The Tyranny of Flies

As a girl growing up in Orlando, in a home with six children and no air conditioning,  I was well acquainted with black flies. The constant refrain of "shut the door" rang throughout our home as doors were opened and closed with great frequency, as you can well imagine. Flies clung to the screens, looking for a way out, largely without success because having, AND using, a fly swatter was commonplace. With the constant construction in our area along with the attending urban sprawl, flies are generally not much of a problem these days as they have been pushed out with each concrete pour. Thus, a fly swatter or other means of keeping flies at bay was not part of our camping gear. We are rethinking that after our time at Kolomoki Mounds State Park. OH MY GOODNESS, were they ever a nuisance, crawling all over our table as well as lighting on our bodies. At least they did not bite.

The campsite was perfect but those flies were anything but. With that out of the way, let's look at the set up as it happened. 

Leaving the house just after daylight on Monday we made good time, arriving at the park about half past one. Immediately we noticed it was both hot and humid, not ideal but as you will soon see, better than some of the other weather we encountered. Our spot was lakeside, #3. 

The first order of business is deciding where is the best place to set up the tent in relation to the other features such as the fire ring. Unfortunately, the weather forecast called for rain most days so that was the deciding factor. How best to stay dry? Normally we prefer a little separation between the tent and picnic table, but as we found out the next day, this arrangement was a Godsend. 

That air mattress....talk about a win! My quilt is now a bit small however with such warm temperatures, wew certainly did not need much cover.

Observant readers will note that there are three chairs at our site, two for day use and the folding chair for stargazing. And while there was, much to my delight, stargazing done in that chair, it's real value was for day use as it is far more comfortable than the other ones. That will be our next purchase, some better camp chairs, that is as long as they will fit in the car. 

Following lunch Bruce spent some time splitting wood for kindling, using pieces of a crate from a church project. 

While the weather was still pleasant I took my bike out for a spin, first around the campground loop,

followed by the big climb up the hill to the second part of the park. About half way up, I had to get off and walk my bike, even though Bruce keeps telling me to gear down, walking works for me.

While it may not look daunting to you, it was for me. Perhaps looking back down shows the grade better?

While it was mostly still green, there were some very bright spots of color to be seen.

Riding down that hill was a blast, albeit having the brakes on most of the way to be safe! Our site looks so pretty amongst the trees. At this point of our stay, there were but about five other occupied sites out of 24.

One of the sites was occupied by a Dad and his two children who stopped to chat. By that time the clouds were building and my dream of seeing loads of stars was looking as if it would not come true. This gentleman told me the same thing happened the night before and not to lose heart because after dark the stars not only appeared, but he saw the Milky Way! With that hope in mind, I tried setting up my camera closer to the lake away from all obstructions.

Although I'd done plenty of pre-trip research, my efforts were in vain as I just could not figure out how to set the camera properly. Still, I had hope.

Night fell and the lights came on. The table was set, the fire was ablaze, while the oven was heating up our dinner.

The Shepards Pie turned out even better than I'd hoped. (one of the few times the flies stayed away!)

This trip we decided to use the large sink at the restroom building for dishwashing which worked just fine if one doesn't mind walking aways to use it. We didn't mind at all as long as we had our headlamps! 

And then the magic began as the clouds indeed moved out and stars, like diamonds in the sky, began appearing. Unplugging our tent lights to diminish distraction, I tried setting up the camera again, to no avail. Pretty soon that young man, along with his daughter, came along as they were taking their trash to the dumpster. He asked if he could help and of course I said YES! Sadly he was clueless as to how to operate my camera, but he sure tried. Nonetheless, I did see the MILKY WAY over our heads which was absolutely more than I could have hoped for. Sorry, Camera Crazy readers, I have no photographic evidence. You'll have to trust me on this one.

Early to bed, early to rise is our modus operandi and it holds true while camping, so it was time to try out that new fat air mattress with all of the "windows" open in the tent. Every now and again if we woke up we would look up in absolute wonder. It's a beautiful world out there!

your friend,

Gail

A Test Run

Before we talk about our test run, let's talk toothpaste. I know, not the most exciting topic, but hey, we all use it every day and when I discovered this at Costco, I thought why not? 

