And Then the Rain Came

After what seemed like eons, rather than weeks, it has begun raining in earnest, none so welcome as this first night.

We are all rejoicing because it is so much cooler when we can count on daily rain, not to mention our plants are so much happier! So, what you do when you know rain is in your forecast is get out when you can if you don't want to get drenched. Unlike the frequent light rain we experienced in Vancouver, when there is a rainstorm in Central Florida, watch out as umbrellas are mostly worthless, no match for their intensity. Better just to stay indoors if possible. Furthermore our storms are mostly short-lived, fast and furious if you will.

With that in mind, I rode my bike over to Lake Davis late last week and although I was there to check in on the cygnets, all four whom are growing like mad,

I came across something so adorable I could not wait to share it with you. Although adult Muscovy Ducks are a sight for sore eyes, their ducklings are oh so cute! And plentiful.

There were so many, presumably hatched within the last day or two, that none of those observing could count them. That's where it is very handy to have a large computer screen and a nice clear photo to do your counting. And just how many were there?

By my count, 18!!! Lots of ducklings to keep an eye on, right? I've not returned but will have to sooner rather than later to see how many survive.

Keeping with the bird theme (!), it is not often that I see a Green Heron, but I did the other day and it was fascinating to observe. From my research, this one is what is called a "juvenile" in the birding world.

What was so fascinating about another wading bird you ask? As is the case with so many of these type of birds, they stand stock still for a good while watching for prey, until such time as, in this instance, they snatch it out of the air.

It happened so quickly, I'm not sure if it is a dragonfly, but that's what I'm thinking. It is but a few weeks until our London lads arrive and I so hope that the lakeside action keeps up until their visit. At the very least I suspect they will see some otter action as the puppies are very active right now.

With all this rain, rather than read by the pool, I've been doing that indoors and cooking, making two of my favorite dishes in the last few days. One is called Dirty Risotto by Giada, (recipe in the link).
It's not often that I prepare all of the ingredients first,

however, it sure makes it easier when I do! Not a pretty dish, it is absolutely scrumptious to eat.

While making, for the umpteenth time, Lemon Delight Pound Cake, I had to open my spare jar of Magic baking powder and I'm not thrilled.

Who knew, when we moved to Vancouver, that I would find two products that I never want to be without? There's just something about this baking powder that works wonders which, I suppose, is why they call it magic. And, of course, lard. I so wish I could find some Tenderflake! As to the cake, I had fresh blueberries so included them in the batter and yum, yum, yum.

What have I been reading? Brendan Mathews book of short stories, This is Not a Love Song, some of which are very dark indeed. As in one about a youngish father insisting that there is some sort of mold in their brand new house and goes mad, going so far as to bash in the wall with a crowbar. After reading that, My Oxford Year was the complete opposite in tone. Not entirely, as there is some sadness, but not to the degree of the former book. If the latter were a movie made twenty years ago, the lead character would most definitely be played by Hugh Grant. As I learned upon finishing it, a movie is most definitely a possibility. And now onto Carnegie's Maid.  So far, so good.

Saturday morning, Mr. Peck went fishing in spite of predicted rain.

Mrs. Peck did not go fishing, but she did go out in her kayak, particularly when the former sent a photo of a Lotus flower to the later. In spite of the sprinkles, well a girl does what a girl has to do.

There was a scad of them across the lake on the Southern Oaks side, however, I've yet to master photography from the seat of a kayak, so this will have to suffice. The rain did not help even though minor, and I am so happy to report that we were nice and cool! The RedWinged Blackbird love to hang out in the reeds.

Although I've got a waterproof tote bag where I keep my camera, I used an additional plastic bag inside of that, making getting it out and returning it a bit of a chore that will take practice.

For a few moments we've had sunshine and I thought I might go swimming now, however, as is often the case, the sky can go from blue to gray in minutes so that may not be happening after all. I am watching a Great White Heron fly across the lake outside my window as well as a woman in a row boat and a man swimming alongside her. They are heading to shore, it appears, to beat the storm.

Ahh...summer in Florida.

your friend,

Gail

So is the Post Office

Apparently, I'm not the only one who likes using Out & About for business purposes.

Well, Mrs. Camera Crazy has been out and about the last several days; with cooler temperatures, there is no excuse not to!

