Here and There, Part Two

The smart thing to do, early this morning, would have been to have gone straightaway to Publix, however, had I done that instead of my bike ride, I would have missed this lovely winter sunrise.

Actually, as most anyone knows, this is taken pre-sunrise. In fact, I took off around 7 this morning, immediately noticing the show going on above me, so I rode as fast as my little feet could pedal down Ferncreek to the boat ramp on Lake Conway. If you can imagine, I even took my shoes off and waded in a bit to get a shot past the boat house! Beautiful and peaceful, although there was one truck parked there already, so apparently someone was out on the water.

Woo hoo--I also saw, for the first time in ages and ages, the eagle!!!

The light was still quite dim, and of course the pine on which he is perched is about 80 feet tall, so with my equipment I'll never get too good of a shot, so this one will have to suffice. Good photo, or bad, I was just elated when I came across him.

So, after riding toward the eagle house, I turned around, heading back to the boat ramp. The streaky sky and golden light were spectacular.

Fantastic, right? It pays to get a move on early!! The truth is that I have barely any time to write today as we are taking Michelle out for her birthday dinner in about an hour or so, followed by picking up Jon and Alissa at the airport tonight.

With that in mind I'm going to show just a few of my favorites from the last few days. We pulled up at a garden center and were greeted by this wonderful scene:

And, who amongst you has ever had the pleasure of a Christmas cactus that you never thought would bloom turn into a MASS of blooms one year? This was on the front porch where I rarely saw it so for now it is out on the table by the pool.

Corrine, who turned 89 just two weeks ago brought over magazines for me a few minutes ago. She walked across the street with her cane which disturbed me. I cut her some of the fudge I'd just made and gave her two pieces of the SHORTBREAD I made the other day. The shortbread is going to be a post in itself when I have time. All of this reminded me of the hibiscus bloom I filched from her plant the other day because the color was outstanding!

Here's a little fellow all ready for the upcoming Rose Bowl between FSU and Oregon! No, for those of you who don't know my dog, it is not mine. For some reason he was roaming a neighborhood I was riding through.

For the record, Publix was a mad house, as you knew it would be only a few days until Christmas......

We'll talk soon,
Gail

Fall Fever

I've just returned from my bike ride and I swear it was a little cool. By the way, I went over the 600 mile mark! Along with everyone else I know,  I am suffering from "Fall fever", desperately wanting the temperatures to reflect the season. Plus, I just want to open the house!

Don't get me wrong, I'm so, so grateful for air conditioning, but about this time of the year I am sick and tired of being shut up in an ice box. What is a girl to do when feeling like that? Well, what this girl did IS open the house on Tuesday. Was it comfortable? Somewhat seems like the appropriate answer to that question. What it did for me was more mental than physical. I accomplished more on Tuesday than I've done so in a week! Following my flurry of activity, I kept opening the refrigerator and admiring the whiteness of it all. So clean and fresh! Seriously, I must have opened and closed it about six times!

So, what else was I up to?

A little art project, that's what. It looks super simple above, but you may be surprised to know that a lot of thought went into that. Here's how I started:

What's it for? Well, that's a secret for now. Stay tuned!!

Music used to be a big part of my life. I need to make it more so. Not only were the windows and doors wide open, but the stereo was blasting away giving me more energy than I knew what to do with. It was during my Valencia days that my music consumption went down, and down it has stayed. Concentrating on math, biology, geology and other difficult subjects, made listening to music difficult. I was always either doing math homework on my computer, writing papers, typing up study sheets, and quiet was what I needed. It's time to get the music going around here more often!

That same Tuesday I took off for my ride before sunrise, which isn't so early this time of the year. I rode down Ferncreek to the Lake Conway boat ramp which is open from dawn to dusk. There's a longish gravel drive leading to the concrete ramp; a chain link fence on one side and a wooden one on the other borders the ramp. I thought it might be interesting to show you two perspectives of dawn over Lake Conway. So here's looking East with the fence in the foreground, which I took while wading in the water--still comfortably warm btw.

I adore how the rising sun turns the water delicious shades of purple and pinkish orange. So here's looking down the fence line:

Which is your preference? Perhaps you like neither which is okay too!

On my way home I came across this house with jalousie windows which are definitely a dying breed.

On the other hand, perhaps they will come back in style as most everything does. When I was a girl this type of window was in everyone's home, and believe you me, cleaning them was a PAIN. Mostly, as I recall, our only brother Pat was given that chore.  Sorry Pat. Of course we had to cook which happened much more frequently than window washings. Did I ever tell you that I began cooking evening meals for our huge family when I was 13? Once Maureen, who held the job before me, left at 18, I took over cooking dinner. All that early training came in handy while our four boys were living at home that's for sure. Of course, when I was 13, I never once felt like that!

Speaking of young girls, I'm sure everyone has read the horrible story about the 14 year old girl from Pakistan. If not, read this: How could they? Heartbreaking.

Comments, comments. Sick of my discussing it? Me too. Forget what I said about wanting them from you because I'm going back to the word verification. Ever since changing the setting I've been inundated with this sort of thing:


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It Makes Me Wonder": 

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I will be reminding myself when I have no comments that this blog started as a way for me to keep track of my life because I can no longer rely on my memory. If you like being along for the ride, so be it. Thank you faithful readers who have been with me from the beginning!

Back to Tuesday's ride. The Golden Rain trees have shed their yellow and are now this deep shade of peach.

Who says we don't get Fall color in Florida? 

Another day at bridge yesterday, another pummeling! Still and all, I enjoy the afternoon, despite the defeats, considering it practice on my way to becoming better.  Bev, on the other hand, is not convinced she wants to spend $7 for humiliation!

Every morning and evening, rain or shine, Regina walks Argyle, her latest Welsh Corgi. Occasionally, I'm a good dog owner and Baxter and I accompany her, listening to all her stories as we walk the neighborhood. Most days she is doing fairly well after the death of her daughter, but mostly we avoid the subject. I am so, so, glad her daughter Michelle convinced her to get Argyle last year as I'm confidant he has helped her greatly during the grieving process.

Aren't they cute? 

Had enough of me for today? I thought so. Let's see what adventures I can cook up for our next installment of Camera Crazy. Again, thanks for reading....