While I have no idea how whitening it is, I can vouch for the invigorating mint flavor. Has anyone else tried a toothpaste with charcoal before? I absolutely love it and it makes me look forward to brushing my teeth, never a bad thing, right?

So, I mentioned in my last post, that we were planning another camping trip; tomorrow is the day. And while I do love tent camping, I freely admit that getting off the ground from a low air mattress has its drawbacks for senior citizens. So, I went to Costco and bought a higher mattress with a built in pump. Instead of the full size mattress we'd been using, this one is a queen, mostly because it is way hard to find the smaller size. Anyway, we blew it up on top of our bed and it took less than five minutes to inflate, using the built in plug. We never camp without electricity so there is no problem there. Bruce moved it out into the living room,

along with our pillows and a quilt and there we slept on Wednesday night for a test run. A big win for the Pecks! My full report when we return.

One day we did not play Pickleball! Yup, it is true. Instead I went with Bruce to help him with a project at church. It turns out that the sign on New England just fell over and John called Bruce to the rescue. All our wet weather can do a number on wood over time and it turned out that the wood posts were, well, here you go--rotten.

Originally he'd thought to cut off the legs and attach new ones but on second thought he cut them off halfway,

using a handsaw from his early days as a carpenter. I can make stuff but Bruce can create ideas out of nothing, thus, he put a new post on either side burying it close to the sides. After digging holes about eight feet deep, in the posts went and before leaving both sides had a new foundation.

John is in charge of painting the posts white, which they very well may be as I type this post. Another thing he did, this time for me, is plant some new dwarf azaleas in our little garden area in front of the "Jack in the Beanstalk" tree. Before it was a wild mess with four foot Pentas and Sunpatiens, but when I came home from Clemons with these beautiful plants, he did the planting. They were impossible to resist.

Not only are they super pretty, but having the bed so tidy is fantastic.

Yesterday I put the Vortex to the test and it pretty much worked like a charm, albeit one pan at a time. I made some Pumpkin muffins for our trip, as well as some brownies. Then because the courts were wet from an overnight rain, this morning we worked on getting ready, with Bruce packing the car, putting the kayak and bikes on the car, and packing all of the other gear. I spent hours in the kitchen making a pasta salad and granola. So that one pan at a time business I mentioned, it took about four separate cookings to make the granola because the oven only holds an 8" pan.

Now it is dinner time and for that we are having some corn on the cob, fried okra, and air fried spicy chicken. See, I'm a glutton for punishment, adding that fried okra into my day! Another thing  I made was the meat and veggies for shepherds pie because I had some leftover mashed potatoes that will work nicely  after our six or seven hour drive, plus the set up, we'll be able to have dinner on in a jiffy. It is getting dark so early that this will make things easier.

I abhor making lists, but in my old age, lists may play a bigger role in my future than I'm accustomed to. I made this one so that in the morning, when we pack the cooler, I won't forget a thing. This campground is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, making running to the store not really an option!

Unfortunately with an oncoming storm, the weather is not looking great for our trip which, of course, is not ideal. In anticipation of taking some dark sky photos, earlier this week I went looking for my rarely used tripod. Well, without a top to it, that wasn't going to work, so a trip to Target solved that problem. If I get really, really lucky, maybe one night we will have stars, but looking at the forecast, I'm lowering my expectations. 

Well, I'm pooped so that's it for me tonight because we've got an early start in the morning. Until then, enjoy Friday night's sunset.

Finally, keep the faith friends.

Make of this what you will. xx

your friend,

Gail

Let's Not Forget Nature

Whew...the election season is still in limbo, but at least there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Seriously, has there ever been a more drawn out election cycle as this past one? Our house phone will now go silent, and the near constant onslaught of fundraising text messages and emails will cease and not a moment too soon for me. Whatever the outcome, let us go forward in peace. I was thinking the other day that I have been writing this blog through FOUR presidential elections! Here is 2008, (which I noticed all these years later) has a spelling mishap, 2012, and 2016. While our leadership may change, here I sit at my computer writing mostly the same stuff over and over. (Note to Matthew if he is reading, the 2012 post will be of interest to you.)

