The End of March

As each new month begins, I make a folder on my computer that ends up containing all of the photos that end up gracing the pages of Camera Crazy. I can tell you that when I made the folder for March, 2020, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined how the month would end. While there have been photos of empty shelves created by panic buying, I've tried my best to remain positive because, frankly, what else can we do? Call me crazy, but I've found that complaining generally does no one any good.

Around here, nature has been providing more than its fair share of drama. One afternoon, Bruce saw a cat trying to get to a duckling, running outside and shooing it away. Picking it up, he tried placing it amongst the Mallard ducklings and there was a bit of havoc. Apparently, the ducklings began attacking it, and then Mama became a little violent as well. While I've not seen any other ducklings, I suspect it was a Wood Duck and Mama Mallard was having no part of caring for another. She's got her hands full already!

For the most part, we can get very close and they stay put quietly observing us as we observe them. Which brings me to more drama that includes the otters. Oh my goodness, it was so scary! Out the window I noticed the swirling water, the tell-tale sign that the otters are near. I ran outside just in time to see two otters clamor onto the shoreline, ready to pounce, and our little family was frantic, squealing and trying to get away. I started shouting--get away!--and I swear, they listened, after a time. Meanwhile, the family became separated and I became frantic, but Mama kept calling out and found two way down along the shoreline. As they waddled closer to where I stood, I kept hoping they would make it and the good news is that they did! Telling Matt about it, he said it was like watching a nature program on television except this was very close to home!

Amazingly, there are still ten which is two shy of when we first saw them, but to tell you the truth, it seems pretty miraculous because more often than not, every day one usually disappears. How many will eventually survive is anyone's guess, however,  I'm doing my part to keep them safe.

With the Coronavirus seemingly the only news anywhere, the lack of rain here has hardly been mentioned, but it is noteworthy how little there has been, to the tune of 0.02" for the month. What is normal? 3.51"! The lakes are getting low, thus our shoreline is very muddy, in part because our beautiful trees drop lots of organic material daily.

What else is noteworthy is how creative people are getting in the wake of this pandemic. All over social media people are posting fun stuff that helps keep us from sinking into despair. While I had left the complex but once all week, when I saw my friend Candy post a photo of 16 Wood ducklings at Lake Davis, I drove over for a quick look-see. As you may recall that is where Bruce and I walk, that is until the pickleball craze took over. As I walked the path, I came across some affirming chalk drawings,

and before long, there they were. Horrible lighting, but fun to see nonetheless.(note muddy bank and someone putting out food)

Before too much longer we should have some on our lake, yet they are way more skittish than the Mallards, so I don't suspect they will allow very much close contact. Then again, the world is upside down right now, so maybe they will!

Here's the little shelving unit Bruce painted with mostly library books filling the shelves.  One jigsaw puzzle that took Bruce and I most of one day to complete, is now on there as well. Too bad we don't have any more.

The other night I learned about "P. E. with Joe" from Gayle who said her grandson was doing it at the urging of his school. Here is the link if you think you might be interested.  Because he is from London, I asked Matt about him and he said he was already famous in the UK, and now even more so as he has turned his attention to getting kids to exercise at home doing pretty much the same exercises we did in elementary school. Later on Matt texted me back, saying he'd done the workout and it was something he thought we should try. As Nancy was at the pool, and Bruce was outdoors reading, I gave it a try. Oh my word am I ever out of shape! I got about halfway through before stopping as my arm was giving me fits. That's my excuse anyway! Seriously, my arm is so darn sore from serving that I am trying to rest it, sitting out while others play. Nancy is picking it very quickly and having fun in the process.

To reiterate, we are using precautions, wiping the balls down after playing. Hands, rackets, car, gate, we are doing all that we can.

Sadly, the pictured chair is one we purchased for camping, but that's not happening anytime soon as all of the parks are closed, and in fact, we have already received our refund from the state for our May 15th reservations at Silver Springs State Park. Oh that this would all be over before May, but it seems as if that may not happen. Remember how I said I was putting the Florida cases on the calendar, beginning on March 17 with 216 reported cases. As of the 29th, there are 4,950. Of course there is more testing, explaining some of the numbers, certainly not all though.

Are there any amongst you who know someone who has had Covid-19? Mostly I am curious. Are there any amongst those reading who know someone who has lost their job? I believe it was reported in Saturday's newspaper that the unemployment rate in Florida at the end of February was 2.8%, an historic low. Although we won't have any figures for a while, I can tell you that in that same article the number of unemployment claims rose from something like 26,000 in the first week of March to 228,00 in the next. The tip of the iceberg, or so I fear.

