Sky Magic

At this time of year, it is all about the magic in our skies. 

Perhaps it is the lesser amount of humidity? Why are the sunrises and sunsets so magnificent in the winter? Let's ask Google, shall we?

According to this paper, called "Your Eyes are Not Deceiving You", humidity does have something to do with it. Nearly every morning this week, the sunrise behind our place has been nothing short of spectacular.

And to think that there is a Great Blue Heron's nest in the top of the pine tree across the water! Wouldn't that have been fun should one of them have decided to fly off during this tremendous sunrise? That would be quite a photograph.

Sitting down to write before looking at this week's photos, I thought perhaps there was not all that much to share. I thought wrong! Beginning with last Sunday's trip to Advent Health after church to visit our pickleball friend, Ray. How I wish I'd had this expansive view when I was in the hospital!

Ray has no immediate family in Orlando prompting us to fill in for at least an hour. The whole group at Dover Shores, but mostly Jossie who made the basket, and Kathy who provided one, chipped in and presented him with some goodies once he had been released. 

Just a few of the fun folks we play with. More often than not, I am not in photos because I am taking them, however, Jennifer took this while I was in the center turning in some lost and found items. Ray, with his hand in a bandage, returned to play this morning, albeit without most of another finger. I chided him because his finger was not dressed well enough and his response was "yes, mother". Seriously, we are all worried that the infection will return if he's not keeping it clean. Only time will tell. 

I've been meaning to surprise Cynthia with the photo below.

Bruce was so enamored of her Christmas card painting that he went out and bought a frame, displaying it on our kitchen table next to a funky little light from Ikea. Her artistic talents are endless.

Here's an Orange Bundt cake I made this week with a fancier name than that. Maybe more exotic would be appropriate. Mexican in origin to be precise.

Using recipes from the newspaper used to be oh so common, however, not so much anymore. This one from the Thursday food section used whole oranges blended into the batter. It's a keeper!

More sky magic, this time a sunset over Lake Pineloch.

The very FIRST large canvas that I sold was very similar. I called it Solid Gold.  Speaking of photos from a long while ago, just yesterday I was reminded of the site where first I began posting photos online. If you have a few minutes to kill, here's a link to some of those oldies but goodies. Although I have not looked at them in ages, there are a few good ones in the mix if I do say so myself. :)

Two big things happened this past week, one of which is I cleaned out my side of the closet, getting rid of so many things I'd not worn for a long time. I then organized everything not only by sleeve length, but by color as well.

I wonder what it says about a person who has almost no solid clothing? Your thoughts?

It is always a little painful, especially if some of the items are home made, but it had to be done. Softening the blow just a little bit was the timely declaration to Leslie and Patti about said clean out. Leslie perked up immediately, reminding me that she makes new clothes out of old clothes. Thus, instead of us taking this huge pile to Goodwill, Leslie parked beside our car and transferred it to hers. Hopefully she can work some clothes magic! 

Secondly, some very exciting news....we got a patio!! Beginning with the irrigation folks coming to rearrange the sprinklers.

What is immediately evident in the photo below is how awful it was looking. Not anymore my friends! Bruce stayed home one day to supervise the action.

It looks so much better, especially because our neighbors, Sherry and David, did the same. This is a good before photo.

And here we go a few days later. Bruce put some soil in to even things out but there is still a little work to be done.

We are all just thrilled with how it turned out, making the area far more user friendly! Instead of one stoop outside the door, we now have this!

Can we all agree that the changing sky is magic? Below was the start of a very chilly day.

Taking photos in Florida during the winter is a pleasure with such clear air along with wonderful light.

While sitting at my desk I noticed a large flying bird out the window, prompting me to jump up and find out what it was, although I was pretty confident that it was a pelican. Indeed it was flying around in circles over the lake although from the photo above you wouldn't know it! But, with a title such as the one I used today, I figured the photo above deserved some love for the bright blue sky and the puffy clouds reflecting in the water below.

Yet another shot over Lake Pineloch just before sunset. 

Late one afternoon Bruce and I went to the pool to wait for sunset and it turned out to be a winner to the tenth degree. The sky kept getting better and better, turning the lake side buildings and windows orange.

Just when you think it cannot get any more colorful, it does.

A Crescent Moon anyone?

Having taken hundreds of sunset photos over the years, I have to say that this one was one of the most spectacular because the light on the underside of the clouds glowed like nothing I've ever seen before. 

That is one of the most magical things about sky watching, a new day brings a new view, some mundane and some out of this world. I suppose, when you stop and think about it, that is really the pattern to our days; some days there is magic, while others not so much. 

Then again, variety is the spice of life or so they say!

your friend,

Gail

Speaking of Pecking, Oh My!

Continuing to mine the various forms of Peck, it was no wonder it hurt Bruce's head when this Florida Scrub Jay kept pecking on the button atop his cap.

