re more likely to be greeted with a nod and a smile here than anywhere else in the city we re all in this together is the unspoken sentiment helping each other more than that spanish harlem is characterized by hope it boasts one of the best high schools in all of new york state manhattan center for science and mathematics which regularly sends local students to top ranked universities there are a number of community gardens decorated with whimsy and offering bright spots in the urban landscape and a surprising number of artists poets and musicians hail from spanish harlem a notable one is marc anthony the top selling salsa artist and jennifer lopez ex husband above all spanish harlem is the land of dreams hall of fame i am not certain but i suspect that the graffiti in this mural refers to the song hall of fame which celebrates setting high goals and working to achieve them yeah you could be the greatest you can be the best you can be a master don t wait for luck dedicate yourself and you can find yourself standing in the hall of fame and the world s gonna know your name cause you burn with the brightest flame and the world s gonna know your name and you ll be on the walls of the hall of fame do it for your people do it for your pride how you ever gonna know if you never even try harlem do it for your people 10 comments posted in art culture life new york city photography society tagged east harlem hall of fame harlem new york city pride spanish harlem winter zlarin rainbow posted on february 7 2018 by johna till johnson 2 comments rainbow sidewalk stencil on the island of zlarin by johna till johnson croatians can be whimsical as i was walking along a pier on zlarin a small croatian island in the adriatic i noticed a rainbow stenciled on the sidewalk who put it there and why there are no answers but it made me smile 2 comments posted in art kayaking life society tagged adriatic croatia kayaking rainbow zlarin different posted on february 6 2018 by johna till johnson 6 comments one of these is not like the others by johna till johnson on a cold winter s day i sip my morning coffee scan my eyes idly across the rows of identical windows in the apartment building across the street and squint a bit what s that apparently one of the apartment dwellers hasn t gotten the memo some people just have to be different and i m glad 6 comments posted in architecture new york city tagged apartment new york city windows winter zlarin anchors at sunset posted on february 5 2018 by johna till johnson 6 comments the double anchors of zlarin by johna till johnson last september i paddled the croatian adriatic coast with peak and paddle croatia it was enchanting for the first part of the trip we stayed on the island zlarin it s a small island winter population of 284 but has been inhabited si...