Let's see, what else? Nancy gave Bruce a haircut on the front porch, for one thing.

Meanwhile my hair, well, let's not even go there.

We finally have a little baby gardenia bloom on our new plant.

So many folks are enjoying new orchid blooms while mine continues doing well. Because of how dry it has been, I finally remembered something our old market neighbor, Jim, used to advise people when they purchased his orchids. Spray them lightly with water. Done.

Yes, with no rain, it has been way too hot for March. Wednesday is Bill and David's birthday, but of course we won't be celebrating just yet. So very many of the things we have taken for granted have gone by the wayside for the foreseeable future, haven't they? Matt and Tom remained home to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary yesterday, making the best of things, as we all are trying to do. Saturday night would have been the concert we were hoping to attend with Jon and Alissa in Austin. For a time we had considered driving there, camping along the way, however, now it is a good thing we canceled because, get this, our governor is not letting people from Louisiana travel to our state due to their high number of cases and deaths. As I type there have been 60 deaths in Florida so far. I have been informing myself from this site hosted by Johns Hopkins University.  Pretty grim reading.

Our groceries are holding out pretty well; should we need something from the store, Nancy has volunteered to be our designated shopper. This Anhinga gets his food for free.

Tell me a little something about how things are in your world as we travel through these extraordinary times.

Wishing for you "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding"......

your friend,

Gail

Making the Best of Things

You know, it sure is a good time to know how to prepare meals, isn't it? That of course depends on if you can procure the ingredients which is anything but a certainty these days. My friend Bonnie is posting photos of all of the dishes she's made beginning with one piece of meat, sometimes up to four meals in the hopes of making her food supplies last longer. Aren't we all? Around here there is no hoarding going on, in part because we have no more storage space. Generally I do have some back ups for staples, however, after deciding to make a carrot cake on Tuesday, I discovered that I was short on sugar. Nancy arrived on Monday afternoon to ride out the storm here amongst her family because the thought of going it alone in Atlanta was just too much.

Carrot cake is one of her favorites, and because she has not had a proper birthday cake in forever, we were calling it that even though her birthday is in October. Extraordinary times call for the extra ordinary! Offering to go to Publix for sugar, I was convinced that would be an easy item to purchase, whereas she had her doubts. She won. Is everyone else baking too? She came home with a box of sugar for which I was grateful. The cake turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

While I may not be as creative as Bonnie with stretching our food, I have been making comfort food, beef stew, macaroni and cheese with ham, that sort of thing. Bruce braved the senior hour at Publix, bringing home some Italian sausage and mushrooms in order for me to make one of my most favorite dishes, Dirty Risotto.

Leftovers for lunch soon!

We have been playing pickleball with Connie, and while I know it makes some nervous, we have bleach wipes for our hands and paddles when we finish playing. As well, we are way far apart and so far no one is sick or had contact with anyone sick; for now, it feels safe, something I can't even believe I am typing. There is a rule around here--no sacrificing our body for points because no one wants to get hurt, especially now.

Taking the trash out, I saw someone had left a little shelving unit beside the dumpster. Honey, do you think you can make something of this?

But of course he can! It was wobbly as all get out, probably from having sat on someones porch for ages, so after shoring it up with braces, cleaning and sanding like crazy, he followed that with several coats of paint. The gold we used in the bathroom was my choice.

For now I am making do with things from around the house for decorations and it is adding a little ray of sunshine by the front door. Hurray for making the best of things!

Unlike me, Nancy loves to clean and organize so who better to do that than she? Beginning with emptying the freezer,

she found a place for everything, not to mention finding things in there I'd forgotten I had.Before, I was cramming stuff in the freezer the best I could, but now, oh my gosh, it is heaven!

The vegetables are all in one place, turns out I have plenty of meat in stock and some different types of bread. Not to mention 12 mini Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches!

Matt and Tom are working from home, as are David, Bill, Jonathan, and Alissa, with Fallon being the only one working outside the home. She tells us that there are shortages of masks and other protective gear, however she is doing all that she can to stay safe. I'm wondering if this will start a new trend wherein they build shower rooms at the hospital so all workers can go home to their families clean?

The one thing I'm convinced of is that this event will change everything, and I mean everything. People are bound to be more cautious in the future and hopefully there will be recognition of the importance of every worker, from janitorial staff, to the truckers who bring us our food and goods. Nancy is at Publix as I type and she says the crowds are big, and the amount of goods not so big. Speaking of grocery shopping, let's hear it for all those who are stocking shelves like there is no tomorrow. (bad use of words) Will it change global travel in the future? We shall see. Investors, no doubt, will be more wary, while perhaps people will be grateful for their jobs? In Orlando the number of jobless is not to be believed! One benefit that I hope to see is giving our fellow humans a little more leeway, recognizing that from the top to the bottom, most people are doing the best that they can.

