Wednesday November 18th 2020

Today was a little cloudier and a lot windier than Tuesday. The end result was a day in the low seventies when the sun was out. Overall it is about eight degrees below the normal high temperature for the day.

With all the discussion about new shortages at the grocery store and a desire to avoid the Thanksgiving Day rush, I made a provisioning run today. Based on national news reports I expected a higher level of COVID awareness at the local Walmart. They had restored the one way entry and the barriers to funnel people in the door. I did not see anyone counting to limit the number of people inside or reminding people to wear masks. In fact, I saw more people not wearing masks in the store than I’ve seen since I was in the middle of nowhere. The store was busy, but not over crowded.

There was some evidence of shortages, but not so bad that I couldn’t get a version of everything I needed. The paper goods aisle was rather bare, but there was a limited amount of odd brands on the shelves. In the meat area the options were limited, but that could have been the time of day. People seemed to be buying a lot of eggs, as if they hadn’t been available on their previous visit. In general, it was just an odd experience. I have everything I need to avoid the grocery store until next month.

Back at Jetty Park this afternoon the weather was keeping the number of people visiting the beach and the fishing pier down. The kite boarders and sail boarders had taken the place of the sunbathers on the beach. Surfboard Kites were in the air all along the beach toward Cocoa Beach.

I walked along the beach path and around the park perimeter trail checking out the wildlife. The thick bushes are home to the parks colony of feral cats. It’s possible to see the cats in all areas of the park, but you are almost guarantied to see a cat or two near the shelter and feeding station in the bushes the volunteers have built. I saw a couple of cats today. They don’t want to have anything to do with people and that’s the way I like it.

There is also a retention pond between the park and the timeshare condos to the south. The pond is home to many birds including swans and other species that I suspect are encouraged to be there. I need to do some research to identify some of the species.