Look at that curve on the end of the beak! A week ago today we made our way over to Rockledge, just South of Cocoa, on the east coast for those who do not live here in Florida. Only about an hour or so away, before leaving we were debating about how to spend the MLK holiday while the Dover Shores courts were closed, and it was Bruce who wisely chose this destination.

Unknown to most folks, and for sure if you blinked you would miss it on the road where it is located, it is indeed a sanctuary for the Florida Scrub Jay, the only bird in the world that only resides in Florida. All year long. Not only does it not migrate, but it stays very close to home, unlike most birds. A few years ago, when Pam and Glen moved over to the coast, she mentioned this place to me but we'd never gotten over there. Then, most recently, another birding friend from Orlando visited and described how friendly the birds are. Indeed, we found that to be the case!

This one seems to be saying, "hey you, get off of my man!" Because I'd seen Candy's photographs I knew they were fond of landing on one's head, thus I had the both of us wear hats to protect our tender scalps.

The day began slightly chilly, but before long we warmed up as we made our way on the path through the scrub. In other words, a perfectly wonderful winter's day.

Most of the time when you go out birding, you hope to find what you are looking for, however, as you are well aware from reading my posts over the years, there is no guarantee. At this place, from what we saw, the opposite is true. You WILL find what you are looking for! Literally, within the first few minutes we saw this and pretty much freaked out as it landed right next to us!

And just below there was this one.

As you will note, both of these are tagged, however not all of them are.  Honestly, it was crazy fun and if you don't mind having friendly birds land on you, and in the case of Bruce, having two small holes pecked in his hat, 

well, this is the place for you. 

Sorry, I could not resist one more!

I will say they were far prettier than I expected and here's a little something else. The only other bird I positively saw in the sanctuary were a few Mockingbirds.

How ironic is what I thought because we've been reading about the silly politics of changing our state bird from the Mockingbird to the Scrub Jay.   Should it be changed, I have no doubt you will absolutely know what the Scrub Jay looks like after seeing this avalanche of photos!

After our adventure with the Scrub Jays, we drove into Cocoa Village, roamed around an entertaining antique shop where we saw these displayed. (check out the link!)

We stumbled across the MLK parade and a picnic in the park where all sorts of folks were gathered and having fun.

At the shop I picked up two new sets of salt and pepper shakers to add to my collection, prompting me to rearrange them on the lower shelves behind the newly-moved kitchen table. A little crowded, I needed to make room for the alligators I bought, placing them on the top shelf next to the orange birdies who have since been moved to give the gators more room.

Between the orange birdies, given to me by our old neighbors, Crystal and Nadav, and the sailboat shakers, a gift from Matt, I realized just how fun they can be. Now my family has three things that will always be winners for gifts.....watches, pickleball stuff, and salt and pepper shakers from old!

This is one of the best times of the year for those of us who are bird crazy. Love is in the air,

as it looks as if our Great Blue Herons are back nesting. This Egret is in full breeding colors, wearing a very colorful mask of chartreuse. Isn't it awesome?

The Robins are flying hither and yon and they are plentiful, feasting on the numerous Camphor trees behind our place.

Additionally, the Hooded Mergansers are back in the retention pond behind Publix. 

Should I just stop now? 

Seriously? 

Are you suffering from sensory overload and the rest of what I had to either show or say will be wasted as you can't take in anything more?

I think so. No use wasting good photographs, so I won't but what I will conclude with is that this time of year is also great for organizing which is what we did, beginning by emptying the whole closet.

Oh my yes. After a trip to Ross for some organizing bins, we are back in business. I needn't tell you it was Bruce who did all of this. I was merely the cheerleader.

Lastly I will leave you with this crazy sight we saw as we were driving on Lake Underhill Road. 

Who knew there was such a contraption? Can it really be safe for either the man or the dog?

your friend,

Gail

What the Peck???

 If ever there were an example of how unpredictable it is using the mail instead of online for bill paying, my recent experience is all the evidence one would need to make such a case.  Holy moly! It is hard to remember why I decided to write a check for my car tag renewal because it was so long ago. Dropping it in the mailbox seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

My birthday came and went, as did the last day that my tag sticker was valid, and still nothing. Day after day I checked the mail. Finally, on the 11th of January, the sticker arrived.  Checking my canceled checks I learned that it was written on December 15. One would have thought with the tag office but two miles away things would have gone smoother, however, one would have thought wrong. Never again.

That said, there are folks who either don't have access or don't have the skill set to navigate this digital world and that makes me sad. There should be room in this new world for both kinds of folks in my humble opinion. 

Back to the action, albeit weeks ago!

To date this winter has been colder than in recent memory. The windows are often covered with moisture of humidity because it is ever-present in the state of Florida, one reason people often remark how the temperature in Florida feels colder than in some of the Northern states.

