The Calendar May Change But....

Yes, the dates on the calendar may change, however, around here it is hard to tell one day from another. And while I wish I could bring good news about Cris, he remains in critical care for the foreseeable future. I take that back, he has not worsened which is somewhat good news. So far they have tried all sorts of things without much success. They've just started him on something new so perhaps that will be the one that will put him on the road to recovery. At the same time that we've all been worried sick about Cris, I've just learned that a very faithful reader of Camera Crazy is quite ill, however, her situation is a familiar one to most of us. Cancer. I'm heartsick upon learning that news. Her name is Barbara, and she is in a lot of pain, and could use our collective prayers for comfort. 

Let's begin our pictures with a bad one. It pains me to post it, but one of the main reasons I blog is for documentation of life and sometimes that doesn't turn out as I hope. At least it shows that it happened! Yes, the other morning, there were two owls and my pictures are horrible. I took this a few days ago and only just saw it this afternoon. Boo hoo! It is my practice to take a bunch when something like this happens, however, the owl on the left flew off within minutes of my spotting them. It is a good reminder that even someone who has a camera in their hand every day still takes crummy pictures.

 Here was Mr. Bruce working on the pickleball rack in his makeshift shop. Isn't that rug so fun?

Here's a funny story that some folks have already heard. Michelle and David gave me a Lily gift card for Christmas. It is well known that it takes me forever to finally use a gift card, but a few weeks ago seemed like the time to finally pull the trigger. To make a long story short, I ordered a dress online, it came and was child sized and then it sat here for nearly two weeks while I pondered my next step. Finally I decided to take it back to the store at The Mall at Millenia, a decision not made lightly as I've been to Publix and Clemons and that's about it during the last four, or is it five months? Apparently, I'm not the only one who is having trouble with venturing out. I parked at Bloomingdales and the next photos are for documenting what it is like during the surge in Coronavirus cases here in Florida.

This gave me pause. A beautiful store, I've since read that Neiman Marcus is one of the many retailers filing for bankruptcy during the pandemic.

You may not be able to read the sign that says they are open, but you should enter from the street side, unlike Vineyard Vines that is open only for orders.

The Apple store in this mall is normally teaming with people. Not only were there no people aside from the one woman, there were no products either. I've been in here on numerous occasions when busloads of Brazilians are in line, having flown in to shop. Not happening these days.

They were so happy to welcome customers back to Kate Spade, but I'm guessing they did not mean little boys in masks as their target audience.

And what could be more sad than this? Well, obviously lots of things, but still. BTW--there was no need for the signs as there were no people!

 Guards were in attendance but hardly anyone else was.

 The beauty department at Bloomingdales is also normally packed with shoppers.

So, I went to the store, held up the dress because the girl would have had to put on gloves, and we sorted it out.  I'd ordered a medium and while the hanging tag said that, the inside of the dress said, XXS. No wonder! Silly me for not thinking of looking inside. I left with nothing as it was not in stock, but while I've been sitting here typing, the new dress arrived and it is cute as can be. My mall adventure took me through Bloomies, and on to Lily and then back again. There was not the least problem finding my car in the parking lot.

I'm looking out the window right now and this fellow is on a branch within easy sight. We have so many hawks around here that can be heard screaming at all times of the day.

I finally got to working on the quilt again and the sewing was made all the easier because I found a fantastic podcast to listen to called Missing in Alaska. Absolutely fascinating to learn about two congressman, one the speaker of the House, who disappeared in the mid 70's and have never been found! We'd played pickleball with the group for hours and while they went out to lunch, I was the curmudgeon who wanted to stay home in order to social distance. I've been asked how in the world  Cris and Jessica got Covid-19 because the only time he'd left the house was to go out to eat on Father's Day. Well, it's a mystery, but if staying home from restaurants will help, I'm all in and that is coming from a family that owns a bunch of restaurant stock. Speaking of restaurants, during the pandemic we've had outside food maybe four or five times. While I was typing this I thought, maybe it would be a good night for Chinese food so we made that happen. I should not have bothered as it was not very good. 😦

After practicing pickleball this morning with Patty, Yvette, and Connie, we were more than ready for the swimming pool after lunch. Our Mama duck is still on her nest. The other day Gayle did a search and learned that Mallards stay on the nest for 28 days, something I was clueless about, so presuming we saw her early on, it will be short of two weeks until the eggs hatch.

