Back to Our Routines

As promised in my last post, I am here to share neighborhood flowers and more! 

For those who have lived the sort of life when all manner of trees bloom profusely in the spring, perhaps this won't excite you, but for those of us who have not lived that way, and that means me, I continue to be overwhelmed with awe and gratitude that I can witness the magic of spring in the mountains. 

And yes, there is a lot to absorb from the photo above. The azaleas here are absolutely awash with blooms, so much so that the leaves are almost non-existent.  In the foreground is a gorgeous pink plum tree, dogwoods above and two gorgeous shades of azaleas. Yup, I could not get enough of it!

Other neighbor's homes with both white and pink dogwood trees.

Not to mention green leaves on the non-flowering trees that have been bare branches for months on end or so it seemed! 

I'm not sure if I prefer the white or pink version of dogwoods but one thing I know is I like them both!

While I wish I had more than just two tulips, that is a little greedy thinking considering I went almost seventy years with none!

Another neighbor had this cute display.

All of the shoots I was seeing in the side beds turned out to be lovely hostas that seem to me to be larger than last years bunch.

What is not to like about a redbud tree? Absolutely nothing.

Because the weather has warmed a bit, many nights I've left our bedroom windows open and we wake to the sweet and loud songs of the abundant robin population, another thing that is new to me. In Orlando, once a year robins would come through and eat the camphor berries on the trees in our back so I was familiar with them, but it was maybe a two week relationship, rather than months on end.  Oh yeah, windows open is another plus!

There are lots of pretty old houses in our neighborhood that are even prettier when the trees are in bloom.

That said, most of these photos were taken when we returned and a good many trees have lost all of their flowers and replaced them with green, which if you are anything like me, is just fine because there is just something so refreshing about spring green!

The garden is going well and I am doing my best to document things in order to learn something about having a vegetable garden. I am also watching numerous YouTube videos.

We have eaten more salads in the last week or two than we had for the previous two months as the romaine is going crazy! I wish I could say the same for the radishes but I think that is going to be a bust, however, hope springs eternal. or so they say!

The little container in the foreground with the blue latches contains last year's marigold seeds which have done nothing when I planted them in my seedling trays. I'm not sure what I've done wrong, but I relented and bought a few plants. 

Speaking of plants, our neighbor Sandy gave me some lily of the valley and variegated hostas and let me tell you, the fragrance of the lily of the valley is heavenly. 

Apparently they are prolific spreaders, so hopefully next year at this time I will have a bunch.

Let us now turn our attention to some friends and outings, all of which have been so good. It just turned out that we were busy, busy, busy last week beginning with Easter lunch at David and D'Anna's house where she outdid herself on seasonal decorations.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch and time of visiting with other friends, Gerri and Rhonda.

The picture of the guys did not turn out but the one of D"Anna and her favorite chicken Henrietta did except for her having to squint in the bright sun which no one complains about after such a cold winter!

Monday evening we finally saw the finished product that is David and Randy's new home and holy cow, what a place! It is absolutely wonderful and filled with their craftsmanship in both rug hooking, and cross stitch ,and let us not forget David's magnificent quilts. 

Two of my favorite food groups in one picture!

Their whole house is filled with eye candy and although I am sick to death of hearing the word "intentional" when it comes to decorating a home, in their case it seems fitting. Aren't most people at least a little bit intentional in what they put in their homes? How has it becomes such a buzz word?

I am standing on a rug hooked by Randy and I am saying publicly that it is even better in person.

The meal Randy cooked was wonderful, the sunset from their back deck, magnificent,

and the drive down the mountain in the dark, scary!! Most all of the folks we know that have moved here did so after visiting for years during which time they became accustomed to dark and winding roads. We are not there yet, or what I should have said is, Bruce, our chauffeur, is not there yet! 

That Saturday we ran into Julie at the farmer's market that has just opened on the first Saturday in April.  We have discovered a terrific plant vendor, but I will save anything about that for another day. Anyway, Julie had out-of-town guests and invited us to join them for dinner and a hymn sing, an invitation too intriguing to decline. Gosh it was fun. They cooked out and we ate in their magical back yard that you have seen before. Her twin sister Jamie, along with her husband Colby joined us. 

