A Storm is Threatening

It is times like these that not having our own home is a good thing. No yard to worry about cleaning up, no pool, the same, and the sense that we are all in this together in the event that Hurricane Ian actually comes our way. Here is the latest model, the inclusion of which will be interesting to look upon in a few years.  Heck it will prove to be that in a few days! We shall see, although obviously we are hoping for the best.

Pickleball continues each morning at 7AM and I've been keenly interested in how the sky changes each morning as we begin our drive on Michigan Avenue. 

The crows seemed to have vanished. Before leaving the other morning, the dawn sky was captivating, made even more so by the presence of a crescent moon. The little black spot is a flying bat, one of many.

We begin our day playing under the lights.

Before long though, the weather becomes hot and sunny, with most of us leaving with clothes soaked in sweat. If that is healthy for you, we all should be very good indeed. In keeping with including our newfound friend group in this space, here is Shirley, Paul and Marta taken one day recently.

I am super sad to report that Marta, while going up high for a ball, lost her balance and broke her wrist today. The good news is that it is non-displaced which hopefully means it will heal quickly. Let's hope so because it is so fun playing with her! Before we leave the courts, one last thing is a visit today from another pro pickleball player, Salome Devidze, from the country of Georgia, who mostly plays singles.  When I spoke to her she mentioned that we were wearing the same shoes. Indeed we were.

That tree of ours!! Heavens to Betsy it is huge! The MacGyver in this family dreamed up a new way to trim it from upstairs using the clippers inserted into some pvc pipes. He has some imagination, doesn't he?

As you can imagine, with heading to the courts most mornings, my bird love is taking a bit of a hit, however, one day last week we went to Lake Davis after playing for three hours. Not easy to keep moving, I will admit, but when the migration season is upon us, well, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. An Ibis, a Brown duck and an Egyptian Goose all in one. There were so many birds, probably about a hundred!

One early evening, Nancy met us at Hawkers where we took advantage of their inexpensive happy hour menu. This was the last thing we tried Chinese Barbecue Baos.

Nancy and I loved the Japanese fried chicken, whereas Bruce was more of a fan of the Korean. Two orders of Edamame were almost not enough, that's how much we love the way they serve them. The light was looking good, prompting me to ask my chauffeur to drop me off at Lake Eola for a photo-op.

Friday mornings the courts do not open until 9AM and of course, after four days playing, a rest is a good thing, so we oftentimes try to do something special. Because Fall is a huge migration season, not that you would know it here, but anyway, other places are now cooler prompting birds to fly South, thus, let's go to Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and see what we can see. And what, pray tell, did we see? Not enough, not enough.

Our first bird though, was a TriColored Heron atop a tree. This kind of heron is not spotted nearly as much as other kinds so it was a little surprising. As we made our way through we saw others. I was just explaining to Bruce that someone mentioned seeing a flock of about a hundred which surely must be a sight to see.

Actually, typing that sentence, I remembered that while reading at the pool last Thursday, I first heard it and then saw an eagle in one of the nearby pine trees, something that has not happened in quite a while. As we were leaving the house to go to the pool I said, I forgot a camera and you just never know. Unfortunately I did not listen to myself and continued on my way, thus I missed an excellent opportunity.

Okay, so back to the drive. Although it was merely a glimpse through the foliage, I'm thinking there were other Egrets in this band.

Exiting the drive, we made the short drive to Playalinda Beach on Canaveral National Seashore. It was very disappointing, to say the least, how hazy the conditions were, making my shots of Artemis pretty terrible. Still, we saw it, so that was super cool.

The actual beach, on the other hand, was not hazy at all. In fact, it was absolutely glorious with water so perfect, we could not have special ordered it that way. Oh my, was it terrific.!

The waves and undertow were out in full force meaning these old folks had to be extra careful, which we were. I spent loads of time in the water, as did the identical twins pictured below. In fact, in our area, we were the only ones who spent any time in the water at all. (their dad is pictured in the hat)

Actually, I spoke out of turn, Bruce did go in the water with me a couple of times, and we both agreed the water temperature was absolutely perfect. Another person in the water was this guy who, while walking, I spotted getting his kite sorted out before he got in the water where he flew like the wind, or more accurately, with the wind!

