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. :(

A Nature Story

While I was typing my last post, Sunday afternoon, Bruce went down to the big lake where he meets with friends most afternoons, six feet apart, of course. Before leaving the house, I'd shown him the Anhinga photograph from the previous evening, and as such I wrote that he was pretty convinced it was some sort of natural material that was on the beak from the bird stabbing the bottom of the lake.

The photo above is one that I showed him, taken as the Anhinga was on the dock beside the red pontoon boat. Well, not long after he left, Susan texted that Bruce was on the lakeshore next to a big bird. Hmmm....

Upon returning Bruce told me that, indeed, that piece of "whatever" was still around the beak. I began getting a little nervous, wondering what it could be, and why it would not come off. So, early the next morning, just after sunrise,

I went in search, riding my bike down to the dock where first I spotted it. Sure enough, the Anhinga was sitting on top of the boat, at first curled up, but then it turned and looked straight at me.

The maintenance supervisor was already down at the pool and I enlisted his help. Alan put on some work gloves, climbed on the boat, and was quite close, but had second thoughts because of the sharp beak. Our worry continued growing. I rode home and Bruce and I discussed what to do, but by the time we returned it had flown off.

So, we practiced pickleball. At the same time, Connie, Gayle, and Susan were all doing their walk and when they got to the boat ramp, there was our bird which they examined. They began worrying. Then along came Patti and Lauren who joined the worrying crowd. After watching the bird fly to a nearby dock, Lauren got on her paddleboard, hoping to get close, yet again, the bird took off.

Once I was home, I got on my bicycle to check out a front porch nest. Say what? Yes, the day before I heard from Nancy that, although they are spending most of their time at their New Smyrna Beach condo for safe keeping, she had to come into Orlando for an errand on Friday, discovering a tiny nest in the wreath on her front door. She called to ask if I could check it out and tell her what kind of bird it is. Sure, I can do that.

Can you find her? It's a little Carolina Wren who has made a nest in the back part of the wreath! These are tiny birds with a powerful voice, whose song can be heard from a long ways away. Here's all I could get of the inside of the nest once she'd flown off.

Having told her I'd keep my eye on it daily, that was my mission. They live adjacent to the boat ramp so, after my wellness check, I rode around the corner and there was our bird.

Most of the time I don't carry my phone around, however, on this occasion I did, so I called Bruce. One thing I'd forgotten to mention is that he'd made calls to all of the bird rescue operations that we are aware of before we went to play. The first caller could not help, but gave him numbers of others who might be able to do so. During one of his conversations they recommended that he throw a blanket over the bird in order to hold it so as to remove the debris. He'd also been told to call Sea World, which he did, and was awaiting a return call. That is where things stood when I saw the bird again. As I was waiting for him, Lauren rode up on her bicycle and we talked about how sad we were because by now we realized it could not eat, and probably hadn't for several days. The landscape guys were there having their lunch so one of them joined the rescue party.

Inching closer and closer, Bruce was just ready to drop the quilt when the bird took off, going underwater as is their natural instinct. You have seen plenty of photographs of their behavior before in this space, so there is no need to rehash. As if I could have helped, I'd put my camera on my shoulder, better to hold the other towel Bruce brought, so there are no rescue shots to be shared. What happened is the landscape guy spotted it underwater, Lauren swooped in, grabbing it from behind, allowing Bruce the opportunity to remove the debris!! And to answer your question ahead of time, no one is sure what it was and it dropped from Bruce's hand before we could examine it further. Nevertheless, all of us were thrilled when it took off!

I just love this photo of the two of them, so thrilled with the happy ending. Look very closely and you will see a tiny speck of the Anhinga behind Lauren.

All afternoon, it was all we could talk about! So much so that we ended up going back to the lake to check on it, as one of the people Bruce talked to said they still might not eat. We already knew this one did not behave in that manner because after the rescue, B walked back to the ramp, and saw it with a fish! Well, this may, or may not be the one.

Following it down the dock, we wondered what it would do. I took a photo for comparison as it was surveying the territory at the edge of the dock.

Try as we might, we came to no clear conclusion. If I had to guess, our Anhinga is back out fishing and drying its wings normally, as that is what they spend their days doing.

Wasn't that an exciting nature story?

