Back at the Homestead

Holy cow, it's been forever since I wrote a blog post! Have you missed me? 😁 

Two weeks of activities is mighty hard to recap in one post, but you have to start somewhere, so here we go.

My title might have been a hint?

Indeed, Florida has welcomed us on Sunday afternoon. In a first, we took the interstate, and while way more stressful the time it takes to get from NC to Orlando is a good deal shorter. Leaving Murphy at 7AM, rain was falling as we began our journey,

and continued for far too long. Thank God it was the Lord's day because the traffic through Atlanta was bad enough in the pouring rain, I can't imagine if it were a weekday! While I did miss seeing the little towns along the way, a highlight of the drive was the presence of loads of wildflowers along the interstate in Florida. Oh my goodness, the construction on the turnpike widening!

The Villages seems to go on forever and ever, taking over a large part of the upper middle of the state. I predict there will come a time in the future when there is little to no separation between towns. Grateful to be home safely, we had called the twins asking if they could be there when we arrived. Being the exemplary sons that they are, we opened the door to their warm welcome. Apparently the house was stuffy, so they got a head start on airing it out. Although they turned on the water, all of us forgot about the breaker to the hot water heater, so when I turned on the shower Monday morning I was in for a surprise.

Let me tell you, the floors were so darn dusty, walking barefoot was very unpleasant indeed. So far, I have gotten to the floors, but dusting the furniture is another story. Our mission here is to accomplish as much as we can, including I'm having my teeth cleaned this afternoon, meeting with friends, no pickleball so far because our time has been spoken for. Monday we did switch storage units, well actually, we were thinking we would clean it out for good, but once we saw all of our camping equipment, along with Christmas stuff and a generator, we realized that was not a realistic goal. Our new home has plenty of space for that sort of thing, but for now we are taking baby steps. You may wonder why we bothered and the answer to that is that we were trying to save a little money. As it turns out, after weeding out some things, the new space is perfectly adequate. 

I'd forgotten about the otters. Yup, so wrapped up in the deer and small birds we have come to love, I'll admit that my Florida wildlife has taken a back seat. I walked out the back door and good grief, there it was.

Amazingly, after a brutal last week of super high temperatures in Orlando, this week it has been mild and pleasant, thus the front and back doors are open. We have become accustomed to both darkness and almost complete silence, so while there is a cool breeze coming through these open doors, there is also the faint sounds of airplanes and traffic.

Speaking of traffic, Nancy has accompanied me for two days of shopping. It is almost comical how quickly I'd forgotten how fun it is to shop, rarely doing so aside from Walmart during our months away. So I just mentioned above about getting rid of stuff and now I am buying stuff? You read that correctly! While I have purchased some clothes (thank you Ross), mostly it is decorative stuff. Bruce is reluctant for me to remove pretty things from this house, thus I am buying. That said, I am reluctant to have a house with all new things because where is the character in that? I need memories!

Driving the baby car again has been fun if you don't count the THREE times people have nearly run into me. Yikes, the traffic here! We popped into Target to check out the new pickleball display and were not disappointed. So many cute things!

It is astonishing how much the sport has moved into the mainstream in the years we have been playing. To that, of course, I say, why not because it is so much fun to play!!

One of the reasons we waited until Sunday to drive home is I was asked if I would help with photographing the opening ceremony and events for the Senior Games. What fun that was. Should you be curious, click on this link for more. A highlight for me was watching an 89 year old man win a gold medal for the football throw. Having heard so much about it, we were not sure what to expect, but now we have seen for ourselves that a good time is had by all. 

I took a little stroll to see what I could see here and was not disappointed in the least. Surprised to see two Common Galinules in the lake, the anhinga and pollen were expected, as was the low water level after very little rain for the last month. 

My very first business card looked something like this except it was a red hibiscus.

Speaking of photography, I have told you that I did not win in either the photography or literary, haven't I? Maybe next year. 

Where once a huge oak stood, the bed in front of our unit has been finally replanted ,and while some folks, or so I've heard, are disappointed with the new look, these Ixora are such a beautiful color.

As is this Calla Lily beside Jane Lou's unit.