For those who have never visited this beautiful beach before, the rocket launch pad is at the end, however, due to the haze, almost invisible.

The wind picked up dramatically, with Bruce folding one of the umbrellas down altogether, and dropping the other one so that it did not blow away. As you can see, not only is the beach beautiful, with not a speck of seaweed to be found, it is delightfully uncrowded as well. Perhaps it is the cost which is far higher than it used to be. Because we have a National Park pass, for us it is free. Aside from a possible threat of a hurricane, which btw, does not happen often very often, late September is a glorious time to be at the seashore.

As is our custom, Bruce pulls over at the park adjacent to the causeway so that his beloved can do some extra bird watching. This area rarely disappoints as the birds congregate alongside the river.

Finally, in an unrelated subject, and I do mean unrelated, I made some green salsa last week and it was yummy. Roast all of this stuff at a high temperature and when soft and blackened, put it in a blender or food processor, adding some chopped cilantro and a little salt. You will be glad you did, if you like this sort of thing.

Hard to know what to expect in the next few days, we were in Canada the last time a hurricane came through these parts. Here is hoping folks are safe and continue to have electricity. That's just the worst this time of year.

your friend,

Gail

A New Era?

An hour or so ago, while Nancy and I were walking home from the pool, I told her that I wasn't even sure what we did last week. And then it hit me...I spent a lot of time thinking and watching the Queen. While I was watching from the comfort of my home, 

Matt and Tom were in London, deciding whether or not they should join the queue. Actually, I came across the live stream almost by accident, surprised at how mesmerizing it was after watching for longer than I could have imagined. What, pray tell, was it that drew me in so deeply? Matt sent this post along yesterday from the Dean of Southwark, where he attends church, who does a much better job putting what I was feeling into words. 

Was it the silence, aside from the tap, tap, tap signaling the changing of the guards? Having heard that term for most of my life, this was an event that surely brought it to life. The diverse crowd? The beauty of the space? 

Meanwhile both Matt and Tom were sending photographs including this one from when they went to hear Charles proclaimed King.

Then there were photographs of the flowers in Green Park.

The sheer volume of so many flowers in one place was unbelievable. Someone even left a jar of marmalade.

Many of you have already seen this sweet video but it bears another watch, no pun intended! 

I could think of no segue so forgive me as we move on...

We did leave for pickleball at the right time, meaning before sunrise, and by golly, where were the crows?

It's hard to say, but what I can tell you is that last evening, following an early dinner and a full weekend watching sports, I asked Bruce to go for a walk with me to return something to Patti's place. The truth is that it has been very rare, for at least this past week, for it to not be raining in the evening. And dreary, lots of dreary afternoons and evenings. But, on Sunday it was actually pretty nice for a change. Not too hot either, giving us hope for the future. Looking East, the setting sun was reflecting in the cloud banks.

Turning towards home, first we heard them, followed by seeing dozens of crows flying out of the pine trees.

Just the beginning, or so I witnessed, as a huge mass of them flew eastward. (enlarge for full effect)

Now I am hoping to witness it again tonight as it seems as if we might be in for a dry evening. Seriously, there was one afternoon when the sun was shining and it felt weird, like, where did that come from?

Friday morning my phone rang in the bedroom at 7:30 in the morning. On Fridays we give our bodies a little break, so we were taking our time with the paper and having breakfast. The minute I answered Matt's call, I asked, "are you in the queue?" because I could hear chattering around him. Holy Cow!!! Indeed, he'd been in the queue for hours and hours and hours by the time he called, having arrived at 3:40 in the morning when he took this, a familiar sight to most, except this time lit up for the Queen.

Off topic and while on the subject of purple, Bruce bought Mary a purple chair to go with all things purple she owns.

Back to Matt's story, it was long and in the end worth it as he passed the coffin almost to the minute, 12 hours later.

