Atsena Otie ~ New Year's Eve

I love islands.  Perhaps everyone loves islands.  I particularly love remote islands, islands mostly devoid of human presence.

I don't mind if people sail or kayak by.

This horseshoe crab shell was the size of my palm, shed and left behind by its growing owner.

Atsena Otie means Cedar Island in one of the tribal languages of what today is Florida.  (Internet sources suggest several possibilities.).  The very small island is a short distance from Cedar Key.  For a time in the 19th century it was home to a pencil factory and a small community of year-round residents.

Here's a view of the Cedar Key waterfront from the beach on Atsena Otie..  The Lovely Daughter's first canoe trip ever was the one made from Cedar Key to Atsena Otie and back when she was two and her brothers were five.