Which brings me to birds which have been mostly absent from this space of late. Today seems like an excellent day to focus on the never changing beauty of nature. Mostly birds, but I'm showing a few other goodies for balance. Like this pretty found in the front garden here.

Because of our newfound obsession with Pickleball, our walks around Lake Davis are nearly nonexistent prompting me to head over there (before our time on the courts) so that I might see the Egyptian Goose goslings for myself. No one seems to know how this unusual bird came to reside there, but I'm delighted they have. 

I took these several weeks ago so they are, according to my friend Candy who I ran into at Publix yesterday, growing by leaps and bounds. One thing I noticed on the day I was there was the beauty of their feathers which are really extraordinary. Many layered, there are a multitude of colors hidden under their interesting coat of feathers.

Notice that little bit of nearly hidden teal? One of them spread their wings for a bit of preening, showing off even more colors. 

Those ducklings! Oh my! I must find time to see how big they have gotten before they are all grown up!

Speaking of Pickleball, Nancy (in the pink shorts), ever the stoic, continued playing despite her swollen and bruised foot because, well, once you've tried it, you want to keep playing, and playing, and playing!

She's back home now, working hard, and truth be told, longing to return here ASAP! 

On any number of days, butterflies will fly by while we are playing, but one day something else happened. Patti noticed something on the other court....turns out a bird had a hold of this beautiful moth and dropped it, thus the torn wing.

Isn't it fantastic? Just as the Egyptian Goose, so much interest under those wings. 

Remarkably, I convinced B to take a day off in order to go to Lake Apopka Wildlife drive for the morning which was sadly somewhat slow, however I did see this cute bird that I cannot identify for the life of me.

Gator sightings were few and far between, picking up steam over time; about 20 or so during the drive.

Lots of Osprey were out fishing and I was thrilled to see a Belted Kingfisher on a branch, even if it was nearly out of my camera's range.

Although I've heard them out back, and even seen a few diving for fish, they are way too quick for my photographic skills! 

Here's another new bird to me...an Eastern Phoebe, or so I think.

One afternoon I saw a bunch of bird activity in the trees out the bedroom window. Camera in hand, I rushed outside to see what was happening. As a matter of fact a lot was happening, but I was unable to capture much of the zooming birds, however I did manage to get one shot of what I've learned is a American Redstart, a very beautiful bird that I've never before seen.

Sadly, they have since stayed away. Because the weather continued to be so warm, folks were out on the lake, keeping cool and having fun. Have you ever been on a paddleboard? I've been on David's just once and it is fun once you get your balance.Daylight savings time came and went with me forgetting to turn the clocks back ahead of time as is my norm. For some reason I thought it was this upcoming weekend. Good thing we don't have jobs! Oh wait, Bruce told Tom we do have a job and that is learning to play....Pickleball! With as much time as we devote to it, you would think it was a job. 😀Because I have never played a sport before, the learning curve for me is very steep.

Nothing new to report on the oven I am sad to report. I have baked a bit, using up some old bananas for both muffins,

and some little loaves of banana bread. 

Fortunately I already had some small loaf pans as well as a 6 well muffin pan that I bought for camping. The Vortex does a fine job, but I still want my oven to work so I can expand my baking repertoire. Beggars can't be choosers then, can they? Thanks Fallon and Bill!

On another note, we are going camping again next week! 

Stay tuned....

your friend,

Gail

On Backorder

Calling the appliance repair folks following lunch yesterday, my expectations were low which proved to be a good state of mind going into the marathon call. At first the woman said the part was to be delivered to their office today, except she had the wrong person. Did she have any news at all? Nope. I called Whirlpool and was on hold for nearly 40 minutes with the same result...no news on when the elusive parts would arrive. To say that it frustrates me is a bit of an understatement because there is seemingly no way to have my questions answered. What exactly does it mean that it is on backorder and how is it that NO ONE seems to have any tracking number? Without my new little Vortex I don't know how I would still have all of my hair because I was on the verge of tearing it out!! The saga that began on September 16th continues....