He is on the left on the outside line near the back with a blue shirt and dark jacket on. I don't expect you to find him, and neither did I, but Bruce spotted him live. I took the above from my computer after he told me where to look. While tired from standing and shuffling, he said the experience was, as you can imagine, well worth the effort in the end. Good thing he went when he did because the queue kept getting longer throughout the weekend, growing to ten miles long at one point in time. 

How many do you think returned for the actual funeral procession? Judging by the crowds lining the streets, maybe some of them? Matt and Tom elected to watch on television and for those of us who did, what an absolute treat, magnificent in every way. We woke up at 5:30 this morning in order to watch and while Bruce went to his appointment at 7, I remained glued to the television screen, watching it on the BBC. While I know the planning has been going on for ages, the execution was impeccable which is no easy feat. That said, they made it look easy. How in the world they filmed it is also beyond me, but thank God they did. I absolutely loved the overhead shots in Westminster Abbey, a place Bruce and I have been fortunate enough to have visited many years ago.

Actually I cannot think of a single thing I didn't swoon over! When the procession began to Windsor, we popped up to the courts here and played for a while, returning in time to see this magnificent sight.

The photos taken of the television screen are not up to my standards but, by golly, I want to be able to look back one day and be reminded of this beauty. Those flowers...unbelievable! The crowds, even more so.

And so the new reign begins. and in today's world, it is anyone's guess how long it will last. :(

Two other things from the past week are worth mentioning, one of which is our brother Pat has been hospitalized at, what I call, the big house. Advent Health on Mills to be more precise. It is nothing short of remarkable how they have transformed their reputation over the years. New buildings after new buildings are a testament to their success.

According to the sign, they are #1, by what measure is unclear.

I'll tell you one place they shine and that is the parking garage where they have these cool lights to signal filled spaces.

Very impressive to me. In four days time he will be having surgery to correct a heart valve problem and hopefully come out as good as new.

Secondly, we spent time after the church service filling individual bags of food. I was on the end, dishing out a cup of lentils, while Bruce was holding bags under the funnel for all of the ingredients.

There were four lines of ten people and together we accomplished this.

So I really did accomplish something worthwhile this past week even though I spent hours upon hours watching all things related to the passing of Queen Elizabeth ll. It does seem pretty crazy when I type it, but, what can I say, it was very hard to look away. 

your friend,

Gail

p.s. I messaged my dear friend Jackie in Vancouver and she too was spending hours watching. I learned that she was in 12th grade when she watched the coronation!! 

p.p.s. It just dawned on me how many times I visited Queen Elizabeth park in Vancouver. Here is a post from one such visit. 

The World Mourns

It is not very often that an event is of such magnitude that there are people around the world, either directly or indirectly affected, however, the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8th, is one of those events. Even those who hate the idea of a monarchy are still feeling sad, in some cases, much to their surprise. How could you not like her? I realize that is maybe a bit of a generalization, maybe a stretch, but not by much. The longest running female leader in history! It is mind boggling thinking of the history she witnessed over her long reign, in many cases, first-hand. But I don't need to tell you all that do I because chances are, you already know it. What some know, while others don't, is that your favorite blogger, along with her beloved husband and eldest son, saw the Queen pretty darn up close and personal. If you've not already done so, you can read all about it here. 

So that was the biggest news of last week. But, on a much smaller scale, and I emphasize the smaller, FSU is now 2-0. Ten years ago that statement would have elicited a puzzled expression on a readers' face, but these days it is a pretty big deal. The best start to the football season in years. Beating LSU was so exciting, in part because it was so unexpected. We are cautiously optimistic. :)

In a first for us, we watched a whole lot of the US Open tournament, marveling each and every day at the athleticism and mental fortitude it takes to play tennis at such a high level. Bravo to all who even made it to the tournament! 

Perhaps it is because we are now involved with a paddle made to hit a ball over a net? Is that why we watched? I have no good answer to that question, but I can say that we are still at it bright and early most mornings. Today we arrived a little later because Bruce had some blood drawn first thing. The sun was blinding as we drove to the courts.

What's missing in the above photo? Any ideas? How about the power lines being empty of crows??? Where are they you wonder? So do I! We shall see tomorrow morning when we leave at our regular time.