One thing that has been a real blessing during the pandemic is Bruce has had loads of time to read novels, something that was in short supply during his demanding career. We both took a book to the pool, reading in the shade and enjoying the refreshing water until such time as the clouds began to gather. I read a neat thing in yesterday's paper about the mountains of Florida. Say what? Although we don't have any mountains, they compared our towering clouds to mountains. I must say, they are pretty great even though they aren't real mountains. The rain across the lake moved right over us, producing tremendous thunder and lightning, lasting for quite some time. Strong enough that I shut off my computer for a while as I don't need any problems with it. Recently Dave and Michelle's huge television suffered that fate.

So this is life inside our little Lake Pineloch Village bubble during the pandemic. All of our sons are still working from home, the cases are going up, with seemingly no end in sight. That said, I know that this too shall pass but when? That is the question of 2020, and I don't think I really want to know the answer.

your friend,

Gail

Pickleball Crazy

A few days ago, I opened the back door to see what I could see, something I do most every day because, well, you never can predict what will be out there. Knowing me through this blog as you do, that is surely something I need not even write. At any rate, aside from the beautiful sunrise creating shadows across the lawn, I spotted an owl. Naturally, I got my camera.

That little blob in the middle is from condensation on my camera lens, something I fight every morning when I take the camera from the air conditioned space out into the morning humidity. Once it was clear, I walked right over to the owl, talked to it a bit and watched as it watched the water, waiting for something, I know not what. Eventually she/he took off and I watched the path, finding her in the ligustrum tree. (males and females look so much alike it is hard to tell unless they are side by side in which case, the female is larger)

Such a beauty, although I would not want to get too close to those claws! Needless to say, it was a good start to a routine morning. We are up early so as to eat and be ready to be on the court by no later than 8:30 if possible for our practice session.  There are numerous articles on the web about how pickleball is addicting and that is for a reason. It's hard to get enough pickleball in spite of the pandemic, or in our case, the heat. We are mindful, before you get worried, that we are in the midst of a global health crisis, so we keep our distance and wash our hands. That serve that was eluding me? I'm making some improvement after watching an instructional video. I was so fired up that we went to the court on Sunday evening, having played for hours in the morning where I was dismal, and on this occasion I had Bruce take my picture, something not seen often in this space and for good reason--I am much better behind the camera than in front of it!

As you can see we play on tennis courts with the yellow lines representing the size of the pickleball court, a good thing for older folks especially because there is a lot less ground to cover. You would think that with the size of Orlando, and given the exploding popularity of the game, there would be dedicated courts in the City Beautiful. You would think wrong. So, on Monday morning we took a drive using the still, seemingly forever under construction, I-4!! As you can imagine, I was not the one behind the wheel because I have refused to use it for years now. In an aside, I got a text from Jackie who asked if yesterday was the day we left Vancouver in 2018 and I had to refer to the search engine on this blog for confirmation. Firstly though, I had to look at the calendar as I rarely know the date anymore! I found the last blog post from Vancouver here, should you be interested to learn she was about right.

Anyway, back to the dreaded Interstate 4...

Normally we would have avoided it at all cost, but Mr. Peck was in a hurry to arrive at our destination. In lieu of camping due to the heat/pandemic, he is obsessed with pickleball so we went to see where people play the game on real courts in Daytona Beach Shores. Yeah, Orlando has none and DBS has ten. And before you think it is only an old folks game, that is a myth. Sure, loads of retired people play it, but increasingly young people are taking it up because it is so FUN. And how was it that we had first hand knowledge of this place? Here's the scoop---a couple who live here have a place there too, and in fact, Leslie of said couple, taught Greg to play on what I think was their first date. Long story short, they introduced it to our community going so far as to pay for the first court lines in order to get folks to play on the underused tennis courts. Is this too much information when you could care less? I hope not because we are so very grateful. Us and about twenty other new players here at Lake Pineloch Village! So we found the place and were so impressed. Forgive the shadow as I took this photo from over the fence.

