A Change in the Weather

The past week we've had rain only one day. If you've been reading "Camera Crazy" this summer, you know that prior to last week, we've had torrential rain most every day. And, if not rain, dreary skies. Now, if we don't get some soon, things are going to parch right up under our very eyes. No more pool hijinks going on around here because the water is finally at the right level. Furthermore, it is getting pretty darn warm; last I checked the water temperature is 89 degrees, only about 4 degrees cooler than the air temp.

Okay, that's the weather update. Let's get back to the Paint the Trail business. I gave you the info in my last post, however, there are those amongst you, and you know who you are, that do not have time to click on links. In a nutshell, a young man who made his living making cabinets had no work during the recession. Whether or not he moved back home, that part I don't know, but what I do know is that he began painting panels to attach to his parent's back fence. Seeing it in person was quite something.

A good portion of the trail looks like this:

So you can imagine how striking it is riding along and being confronted with about 80 panels of iconic figures! I took a few with certain folks in mind, including Bono and Adele for Bruce and Nancy:

My late mother was a big, big Elvis fan:

Of course, in the above, who doesn't like Seinfeld? Jonathan has a thing for "The Big Lebowski",

While Matt is a big Morrissey fan:

If you go, the paintings are on the Seminole Wekiwa Trail,

between E.E. Cummings, and Dixon Road. We parked the car at Sanlando Park and kept going until we found it. In a bizarre coincidence, after seeing the first batch, a lady came riding along going the opposite direction. Asking her if there were more further down, she replied that indeed there were more and it was her neighbor who does the paintings. Thanking her, I thought nothing more of it until Nancy related the story to Lisa. Can you believe that same woman is Danny's best friend's wife? When he ran out of room on his parent's fence, he began putting them up on Frank and Bonnie 's fence. How about that? (Danny is Lisa's husband)

Another day we took to the Urban Trail, the same one Bruce and I rode on back in April. You may recall that it winds through Loch Haven Park, home to several museums and theaters.

Nancy was quite the sport riding Bruce's bike. Me, I've got all those miles under my seat, whereas she hadn't been on a bike for years. Asking her with frequency if she were alright, each and every time she said she was fine. She was particularly smitten with this new art installation behind The Mennello Museum of American Art.

It was hot as the dickens here, and this was only a few miles into the ride....the mercury continued to rise, as it is wont to do in high summer. By the time we got back to FAVO, where we'd parked the car, both of us were pretty much drenched in sweat. Car air-conditioning never felt so good!

Along the way I had her stop so I might photograph these sunflowers growing alongside someone's garden.

It's not every day I see this variety while out and about!

As I type this Nancy is driving back to Memphis, beginning so this morning at 5. Bruce was still home, so we both got up to wish her goodbye and safe travels. This blogger began tackling some much needed chores around the house soon thereafter and is now ready to get those clothes off the line. What with this hot, dry weather, they dried in no time. I explained to Nancy how much I like doing laundry this way because I wash everything, hanging the clothes as they come out of the washer. Wait for a while, take it all down, and fold at the clothes line and there you go....done for another week.

Finally, if you can imagine, Sunday, in spite of the tremendous heat, I had a record day, selling 32 items. Go figure...