When we went to the Orlando Wetlands Park with Jonathan and Alissa, the sky was bright blue and slightly chilly.

About a week later we made the same trip with Matt and Tom and the weather conditions were just the opposite. A dense fog covered the landscape as we made our way down SR 50 towards Christmas, Florida.

The previous week:

Nearly the same location a week later: 

It's easy to see from the photos above which atmospheric conditions are favored by most. Do you agree? They are scanning the water for alligator a favorite activity when Tom comes to town. Note the vultures atop all of the palm stubs.

Our wish was granted and we saw an astonishing amount of alligators on this second visit, say 30 or so, many along the shoreline. This big group is wary, although in our experience, they leave folks alone if you leave them alone.

Particularly on the road they call Alligator Alley. See below. 

I was super delighted to spot a Green Heron,

and while disappointed not to see the huge numbers of Tree Swallows this time, we did see a huge number of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks who were doing just that, en masse.

One of these days they are going to finish that building, or so one would hope.

Here's how Bruce managed to take the Christmas tree up to the front of the property for disposal. He's a clever fellow--that he is.

Because both Matt and Tom are very busy with their jobs, relaxing was in order while they were visiting. Tom finds doing very difficult jigsaw puzzles relaxing and so I let him do all of the hard ones that people have given me. I do know my limits!

If you can imagine, and perhaps there are some who can, he completed not one, but TWO 1,000 piece puzzles during the few days they were here. The only bit of help he received was near the end of puzzle number two as he wanted to make sure it was completed before they returned to London. 

We continued our December job of shopping well in to January, going to IKEA along with REI where we went to pick up the jacket we'd ordered Matthew for Christmas. Additionally, we picked Matt's brain for a little interior decorating suggestions which were promptly implemented. What a difference changing the direction of a room rug can do for a room!! Sort of like changing the orientation of the kitchen table which, I must say, has been life changing. The wall art Bruce moved around, while not life changing, has been a welcome change. My suggestion to you, should you be in the market for a small change in your environment, is to have a friend or family member take a look around your place and perhaps they will see things that you don't. In the end, we didn't buy anything new, just rearranged what was here. 

As well, we have a new internet provider after Matthew set it all up. They came last Thursday and while it seemed to go faster, that is until Sunday morning when we woke up and there was no connection. After some online tweaks, speaking with someone was the next step. He suggested we trade in the modem that was installed only three days prior. Once Bruce unplugged it, he discovered that it was used which was confirmed by the Spectrum employee when we traded it in for a new one. 

And so we are entering a new world of internet speed. 

One day we stopped here for lunch.

While waiting on our street food orders, I popped across the road to check out some of the street art, including this one.

The large boat reads, "the good life" while the text beside the woman on the other side says, "the best is yet to come." While I do hope our good life does not crash into shore, the idea of the best is yet to come is wildly appealing. How about you? Are you down for that?

Just before the London lads left (say that a few times fast), our beautiful tree began shedding leaves at an alarming rate. I mean there was, in the words of Matthew, a leafy carpet, and while we know it has done so in the past, this time it just feels more extreme.

So, here's how full it was mid December,

Sadly, this is what it looks like now. I will report that the rate of loss has slowed, thank goodness!

We are very much hoping that it is an annual thing, much like the arrival of the Robins.

On the 5th of January we once again became empty nesters, also an annual thing! 

While they did not complain, there is a lot in the newspaper these days about how the new international terminal has not been as well received as the powers that be had hoped. Apparently, there is far too much walking and from what I read, their response was, so what? Hmmm.....

Long after their departure I am going to be getting a lot of use out of this very fun visor, purchased while they were shopping at Track Shack. 

Speaking of pickleball...who me? 

Not only did Matt and Tom give me the visor, I received something from all of the family. Below I am sporting a new skort from David and Michelle, new shoes from Bill and Fallon, and a ball holder from Jonathan and Alissa.

The ever-changing winter weather as evidenced by my outfits! Thinking about the kids dressing me, the  cap is one that Matt knit for me some years ago, so while wearing the above getup, I always think of our wonderful family. We are  most definitely making gift giving easier on them! 

Amongst all of the gift giving, along came my birthday and everyone had to think of something else to give. While this towel is far from true, Michelle gave me something to aspire to!

Oh yeah baby....peace, love and pickleball!!

Let's go!!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. The title refers to a t-shirt that we saw on a lady at the wetlands. Tom promptly suggested it for my first blog title of the new year, but it seems more fitting now, as in what the peck have you been doing not blogging for ten days??

p.p.s. I've sad it so many times before but having a blog is wonderful in so many ways. Good memories can be relived and sometimes sad ones too. While looking for something, I came across this super important post from 2014. Not only does it detail something life-changing, there's a photo that could fit into this post nicely. Don't miss it!!