Overdosing on Pickleball? Almost

 Late this morning, upon our return from the courts, our friend Patti was driving by and had a real nice thing to say. Apparently, this morning she looked for a new blog post and when not finding one, went back to the beginning in February 2007 and began reading. In those days I wrote posts more often, but they were much, much shorter. She said she liked it and it sure made me happy for someone to do that, reading it like a book. Now that would be something. Our friend Liz is soon to publish a book based on her blog, "Be Brave, Lose the Beige"! How cool is that? 

Let's begin with a bright and happy image of a Northern Cardinal, one of a pair whom have been creating a big mess on our walkway with fallen seed! Holy cow, we are having to clean up a pile every day.

I forgot to mention that we saw our first ducklings of the season on our walk around Lake Davis last week. Although they are of the Muscovy variety, ducklings of any kind are just so adorable.

The first Magnolias of the season are showing their pretty faces and fragrance, just outside our gate.

There are a passel of turtles in the pond beside the community entrance, including some little ones!

This is but a few of the fourteen I counted the other morning! They seem to be enjoying the abundant sunshine.

I wish that it was all sunshine and roses in the community, however, that would not be telling the truth. Because this blog is meant to document life as we live it, I would be remiss not getting this down in print. A group of six residents, most of whom we know, are trying to overthrow the current board of directors, of which our son David is one. Actually he is the Vice President, but still he has the same vote as everyone else. As you can imagine, there is tension between more folks than is comfortable. On Saturday night, during our absence due to our pickleball obsession, a meet the candidates forum was held. At the very most, 45 people attended, but you can sure bet that more than that number are willing to complain. I suppose it is a microcosm of society at large? At least 600 residents live here and only about 70 vote. That said, I just realized that there are only 302 voting units because there is only one vote per unit. Our friend Mary, the former judge and now election queen with Orange County, will be counting the votes this Thursday night. Only time will tell where this all goes. :(

When last I wrote Major League Pickleball was upcoming.  Because this event happens in only six places around the country, it seemed like a no-brainer to attend. As such, we found a place to stay for three nights, super close to the venue, Pictona. Pic as in pickleball and ona as in Daytona. But you figured that out yourself because I know that you are a smart bunch! It's really in the community just north of Daytona, Holly Hill which is small and to be honest, a little run down. Pictona itself is a first class facility though. The Orlando Squeeze were to begin playing at 8am on Thursday and although we did not make the start of play, we weren't too far off.  I'll tell you what, our team has the best logo out of all 24 teams. Or, at least that is how I see it!

We'd all been wondering if and when they would have some merchandise for sale and thanks to our friends Patty and Kieth, we knew that there would be the goods at the tournament. Want to know how they knew that? Their daughter works for the company that made the goods!! In fact, they were over on Wednesday night for snacks and brought us some pre-tournament stickers. Can you say, "I bet Gail and Bruce were happy"? Why yes you can! The booth was busy with buyers. 

The Orlando team was one of the last to be formed so the player draft was a bit limited. Two of whom are pictured below.

They played their hearts out, but came up a little short in the end. Here's a link to our group. Callan Dawson getting down oh so low!

Disclaimer....I can get low, but the above is crazy low, especially for a guy. Seems as if they are a little less flexible than us gals.

A fan rocking the t-shirt.

There was plenty of sunshine and by Sunday the heat that comes with it! 

We spent all day there, finally arriving at our b+b around 6:30. Called River Lily Inn, I'll be honest with you and say that it probably cost more than it should to stay there, but there aren't all that many options to choose from. 

We stayed in the "Moon River" room with a balcony overlooking the river which is directly across the street. One morning I did pop over to snap a sunrise picture.

There are all manner of funky touches there, including this heart-shaped pool.

So that is where you go swimming should you care to, and here is where you park your car.

Because we were there for so little time, I didn't learn much about it except for the current owners must have purchased it during the pandemic, or just before, because they've owned it for three years. Apparently a previous owner painted the cars-on-fence display. There are more that would not fit into the frame! 

As we were arriving, the man in the pink shirt introduced himself as Al, the owner. Mostly though, we saw him in a red Kansas City Chief's chef's coat each morning as he served our breakfast.

We did learn that they own a staffing company in Kansas City, as well as a farm in Nevada. Plus they are 70 years old! 

Al's wife, who I thought was called Mary, but I later learned is not, Muriel or something, is British which explains this?

