12 Oakdale

Out to visit Mary, who says she is doing well. Ryan is still in a hotel somewhere in the Mideast. I’ve brought my sketching and paint supplies, a scarf I’m remaking, and our computer so I can update the Bloom and Grow PowerPoint.  The week’s project, in my mind, is to get all of the school supplies currently in piles on the living room floor stored so they are accessible. I always forget to take a ”before” photo. Mary had made great progress by sorting things into piles. So many markers, so many crayons. Just way too much for what shelves are available. Long term: items not used will be moved on. Short term: get things into the upstairs storage room with distribution TBD.  Well, finding the mouse and her nest certainly helped our decisions to throw stuff away. After 6 days of plodding away, going through the garage moved to the top of list. A full van of items donated, and a full garbage can thrown away. Thank goodness I looked in the cubby with the stuff from Ryan’s old car. ...

Wednesday, we got up at relatively o’dark hundred to go to Orlando Wetlands with the goal of Betsy seeing roseate spoonbills. Mission definitely accomplished. As we walked along the boardwalk, we saw newly hatched common gallinules, tiny, tiny, being fed by parents. So cute, flapping their minuscule wings and begging. Further along, slightly older ones were still begging, but walking on the water lilies within ridiculously big feet, also finding their own food. At the far end of the boardwalk, much larger wood stork babies clamored. We didn’t see any parents around, but did see an anhinga feeding her 3 babies, which were as big as she was. Time for those to start fishing for themselves, in my opinion. As we turned back, a fledged spoonbill and parent flew over and landed in a tree right next to us. Much clacking of bills, the mom coughed up a treat for her offspring. I think I’d rather be that species, than an anhinga, having my babies poke their sharp beaks down my throat. But the bes...

About all I can say for my jog this morning is that I did it, and it was 10 second pace faster than the 7th-week jog last time. Certainly, noting to get excited about, but I was out there, after taking 4 days off. The two red shouldered hawks huddled together on the power line didn’t look like they had much energy either. 51° makes birds fluffy.  Yesterday, crows and hawks were mobbing the great horned owl that was sitting in Nancy’s pine tree. I’ve been hearing a pair call for the past week. I still can’t figure where their nest could be. This week, I’ve had trouble getting motivated to do much of anything. I started by getting out a box of photographs to look for pictures of Sean. These were ones I paid to have scanned onto a cd years ago and never even unsealed the box when they were returned. Even though the pictures were grouped with labels, I became overwhelmed. Every time I’d start to look at them, I just couldn’t decide what to do. Then I got the insurance policy renewal fo...

After getting up at 6:00 AM to have breakfast and our bags packed and outside our door by 7:00, we zipped around the corner to pick up coffee at Starbucks and be ready for our bus to Banff. The rain had continued all night and was still dripping in the morning. Good for the area which had been in a drought, medium for our sightseeing. On the other hand, it was a bus travel day rather than a walking around day, so it could have been worse. By the time we arrived for our boat ride on Lake Minnewanka, the rain was practically stopped. When the captain turned off the boat’s engine in the middle of the lake so we could hear what it sounds like away from the noises of civilization, the rain falling on the lake was the only sound we heard. Absolutely charming. At the gondola on Sulphur Mountain, the rain had started again. The attendants were squeegeeing the droplets off the gondola cars so we could see out. A futile gesture. We did see a couple of pairs of sneakers tossed over tree branches ...

After having a breakfast of prosciutto, crackers, hummus, and apple in our room, we were off to the Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island Park. We’d had a cup of insipid coffee at the hotel, however we rewarded ourselves with a delicious cup of dark brew at the Hutch before beginning our walk in the park. Franklin gulls, mallards, house finches, black capped chickadees were around, perhaps American widgens (I’m not sure of ID), 3 common mergansers. A gazillion Canada geese with goslings of all ages, at least these in their home country, not an American golf course with all their buddies. There were signs to beware of coyotes, but I’m sure they were too fat from eating geese to bother people. Highlight was 3 hairy woodpeckers calling and flying. I spotted a nest, in a dead conifer, with an adult sticking its head out.  Grant had forgotten his hearing aids charger at home. We thought about having Steph overnight it to us, but we’re afraid it wouldn’t arrive before we continued on our trip...

That was way more excitement than I needed. Peg, Betsy, and Keith came over Sunday morning, and we piled into our truck for a tour of the Lake Apopka Wildlife Tour. All the usual: alligators, egrets, ospreys, red-winged blackbirds, etc. Afterwards, lunch of barbecued pork, baked beans, and mac ‘n cheese that Peg had rescued from a Future Farmers of America (FFA) her son Robert hosted. Way too much food had been ordered, so she filled freezer bags with leftovers and brought what the attendees didn’t take home. Even with Steph and Kyle joining us, we still have a couple of bags in our freezer.  Monday, Memorial Day, we got up and went to Oakland Nature Preserve, on the south shore of Lake Apopka. This time the alligators were 5 babies, about 18” long. We didn’t see mom, but she would have been around. A swallow tailed kite flew over. After a late lunch at Yellow Dog Eats, we returned home for naps, Keith’s sweeping our roof, and Betsy and my cleaning and moving the birdbath closer to...

Ten days visiting Mary. Lovely weather, a little cool, with one day of what the weather app called drizzle: I felt 3 small drops. With all the rain here a month ago, the wild flowers are beautiful. Yellow asters-like flowers, invasive ice plant and mustard, nasturtiums cover the roadside. We dug Bahia grass out around the plants on the front  corner, making the bed twice as big. Crazy hard work. Then we planted some purple-ish plant, name unknown, and the mountain mahogany they got for free at the Water Conservation Park. Mary had rescued a lantana from a previous planting, which turned out to be two plants, so we separated them and added them to the plot. I collected up all the succulents waiting a home, and we planted them on the street side. With coconut coir mulch and some bark chips, we deemed the area done. Except for the rest of the Bahia grass between the original 2 plants. Mary sprayed weed killer on it, and I covered it with cardboard held down with bags of mulch. With an...

The road sign on the road out of Key West said, “Drive Carefully. So Far, 14 People Have Lost Their Lives in Traffic Accidents”. Since it was only January 14th, we assumed that was left over from last year. I changed my mind the second time I had to slam on my brakes and pull off the road for a jerk passing in the other direction and almost hitting me. Our stay at Bahia Honda confirmed I prefer warmer weather to go to the beach. The water is just too cool for me to enjoy a swim. I’m going to make reservations or go back to Venice Beach in late spring. Because all the days blur together: Thursday: Drove down, lunch at Chicken Chop Chop at Fort Pierce Plaza on the Turnpike; saw invasive African rainbow lizards in the palms there; arrived at Bahia Honda State Park, Cabin 2, handicapped accessible; dinner of barley and mushrooms; exercised. Really windy but clear. Friday: Windy and clear, 70’s. Breakfast in cabin; morning walk along Atlantic-side beach while Grant sat; lunch of leftovers; ...