More recently, as in last evening, I finished a novel, The Snow Child, that captivated me from page one. Oh my goodness! Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because I was transported from pool side in Orlando to a fantastical snowy landscape? And yes, I was in the pool on October 29th, the latest I can ever remember. Not especially saying a lot due to my memory but it sure seems late to me. After a week in which we watched the temperature soar to 91 degrees, a "cold" front came through overnight and today we will not reach 80! Hallelujah!

After somewhat of a sunrise drought (can that even be a thing?) surprise!

When last I wrote, new projects were mentioned but went unexplained, so today let's talk about that. Many years ago, as in six, which I only knew because I found the post about it here, racing home from my bike ride, I
convinced Bruce to follow me down the street to pick a neighbor's curbside trash. Although he was very skeptical he went along with my idea for using said trunk in our sunroom as a coffee table

Never a fan, periodically he would say, I'm going to paint that, except other stuff took precedent. Well, my friends, should you be so inclined, click on that link to learn about it in real time. Should that not be to your liking, here's what it looked like after he did some sanding.

Using paint we already had, he painted the chest, along with the individual brads and hardware.

And then there were three pieces of furniture in the Peck household painted teal!

The other project was the dust ruffle that I had put off for far too long, thinking maybe I would wait until Nancy arrived last Friday to help me with it. Alas, with Bruce's help it is done. Nancy had given me the great idea of buying a fitted sheet for the box spring and sewing the fabric to that in order to keep it from slipping around. I made French seams, sewing eight panels together along with the stitching to make the gathering. Note, the sew line made with Magic marker.

Even though I'd measured everything carefully I was holding my breath after sewing, hoping it would be the proper length. Hurray--it worked!

And now, my dear readers, after nearly a year of on again/off again work, it is finally complete.

The Volkswagen print is from our recent trip to Pine Mountain. Isn't it cute? Both of us had a VW as a first car, mine was a '63, and Bruce's was a '65. 😀

Before Nancy arrived I asked her what she wanted to do while here and her reply was telling....play pickleball and not wear a mask all day! She has gotten her wish, however, there was one small glitch, an injury on the second day! Rolling her ankle, she fell gracefully to the court as everyone stood around in disbelief. The good news is that although very bruised and swollen, she did not break it and in fact, she's been back on the court already, beating her sister with Bruce as her partner, two games to one! On Tuesday, her birthday, we had lunch out at The Capital Grille, eating outdoors on the patio. As is often the case, she's visited with a few friends as well as our brother Pat. PLUS, she cut my hair and did my nails!

Speaking of family, I received an odd message recently from a woman who told me that about some land in Fancy Farm, KY that our Mother was a part owner of back in the day. It is way too complicated for this space, but one thing of note is that she explained that she'd been paying the taxes on the property for 30 years, thus, she wanted all of my siblings to sign over our rights to repay her. Our son Bill called the property assessor's office there, learning that last years tax bill was $38 on 2.75 acres. Imagine that! Because we cannot visit Maureen yet to explain the matter, I've requested that we sort this out post Covid-19. Sadly, when that will be is anyone's guess. We had a nice long chat with Matt and Tom, learning first hand how things are in Britain. What a mess we are in! 

I made a quick trip to the mall last week on a Saturday afternoon and was I ever surprised to see folks lining up to go into the Gucci store. Apparently some folks are still making money.

Interestingly enough, they are standing in front of what will become a revamped Tiffany store. 

Because of the family matter in the previous paragraph, I began sorting through drawers and folders of old papers. Coming across records from my time in x-ray school, is it any wonder that I find offense when health care workers look so sloppy? It was ingrained in me all those years ago! Can you even imagine this happening these days? Of course you can't!