For someone who is as cautious as a person can be, the stairs were a wee bit steep.

Just this morning I realized that I am but two days away from the anniversary of my first broken wrist which is still, I am sad to say, not entirely the same. That said, I can use it, so there is that to celebrate!

A full breakfast was served in this lovely space.

Our only problem was they wanted to start at 8:30 and we really needed to be gone by then. Fortunately Al did his best to accommodate our schedule. 

A funny thing happened on Thursday. From our top row seats, which were great btw, we glanced over to our left and who should we see but Ray, a court fixture at Dover Shores, sitting with Steve Kuhn, the bald man who is the mastermind behind Major League Pickleball. He is the money man as well.

Ray is the man with the crewcut. I bet you might remember how we visited him at the hospital when he had the partial finger amputation? At any rate, the fellow in the middle is Ray's longtime friend John, the man who once owned the longest running bar in Orlando. Our son Matthew used to dance many a night away long ago when it was called Barbarella. So what was he doing at a pickleball tournament sitting with the head of MLP? Instead of the nightclub, he now owns a space called Clear One. You guessed it, pickleball reigns supreme there. As he explained, during our dinner with them, the pandemic hurt the nightclub business and since he'd learned to play pickleball he thought why not buy a place to play? At nearly the same time he heard tell about Steve Kuhn's ideas on growing the sport of pickleball, in part through creating MLP, so he called him up asking about buying a team. And that is just one more story of how pickleball is creating some very unlikely friendships! We know that has held true for us.

This was kind of fun watching Dekel Bar sign this woman's shirt. Absolutely hard to imagine three years ago when we began playing and watching the pros.

So what in this post would lead a person to believe we had overdosed on pickleball? Not much is what I have to say. Which means, the kitchen is calling and the overdosing part will have to be left for a part two! In the meantime I so wish I had the complete concentration of Lucy and Callie above. They are doing that in spades.

Until we meet again, I remain, 

your friend,

Gail

Odds and Ends

 Say what?

Back already?

Indeed I am. I am on a mission to catch up a wee bit before we leave to watch Major League Picklleball this weekend.  We are stoked! And hopefully, our accommodations will be to our liking.  A British woman and her husband own it so there's a good start.

Over the last few weeks I have taken hundreds of photographs, some of which I want to remember, so here we go...

This will shock you; I'm not leading with a bird photograph. Well, technically there are birds featured, but only ones from an artist's imagination.

Following church on Sunday, in spite of the yucky weather, we went to the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival and fell in love with the work above. That said, we did not buy a bird or animal piece, instead it is a mysterious girl. The artist has some fantastical work on his website and should you be interested, click here. Here's a funny coincidence---while we were waiting to pay, another couple was buying several prints with patron dollars. It won't surprise you to know that I struck up a little conversation which, get this, turned to pickleball. (!!) Turns out the folks own Track Shack and they said folks are coming in daily for pickleball shoes. No surprise there! He said they have even begun to carry paddles along with other cute merchandise such as the adorable visor Matt and Tom bought there for me before returning to London. Small world isn't it?

Because the weather was gloomy, a good bit of the time the crowds were very manageable. Near the end of Park Avenue this van was parked. And no, we did not write a note about why we love Florida because there is plenty of time that we don't!

It must have been Saturday that Patty texted me to say that her Loquat tree was packed with Cedar Waxwings feasting on the fruit to fill up for their journey to their Northern breeding grounds. Over the last few weeks every time she's let me know they are there en masse, by the time I arrive, they are gone. Sunday morning however, it was wonderful with dozens of them in a feeding frenzy.

Aren't they just the coolest with their black masks? The light was dull and flat, but after taking countless shots, I was somewhat happy with the one below.

With bright light it could have been terrific but, hey, you take what you are given and be grateful for the opportunity. :)

Speaking of good lighting---it does not get much better than this! Well, they might have been on the other side of the palm but beggars cannot be choosers!

I told you we have seen a lot of mating going on. You would think it was Spring already! 

Unrelated to anything photographic, I completed our income taxes maybe three weeks ago and by golly, the refund, such as it was, arrived about five days later. Now that's really something right?

Continuing the odds and ends theme, the novel Greenwich Park had me guessing until the last page. 

On the same day we saw the mating woodpecker pair, the light was not quite so good on this pair of Red Shouldered Hawks who began their shenanigans on this branch, 

before round two commenced a few trees away.