The guests whose names I have forgotten, and I'm embarrassed to admit that, were a great couple from Vermont who are long time friends; the husband went to school with Jamie and Julie in West Virginia. We did our best to sing along being led by him and his wonderful voice.

A chill as the sun was setting sent us indoors where we continued with our singing and listening. Jamie and Julie are twins and both have tremendous singing voices.

A few years ago Jamie (r) had a stroke making things a little more difficult for her but singing with her sister is second nature. Her two daughters are getting married this summer so we have two weddings to look forward to! Bonus points for the abundance of stars we saw, oh my goodness, not something I want to forget. 

We have met some pretty amazing people here, although truth be told, they are everywhere aren't they? Nevertheless, it's a first for us working side-by-side with a 91 year old woman doing yard work which is what we did a week ago on service Sunday. Esther can work with the best of them.

As can Dottie who is 81 and as sturdy as a 50 year old!

Talk about service with a smile. Sue is trimming and Bruce and a lady I do not know are doing clean up.

We were tasked with putting mulch down and trimming at a blind parishioner's house. 

Maybe two years ago Bruce worked on that ramp adding stability, but it looks like it could use refreshing. Lots of good downtown projects were completed by our church members including working on removing invasive species from the riverwalk, as well as picking up trash that people so thoughtlessly throw on the ground.  

Two more things to talk about, well actually there are more things than I can count, but for our purposes let's wrap this up with one of my strawberry plants that had such a cute strawberry ripening and doggone it, it disappeared!

I will say, so far so good on critters, something I am very thankful for. The broccoli are forming, the potatoes are fourteen inches tall, as is the romaine lettuce. Look at the cabbage!!

Isn't it cute? This has been so much fun and I could not be more grateful for the privilege!

I lied. One more image of the riverwalk that has been knocking my socks off. (the river is on the right)

Seeing such abundance is anything but routine, so my title is not very good today, but it was the best I could come up with! 

I remain, 

your friend,

Gail 

When One Visits Orlando....

....as 68 million people do annually, for most visitors, the theme parks come to mind, that is if you are not from Orlando. Don't get me wrong there are native Orlandoans that go to the parks, but most of us try to stay away from that part of our area because there are just so many people! We, on the other hand, or perhaps I should say more me than Bruce, although he did bring his binoculars this time, think of our family first, and our friends second. It is a close contest, but I will put birds as number three. 

But before we get into more from the trip I opened my last post with a photo of our home as it looked when we left. Should you want to compare, here is the link to that post. I mentioned that things had changed dramatically and I was not exaggerating one bit!

The creeping phlox were still putting on a show, albeit less dramatic because they did not want to compete with the Japanese Maple that, in some lights looks as if it is on fire, not to mention it fills our view from the front windows, gloriously I might add! It is outrageously pretty if I might be so bold.

So back to Florida where it is not uncommon to see this happen at the Orlando Wetlands when you are strolling along looking at birds.

It helps having a zoom lens but still we were not all that far from the gator crossing the road. Oh my dear readers, it was such a good visit to the Wetlands. Since our previous February visit, the baby birds have grown quite a bit and are easy to spot, beginning with an aptly named bird called a Glossy Ibis.

Common at most lakesides there in Central Florida, white ibis are readily seen, however glossy not so much. Rarely had I seen any until the last few years, well before we moved to North Carolina is more like it. Here the birds are small, small, small! 

The wetlands are designed to filter water before it runs into the St. John's River and consists of many large ponds, or that is how they describe it. Mostly it is shallow water with spindly trees growing in the water where birds and alligators co-exist.

If you have a keen eye, you might note an alligator in the grass. I'll tell you who has a keen eye for gators and that is Bruce and our son-in-law Tom. It's like a game counting gators when we are all together. 

As is always the case I took way more photos than is good for me, but in the case of say the young spoonbills, it is hard not to!

The shade of pink is so beautiful and many of them are showing off their new wings.

It is quite the spectacle and unlike folks coming to Orlando for the theme parks attracts birders from all over, especially since CBS Sunday morning show highlighted it two weeks ago in a segment.  

The Great Blue Heron nest is not getting as much love, however, they put on quite the show while we stood watching from the boardwalk. It was feeding time and it gets pretty wild, or so it looked to us.