All kinds of folks were out having fun. Looks super nice doesn't it? In a first sighting of something like this, I imagine it is because it is a beach town? Rather than hand sanitizer, it is sunscreen!

We thoroughly enjoyed watching the play and chatting with a few women who were so nice, one having been to Greg and Leslie's wedding last year! Small world, huh?

When it became too hot we found a spot to get on the beach just to cool off. In a first, we only took one towel and the bag containing my camera. First Bruce went out into the water,

returning to tell me the waves were pretty big. Well, while Nancy was visiting she went to Ormond Beach to see a friend for the day. All was well until such time as she was caught in a RIPTIDE that nearly drowned her in very shallow water and she is a good swimmer. Normally I'm a big fan of playing in waves but this time I was a little gun shy so two trips into the water was enough for me.

Plus, while at the courts, Linda told us about a place about five miles down the road in Holly Hill with a new and exciting pickleball facility. Talk about fantastic!

Wearing our masks, Ryan toured us around as if we would become members. Below we are in what they are calling the loft for watching the action from which I took the photos.

They've only been open a week, however, it was over a year in the making through a partnership between a private couple and the city of Holly Hill, which I imagine is quite small. And yes, eight of the 24 courts are covered!

 Yup, a city of 12,000 people! The couple at the bottom of the photo proved that looks are deceiving.

As it is, our courts work fine but it sure was neat to see an actual court devoted to pickleball. Lots less chasing after balls! As I mentioned, there are more and more people joining in, once they give it a try. As such we needed a paddle rack which I will tell you more about in another post.

And here is Leslie with Bruce as her partner. His concession to the heat is a headband to keep the sweat from his eyes.

There are pickleball courts in Orange County but they are way out in Winter Garden which does not surprise me in the least. Winter Garden responds well to their citizens wants and needs as I discovered while doing the market out there. This morning we went to see what their courts were like and soon after walking up we were greeted by the nicest guy you could ever meet, Doug who told us all about how they got the courts, who plays and when you can play for free unlike Pictona where there are daily fees or memberships available.

Our skill set is still not up to the players that were there but we did get on one of the unused courts for about 30 minutes to see what it was like. We learned that some folks out here use their own ball when they serve, thus only their hand touches it. That seems workable when the space is so small. It was crazy hot, but before we left Winter Garden we went to a park along the Lake Apopka shore.

 I spotted one baby alligator and while pointing it out to Bruce, he spotted another!

As you undoubtedly know, Covid 19 cases in Florida are surging, although from what I've read, it is to be expected as the virus looks for new hosts. I am reading a novel right now about the end of the Civil War and the raging cases of yellow fever. I should mention that is but one aspect. Anyway, as I was reading I was thinking they were referencing cholera but I was thinking wrong. Yellow fever is entirely different, producing a horrible hemorrhagic death. A virus, that took them a long time to figure out, caused by mosquito bites, countless people died and still do for that matter, mostly in Africa. It took nearly six years to develop a vaccine for it back in the 1930's. I know there are some science minded folks that read this blog that perhaps might be interested in this fantastic website that shows the timeline for vaccines of all the major diseases. It was there that I learned how yellow fever affected the building of the Panama Canal, among other things. I guess the point of all this is that life is pretty awful right now and of course, very close to home with Cris still in ICU, having received one transfusion of convalescent plasma yesterday, but it won't always be. Let us hope that some super smart scientists will develop a vaccine for Covid-19, which, by the way, does not carry the same ring as Yellow Fever, sooner, rather than later. Six years? God help us!

Our new way of living on display at the park.

Stay safe my dear readers! And learn to play pickleball the first chance you get!

your friend,

Gail

Let Us Play Catch Up

Let us begin with something amusing I saw on facebook today:

I told my luggage that we were not going on vacation this year.

Now I'm dealing with baggage issues.

Here's another funny one.....

You know what people don't talk about enough?

Masks.

I wish I knew everyone's opinion about them.

People are so darn clever, aren't they? So we started with something silly, let us continue with something pretty, shall we? It is hard to ever tire of seeing sunsets as they are all so unique.