Do you want birds first, or pickleball? 

Birds it is! The hawks are coming out in full force after a quiet summer. This guy was just outside the back door, staying perched for about 30 minutes. 

The above is a Red Shouldered Hawk which is quite common around these parts. For weeks I've had the photo below on my desktop to share and now seems appropriate. The only trouble is, I'm not quite sure what kind of hawk we are looking at.

Duh...that's what Google is for. Turns out it is an immature Red Shouldered Hawk. Or is it? Now you know! Another beauty perching in the trees out back was this Egret, a bird you've seen countless times before but the light was so pretty, I could not resist.

Before we head over to Dover Shores, here's a little something to talk about. I think it was Friday morning, while Bruce was reading the newspaper, that he exclaimed..."you are in the newspaper!" Indeed I was, having written a Letter to the Editor the previous afternoon. 

Seeing the open paper laying there much later in the day it occurred to me that there was a time when people I knew read the newspaper and might call or text me when they saw my name, but those days are long gone. Well, Mary saw it so there's one person. At any rate, I have been sending letters to the Sentinel for years and now you can as well because I've included their email address!! In reality, the older I have gotten, the less worked up I get about things I have no control over, thus my letter writing has diminished over the years. Not entirely though.

No pickleball yet??? Almost time!

But first let's talk about how cool Bromeliads are, shall we? There are hundreds and hundreds on the grounds here at Lake Pineloch Village, a whole bunch of which are just outside the back door.

File this factoid under the heading of "learning something new every day" because who knew that a pineapple is in the bromeliad family? 

Having written my last post where I extolled the virtues of pickleball and the wonderful people we have met, I mentioned that I needed to bring my camera along more often. When I grow up, I hope to hit the ball like Kathy who is cool and calm on the court, not to mention, wickedly accurate.

The gang is all here...well not really, but a few of them anyway. 

That would be Lisa (l) and Cindy in the front and Karen and Debbie in the back. Not a one of us would have never met if not for pickleball. While I don't think it holds true for any of these ladies, it is not all that uncommon to read something like this post where a person proclaims that pickleball saved their life. While I know that sounds crazy, I do know a few people who might say the same thing.

Also last week, a new woman came and invited her friend to meet her and she would teach her how to play. Shockingly, Gigi was keeping score in no time, something that is more often than not, a stumbling block for new players. Jake, a super sweet young man and great player is looking on.

On Friday we went to watch Greg and JC in the fall tournament, both of whom are pictured below on the far side of the net. (Mr. Peck looks on from his chair.)

The crazy thing is that the two men on the near side are guys we met earlier in the week when they came to check out the courts. Paul and Walt are a couple who moved down from Louisville, KY and are deeply immersed in pickleball which has allowed them to make friends, many of whom came from Davenport to cheer them on. 

Should you think it is only old folks that play, the youngsters bracket was going on at the same time and provided some highly entertaining matches. We even met a young man who said he is on the University of Florida team.

I learned from the wife of the young man on the left that he is a wedding photographer who spends every weekday playing pickleball. It's a crazy phenomenon how addicting the game is, that's for sure. 

Okay, the courts are great, but the bathroom closest to the courts, not so much. The city needs to do something with this place, sooner rather than later.

In excellent news for me, birds are plentiful around the courts with an eagle sighting last week and today a Red Tailed Hawk watched over the proceedings.

Inflation, particularly for food and other consumer goods continues, seemingly unabated. I am always in shock seeing the carts filled to the brim at Costco.

I noticed today that while regular gas has come down a bit, diesel fuel is still crazy expensive, adding to the cost of all of those goods.

So I began this post talking about the Queen and her place in history over the last 70+ years, and it makes me wonder, what next for Britain? As most of you know, we have family there, thus my heightened interest. Let us hope it is not a cold winter because how in the world will people pay their heating bills what with an 80% rise in energy costs? Will the new Prime Minister be effective? How about King Charles? Will the pieces go together as neatly as a jigsaw puzzle? (this was fun btw)

While I fear not, hope springs eternal doesn't it?

your friend,

Gail