It was hard to tell exactly how many were in the upper nest which is above and below, but it seemed like that mamma had her beak full! (my lame attempt to be amusing)

After a bit, both sets of birds settled down a bit.

What a privilege to witness in person and hopefully through this blog; watching the natural world is such a tonic for what ails you!

The spoonbills are the opening act, loved by many; following closely behind are the Sandhill Cranes and their two colts. I believe I posted a photo of the nest and by golly they hatched in our absence and are just as cute as can be. We circled around the ponds until we found them and just when we did, some folks were coming down the path on horseback which happens rarely, but is totally allowed.

Dogs, on the other hand, are not allowed due to the prevalence of alligators. Actually the horses created a little stir with papa/mama crane and the kids went into hiding but eventually popped back out. I have always loved the heart-shaped marking on their heads.

One more of the hiding colts!

Plenty more, believe me, but time to move on. I used to go often during a season, so I am grateful I had the opportunities I've had this year. 

You know me and birds!! Extra, extra!! Listen up!

This little Carolina Wren was at our complex as were the birds below.  The morning after our arrival, first thing in the morning looking outside for birds, I could see some way across the lake, but I was not able to identify them from such a distance. Well....the next morning I looked on our side of the lake and was ASTONISHED to see a family of Black Crowned Night herons along with a green heron and a little blue heron, plus a snowy egret.

Perhaps you are of the mind of who cares and I get it, however, for this bird enthusiast, I was freaking out because I have only ever seen two night herons in the wild before!!! And to think that they were outside my back door and stayed for two days. Such cool looking birds. 

Do you find it as amazing as I do, the variety of birds, both in color and sizes? 

I am happy to report that Christian did not cry when he saw his Grandpa and he even played with him.

We have reached the Christian portion of this post. He is such a little cutie said this adoring grandma, and I am just so interested in his concentration which seems to be quite strong.

Another thing we learned about our little bit is that he has a generous streak or so it seemed when he went out to dinner to celebrate his father and uncle's 47th birthdays. We went to Primrose Lanes, a trendy bowling alley where Bruce and I have been before. Christian had his first restaurant experience and he did so well thanks to his Mommy!

They brought a high chair and it was his first time ever sitting beside his daddy and look what he did!

We have waited a long time to welcome another Peck boy into the family, but it's been worth the wait!

Because I avoid most news I was not aware that Artemis was lifting off the next day when we most likely would have been able to see it from our place! Darn it!! Thursday morning, before leaving the hotel the moon was so beautiful and to think that they saw it up close!

We arrived in Murphy in time to attend all of the traditional Easter services. Here is your favorite blogger and her sweet husband. (How she can take photographs out of those squinty eyes is a miracle, right?)

We came home to a neighborhood awash in spring flowers that I will share in my next post. The days post trip have been busy and then there is the little matter of our garden that is looking good as I add more plants.

Yup, lots of garden stories yet to discover! Woo hoo!

your friend,

Gail 

Family Time and More

Oh my word there is much to say and write down before my memory fades. Oh wait, I have photos for that! I am including a photo of the house the day before we drove down to Florida so that I can note when exactly the creeping phlox blooms. It looked oh so different upon our return; the profuse flowering was fading, however the Japanese Maple went on steroids in our absence.

Tat same day, Bruce's friends from his working days came for a visit on their way back to Tucson, AZ. As is our custom, after a visit at the house above, we walked over to the Murphy Chophouse about two blocks away and enjoyed lunch, followed by a bit of time visiting on the porch. Jim and Fern were delightfully entertaining and according to her, we met before many years ago, although you know me, I have no recollection of that meeting!

Look at us sitting outside!! Yes the weather was definitely warm enough, just in time to prepare us for the upcoming days. 

A few things for posterity's sake, I saw a Brown-headed nuthatch for the first time ever on the Riverwalk.

Super exciting as was the blooming of our lilac tree. Ancient, it does not produce too many flowers, but by the time we returned some were larger, but most were done for the season. They do smell as wonderful as everyone says!

I know it sounds crazy but I was worried about the garden, however, those worries were for naught as John came over every other day for watering and no critters bothered it, so that was very good news indeed. Checking my last post, that should you have missed it, you can catch it here, there was no mention of my potato plants because I did not even know they had come up until the morning of the day we left! I was flipping out and even more so now as there are like five plants, three of which are already seven inches tall!!!