Which brings me to what news I have of Cris and for the most part, it is still not good. They are trying everything that they can, however, he seems not to be responding as well as was hoped for. As I type this, he is back in ICU after spending about a day in PCU. Tomorrow will be day 14 of his hospitalization and so far he is none the better for it, and possibly worse. The thing that is really so hard is the fact that no one can visit and he's either too weak to talk, or his breathing is so uneven, he can't. I cannot imagine how I would manage if I were in his families shoes. It has been such a roller coaster with ups and downs that have made it all the worse. Then again, it is super hard for all of the healthcare team, having to be exposed and while they do have protective equipment, that is hard too, wearing all that gear and a mask for twelve hours at a time. Let's just get real--it is awful all the way around.

And yet, life does go on.

Which is one reason I turn to nature to remain calm because it is a great reminder that life does go on in spite of the pandemic. Look at this amazingly cool mushroom I spotted on one of the big Camphor trees along the lake while I was searching for my, and you do note that I call it "my" owl, simply because I can!

When first I spotted it from afar, I thought someone had put a white ball or something in the tree because that is what it looked like until I got close enough to notice the stem. Oh nature, how we love thee!

Nancy has been here for her week of vacation and she is now learning how the weeks speed by. She's often asked me what retirees do all day and now she has first hand knowledge in answer to her questions. Several days she has taken day trips alone to visit friends, but if she's been here, the pool has been quite the magnet. As you can see from the photo below, social distancing is easily accomplished. Those big storm clouds? They vanished!

So Nancy is on the lounge chair to the right of the dock and one reason this photo is important, aside from the beautiful water and clouds, is the presence of a Mallard NEST in the round planter!!! Yes it is hard to imagine she chose that spot, but she did. On Sunday afternoon when I first learned of it, once she flew off the nest we went to examine it and almost missed the eggs they are so well hidden.

I can hardly wait for them to hatch, although the chance of me being there to witness it is, in the words of my late Mother, "slim and none."

Sadly, I finished reading A Gentleman In Moscow. I hate when a good book comes to the end, oftentimes because I want to remain in the created world. Nevertheless, as they say, all good things must come to an end, but before it did, I bookmarked a page that includes some thoughts that speak to our times, even though it was written several years ago. Check out  the third paragraph from the bottom if you can read it. 

Maybe a week or so ago, we took advantage of the senior hour at Costco and oh my was it different.

Those are plastic partitions between the sinks! Then when it was time to check out we discovered that they have staggered the registers. While I have been shopping at Costco for probably thirty years or so, not ONCE have I ever encountered lines like these.

As in no lines! We bought a lot of stuff with both of us guessing how much the bill would be and both of us being off by a lot. It was good though because we stocked up on loads of things like electric toothbrush heads, new flatware, and the exciting purchase below. 

Now I know that a toilet brush does not sound like an exciting purchase but when it is made by OXO, well it is, and don't let anyone tell you differently. Their products are so fantastic with this one being no exception. You lift the brush and the handy lid pops up, you want to put it back and it closes around the handle. Having seen it on this list Nancy recently sent, well I knew it was for us. Exactly how this could excite me is perhaps a mystery to you, but if you, like us, have a low flow toilet you would easily see the appeal. I know it seems as if I were an OXO spokesperson and perhaps I should be!

We've had almost all sunny days this week so the puzzle has not been my focus for much of the week until late one afternoon Bruce was looking around for something to do. "I'd love for you to work on the puzzle because, frankly, I am at an impasse." Well he sat right down and finished up the bottom which had been giving me fits! Plus he got a bunch of the roadway done! Which then inspired me to refocus my efforts and I finished up the big tree. All that remains is the mountain with most pieces the same, but hey, I can climb any mountain, right?

Instead of playing pickleball, one morning Nancy wanted to give kayaking a try. Before we got down to the lake Bruce had been fishing but came in to give her the confidence she needed as she was fearful of falling out of the boat.

Before long she'd gotten the hang of it, paddling around the whole lake. 

