20 Seconds of Fame

Thanks to Jonathan, we will have this memory for as long as this blog remains. I wish that this brief moment highlighted something that I'm actually good doing, however, beggars cannot be choosers, so me playing pickleball with Bruce on the evening news is our shot at brief fame. Actually Barbara filmed it off her television, shared it to our Dover Shores group, and somehow Jonathan turned it into this.  If we are friends on Facebook you've already seen it, but there are a few out there that might find it interesting. Shot on Wednesday, while we were at the courts for the ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Dyer and the city commissioner of that district doing the honors. What does that look like you ask? Well, it takes far more than the mayor, as there were loads of people from the city, as well as several television station film crews. A bunch of players came out to witness the historic moment.

Using a podium, there was a brief speech, followed by...

Indeed, they actually use scissors. Mr. Peck is behind the mayor on the left,

which, to tell you the truth, I did not even notice until I looked at my photographs! While there were all those cameramen around, filming when playing resumed, it was quite the surprise to wake up the next morning and see the video. While the video seems to indicate that I can play well, don't be fooled, I'm still mediocre!

Come to think of it, this is actually not the first time we've had some television fame. I found this post from 2016 that tells the story of our last brush with fame filming a tiny segment for a show called Zombie House Flippers. Almost six years later, we still get texts from folks saying they just saw the episode, something at the time, I never imagined! Mostly it is Bruce in the show and I'm his sidekick!

Well, it's been hot although I think something had to be slightly amiss on this reading from the Subaru yesterday afternoon when we were heading to practice with Bill.

It must have been the heat build up which caused some incredible lightening last night. Wow was it ever spectacular.

Fortunately it was last night and not Saturday when I was trying to get a good shot of the rising Pink Moon. I got a shot that, while not great, documents the beautiful occasion.

Rising out of the trees, it was a seriously glorious sight. That pine tree on the left is where the Great Blue Heron's nest is located at the very tip-top. Impossible to see the nest, but if you have a serious zoom on your camera like I do, a treat awaits. 

When zoomed out that far, the photo quality diminishes greatly, but I'm just going with it because I've never seen a heron eating a fish that big before. The other parent is flying off,  presumably for his own meal. Conjecture on my part is all that is. 

A few days ago, while thinking about this post, I realized something that I hadn't thought of before. Everyone gets a kick out of me stopping play to watch a bird, but the truth is, once you are a bird enthusiast, you have to look. It is that simple. Unlike some passions that people can turn on and off, if a bird person is outdoors they are going to be noticing all of the birds they encounter. Once you start looking, they are everywhere. You would think that once you've seen one Wood Duck you've seen them all, but it just doesn't work that way for me, and I suspect, others as well. Each bird is unique. There is no other Wood duck that looks exactly like this one.

All the colors of the rainbow in one bird! Astonishing really. With that in mind, expect to continue seeing birds in this space.

I think it was Tuesday that we took a walk around Lake Davis to see if the swan's eggs had hatched. Indeed they have with two cygnets still on the nest. I've since heard from Candy that she has now seen them out on the lake, so I'll be going over soon, hoping to see them for myself. Speaking of Candy, she tells me that the ducklings we were hoping to see at Lake Como were rescued by someone after the parents were hit by a car!! 

"Let's go to Lake Eola and check on the nests there honey!!"

 "Must we?" 

"Yes please!!"

There are a lot of swans at Lake Eola. Gobs of them in fact, and not all the same. Five different types actually, which we learned from some new information panels. What we also saw was very interesting, at least to me. A fellow on a motorized cart drove past with three buckets in his cargo area. 

Apparently the swans know what is up when he arrives. Donning some rubber waders he was there to fill the feeders.

Still only eight, but once he was in the water, they came from far and wide!

So that was fun to witness. Continuing the circular route, we were next treated to a turtle convention!

It was crazy how many turtles there were! At one point we counted over twenty, the most I have ever seen in one place!

The next treat was the pictured island which the Anhingas and Egrets use as a nesting spot. It gets loud the closer you get. The Amphitheater is looking mighty fine with a new coat of paint.

Once around we began talking about lunch. Where to? Deciding to see what had taken over a spot that has been occupied by many different restaurants over the years, we turned onto Central and something caught my eye. Can you guess what it was from the picture below?

Turns out the space is now called F&D Cantina or something like that. A Mexican  restaurant owned by the same folks that have an Italian version using the same F&D in the name. Quite the changes have been made to the decor, it also has a cozy outdoor covered seating area as well.

We'll have to keep this place in mind for when our London family returns as there were several vegan options to choose from. The same goes for Lazy Moon Pizza, a place we visited two weeks ago. Now that is a place where you most definitely get your money's worth. This is ONE slice of pizza.

We did not share the same enthusiasm for our lunch following church yesterday. Mostly it had to do with it not being what we expected. While technically this is a slice of quiche with broccoli and grape tomatoes,

well, you get the idea. We learned the new chef is from BITHLO and his roots show in the menu offerings with a heavy emphasis on field greens and the like. 

That said, while that was a disappointment the Easter service was glorious with the choir in fine form and in robes which made me happy. Having worn a uniform during my working life, I can't help but be a fan.

One of the traditions of this congregation is a flower cross near the entrance which is used for Easter memories. Naturally we had our picture made too.

The white shoes may have been a stretch, but they do nearly match the dove pin on my dress that I have committed to wearing until the madness in Ukraine ends. The horrors continue unabated. I'm pretty sure the pin came from Bruce's Mom and is meant to be a Christmas pin, however, promoting peace is welcome anytime of the year. I am even wearing it on my pickleball tops and it is somewhat surprising to me how few people have asked why in the heck I am wearing a pin on my tops?

We've finished a series on Amazon recommended by our friends Keith and Patty. Set in England, while it was very slow to grab me, once it did, well, it is totally worth watching.  Called The Village, if you can think of something that humans can do wrong, it's there. Adultery, infidelity, murder and madness....sounds like fun, right? To temper that binge, we are now watching Great Canal Journeys which is a balm to our souls after all the grittiness of the previous series!

We would probably watch more series, however, we do spend a ridiculous amount of time watching pro pickleball. We know the whole cast of characters, so when one showed up today at the courts, I was freaking out. Meet Catherine Parenteau who was gracious enough to let me photograph her.

Honestly it was so shocking that she would come to the courts (she does not live here), but come she did with a coach and watching them hit the ball so hard and fast was a treat.

A few days ago I had to run back into the house for a camera. Bruce asked, "what do you need that for?" Answering, "you just never know" and today was an excellent example of that.

Closing this post, what a blessing it was for this perfect rainbow to appear on Good Friday, late in the afternoon.

Remember how I said every bird is different? The same holds true for rainbows, some more brilliant than others and as is the case with the one above, some much lower to the horizon.

Aside from man's inhumanity to man, it is a beautiful world out there.

your friend,

Gail