Raindrops keep fallin' on my head....

It's a rainy day today in paradise....

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/forrestgump/
raindropskeepfallingonmyhead.htm

The Old 7 Miles Bridge - Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key - Cayo Paloma

On old Spanish charts, Pigeon Key was known as Cayo Paloma (dove or white pigeon). Many believe this 5.31-acre island located beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge, just west of Marathon, was named after the white-crowned pigeon of the Florida Keys.

Nobody had much use for Pigeon Key until Henry Flagler needed it to complete the Seven Mile Bridge, which was part of the Florida East Coast Railroad . At that time, the bridge was known as "Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge".

Work began on the island in the spring of 1909, and by the beginning of 1912, it held four bunkhouses, each designed to hold 64 men; an engineering/office building, which also held sleeping quarters for the men who worked there; and numerous tents set up over wooden floors on stilts for the laborers. Food was good and plentiful and strict cleanliness was the law.

Originally, the design for the portion of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Pigeon Key area called for it to be a rock-filled causeway, as the water in the area was shallow enough to build it that way. Of course, the final decision was to make the entire span a bridge.

When the railroad was completed all the way to Key West in 1912, Pigeon Key was transformed from a construction camp into a bridge tender maintenance camp. Some of the original buildings were replaced with more permanent structures, some of them homes. In an attempt to attract and keep more married personnel, a school was opened in 1923. A post office was established the same year and remained open for 10 years. After the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, Pigeon Key became the southern base for rescue, relief, and evacuation operations.

As a result of the damage to the Overseas Railroad caused by the 1935 hurricane, the railroad bridges were transformed to the roadbed for part of the new Overseas Highway . Pigeon Key was headquarters for the construction of this roadway, which was a toll road until 1954. After the tollbooths were dismantled, land title for Pigeon Key was transferred to Monroe County.

In 1960, Hurricane Donna damaged two of the buildings so much that it was decided to burn them down. A few years later, the University of Miami leased the land for a marine biology project. This lease was cancelled in 1987.

In 1992, the Pigeon Key Foundation was formed as a joint venture between the Monroe County Environmental Education Task Force and the Mote Marine Laboratory of Sarasota, Florida, and a 30-year lease was granted. Today, seven historic structures remain alongside a few more structures added over the years.

A multi-use educational and meeting facility is housed in the restored Section Gang's Quarters. PKF offices are located in the Assistant Paint Foreman's House. The Assistant Bridge Tender's House now serves as a museum dedicated to the railway and early highway history. The Bridge Worker's Dorm and Negro Quarters have been restored and are used as sleeping quarters. The rest of the historic buildings and the additional structures have all been restored.

The Pigeon Key Foundation, a non-profit organization, has transformed this island and its buildings into a world-class educational center; a place to teach visitors about the splendor of the cultural and natural resources of the Florida Keys, and a nationally recognized concert and event location.

Read more about Pigeon Key here: http://www.floridakeys.com/marathon/pigeonkey.htm

Replacement picture

Ooops... I guess I made a mistake by my post below - I picked the wrong picture as #5.
Please replace that #5 with this one here - in your mind, o.k.? .....smile...:-)

I Love Palm Trees

Somewhere up in the Keys

Dog's beach in Key West

Single palm at Smathers' Beach or the last sunbeams with raising moon

Palm group at Smathers Beach, where I am doing a lot of weddings

Single palm on a hot summer day


I have many of palm tree shots in my archives and I would like to share these pictures with you - I hope you'll enjoy!

A visit in Ernest Hemingway's House

View from the entrance by the gate

Hemingway's office

The bedroom

Look into a room from the hallway

And his pool

As with most of Key West, you don't have to walk very far to get here - one block across from Duval Street. One of the few stone buildings in Old Key west, glimpses of the very distinguished facade can be glimpsed from the pavement through the tropical trees and bushes in the front yard.

As with many of the larger Victorian properties in Key West, the house is an impressive testament to a wealthy period in the City's history. The porches that encircle the two floors of the house and the lush gardens initiate a(nother) bout of "Why don't we live somewhere warm? . . ." "We could live here . . . "

The inside of the house is interesting with period and antique furniture that belonged to Ernest Hemingway and his wife Pauline (number two of four?). What makes the visit, however, is the tour guide with their informative and humourous commentary. A life like Hemingway's is rich material for such a tour - there's nothing like stories of excessive drinking and salacious gossip to bring life to an old house. You may have to wait a few minutes but it's the difference between "It's an old house with old stuff in it" and "Aaaah . . . now that Hemingway guy really lived!"

