A Spell of Exceptional Weather

The weather this past week is why millions of people visit Florida in the springtime. Glorious, with bright blue, mostly cloudless skies, gorgeous shades of green, and very low humidity. The key, by the way. Come late May, the humidity will be high, the sun blazing hot, and the following six months mostly miserable. But that is then and this is now.

Last Saturday, when the annual St. Patrick's day party was to happen, the weather was not nearly so lovely, with dark clouds rolling in, the fear of a wash out was high. I am on the resident relations committee, recruited by Michelle, I might add, and my task for the party was cabbage. Lots of cabbage.

As a girl if you'd mentioned eating cabbage, I would have run for the hills, however, now that I've learned to cook it without boiling, it is one of my favorite vegetables. Not more favorite than broccoli, but pretty high on the list.

Although there were indeed a few sprinkles, it was a good crowd,

who enjoyed the Irish band,

as well as a whiskey tasting put on by folks who really know how to dress for a party!

Speaking of which, some friends in green.

Continuing our series on what will I see next behind the house??!!

That was on Sunday afternoon, however, I've yet to see them again.

(This post was interrupted for another unexpected event....Bruce came home from Habitat and said, "let's buy another kayak for you." And so we did, spending yesterday afternoon on the lake. Pictures soon!)

Okay, where were we? That's right, Days for Girls on Monday during which time a young man (purple scarf) joined us while he worked on hours for his Bright Futures scholarship.

Pretty remarkable really as he'd never used a sewing machine before, not to mention it was a thirty minute bike ride to get there, however, he picked it right up, and plans to return next month. His goal is to be an accountant and I hope his dreams come true.

Here is a picture of a seriously dirty window.

Improved somewhat by the new glass mobile and the view. You think?

Recently Connie asked me what kind of bird was calling for so long and loud each morning? Darn if it isn't a Cardinal who refuses to come to the feeder!

Instead he sits in this big tree taunting me each and every morning.

Because the weather has been delightful, it is hard to stay indoors for too long, thus I've done some exploring on foot, watching Spring unfold. Not the kind of spring I experienced last year, yet lovely all the same. Even lakeside weeds look good this time of year.

Walking around Lake Cherokee, I came across a huge oak tree that I thought might be a good place for an owl to hang out. No owl, but a pretty little Woodpecker instead.

He was digging in a cavity, presumably looking for bugs.

Around here there are Ibis aplenty and I do mean aplenty! You can find flocks of twenty or more, either digging in yards for bugs or lakeside foraging for frogs.

Note the extremely red feet and beak which represent breeding colors. Once home, I looked out back and my goodness, there were a bunch of them right behind the house, many in the trees.

I also saw some ducklings, only two which leads me to believe many did not survive as about a dozen is customary.

Just yesterday afternoon, I am thrilled to report, that I saw a Mama Wood duck and her ducklings on our lake! The pictures are on my camera still, but you can well imagine I will be sharing them soon. Wood Ducks are exquisitely colored, even more so during breeding season.

One of these days I'm bound to get a better shot ,but for now this will have to suffice.

We also bought two new toilets at Home Depot and had them come do the installation which went smoothly with a skilled plumber. As this was our first time doing something like this, we did not know what to expect but the plumber they sent was professional and did not lose his cool when he discovered both toilet lids were broken. He hopped right in the truck, went and got two more and we were set.

Although ours were still functional, it was time to replace the 30+ year old models. Perhaps you already knew this but we were quite surprised to learn that toilets are not subject to sales tax. How about that?

It is really nice having the maintenance guys come and do this sort of thing, as requested by our downstairs neighbor Jane Lou.

Although she and her husband John spend a good deal of the year at their home in Alabama, while here in Orlando, she gets things done, to our benefit I might add.

Another month, another Super Moon, however reportedly it was the last of 2019.

It has been a week with sadness as well. Our friend Carolyn's father died, an original resident, Bill Whitaker died, and we learned that a young man we used to go to church with, the same age as Bill and David, died. Whew! Although we did not know Mr. Whitaker as well as others, David used to describe him as the original John Morgan; if you live in Orlando you know what that means.

We finally checked out Claddagh Cottage on Curry Ford Road and found it quite tasty.

Finally, on Friday, because the weather was so fine, we checked out some kayak launching places in Seminole County. Katies Landing,

is on the Wekiwa River off SR 46 near the Seminole and Lake County line. Bruce chatted with a family fishing along the bank and they'd not caught a thing.

Bruce, on the other hand has been catching fish in Lake Pineloch like nobodies business. It was so good that Anne happened by when he caught a huge fish, probably six or more pounds, and took his picture before he gently released the fish. Was he ever excited, made even more so because not only was Anne a witness, but the Happy Hour gang was as well, cheering him on throughout.

Exceptional weather. Remind me of this time when June rolls around, will you?

your friend,

Gail