And if you were one of the few who read my most recent post, which can be found here,  you may recall the geese pair on Lake Davis. A late Monday afternoon stroll revealed that something must have come from that encounter.

I mentioned in the previous post that I wanted to check on the swan and the report is that she is still on the nest. Any day, or so I suspect. 

While Bruce was chatting with a fellow he met there,  I had the pleasure of watching this beautiful little Palm Warbler who will be leaving Florida soon for the farthest reaches in Canada for summertime. Can you even wrap your head around such a tiny bird flying all the way to Canada? It boggles my mind.

The familiar chirping of a male Northern Cardinal had me searching the trees and before long the brilliant red was hard to miss.

At our feeders we've had some new visitors this year and between them, the Cardinals, and the Tufted Tit Mice, the seed is fast disappearing. Plus, they are making a mess! At any rate, I was happy to see the Finches because although we had them at our home, this is the first time they have come for a visit and a meal.

Just outside the gate, this awesome plant is thriving. I don't know what it is, but showing it is a throw back to my early days of photographing every plant or flower I came across.

That reddish edging is so good. While we are on the subject of plants, this is the first time I've ever paid any attention to the blooming Chinaberry trees. Aren't they something? Super delicate.

The Swallow-Tail Kites are back in town. Multiple birds are flying around LPV, but I actually took this one at Dover Shores. It's a Loggerhead Shrike chasing the Kite.

And yes, I take my camera there too, although most of the folks don't know yet the extent of my attraction to birds! A few do and implore me to focus on the game. 

About a week ago some of us gathered to give Wendy a send-off as she returns to Quebec until next year. Holy cow, she gave us a run for our money on the court! Her beautiful smile disguises the beast within!

Shelly was kind enough to host at her beautiful home on Lake Conway.

It is so neat to think that a woman from Canada could show up at the court one morning, after having driven from their vacation rental in Kissimmee, and five weeks later her pickleball pals are holding a goodbye party for her. That's exactly how it is meant to work. 

Finally, another Canadian snowbird who owns a home in Bay Hill, has been coming to the courts lately, along with her husband. A super interesting and generous person, she showed up yesterday and we were dressed alike! I look like I'm channeling my inner Northern Cardinal in that bright red, don't I? I wear a long sleeved shirt about twice a year and this was one of those times!

Anyway, along with her matching outfit, she arrived with the neatest customized water bottle that she made for me. How nice is that?

I feel better now. Not an overwhelming post. That will come next week!

your friend,

Gail

Spring Falls on a Monday

And so far, it has been a chilly day which I mention because so often folks don't remember that we can still have temperatures that require more than a tank top in mid-March. In fact, this morning, with a reading of 50 degrees, few folks showed up at 7AM. After having done so myself, I can't say as I blame them! Windy too, which wreaks a bit of havoc on my already tenuous skill set! Nevertheless we had fun followed by a quick trip to Sprouts for orange juice. Having poured the last of the bottle that came from Costco this morning, it was a must-do for me. We have discovered many bargains at Sprouts, so if you live near one, you might want to check out their selections. Just saying...

It's so hard to know where to start because so much has happened in the last few weeks. Several successful birding trips occurred with more than is strictly necessary picture taking occurring. Seriously, I share so few of what I actually take and of course, only the good stuff. Never the misses. Well, that's not entirely true because on occasion I do, but those occasions are few and far between! One thing that I do not do is set my camera to take multiple photos in succession, something that many folks do when photographing birds. My computer is so loaded as it is, the amount of work to delete everything just seems overwhelming to me. I suspect that these folks are in the rapid fire camp. 

Super fun picture, right? The above was taken on a visit to Blackpoint Drive on Merritt Island when we went in search of a large flock of White Pelicans. The water level in some areas was quite low, unsurprisingly because rain has been almost non-existent for the last few months. These ladies chose to ride their bicycles and most of the time they were ahead of us because I had Bruce stop so often! At one point when our paths crossed they told us we missed the big show, which we did in part, but still there were birds to be seen. 

I'd hopped out of the car in order to get as close as possible to this beautiful sight.

Aren't they so interesting? American Avocet is what you are seeing. Amazingly, I had just recently come across an issue of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology magazine Matt gave me a subscription to a few years ago and sure enough, two of these beauties were the cover models. A better photograph mind you, but still, I was stoked! The dark bits shown in the photograph below is the low water level I mentioned.

I'm including the photo below to give you a perspective on why I needed a better zoom lens!