Don't miss the writer's studio or the cats (you'll have a job to miss those) . . . and toy around with the idea of having an old bar urinal in your garden - it'll make a great story.

Review by Jay Broek

Little Sandbar

I wish you a peaceful Sunday - wish you were here?

White Lilies

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow."
John Lennon

These are some photographic impressions of a white Lily flower. White Lilies are often also in wedding flower bouquets. They are a symbol for
innocence, purity - and LOVE!

Key West House, Palm and Clouds

This could be my house on Fleming Street - if you send me $ 2,000,000.00.
Just joking, but I have dreams anyway. :-)

St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Duval Street

St. Paul's Church is the oldest Episcopal church in the Florida Diocese. The historical marker reads: "St. Paul's Episcopal Church. 1832. Oldest in the Florida Diocese, the present church (1912) is the fourth on this site. John Fleming, one of the four original owners of the island, is buried here. His widow donated the property, stipulating that the church pews be free. Rectory built 1853. The chimes, first installed in a Florida church, were originally in a frame church (1886) destroyed in 1909 hurricane.

The glass windows inside of the church - a master piece in art

A place of silence - away from the hectic pace of life

A statue of the Madonna with her Christ child in the backyard

Reflections II

I got so many nice compliments on my post from yesterday, "Water Reflections," so I decided to bring another similar picture, which is interesting too. What do you think?

Water Reflections

I like this little poem and I think it matches very well the idea about a unknown boat and its reflection in the water:

Sailboat, rowboat, motor boat, too.
Moving through the waters so clear and blue.
Tugboat, lifeboat, kayak and canoe
With so many types of boats,
Which one will you choose?

(by Melanie Mazurek)

Different Work in Photography

I just want to let you know that yesterday I had the opportunity to post something about me and my work in Switzerland over there at BLOGGING DEN. Check out my post and enjoy another name of my photography!

Visit: http://bloggingden.blogspot.com

Cayo Hueso

Eviva Mexico? No, no... I'm not in Mexico ! I'm still here in Key West. I captured these wonderful cactus plants in a side street in Key West.

By the way: "Cayo Hueso" is Spanish for "Island of Bones". The history tells, when Ponce de Leon first arrived at Key West, the island was littered with bones from the Indians who had lived here. The term "Key" is most likely an Anglicization of Cayo. It isn't clear if "West" is derived from Hueso (pronounced way-so) or if the term "West" has to do with the geographical location of Key West.

Frangipani Flowers

These are the most beautiful flowers on a tree I have seen down here.
The Frangipani flowers are also blooming in yellow and in white colors - and they smell sooooo good!

Award Winning Photograph

This is one of my award winning pictures in a competition from AGFA Germany, back in 2001. The 3rd prize was a digital camera - my very first one.
Today I have two digital NIKON's (mostly used for weddings) and of course I kept still "my good old" SLR 35 mm NIKON F3.

My First Harvest

I grew a little pot of peppers - and this is my first harvest!

Beaches in Florida

Beach on Captiva Island, Florida

Single palm tree at Smather's Beach in Key West, Florida

Way to the beach at Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

The beach at Panama City, Florida

Beach umbrellas at Smather's Beach in Key West

Tropical Flowers

Tropical flowers are the most beautiful flowers I ever have seen. I'm totally in love with these creatures and never can get enough of them to photograph. If I would have a bigger yard I would turn it into a tropical rain forest with all the plants, trees and flowers what are growing here.

Look up to the sky

Storm clouds forming in the north

Lovely evening clouds behind the Oleander tree

It looks like rain is coming any time

These are typical hot summer day clouds

These are the reflections of clouds in the water on the street

I love to photograph also all the different cloud formations what we have here on this island - especial now, this time of the year.

Fighting for food...

What the heck is he spying on?

Happy Chicken Family - but "Papa Rooster" is still the boss on the spot!

Mmmmh...kids, come over here to pick - the corn meal is special good today!

He is getting ready to fight for his territory - sneaking in to the scene from behind.....

...and started blowing up his feathers already, then he saw me coming closer with my camera - and he changed his mind! To bad for the photographer - I missed probably some very nice cock fight pictures!