I mentioned that it is hard for healthcare workers and while it is not the same, retail workers are having a rough time of it as well what with rude customers and all. The stories she's told us since the store has reopened are hard to believe. While it has mostly been all fun and games for her during her visit, I did ask Nancy to cut Bruce's hair and it turned out very well. Yes, he can got to a salon now, but since our stylist is no longer doing hair, finding a replacement has not been easy. Monica was the best!

Because we planned to play pickleball in the evening, we took Nancy over to Lake Davis for a walk. While I was chatting with Candy about the visiting Egyptian geese (photos in my next post), Bruce spotted something in the lake.

 Well, as it turns out, it was one of those rental scooter things!

In true Bruce fashion, he tried calling the scooter folks without success, so he left it alongside the sidewalk rather than in the middle of the sidewalk, something we witnessed downtown today. Good grief folks....wear a mask and keep those scooters off the sidewalk! Just threw the mask thing in there mostly because both things seem so simple to me while some are making a big stink of it. Oy vey!

Today's post began with a silly joke about vacationing, something we all long for. And while technically we can go places now, it still feels very risky to me what with the Florida case numbers escalating. Instead, last week I went on a virtual trip through my photos, making a book about our cross country trip to Vancouver. It arrived yesterday and while I am mostly thrilled with it, I wish I'd chosen a different font/color for the text and title.

Nevertheless, it was a super fun reminder of how things were before all hell has broken loose. I highly recommend Mixbook and here's the link to their website should you like to do the same. While it is not cheap, they are offering some really sweet deals right now. I know I would certainly like one as a gift about a certain trip out West just before the pandemic hit. (hint, hint!) I bet you have someone who would like some of your photos as well.

So, that's all the news fit to print for now from 1236 (our address before I leave you wondering), tell me yours.

your friend,

Gail

Back to Birds

The first question on your mind, or so I imagine, is how Cris is doing so let's answer that right away. Our last report was fairly good news; he was moved from ICU a few days ago, had a few days in one PCU room and is now in another, on oxygen as needed. So far he is not getting any worse, but on the other hand, not well enough to come home just yet. The remainder of the family has, thus far, avoided the virus. So, he's not out of the woods yet, but the signs for a recovery are good. 

Do not ask me how this image came up recently because to tell you the truth, I cannot remember. Perhaps it is because I've been in contact with my former printer, Roger? In any case, wow, how much work we went to on all of those Sundays. Eight or nine years, I can't remember which.  Ha ha...how much work it was for Bruce! We had many fun days at the market, the memories of those years are all good. Perhaps I'm posting this because I have some new readers (!) who never knew us in those days? Because I'm still struggling with the new format, adding photos is an adventure on my end!

Remember the empty perch from my last post? One morning I saw a bird, put down my pickleball paddle and grabbed my camera. Alas, it was not the Kestrel, but a Red Bellied Woodpecker instead. I get teased by my fellow players when they are there because my eyes are always scanning for birds when they should be on the ball!

Yet another day we heard the bird before we saw it land, and it turned out to be another type of woodpecker, this time a Pileated, much more uncommon than the first type. 

As you can see it is a popular perch for birds. Unfortunately, not the American Kestrel I was looking for, but a nice sighting nonetheless. One morning a Red Shouldered Hawk landed on the power pole which is normally reserved for the Kestrel.

Despite the American Kestral's diminutive size, it kept attacking the hawk on the head to reclaim the perch. After a time it worked but not without a Herculean effort on the part of the small bird. I'm including the above shot in order to defend myself. How can I not notice the birds???

Obviously this photo is not birds but the enemy of birds, a small pack of the feral cats to be found around our place, especially first thing in the morning. Where they go the rest of the day is one of life's great mysteries. Well, maybe not great, but you get the idea. We can only hope one of the neighbors is not feeding them.

By now you may have guessed that Bruce and I played pickleball multiple mornings because it is good exercise. All of the practice has definitely improved our game when we play with others, however, and it pains me to type this, but I've done gone and lost my serve which has cost whatever partner I am playing with chances to score. The thing is, when you miss the serve you lose your turn and have to give it to the other side, so not being able to serve is, well, in a nutshell, miserable for both the partner and the inept server, which in this case, happens to be me. And while I'd like to chalk it up to my birdwatching, that would be doing the birds a disservice as the fault is entirely mine. One day soon I hope to find that which has been lost! By the way, while reading the paper during lunch today I read that playing tennis is way down the list of risky activities for catching Covid, as in second from the bottom in a list of ten. Good news! 