What really puzzles me is that grade of 3 in hygiene. Was I not ironing my uniforms? Perhaps there were runs in my stocking? My white Clinic shoes weren't shiny enough? That couldn't possibly have been it as shining shoes was as natural to me as waking up in the morning. And you wonder why that is? Because from the time we were able, all of the Price children were made to shine their shoes daily and woe to those who did not comply! Emotional status???

Ha ha! When this was written I was 17 years old! About those grades, wanting A's on my report card? Yup, that was a thing in our household too, anything less than a B was grounds for six weeks of restrictions! Discovering all of my old report cards during this paper shuffling, I must have been on restrictions more than I remembered. I even got a D in 10th grade English! In today's paper there is an article about Seminole County wanting the state to allow NO grades for this year. Imagine that, eh? 

Just the other day I was telling someone that seemingly no one has been unaffected during this pandemic even if they have not contracted the virus. Backorder indeed! How about you, what has been your experience? By the way, Claussen pickles are still hard to come by. 😞

David is coming along nicely following his surgery and Cris is showing baby steps of improvement so the news is not all bad. I will leave you with a shot of the lovely Angel Trumpet tree in full bloom.

Pickleball is calling....

your friend,

Gail

A Night in Live Oak

Our final stop was Bill and Lisa's new place in Live Oak. Arriving in the middle of the afternoon, after a pleasant drive from the campground. You may recall we visited there in late winter when they were in the midst of moving in, or I should say Bill was there because Lisa was still working in Naples. I was anxious to see the changes now that Lisa has retired and they are mostly settled. For the last 25+ years they have had acreage, so while looking to move to North Florida, these 10 acres fit the bill. 

I'll admit I was a wee bit anxious about staying in our friend's home, thinking perhaps we would camp in their yard, however, they rarely go anywhere and have not been in any close groups, so putting my fears aside, we brought our bags inside and then began touring the property on their electric golf cart. There was a lot to see, but the highlight for me was what I am dubbing their avenue of trees, specifically Live Oaks.

One of the previous owners had all sorts of schemes between horses, an oak nurser,y and so many more I can only think of one and that is a big one. He had an Ostrich farm! What he did with them I have no clue. That said, Bill and Lisa are still finding blown eggs, at last count, nearly 150. As such, they are now gifting their guests with one as a souvenir.

 And that is how we came to have one for ourselves, placing it amongst some of our our other treasures.

While still unclear how people use them for crafts, apparently that is a thing because I found them on Amazon for sale. 

As we were heading into the area with the oak trees in pots, Lisa pulled up short in order not to run into this guy! Yikes!!

In some of the pastures there were really neat wildflowers growing,

as well as along the fence lines.

They have just added on a large screen room with a wonderful firepit on the adjoining patio. There is even a pond for fishing and wildlife, not to mention birds as well.Speaking of birds, Lisa takes her feeding seriously, including hummingbirds, one of which I saw within minutes of arriving

Plenty of room for front yard camping!
     Following a spectacular sunset,

we enjoyed fellowship around a roaring fire. I will admit that sleeping in a real bed was not necessarily unwelcome, nor the morning shower! Following breakfast, Bill hooked up their boat to his pickup while Lisa and I rode together to launch the boat on the Suwannee River for a cruise. Although the sky was overcast, it remained dry as we cruised for a good long while. Maybe ten miles or so? 

The riverbank runs from rocky, with visible tree roots, 

 as well as houses set high above the river.

As we rode along there was ample evidence of how high the river can rise during heavy rains, leaving marks on the few bridges we saw.  Woo hoo...a little bit of sunshine.

Many, many years ago, Bruce and Jonathan, along with some other men from our church, canoe camped along the Suwannee, using the many natural bluffs for their campsites, not unlike these folks.

With beautiful scenery, mild temperatures and fantastic company, the Suwannee river cruise was so special and a way to really appreciate the real Florida that most folks who visit our state rarely see.

Taking our leave, after promises to return soon, we made our way to the nearby interstate highway, encountering rain nearly the entire 155 miles home. Oh yeah, traffic, and plenty of it! Seemingly there are lots of other folks who shared our desire to get away, if only for seven days. 

Now, to plan another trip soon.

your friend,

Gail