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

What are We to Make of Things?

As I sit down at my computer to type this entry, I'm just a little anxious. Should I be? How can we really know? The stock market is in free fall, and as a retiree, that is not something we like seeing. Well, that's plain stupid, no one likes seeing it!

In our case, it's not so much about the money that is being wiped out, as it is our concern because two of our sons that work in the industry. The stress is immense. Seemingly no one is immune in this crazy time as the Coronavirus spreads around the world. Imagine that if you can. I, for one, can't, until I think about the global economy and how we are all so interdependent on one another.

Is the threat as scary as it is made out to be?

As to the rest of our family, Nancy is here visiting and her store in the Atlanta area is making preparations for a more sanitary shopping experience, and as the manager, the buck will stop with her. Fallon is a RN in a hospital, so there's that to think about. Jonathan was telling me that events and meetings at the University of Texas are being either canceled, or rescheduled, as has his parents, (that would be us), canceled their trip to Austin because neither of us is super keen on flying right now.

Speaking of flying, Matt and Tom are probably just about touching down in Denver for their road trip. Apparently, having booked the tickets ages ago, their concern level was low enough that they kept to their original schedule. In this link, you can see all the places they are visiting in the West. Had we not stayed up until 2AM talking with Nancy last night, when his text came through saying they were boarding the plane, instead of typing Bin Voyage (!), I would have asked more questions. As it was, the text woke me at 7:30 and this old lady was still way to sleepy to find out more.

Then, of course, there is Maureen to think of. Nancy and I visited her today and were greeted by this on the front doors. A wise precaution indeed.

After signing in, they take your temperature to ensure the safety of the residents. I'm trying hard to remember a time in my life when a virus created such a worldwide sensation and nothing comes to mind. How about you? Anything?

For the most part though, we are going about our business, exploring new places and behaving normally. Last week we visited a campground about 95 miles south of us called,

in Bowling Green, Florida. Neither of us have ever been to Hardee County before, but now we have. The park is a former phosphate mine given to the county by Mosaic, a huge mining company. It was a lovely day to visit a lovely place.

Along the way we drove by lots of fields that looked like this,

The attraction for us is camping where there are four lakes created from the mining that are managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Visiting a place such as this gives us a good reason to learn more about our state's history. Who knew that Hardee County was in an area of the state known as "Bone Valley" because of one of the largest deposits of phosphorus in North America? And exactly how and why is phosphorus used? Fun stuff like that.

We drove around quite a bit, coming across school children probably in a canoe for the first time,

as well as having a good chat with a camper who described catching huge amounts of fish. Should we go there, I hope Bruce has that same luck!

Driving home on US 17, we made an impromptu stop in Fort Meade in search of the Peace River.  Thanks to our trusty iPad, we found it!

For more information on what the heck a Blueway Community is, click here. Naturally Bruce, along with others, tried his luck.

Unfortunately time got away from us meaning we faced more traffic coming home than we would have preferred, but in the end it was just fine. A good day was had by the both of us.

Another day we managed a Costco run without incident; apparently others have not had the same good luck. Fallon went the other evening and not only was the place mobbed, but their credit card terminals went down!!

Yet another day we decided to head over to see the campground at Kelly Park at Rock Springs, and boy were we delighted as the campground, run by Orange County, is fantastic, with very clean and spacious sites.

Although it was a chilly day, there were a few brave souls in the 67 degree water!

This young lady was not so sure of it, but she kept going!

Because Bruce worked so much, he's not visited places like I have, so seeing these local places is quite a treat for him. Here is where the spring originates.

We brought a picnic lunch, enjoying it under a bright blue sky and the shade of big oak trees. Another fun day in nature.

I mentioned I was tired and that is not only because of our nocturnal Sunday night! On Saturday I went down to watch the Pickle Ball action and ended up as a rookie. Here I am as Susan's partner who graciously allowed me to play with her.

A few months ago a resident paid to have the lines painted on the tennis court and friends have been gathering to both learn, and observe.

I ended up playing three games, not well I might add, but it was so much fun even if I had way more air balls than any partner would like!

Then on yesterday Nancy took me to the Bay Hill tournamen,t and did we ever walk! Rory McElroy is her favorite and she was hoping he would be the winner of Arnold Palmer's tournament.

We were just plain delighted when some folks allowed us to use their chairs right next to the ropes!

