Change or no change?

 It has been seven years since I retired from my job and there has been a lot of change in that time. But the COVID pandemic, which was a very large change, has made the past year pretty boring without much change. No traveling and no going out to places with large groups. No concerts and sporting events, life has been steady, mostly unchanging.

I still enjoy taking my photos, but the subjects have also become stagnant: the beach, the wetlands, the garden, and the bird feeder, which was a good change I made during the pandemic. Oh yeah, the occasional launch from the Space Center, either NASA or Air Space. This photo was taken of the astronauts, four of them, having a major change in their lives when they rocketed from the earth on a SpaceX capsule on their way to the International Space Station.

It was a beautiful launch in the early morning, before the sun had risen. The sun starts to play with the rocket fumes as it gets higher and enters into the light, creating almost angel-like displays of moving lights and gases. The photos I took are okay, but the beauty of the moment was indescribable.  I went home after, and having got up very early, went  back to bed. And with my mind in a daze from the beautiful launch, I had a wonderful dream about my whole family being together on a camping trip. Only Tom and I are still living, the rest have all died. This includes my dad Harry, my mom Stella, my sister Patsy and oldest brother John. But they were all there in the dream, and we were having a great time. I figured my brain took off on an adventure, even better than the launch!

I woke invigorated. Other changes had been happening at the same time. I was getting my COVID vaccines. I had a growth on my arm that I had biopsied and found it was basal cell carcinoma. I had that removed which left a big gash with stitches on my arm. I was getting older with more aches and pains. My car was also getting older at 11 years, and it finally decided to change the automatic air conditioner to throw out heat when it was already 90 in the car. No AC at all. I had it fixed about two years ago and I decided for another change, to buy a new car. And I did, a 2021 Honda Accord Sport.

What a difference the car has made. I had things to do, but now I had a dependable car to do it in, with an AC system that works. I was a happy consumer. My pass to Jetty Park had expired in December 2020, but I did not renew it because I was going to get a new car. Well, I renewed it the first day I had the car. Of course that has changed, they do not give out stickers for the window anymore, but send you a PDF you can print or show on your smart phone. That's okay, I can live with that. So I tried it out the next morning. The Jetty and Park were still there. A favorite spot for me to take photos of launches. It was great to walk out to the end of the fishing pier for the first time in almost six months. That had not changed, people were still fishing...

The birds were still there and little girls were still chasing them until they took off. I remember doing that when I was a kid.

Great, I always get a soda or beer after my walk out on the Jetty, but there was a change. The store and the snack bar were both closed. For the last four years, Fishlips, the restaurant at the port, has been running both of these. I guess the COVID made them shutter the doors, and windows...

No soda for me from here. It was still midmorning so I decided I drive back toward Melbourne and get some lunch. I knew of a small place called Coastal Produce in Cocoa Beach that makes the best Italian sub sandwich. I would stop there. But it had changed. It too was shuttered and closed. I did find out afterwards they have moved to a smaller site, I will have to find it in my NEW car!

So I drove over the Pineda Causeway and stopped at Grills for lunch. This is the view from my barstool. That had not changed.

Grills is also at the port and they make a great fish and cheese sandwich. You can choose your fish and I like to get the tuna and have them cook it so the fish is still pink. Of course, like their name says, the fish is grilled with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. Lay some cheese on top, I am sure glad that has not changed...

If you want to have a great experience on a deck (the temp was 75F) with a slight breeze and a beautiful view, try Grills out. From the outside table, this is the view of the Pineda causeway and Indian River Lagoon.

After lunch, I headed to one of my favorite places, the Wetlands in Viera, also known as the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands. Here is something that has not changed. In May and October, we get love bugs. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a few on the flowers, white flowers. They seem to be attracted to white and I just got a white car. They can cover a front grill and windshield in one swarm. I guess I might not be driving my car much for a week or two.

One thing that was a change about this visit to the wetlands was I saw no alligators. I heard a few but did not see any. The birds were out though, like this tri-colored heron.

One of my favorite birds are the roseate spoonbills. There was a family out, with one ibis hidden in the group. Maybe he was looking for a change too!

Since my theme is change, let's talk about an animal that goes through multiple changes in its life, the butterfly. They were out doing their fluttering thing, I even caught a few when I got home. Only if we could teach them to eat love bugs. That would change life in Florida for the better...

And I will end this post with a photo of a creature that leaves a sign that it has changed. That would be a snake. I found a skin a few weeks ago. This little guy was hanging out on the mulch pile waiting for something to happen, maybe a change for the good...

BTW, the head is in the lower right, it is a black racer snake which eats rodents and other small things. He is good for the garden, but it is still a snake...Some things don't change!