I suppose one of the things that most people find the hardest during this quarantine period is that the days run into one another, each day much the same as the last. Retired folks know how to do that well, however, the younger generation is used the hustle and bustle of life that while sometimes is overwhelming, at least it is more exciting than staying close to home. Many people I talk to are managing the best that they can, but are so looking forward to the day that they can once again, attend their yoga class, go clothes shopping, have lunch out, or attend a sporting event or concert. Bruce just mentioned that he had an upcoming meeting set for May 13th and don't we have camping reservations at Silver Springs State Park? We wish! Those were canceled weeks ago and not by me! There is a lot of criticism about our governor allowing municipalities to open their beaches, that it is not the right move. People are certainly entitled to that opinion, mostly formed from some reckless behavior of spring breakers who did not heed social distancing rules and were very likely not Floridians. I, on the other hand, have a hard time thinking how walking on the beach is any different than walking in a park. In fact, it is far easier to keep your distance on the shore than it is in a city park. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Today's paper reports that Orange County's tourist tax revenue is predicted to drop by over $100 million dollars, to no one's surprise. That same paper is laying employees off because advertising revenue has fallen precipitously. Bruce had his very first Facetime doctor's appointment the other day and even he mentioned that they are struggling to keep the practice going. BTW--just a little check up, Bruce is fine. The dominoes continue to fall don't they?

Thankfully the ducks just keep having babies,

and the two orphans seem to be hanging in there. I sat by the lake, under the tree canopy,  finishing the book I've been reading, Henry Himself, and the orphans came onshore with that big new family of ten ducklings to eat the seed Julie leaves for them.

I guess they are, against all odds, what you might call survivors. Praying that we all will be.

your friend,

Gail

Dirt Under Her Fingernails

If you thought for a moment that I was done with flowers, you were sadly mistaken. We've only just begun.

Turning my attention to our yard, I neglected to mention that our baby tabebuia tree is now in bloom, such as it is.

Originally Gerry put in a pink one, however as much as I like the pink variety, I like the yellow even better, so he changed it out before firing me.  It is absolutely thrilling when the first cluster of blooms open up; next year, Lord willing, it will be even larger and more impressive. Those azaleas are looking mighty fine, don't you agree?

I made a trip to both Wal Mart and Lowes yesterday, with several projects in mind. While at Ross on Tuesday, getting my senior discount, I found another glass jar which begged to become a terrarium. Seriously, at the outset I thought one would be sufficient, but seeing this jar changed my mind in a heart beat. It was just too cute to pass up. When Angela saw it in it's pre-planting stage she couldn't believe I found it at Ross. She complained that she never finds anything there. I say she's just not looking.

I intentionally left this one dark to show off that cute little glass birdie on top! While making a collage last night, I found, upon inspecting the photo of the first terrarium, that it has grown a bunch already. I'll have to get out the scissors soon and do some pruning!

I didn't find any small plants at Wal Mart, but I did find some hanging baskets for $7.00, brimming with a captivating shade of yellow petunias. I know, they won't last much longer, but I could NOT resist. According to Mr. Randy, our garden curator at the Polasek, plastic containers are the best at keeping plants moist. He knows a thing or two about container gardening so, following his advice, I bought these large green planters. Voila!

You might notice that the light is getting dim because this was the last of my projects. Forgetting to wear my gloves resulted in some pretty dirty fingernails, that's for sure.

Another project was splitting an extremely root-bound peace lily. Doesn't sound so hard, right? It was. In fact, I had to get out my kitchen cleaver, rocking it back and forth through the roots. My goodness! I hope that now both sections will thrive in their new containers.

I planted more petunias, a lovely coral shade, as well as some dynamite crimson dahlias for the patio tables.

Neglecting the above advice about using plastic pots, these also came from Ross last fall. To be honest, I think I find more things at Ross than any of my other favorite discount stores. Their prices are the best for so many things, especially pillows, housewares, and shoes. Savvy readers know this already.

Unaccustomed to much outdoor activity, I was slightly weary when all was said and done last evening. My sister Lisa is a dynamo working outdoors. Me, not so much these days.

I couldn't help but think of Lisa when I saw this article from the Times: Healthy Eating is Overrated
There are lots of comments from readers, most of which are just plain ridiculous to me. No doubt, those eating habits of the subjects didn't start when they were eighty. That generation never gave much thought to what they ate, they were glad to enjoy the variety of modern food choices. With the food police condemning something most days, isn't it a wonder we can eat anything safely? Hype I say. Anything in moderation...

My street art loving readers may find this interesting:  Photograffeur

I mentioned making a collage last evening, planning to call it "The Domestic Life." Here's what I've done so far, however, I'm not sure it's good enough to show just yet.

Funny, now that I see it by the light of day, some of these have been posted on this very blog before. We'll see. I'll be doing my first "art show' of the season March 12th at Baldwin Park and I want to have several ones to show. Definitely the one that's been selling, which by the way, has a fairly large image of my wrist and hand with a lady bug on it. Nice Skagen watch too. I wasn't sure how folks would react, but they seem to like it just fine.