Alas, it was not meant to be, as it became clear that Rory was not to be the winner,  we decided to leave a little early. Nancy hailed an Uber for our ride over and was planning to do the same for getting us back to our car, however, the $26 price tag for a three mile trip did not set well with either of us, so we set off walking and after a good long while we got to her car, both of us more than a little tired. Looking at my phone I discovered that between the golf course and the walk, we'd put 6.5 miles on our feet! And then we stayed up until 2AM? What were we thinking?

What we were thinking was that we felt so fortunate that we were able to do so, unlike our sister Maureen and our late sister Carol. It is hard to imagine that the anniversary of her death was on Saturday. Between Carol and Jeff, getting out and doing things has taken on new meaning for all of us.

Doing all that we can, while we can....that is unless that darn Coronavirus turns the world upside down!

your friend,

Gail

A Room With a View

Oftentimes I am still in amazement that we were able to buy our condo with, not just one but all of the rooms with a view. Seriously we got lucky for nature lovers such as ourselves. Every single day there is something new to be captivated by, even if most of it I've seen before. That said, things are the same, such as seeing cool ducks or a sunrise, but in reality there is always a twist.

Yes, I have posted many photographs over the years of the yellow blooming Tabebuia trees, however, although I've seen the closer beautiful tree in the past, I can't recall the second one blooming at the same time. Sadly, since I took this, most all of the blooms are on the ground after some windy days, but oh man, when it is at the peak you just can't beat the sight of that shocking yellow. Here's one in full bloom that we used to observe all of the time as it was close to our home. We happened to drive by it the other morning as we were beginning another field trip.

The sight never grows old! I think this year has been especially gorgeous but then again, I probably say that every year.

Here's something crazy....I had an orchid that bloomed and was in rebuilding mode. This one has behaved a little differently as the previous stalks have never diminished, thus they remain on the plant. Well, when I told this to Nancy she thought I was crazy, but, I've searched my blog, just to confirm I haven't lost my mind, and sure enough, here is the orchid in March 2019. What I learned from re-reading that post is that it should not surprise me one minute that this orchid is behaving in an unconventional manner because Michelle and David gave it to me after Carol's death. Well, duh, if anyone was unconventional it was Carol! Rather than the original purple, it has bloomed and now looks like this.

So, not only do the previous stems remain, it has completely changed color!! It is hard to know just what to make of it.

As I sit by my window and type, I see the now familiar sign of the otters at play on the lake. Actually I can hardly believe I am typing that because never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would find myself in this situation. For some reason they, after weeks and weeks of not seeing them,  are out there every day, sometimes one, and then a few days ago, a pack of three.

Frequently when I notice them I go out back with my camera and observe the shoreline. I hope it does not bore you but I came across an interesting sight the other morning as I watched a female Red Winged Blackbird at work.

Step two:

Step three:

Pretty cool, right? Remember what I said about all the blossoms? They have to go somewhere...

Thinking about Wood Ducks, as if you were (!), we are so lucky to have a batch of them on our little lake, as some folks have never had the good fortune to have seen one in person. It won't be long before this couple makes some babies!

In a first for me, and I know that is hard to believe because seemingly, I've photographed everything Florida has to offer, but I swear I've never come across a baby turtle before as I did yesterday.

It was hard to get a good clear shot due to the aquatic plants but I know she is there!

I heard the familiar refrain of a Wood Pecker and I was hoping there was going to be a nest in this tree, yet on closer inspection, there was not the case at all.

Blooming azaleas...what's not to like?

We are nearing the end of Camillea season, so it is best to enjoy it while we can.

Increasingly we are becoming miserable in Orlando, in part because new people keep moving here in droves, making our traffic situation a nightmare. By some accounts, 1,500 people move to our region each WEEK! Heading out on field trips, just getting out of the metropolitan Orlando region often times takes as long as getting to our destination. Although way behind now, eventually it appears as if we will end up like the Los Angeles region that goes on forever, not something we look forward to.

That said, once we do pull into LPV, the world slows down and we LOVE our room with a view. Actually, the whole property is chock full of nature on both lakes. You just cannot beat the sunsets.

On the subject of fantastic cloud formations, this article from the New York Times, is fascinating to say the least. Read it here! 

Holy Cow...just came up on my computer that Michael Bloomburg is backing out of the race! I guess you can't necessarily buy votes after all.

your friend,

Gail