Indeed, weather-wise, things are looking up around these parts. Fall? What's that most Floridian's ask, however, if you've lived here long enough you begin noticing some subtle changes, and before you know it, perfect weather will be here. A glorious sight in fall is the blooming all over the city of the Golden Rain Trees. Everywhere I look while riding I see them. From afar they are a beautiful tree, however, just like most things, they are a mixed bag if you have one in your yard. Lots of debris, and some pretty funky little bugs. Years ago, when we first owned this home, there was one smack dab in the middle of the front bed, an odd location if ever there were one. Anyway, because we moved here in the Fall, I began seeing not just a few, but hundreds of tiny little bugs with pink heads all over the side of the house. A visit to the Agricultural Center solved the mystery. Eventually that was one of several trees that we've removed over the years. But others have not, and I'm happy to show you one:

Look closely and you'll see a few of those magnificent passion flowers.

So, yesterday was our art group meeting again at the former Davis Park Motel, as seen here from the Colonial Drive side.

The part you are seeing is closed off, however, the back buildings are under renovation. To date, there are several artists using spaces with more to come once they solve their fire sprinkler system problems.

One of the artists has been busy! Not only was yesterday our late Mother's birthday, but it was Bethany's as well. Robin brought cupcakes to celebrate, and here's Brandy and Bethany, taken just after we discovered that, ever since she began eating cupcakes, Bethany takes the bottom off, puts it on top of the frosting, and makes a cupcake sandwich.

Brandy was so tickled by that she wanted to take a photo and post it on fb. The meeting was informative, focusing primarily on our sales goals. We were supposed to tell how much we'd sold in the past,  and how much we want to sell in five years, however, both Brandy and I kept our mouths shut. Suffice it to say, we're doing better than some.

Amazingly enough, one of the ladies, DLynn, began talking to me about some clocks she produces. On my drive home I began to put two and two together--I bought one of her clocks as a gift for Bruce from a gallery during my visit to Sanford earlier in the year!

Yup (Bruce tells me that's a trendy saying right now), there it is on the wall beside his television. Once I arrived home, I looked at the bottom front more carefully, and there is her name etched into the glass! My goodness it is sure a small world!

After lunch I went over to the Progressive Insurance office to pick up the check for Jonathan's car. Actually, they pay MINI, and whatever is left goes to Jonathan. Although some of the offices looked spiffy, Progressive seems to be saving money by going the bare bones route.

Located only a few miles from the Belz Factory Outlet Mall, or whatever name they are calling it now, I decided to scoot over to visit the Skagen store. There are a whole bunch of ladies my age who love jewelry, particularly expensive jewelry. I'm not one of them. What I do love are watches, particularly Skagen.

Don't even tell me you are surprised I bought an orange one. Can you believe my old hands? Good grief! That's one thing I've always said, no matter how young someone may look, either before or after plastic surgery, you can pretty much gauge someone's age by their hands. At least I'm not making you look at my bum cuticles!! When Bruce got his bonus in late July he brought home some mad money for me ,which had, until yesterday, gone unspent. I did get a fantastic bargain on the brown one---original price, $275--my cost--$80. The orange one, not so dramatic, but good nonetheless.

This morning I cashed the settlement check at one bank, which was basically in the same parking lot as Jonathan's bank, and deposited it in his account. As I type, he's looking for his first real car purchase, never an easy task for anyone, regardless of age.

Remember a few weeks ago when I took a little tumble off my bike, trying to get a crow picture for one of Bruce's superintendents? Cue: bike on sidewalk....

Turns out he didn't want to use that picture for his book of poetry, however, Frank did want to use a different crow picture I sent him. Using Blurb, he gathered his writing into a self-published book through Blurb. He was kind enough to send a copy to Florida with photo credit given to you know who.

 Speaking of reading, here's my summer reading on the left and what I was hoping to be some early fall reading on the right.

So far, the book of short stories is too maudlin, "The Cold Kiss"--way too scary, and I'm not sure I care to find out what happens to the characters in "The Innocents." I had to quit reading TCK, a thriller, because I just couldn't take the suspense, at least not while I'm home alone! Looks like I struck out on my library visit.

I'm still hard at work on the quilt, although the end is in sight. While watching sports, I stitch away. Saturday afternoon I decided to try and figure out how many hand stitches go into this kind of project. Using an inch as my guide, we figured out that already I have over, are you ready? 15,000 stitches!!! And there's still the binding to attach! Which, I think I'll do just now. Happy Wednesday dear ones.