Not only am I hearing the calls of a Fish Crow, I am hearing neighbors talking and the tap, tap, tap of a Pileated Woodpecker.

Returning from my little walk yesterday, now I know why there is so much plant debris on the sidewalk leading up to our unit. 

With such a huge beak, they can make a big mess in a hurry! Yesterday afternoon was pretty darn lovely.

Last night, while Mary was here visiting, we all noticed the reflection of the nearly full moon sparkling on that water. 

A beautiful sight indeed, however, we left behind some pretty beautiful sights in Murphy, including what I've seen called all sorts of stuff, but I'm just calling them the beautiful yellow flowers blooming along the river. Diane told me about this section of the walk that I'd never done before, and once I did it, I had to have Bruce see it for himself, thus my picture.

The reason I'd not done it originally is because when we first went to Murphy last May, this whole area was underwater. Sounds pretty scary, but actually the water level in both rivers is controlled by the TVA. Perhaps when we return they will have released the water from the dam and this will be no more. I will be sure to let you know. We use the above bridge daily.

Of course I am worried about our birdies in our absence, but that's probably pretty silly. In any case look what is happening outside our windows.

Mama bluebird spends much of her day inside that hole watching out for who knows what! We have no real idea what is happening in our sweet nest box, but we are assuming it is good!

I had been watching and waiting for the iris which are plentiful in the bed below the feeders. One day, finally this happened,

which was very exciting indeed. The reward is below.

Looks as if we have another bird couple to watch. House finches.

Do you notice anything else aside from the birds? Smart readers that you are, of course you notice that the tree is budding out after months of bare twigs! 

The hummingbirds have returned! (I believe that is a squirrel on the upper left)

As have the Barn Swallows! Or at least I think that is what they are. Last summer they were plentiful and one nice sunny day, I will get a better look. The photo below was taken on a gloomy, and now I recall, it began raining as I was walking that day.

I was so excited to see them I ignored the rain.

Lastly two amazing trees that I've seen, both of them will likely not be in bloom when we return. Although the bloom looks quite similar to a hydrangea, this gorgeous tree below is a Snowball Viburnum.

The volume of blooms is only rivaled by the gorgeous pink dogwood. Oh my golly!

While I thought Fall was the most glorious season in the mountains, as we have discovered, Spring is mighty nice as well. Winter was totally worth it!

Okay, well at least you know that I am well, just busy.

Until we meet again, I remain,

your friend,

Gail

By the Grace of God

By the grace of God, we arrived in Orlando yesterday afternoon without incident. Whew! Whereas our early days of traveling were peppered with sightseeing, the last three have been all about the miles as my chauffeur was more than ready to get home. And who could blame him? Certainly not I, however, I will admit there was a wee bit of pouting going on at times.

Everything was pretty much just as we'd left it back in early March, including the covered furniture in the sunniest room.

I was delighted to see the ducks were still around.

And even more exciting is that I saw an owl fly into one of the trees this morning, however, by the time I ran inside to retrieve my camera, much as I tried, I could not find it. Rest assured, I will, sooner rather than later!

Three days ago, we were leaving Murray, Kentucky prepared for a long day of stress free driving. Or so we thought! What we saw of Kentucky was crazy green, with rolling hills, dotted with agriculture, and small towns.

Before long, we were here.

More rolling hills,

and rocks which seemed to be a constant theme during this journey, that is, until we entered Florida which I'm thinking is probably the only state without rocks. That, of course, may not be true, but it sure seemed that way.

Out in the country, you see this sort of thing nearly as often as you see rockiness.

On this day, our plan was to take the State roads which are mostly without traffic and excellent. So far so good, and a few hours later, we were here.

From North to South, Alabama is nearly 400 miles so we knew that was out of the question. I booked a room in Auburn, AL during our drive and onward we continued.

Remember the whining part I mentioned? Want to pull in there honey? Yes Bruce, would love to. This part of Alabama is quite scenic with giant lakes mostly created by the Tennessee Valley Authority long ago.

The little town was so charming we stopped for lunch and were so glad we did. All locals, the food was tasty, and it was great hearing Southern accents again.

You know that you are in the South when a restaurant sells Cheddar Pecan wafers, which, btw, were terrific.

