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