Because we planned to stop in Valdosta we packed on Thursday morning and off around 9:30, avoiding the traffic in Atlanta by taking the beltway, followed by time on SR41 which afforded us some nice scenery as well as the town where saw this wonderful mural. So cheerful with a good message. 

In the morning before our four hour drive to Orlando, I roamed around the hotel grounds looking for birds and found wisteria instead.

When we arrived in Orlando, sadly our tree, while not looking any worse, looked no better!

Since our last visit they cut back all of the shrubs in hopes that they will come back. It seems unlikely that will happen with our tree but I guess we will find out.  

We were anxious to see Christian and our wishes were granted, He's looking at a book that Matt and Tom bought him for Christmas. I just love how he is already concentrating, something his grandmother has always had trouble doing.

 I sent a photo of the two of us to Fallonabout two weeks before our visit hoping she could show it to Christian a few times before our arrival in hopes that he would not cry when he saw Bruce. I think it worked!

Saturday morning we joined our friends from the complex for pickleball, including my sister Nancy. I walked to the courts and oh my goodness, for the first time in years, I spotted an eagle high up in the pine trees by the big lake!

Look who else I saw! Note that roof that is looking very weary. This morning I wrote the final check for our special assessment charge for replacing all the roofs in the complex. Whew! That said, the contractors are doing a very good job, helping to set our minds at ease. (juvenile little blue heron)

If there is anything I miss about Orlando, besides our friends and family, it is the big birds. Always a trade off though and I am learning to photograph the little ones because I practice nearly every day. Sounds pretty crazy when I type it, but it is the truth. :)

We drove to DeBary, about forty miles from where we live in Orlando, on Sunday at noon, for the celebration of Cris's life. Some years ago they moved to a small community on the St. John's River where there are plenty of folks who use golf carts as evidenced by the line up of carts beside the clubhouse when we arrived.

The crowd was large to honor both Cris and his wife Judy and the girls, Katie and Jessica.

Bill and Fallon, 

were able to attend because her Mom watched Christian, something she does at least once a week. 

David and Michelle came as well. 

When our boys were young, Cris (Bruce's brother) used to pull the boys behind his boat on inner tubes,  much to their delight. 

Our niece Mallory came down from Minnesota with her mom Michele, Bruce and Cris's sister.

When asked to speak, both Bruce and Michele told stories. Bruce talked about how proud he was when his brother became an Eagle Scout. I love Mallory's expression. 

At first Judy did not want to speak, but she gathering her courage, she talked about what a good Dad Cris was to their daughters.

Katie and Jessica are to her left. While it was hard to lose Cris, it was a case of being happy that his suffering is over. 

More cousins,

Lots of old photos were displayed and I took a few home. When I picked up the one pictured below, I could not believe it was Bruce on the left, and even though he says it is him, I am still somewhat skeptical! As you may recall, we have known each other for nearly sixty years.

Look at all those badges Cris has! They were two years apart. Bruce and his sister Michele, and Judy and her sister Margie. 

All four told stories from different perspectives and it was a joy listening to them. Cris and Judy married on August 11, 1972 and we married on August 18, 1973. Bruce's Mom and Dad always made a big deal of our anniversaries and the older I get, the more I cherish those memories.

The drive home was easier than the drive there and we drove through downtown on our way back to the condo which is about two miles from this spot.

The weather was the best of the three times we have been there in the last three months which was a blessing. No calamities awaited except the ice maker was frozen but eventually thawed. We did better with our meals, something we have learned how to manage over time.  All positives.

A hard freeze, the hardest anyone can remember, I believe happened in late January killing so much of the vegetation in our complex that is known for beautiful, mature landscaping. 

On this visit there were places with color, including along the big lake.

Something funny I watched was a squirrel carrying a large hot dog bun, presumably from a trash can?

And look who went fishing!

We saw the family two more times, went birding as well as a trip to Costco. I wish we had left one day later in order to see the Artemis take off but we didn't, however, we did see the nearly full moon for ourselves on our last night, over the lake in our backyard.

I spent many hours watching the sky over Lake Willisara, sunrises, moonrises, and birds, always birds.

Will I ever catch up? I'm certainly going to try.

your friend,

Gail