The number of people in Central Florida who have lost their jobs is staggering, in the hundreds of thousands. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demming has ordered everyone to stay home aside from grocery and prescription shopping beginning at 11PM, although I did read that Home Depot can stay open. What are we to make of all this?  Because this is a new virus strain, is anyone really an expert?  How could they know how long it lives on surfaces in all environments? Just asking.

And now we begin the happy segment of this post and that is with the appearance, three days ago, of Mallard ducklings!

If anything can bring a smile and lift ones spirits, it is ducklings. I've been watching and photographing them in all different types of lighting.

On this day there were exactly twelve, and I think they were almost brand new, although that is merely speculation on my part. Unlike Wood Ducks, Mallards seem to not be bothered at all by humans, letting me get a respectable distance away without bolting. It was just wonderful watching the ducklings begin to take shelter under their Mother's wings.

The whole lot kept snuggling,

and snuggling,

as her wings expanded to shelter them from predators.

Yup, all twelve under cover. Watching this happen, I cannot help but think of Psalm 57:1:

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, 
For my soul takes refuge in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction passes by.

As long as the sun rises every morning, we, indeed still have hope that, "this too shall pass", however it sure seems as if it going to be painful for all.

your friend,

Gail

p.s. as a reminder, my thoughts at the time of writing.

p.p.s to date there are 23 deaths in Florida

Like a Wildfire

Yesterday I was on pins and needles wondering how Matt and Tom were facing their journey back to Britain, having been forced to do so due to the new travel restrictions. They traveled to Phoenix, several days earlier than planned, to board a flight to Chicago, and then on to London. All day I was wondering about what they were facing. Not a word from them until Bruce finally texted and got the scoop. Wakening this morning, checking his phone he found a text from 2:30AM that they were home. A parent's worries are never over are they? So now my concern for them is coming back only to find empty food shelves. Probably silly on my part but, as that overused phrase goes--it is, what it is! Early on, while the trip was being planned, I mentioned to Matt that it was going to be a trip they would remember for the rest of their lives, with seeing the Grand Canyon one of the many highlights. Sadly, they did not make it that far, but they certainly will remember this trip for the rest of their lives, won't they?

It is like a wildfire out there with no putting it out in sight.

We are now in about day six of the panic and I fear it is going to get way worse before it gets better. Yesterday afternoon I received a long note from a friend in the Seattle area and she painted a grim picture of what we will be facing. As such, I went to Publix in order to shore up my pantry and freezer. Oh my goodness, what a sight those shelves were!

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so here's yet another to document what this is like.

In Florida, along with some other Southern coastal states, we are somewhat accustomed to panic shopping for hurricane provisions, but this is that, and WAY more. Generally, because we eat most meals at home, I'm pretty well stocked, but I needed to fill some holes. While there, with the mindset of making meals that would last for some days, I picked up ingredients for lasagna, mac and cheese, that sort of thing. Sounds outrageous I know, but so has everything else up to this point. I learned last night that they were even closing the Florida State campgrounds. And here I thought we could go camping to get away from this madness!! I've yet to confirm it so today I will try and do so.

Another thing she mentioned was getting more library books ASAP because all of the libraries are closed out there. She implored me to take this seriously and pointed out some hazards we might face, such as one of us getting sick with something else and the hospitals being overwhelmed. Carol said to make sure all of our prescriptions were filled, and get ready for a quarantine which is what she thinks they are facing next!!!

Bev reminded me, when thinking about our new vocabulary during these troubled times, of "flattening the curve", one that I left out the other day. Jane said her friend is calling it, "desocializing" and on the radio yesterday I heard this term, " boomer eraser", which is just plain mean! At first I thought they meant boomers money, which we are certainly experiencing in an unprecedented fashion, until it hit me that it is referring to folks like me that are dying. Gulp!

Carolyn called yesterday afternoon saying there was a duck by her front door that just would not go away and she was concerned that said duck would get run over by a car. Walking down to check out the situation, we were able to corner her and head her back to the lake. Good news! Walking home I ran into other neighbors, including David and Michelle out walking Grace. Dave said, "Mom, I know this isn't like you to be able to sit still and stay home, but it seems as if you should be taking this seriously." Oh how right he is, if we really have to stay home for weeks I will go mad. The funny thing is, most of us are not even thinking of getting sick, we are just stunned by the measures to keep us well!