This morning I went to meet with the ladies for bridge practice at the Einsteins in Maitland. David, while in high school worked at one of the first in town. I can still remember how upset he was when they raised the price of a bagel from 50 cents to 60. That's my boy!

Today there were two new ladies, whom, although they are in the class, I've yet to chat with. I've liked everyone very much. This is where the real learning comes in with practice and discussion. Hmm...what should I bid? How many points do you have? Do you have a major suit? So many, many rules to follow. We all agree that at our age it's hard to keep them all straight!

Off to the store to buy more potting soil because yesterday I had to skimp a bit trying to stretch what I had. Tomorrow there will be more evidence that our part of the world is awakening with the beauty of spring. Stay tuned.....

Seasonal

As it turns out, I take the same kinds of photos each season, hopefully improving on last years output. What I mean by that is each spring I go crazy for fruits and vegetables and all of the budding flowers, and is the case with this album some peaches on the tree. I've found another gardener near the house who allowed me access to her yard--thus I now have growing peaches added to my photo library. I've taken so many new things I thought I'd put a little album together showing you what I've been up to.

I've been selling quite a few wine related shots, all taken either in the sunroom or in the back yard, that I'm constantly thinking up something new to try. I saw this jug wine while shopping with Bruce and thought maybe I could dream something up. I believe I'd call it "The Last Drop" if I have it printed. If you would be so kind as to let me know if you think either one is effective, it would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, our second throne has arrived! Actually, I'm naming all the new chairs to go along with the previously mentioned "Groovy Chair." "Throne" sounded right to me. When I get the new/old chair done with the orange zebra print, we'll be calling that the Ze-bra chair. Actually, I can't think of a way to write it, but what we're going for is how Angela pronounces zebra. I rarely notice her British accent until she pronounces something so differently. Garage comes to mind--gar-age. Just adding a little fun to our lives. Doesn't take much to amuse me, does it?

While brushing my teeth in the shower the other morning, which if you're not using the drenching time to multi-task, you are missing a good chance. I digress... What I meant to say is that I was also thinking how much I would miss my mother-in-law's reaction to our new space. One of the things that admittedly drove me absolutely crazy was how her reaction to most things new was, "Now, that is different". These days, of course, I miss hearing her say those words, which I am 100% certain she would have said on seeing my crazy choice of fabrics! On occasion I'd look up at the market, and there she would be, having made the long drive down from Zellwood without letting us know she was coming. Once she got so lost downtown, she went the wrong way on a One Way street, causing us to question her driving skills. Nevertheless, she arrived, and if I read her correctly, she was very proud of what I was doing, although she never said that. She would go through my baskets, exclaiming at all the crazy shots--"Now that is different"! You know what? She was right, I do have a lot of different things for sale. At this season of our life, I so often think about the Joni Mitchell song with the lyrics--"you don't know what you've got till it's gone". Isn't that the truth?

Bruce has gone back to work today after a five day respite at our home. I cannot tell you how many years it has been since he's done so. I suggested we go somewhere at least one of the days, however, he preferred his "staycation", and, quite frankly, who could blame him? Baxter and I just loved having him here.

Friday Kelly came for lunch and a visit, with Bruce sharing our chicken salad. He'd offered to leave, but I said "No way"; I'm glad he got to know Kelly a little bit better. Later that day I made the tomato tart after a quick trip to our wonderful produce store, Clemons. It was such a treat, walking in seeing the colorful produce piled high. The crops are all late due to the cold, but they are coming in fast now. Isn't the watermelon beautiful? Bill stopped by at dinner time to show off his new gigantic Hummer he purchased from Mark Tremonti. Oh my, is it huge and fancy, not to mention black. If you'll recall Mark is the guitarist for the once, wildly popular band, Creed. He's still making lots of money compared to most folks, however, nothing like he did in Creed's heyday. Bill will have plenty of room for his gear now.

For a change, the Saturday market was pretty good, and Sunday wasn't bad either. Wouldn't you just know it though--after a week of absolutely gorgeous weather, we awoke to leaden skies on Sunday, which eventually yielded rain. We closed up early amidst the rain, however, we managed to keep everything inside the tent dry. This has definitely been a challenging year weather wise.

Heading out to see what seasonal photos I can take today!

Celebrate? Who is Celebrating?