Do you see the Avocets out in the water? Lots of cool ducks are out there too beyond the reach of even my new lens!

It was a marvelous day with an eagle sighting as well, But the star of the show were the White Pelicans and the Roseate Spoonbills that are gathered together behind the shield of a whole heck of a lot of American Coots.

That is some birds in action in that shot, right? 

Last Monday, according to the post I wrote, it rained.  So, I guess it has rained lately! See how much I need my blog to keep life all sorted out?

Before I move on, above I posted that I rarely show the crummy photographs but the one below is one of those exceptions because imagine how good it would have been had it been focused???

Back to the drive...one more wonderful shorebird....I think it is a Yellow Legs, but I can't tell you if it is Lesser or Greater. See what I mean...so many things to learn.

It has been our custom to stop before we go over the bridge to return home because there are all kinds of shorebirds along the river. Well, duh, of course they are on the shore! At any rate, they have closed some of the parking off, so I hopped out of the car in search and the best I could get were these little beauties.

Well shoot, I got ahead of myself. Lots of wildflowers blooming which in turn attracted lots of butterflies.

So that was a super fun trip. As to what else we have been doing, well you guessed it, pickleball. Plus Bruce had to have a crown. It was the strangest thing. One week he had an uneventful teeth cleaning. The next week his tooth was hurting and come to find out, there was a crack in it which required a crown. Lordy, lordy, the cost of dental work!! 

I'd chosen a whole series of photographs which are so totally spring, but before this gets way too long I do want to mention how excited I was one afternoon when I stopped by Lake Davis, say around 5:00, before DST began. To say that I was thrilled with finding a huge flock of Ring Necked Ducks is an understatement. If only they would have deemed to come closer. (male and females)

It won't be long, and I suspect it has already happened since I took the above photo, but anyway, they will depart Florida for Canada to breed.  Here's a link to what they look like in a close up. 

Speaking of breeding, I have come across my fair share of that lately, but specifically that same afternoon at Lake Davis, two of the geese seemed to begin their brief courtship like this.

Looks kind of sweet, right? Minutes later the male was practically drowning her!

Meantime the swan calmly passed by. Which reminds me, there is a nest there that I need to check out. In fact, I think I will as soon as I finish this! Cygnets are so very cute to watch.

Speaking of fun to watch. As you may recall I have been expecting a flock of White Pelicans to come to our lake and while that did not happen this year, on the morning that we were planning another trip to the Wetlands, Patti texted me to let me know that they were on the big lake. Instantly I had my shoes on and walked quickly along the shortest route, the canal that begins at the end of our building. Sure enough, there was a nice flock of, at that time, an uncounted number of them, along with about twice as many Cormorants. Woo hoo!! I watched until they went into a cove out of my viewing range and then headed back to the condo to regale Bruce with the good news. Soon thereafter, we were ready to go, but I asked if we might stop one more time at the lake to witness this once-a-year event. Sure honey!

It was good. We watched for a while as they floated en masse, mostly out of the range of our lenses, that is until a woman in a boat actually drove through the group!! That got them moving, in fact, they were coming right at us!

They came towards us and then away from us.

You can well imagine that I took countless photos of this exciting event and it kept getting better as they took to the skies while we watched. Swooping and flipping directions, it was magical, like acrobats in the sky.  One minute they looked like this:

and then like this:

A nature documentary in front of our eyes! Needless to say we got a late start which turned out to be just fine as the weather was just that, fine. Not too hot, nor too cold. In other words, perfect!

Matthew has returned home to London, safe and sound following his week in Dubai. Jonathan and Alissa had an amazing little backpacking trip into the Texas hill country. My favorite part, and the one that makes me jealous, is they spent a lot of time gazing at countless stars. Bill and David both work for a bank so the last week has been a bit stressful. In less than two weeks they will be 44, something I find hard to imagine. When we were their age we had four children ranging in age from 21-14. My how times have changed except for the fact that once a parent, always a parent, and their well being is your first instinct. But I don't need to tell you that, do I?

I think they probably feel the same towards us.....a bit bemused by our current life, but happy that we are generally healthy. They never worry that we are happy though, that goes without saying. Thank God!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. A friend's sister just died and of course it made me sad for her. I checked on Hank the day before the anniversary of Carol dying which I wrote about here.  He's doing pretty good these days but that day will never be one that doesn't sink his spirits. They were married a long time. :(