a photo journal…slow florida afternoon

Sunday, Jeff and I took a drive to Matlacha---an old florida fishing village that lies directly between our home and the gulf of mexico.

Matlacha (pronounced "MAT-la-shay") comes from a caloosa indian word meaning ‘water to the chin’.

It is home to a string of brightly-colored art galleries---like the wild child art gallery and the syzygy gallery, island boutiques, seafood restaurants, and old florida cottages.

It was nice to get out from under the trees and witness an ever expansive sky.

The heat was like a blanket, and was pulling in the afternoon storm clouds

 

We ducked into a favorite watering hole of ours…bert’s bar.

 

 

It was only two in the afternoon, but the band, cindy walsh and the sundogs, was just starting to play some original songs and well chosen covers.

 

Dark and cool inside, we stayed at the bar and listened for awhile.

Every now and then, I am overcome at the realization of how much I love, very much, certain, small…almost disregarded, things about florida.

Matlacha illustrates much of that for me---the slowness, casualness, un-fussiness, jaw-dropping beautifulness of it all

 

…and, yes, even with all the amazingly, absurd heat.

 

The way I see it: it’s simply nature forcing us to slow down and stop moving so fast.

And that is my kind of pace…but not Jeff’s. He never stops moving.

Not even for a picture.

As we left, the clouds began dropping buckets of rain all around.

We came home to a very happy yard. Rain is always welcomed here.

Summer is one of my favorite seasons…(along with three other favorites).

Jeff and I hope yours is moving along at
just the right pace.

~dale