You also know you are in the Deep South when it rains like mad for ten minutes and then the sun comes out. I believe it was soon thereafter that Nancy called and when B mentioned how charmed we were by Guntersville,  AL, of all things, she had played golf there! What are the chances, right?

Studying the atlas I saw that we would pass by a place with a big waterfall, or big by Alabama standards. Please honey? Because we were doing pretty well on time, Bruce was happy to take me there even though it meant adding more than ten extra miles to the already ambitious 470 we planned on. First we pulled into the wrong place where the woman mentioned that the falls weren't super full at the moment which didn't scare me off. Onward.

Her words did not dissuade me, however, the above sight definitely gave me pause. How bad could it be? I crossed over a little bridge to the other side and looked down.

Yes, those are people cooling off on a hot day. The falls? Be prepared to laugh friends!

Probably the most interesting thing about the above photograph is that moss that seriously looked like emerald green velvet. So interesting.

Good night, soon thereafter, we hit a massive rainstorm, and wouldn't you know it, we needed a bathroom break. That rain I mentioned? After a winter in Vancouver where, yes, it rains, but absolutely nothing like this.

And here is where it got nasty. The rain was pretty much blinding for the next nearly two hours of driving through both the Taladega National Forest where we saw so many, many trees enveloped by what B thinks are caterpillars, and more insanely winding roads. No time or place to stop, so I got what I could.

Hilly, winding, blinding rain. You can well imagine how exhausted Bruce was when we FINALLY, 11 hours after we started, arrived in Auburn, greeted by well, an Auburn Tiger. For those who are not familiar with this reference, there is a famous college named Auburn with a tiger as mascot. As often happens in communities, local artists paint colorful renditions of the same thing. In Orlando it was guitars. Here-- Auburn Tigers!

You also know you are in the South when you see loads of Crepe Myrtle trees, in the above case planted, but we saw others mixed in with forest trees. Bruce tells me that although they look similar, the wild ones are probably Wax Myrtles. Speaking of plants, let us talk about Kudzu. Holy Cow, the nickname, "the vine that ate the South" is, I'm here to tell you, apt, as we saw it everywhere!!!

Rarely did we have internet connection during our trip, however, the minute we did, I looked up this invasive species which has quite an interesting history. Should you care to know more, click here.

After the harrowing previous day, Bruce wanted a straight road, and after 125 miles, we finally got one in Georgia when we connected with I-75. What a shock to be bombarded with billboards after spending so many days on the road billboard free.

And the semi trucks!! Holy Cow, there are hundreds of them traveling this route. We knew were getting close to Florida after ten days on the road. The tacky billboards gave it away.

See how the sign says "no stopping", wait until the Welcome Center?

By the quality of the photo you know that we did not stop to take our photo. The weather was gloomy which kept things a bit cooler, so that was a positive. Try as I might, I could find no information on a HUGE solar farm we passed in North Florida.

I could get only a fraction of the site during our drive by. Amazingly, the traffic, the rest of the way, was cooperative with nary a problem and finally, our journey was coming to an end.

Our exit from the 408 is Orange Avenue--woo hoo! Getting closer now! Amazing sight with the interstate expansion looming over the road.

No sooner had we exited than this happened.

By the time we drove the last two miles home, the rain had stopped, allowing us to unpack the car. You knew that would happen immediately, didn't you? No rest for the weary in this household!

With no food in the house, and two people who were sick of eating out, I drove the MINI, at first forgetting how to start it (!), and went to Publix. In one word, bliss. Except that, by the time I paid for my purchases, a torrential storm had begun once again. How quickly I've forgotten the intensity of a Florida rainstorm. Eventually I ran to the car, getting soaked in the process. Driving home carefully down Michigan Avenue, I then passed the complex! Too busy worrying about my first driving experience in months in a driving rainstorm I suppose.

After a day of unpacking, washing clothes, and cleaning the dusty floors, I went back to Publix for more this afternoon and nearly the same thing happened again. I did remember how to start the cart however. Progress dear ones.

I know this post has been anything but pretty, however, in my next few posts, we will go back in time for some highlights. I'd planned on doing a post on each of the 11 states and two provinces we went through, but maybe that is too ambitious. We'll see.

your friend,

Gail