Saturday Bruce wanted to support a local restaurant, so we went for lunch. Like those empty shelves, we were the only patrons there.

So sad seeing this, but in a bright spot, my sandwich from Delaney's was delicious.

Sunday, instead of going to church, we met up with folks at the Pickleball court, watching for a time and then getting some instructions from Greg and Leslie who have been wanting to get this going for a while. Now that both tennis courts are painted with the special lines, there were at least ten people  there, having fun. I guess yesterday new guidelines were announced about gatherings, limiting it to ten. Does this affect outdoor gatherings?

Let's get past the doom and gloom for a bit, shall we? Of course the photo below is part of it, but I promise only this last one is a downer!

Yesterday morning I accompanied Bruce when he was going to check on the painters at the church. Tree trimmers were there as well. Bruce and John made the stand to place out front and it was moved for the workers. From there we went to Mead Gardens for a walk, and as we were leaving the car I said, "honey, let's go find the owl!" Both of us were trying to remember which tree it was as we walked the path, coming along a scene just made for Bruce. A little boy was fishing, caught a turtle instead, and his young Mom was doing her best to remove the hook. Offering help,

she was thrilled to take Bruce up on his offer. In return she said, this is without prompting mind you, there is an owl over there with her baby. OH MY GOSH!!

Actually she was in the same tree as her owlet earlier, but while watching them, Bruce saw her fly onto this branch in the wide open! Always anxious to share the wealth, we pointed them out to another young Mother with her children, both of whom had little binoculars. Turning away a bit to focus on the little one,

the young boy called out that another one flew in!! We could hardly believe our luck.

Mom and Dad at either end of the couch is what comes to mind, except it is a tree branch. (an attempt at lightheartedness on my part) When you are standing beneath trees staring at birds, inevitably people stop, wondering what you are looking at. In this instance, a woman stopped to see and chat and were we ever glad she did because she was, get this, wait, I can't remember what she is called! I do remember what she does though and that is remove birds from places where they are not wanted, such as warehouses or think, the garden center at your local big box store. Seriously, she gets paid for it! Only too happy to share how it works, we listened in amazement. As well, she said she walks most days in Mead Gardens and had not seen the owls for a while so we felt so lucky to have seen three.

There were irises in bloom along the lake another very welcome sight,

and as we were returning to the car we saw the reddest Northern Cardinal I think I've ever seen.

The gardens were looking lovely on this gray day, no harsh light to wash out the scene.

Returning to the church for one last check up, Bruce moved the sign back onto the grass where it will remain for who knows how long. While there we saw this going on.

Yup, washing down all of the chairs from the fellowship hall. Folks like these, who do cleaning for a living sure not worrying about their jobs while the same holds true for our Publix workers, several of whom I spoke to yesterday, thanking them for working so hard to restock the shelves.

Soon, the question won't be what is closed, it will be what is open? If Seattle's experience is anything to go on, the answer will be almost nothing, a thought so surreal that at this point, I can't wrap my head around it. Today is primary day in Florida and that show is going on as I type. Bruce popped over already finding only one other voter at our polling place. Wonder what the turnout will look like in these strange times.

I shall leave you with something beautiful to contemplate-- nature never disappoints.

You might recall our new motto, "doing all that we can, while we can" which I adopted after Carol's death.

Never could I have imagined it would take on new meaning in the following days. Your thoughts?

your friend,

Gail

A New Vocabulary

It feels as if we are living in a horror movie of sorts. At least that is the way I see it. If you are at all connected, either via television, radio, or social media, you would think that our world was coming to an end, wouldn't you? Nancy left this morning, but not before she insisted that I document this insane time for posterity because if it was not written in real time, in the future, it will seem so outlandish that one would think I was making it up! Or, will it?

One thing I know for sure is that the sun will come up tomorrow,

and the next day and the day after that. So, what is a girl to do when seemingly everything is being shut down? Photograph nature is the answer to that question. On my way to pick up a few things at Wal Mart, and no, toilet paper was not on my shopping list, I drove through the peacock neighborhood which at first seemed nearly deserted of those beautiful birds, however, before long I heard the loud call, and looking up. I saw a tree full of them.

Is that tail length unbelievable, or what? Our world is so full of intricacies that it boggles the mind.

The fellow above seems as if he could not decide, should I go up, or stay down.

As I type, Bruce is at church doing something that no one could have ever imagined, even in their wildest dreams. What is that, you wonder? Helping John put up a big banner stating that the church is closed for the foreseeable future. I think they are using one of the new buzzwords, or terms in this instance......"out of an abundance of caution", which is part of the new vocabulary.