As discussed in our previous post, tax day loomed. Well, no sense putting off the pain any longer after picking up our return from Olga. Bad news for this little couple as it was even more than I told you about--$2,995! Ironically, I sent it with this stamp:

As you can imagine, we were not celebrating. Turns out self employment tax added quite a bit to the total. Bruce says be glad we have to pay plenty; no doubt that's good advice, however, it's easier said than done. At least for yesterday. That's one thing about me, I may fuss and fume for a day, but that's about it. Call me on it if I complain again, will you?

Just as I was getting in the car to head to the post office, I saw this turtle in our yard. Bruce, if you can believe it, was home taking a vacation day, and I quickly called his attention to pictured turtle. She laid two eggs which later in the day were missing from the hole.....wonder what happened???

A vacation day to some folks means rest, but not to Mr. Brucer--he finds it relaxing doing home projects. Over the weekend he began putting new door hardware on our interior doors, changing out the hodgepodge we had to sleek new brushed nickel handles. Finishing the task yesterday took most of the day, and if you'll indulge me a moment, I must say they look terrific. The old holes etc. weren't as compatible as he'd hoped, however, being the inventor that he is, he fashioned a jig to make it all work. Jigs, my friends, are patterns of a sort. I'm making this sound terribly simplistic, which of course it's not, but hopefully, you'll get the gist of things. My, aren't we getting stylish?

Later in the day Michelle came by to discuss her decorating project, and of course I couldn't resist asking her if I could take her photograph. I had to beg a bit, but here's one of them I like:

While we were taking the photos we were chatting about the viewing party Monday night for the reality show, Ryan, (Bill's bass player), is on at the moment. Have I mentioned it? If not, here's the link:"Tough Love". Scroll down the page until you come to the couple, "The Drama-Ramas", or something like that. In my opinion people are crazy to go on these shows, but as I explained to Michelle, I hardly understand young people anymore. Man, am I getting old, or what??

After our mini photo shoot we went over to Angela's house to see how the new construction is coming, as well as to show her their lovely home. With Bruce's help she recently completed a sofa table, if you can imagine. I swiped this beautiful vase of lilies to photograph while I was there. These lilies* are blooming everywhere in our neighborhood, as is everything else. It's hard not to want to photograph all of the beauty after our horrible winter. Oh, how I love spring!

Bruce is home again today and our major project for today was cleaning the roof and gutters, which I'm happy to say is now complete. Let's hope this helps with all the oak "furries", and leaves blowing into the pool from their hiding place in our gutters!

We're off to get a little paint brush and a few other errands, so until we meet again--have an awesome day!

****Driving home from our shopping excursion I realized I'd mislabeled the flowers--they are amaryllis. Duh!

Week Four

You wouldn't think it could be as much work as it is to set up our booth but I'm here to tell you, it is. Because the market is closed next Sunday for Fiesta in the Park, they kept it open yesterday for the vendors who need the income. Fortunately, we are not among them because our hourly rate is pretty tiny at this point. We had five sales--all to strangers I might add--and the total for that was $140. We are establishing ourselves so we went ahead and set up.

The weather was cold and dreary until about 1pm, and then it became lovely two hours before closing. I was feeling pretty chipper for most of the day. I helped Bruce carry stuff etc. Unfortunately, after I cooked dinner I was beat and got in bed at 8pm--asleep soon thereafter. I didn't get up till 7 this morning! I have a big geology test tomorrow that I've already been studying for, but more today. Math homework, and that Shakespeare paper are hanging over my head as well. Only two more weeks of classes until finals!

We got a new vendor across from us name Marie. She paints silk, and is quite charming. Here is a little group in front of her booth. The older couple's clothing is spring personified.

I saw this in an obituary notice the other day. The son speaking about his mother--"she never got her drivers license but she was one hell of a back seat driver." She was named Easter but he declared that she was definitely not named after the holiday whatever that means. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he described her as June Cleaver with an edge?

Spring is in the Air

Today the sky is a brilliant blue, and the temperature right now is 50 degrees. Our yard is filled with pretty robins twittering and looking for food ; unfortunately, they are camera shy. I'm hoping this means there are warmer days ahead as my winter wardrobe is being taxed.
I have been doing algebra homework and next up is reading for Humanities. I found out Saturday while doing a degree audit that I have a bit more to do to complete my AA than I thought. Matthew and I consulted on it and he gave me some advice that is sound. I may have to put off my graduation until after the fall semester. I feel pretty good about that; I would be done this semester if I had not gotten ill. I've had to take it pretty easy for the last eight months but I'm hoping I am on the upswing now.
We worked on more framing of photos yesterday; Bruce is very confident about the venture, I hope he is right and I don't make a fool of myself.