Okay, so one of those mornings when it was just me and Bruce, I told him I was going to walk home because I wanted to see if I could finally get a decent photograph of the Kestrel. I walked outside the gates, positioning myself against a wall and pointed the camera to the very top of the light pole. Now you see exactly what I have been up against. My new camera does have a very long zoom lens but that has presented its own challenges because it is very hard for this old lady to keep it still and get a good focus.

I am super happy to report that, after many tries, I finally got a good shot to show off this little cutie.

The smallest of the falcon family, they are known to eat squirrels, mice, other small birds (:, and a variety of insects. Now you know should anyone ask. 😀  

 Whew, now we can move on....

Last Monday we made a plan to go to the newly opened, Lake Apopka Wildlife drive on Friday morning. Finally the day arrived and as we were getting into the car around 7 in the morning I said to Bruce, "I wonder about this weather, it's looking very grey for this time of day". For those unfamiliar with Florida weather, it rarely rains in the morning, saving the onslaught for much later in the day. Anyway, because it is only open for a few days a week, we carried on. My fears were realized the closer we got to our destination, rain began falling steadily. Once we were there it showed no sign of stopping. Bummer. Well, here's a photo of these times if ever there were one with two masks on the dashboard.

The good news is that after pulling over for a bit, the rain slowed and before long it stopped altogether, although the skies remained very gloomy.

We saw many of the usual suspects but as every sighting is new that was fine by me. I mean these guys come to our lake but no two birds are alike, the same as humans. Which is really, really remarkable isn't it? I mean, think about it, millions and millions of people that all look differently and think differently for that matter. Amazing. If my research is sound, this is a juvenile Tricolored Heron.

While there we like to count the alligators we spot, a number that is usually numerous. Imagine seeing a gator for the first time...we are very accustomed to their prehistoric looks and we often forget that not everyone has seen them before. That said, this is one animal I will never willingly get close to!

While this is not the best time of the year for birdwatching, I was delighted when we finally came across these Fulvous Whistling Duck family. I only wish they had been on my side of the car as I was shooting across Bruce, thus that pesky keeping still business came into play.

Aren't they so pretty? If you care to see a better photograph, here's a link to some really great shots. Another bird that we see plenty of is the Little Blue Heron, but I thought this came out really pretty to show off not only the lovely coloring, but those feet hanging onto the stump.  

Another marvel of creation how every species has different legs and feet. Amazing is what I have to say.

Here's something sort of funny...here we drove for a bit to birdwatch and what do you know, once we were home, a rare Brown Pelican flew onto our lake and I watched while it caught fish three different times. That's the great thing about birdwatching, they are everywhere once you begin looking as so many others have discovered during the pandemic.

Finally, one morning I was in the front of the property surveying the resident container gardens when I happened to look up and turns out a Red Shouldered Hawk was looking down.

The trees on this part of the property are big and tall. So what Gail? Well, once I saw the hawk, I was hoping to see more, greedy girl that I am. 

I'm looking and looking and lo and behold (sorry for all the ands!) I spotted not a bird, but something else that I can't readily identify except to say that I think it must have been from last month's tornado. Pretty crazy, don't you think?

Have you been looking for silver linings amidst the pain and confusion we've all been facing the last four (!) months? They are there if you are open to them. As I've typed this, my frustration with the new platform has been tempered a bit by one of my silver linings which is listening to our son as a dj on V89, something I mentioned a few weeks ago. Who would have thought he would return to his college day roots? Who also could EVER have imagined a face mask becoming a fashion item? That's a crazy one. Another thing I was thinking about was fashion in general. Is it possible we will emerge from this to find that people are wearing what is comfortable for them rather than what the fashion world dictates? Just a thought.

Well, the day is sunny and the pool is calling, so I will close but I would love to learn about your "silver linings" should you be willing to share. It would be ever so good to hear from you.

your friend,

Gail