When last I wrote, Matt and Tom were on their flight to Denver from London for their ten day road trip, which is going very well, btw. I suspect there is no better place to be than in the great wide open right now with little to no media connection. Posting one photo of the two of them in Utah with the caption, "call it social distancing of the scenic sort." Where do these terms come from?

And then there is "self isolation", not to be confused with "self quarantine".  Or are they one and the same? The birds are not heeding this advice as we have had another influx of Cormorants, first a few days ago on Lake Pineloch, and more recently in my backyard! Yup, I was out searching the trees after hearing a bird call, when I heard a huge splash caused by about forty Cormorants landing in the water. Yeah, life does go on even in troubled times!

I'd walked down to Lake Pineloch to see what I could see, and on that day I saw a bunch of birds.

All those black specks are Cormorants. I watched a Brown Pelican fly in, landing amongst them. Furthermore there were quite a few Osprey circling overhead waiting for just the right moment to swoop down and catch lunch.

We had a young Wood Stork visitor earlier in the week, and the only way I think I know that is because, instead of the scaly head, it was kind of fluffy, something I'd yet to see before.

In order to stay calm amongst the madness, I've done my fair share of roaming the property and have not been disappointed. I was standing by one of the many Loquat trees to photograph the visiting Cedar Waxwings,

when a fellow, parking his car, asked if there was a cat in the tree? No sir, but there is a Cat bird!

The weather has been very warm, and for the most part sunny. After a few weeks of rain in Atlanta, Nancy was loving that. We didn't do much of anything, however, she did read two novels while she was here, relaxing from the challenges of her job. Call it "sheltering in place" if you will.

So with all these new phrases, and everyone seemingly an expert on what the government should do, these are unprecedented times. Frankly, I don't think everyone is an expert by a long shot, and it is darn annoying watching people act as if they are. It kind of reminds me of 9/11 when folks were getting all over GW, more commonly known as President Bush. How are they to know what to do when nothing of the sort has ever happened before? Enough already!

So, Publix was out of a bunch of stuff, but they are still open. The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, on the other hand, is not. Here's their reasoning.....with so many places closed, people will want something to do such as be out in nature. Just messing with you....what they really say is that the drive will be overwhelmed, so they are closing. That, my friends is how crazy it is right now. Every single day, another domino falls. College athletics, the NBA, the NHL, the PGA, all museums in New York, schools closing all over the country, and in our neck of the woods, Disney and Universal have closed.

 A National State of Emergency, for crying out loud!!

For unknown reasons, folks are stock piling toilet paper. And groceries. Do they know something I don't? When I wrote my last post, (here if you did not see it,) I wondered what we were to make of things. Little did I know six days ago that it would come to this. They are now banning visitors at nursing homes, so Maureen, who rarely answers her phone, will be lonely, as will Susan's mother who is in a facility downtown as well.

As if living through a divisive election year weren't bad enough!

There's always nature to soothe our souls.

Or, a good walk. The other day Bruce and I did just that, walking over to Boone High school as he had heard they were having a closing ceremony for the gym. It had been years and years since last I visited the gym that stood there for more than fifty years. Come to think of it, Bill would have been playing volleyball for Boone the last time I was inside.

Thinking of it brings back fond memories of sitting on the bleachers shifting my body back and forth as the ball did the same. Volleyball is a fun sport to watch. Turns out that the event followed a volleyball game, so we did not see it because Bruce had a meeting to attend. So long to a place that served the community well for many years.

Soon this will be torn down as they have built a new one for the upcoming generations.

Oh yeah, Days for Girls is canceled too. Soon the question will be, what hasn't been canceled?

Earlier I wrote that it was like a horror movie, but maybe it is more like science fiction? Everyone knows the old saying that "truth is stranger than fiction" , and our current scenario most definitely fits that description. Instead of hanging that banner this morning, Bruce was meant to go with a group of church men for a weekend doing projects at Boggy Creek Camp. Yup--canceled.

My heart goes out to folks who cannot afford to miss work. Heck, my heart goes out to everyone during this madness. While camping seems like the ideal thing to do, the State Parks, while not closed, are no longer offering ranger programs until this has passed.

At least I have a new orchid in bloom.

And we are not sick, so there is that to be thankful for. The funny thing is that while there is general hysteria happening everywhere, most of us don't really know what to be afraid of in plain language. Plus the directive to wash your hands to which I want to know, when? Every hour? Before eating? After going to a store?

When next I write, it is hard to imagine what I will have to say. As for now, we are not self isolating, or sheltering in place, or in self quarantine, or for that matter social distancing, but who knows what lies ahead?

One thing I do know is that it is good to have blog written in real time and that's a fact!

your friend,

Gail