Merry Christmas 2022

 

How do you know it is Christmas in Florida???

When the Temps fall to or below freezing...   Yes, while most people in the nation is facing sub-freezing temperatures...we are shivering at 32 degrees...31 when we woke up.  Today's high, perhaps 44 degrees.  By Thursday, perhaps Friday, we will be sweltering again at or around 80 degrees.  Gosh, it is so tough living in Central Florida.

 

Had a picture of Mom sent to me...I blew up the portion of her so that you can see the big smile on her face.  Now what do you suppose would bring on that smile????

A visit from my son Michael (not in picture since he was taking it), who brought my daughter Stephanie (left), grand-baby Adeline and daughter-in-law Anna (foreground), and the kids mother Shelley (see next picture).  [Notice I did not point out where the baby is, I know my faithful readers know a baby when they see one!]

Yes, actually got permission to put this picture on the blog, along with this next one.

Michael did not tell mom about Shelley and Stephanie coming along, so it sort of confused her at first.  "I knew Stephanie right away," she told me..."But they had to tell me who Shelley and Anna were...once they said their names, I knew right away who they were."   Life gets that way when you approaching 93 years old.

No, this is not Adeline, this cute little guy is Marcia's Great Grandson Blandon, who was born just a few weeks before Adeline was born.  Isn't that a cute picture?  He lives in North Carolina...perhaps one day we will make it up there.

It was three years ago today, Christmas Eve, that we lost my little Skruffy Girl.  This is one of my favorite pictures of her, sitting between Mom and Dad in our First Motorhome back in 2012.  Lost dad on Thanksgiving three years ago, and then Skruffy less than a month later...it was a hard year, and did not get any better with the onslaught on COVID just a few months later with its draconian rules and regulations that followed.  Some say those laws saved lives...some say it put us in the position we are in today...you decide, I just don't want to hear about it.  Enough is enough! 

Enjoy your Christmas...we will, but with that faint tear in our eyes.  "Indy, come here baby, I need a big hug and lick on the face!"

Birds, Birds and more Birds ... December in Florida

 

Around here we have so many types of birds...Sea Birds, Birds of Prey, Backyard Birds, and Snowbirds.  (The latter don't have wings, have arrived, and makes driving along US-19 an interesting adventure.)  Here is a collection of some of the birds, many Pelicans, that I got pictures of the past few weeks.

(These three above show the flight, landing, cleanup.)

(There are a number of man-made platforms which the Osprey use to make their nest.)

Most of these pictures were taken at Anclote River Park, and a few at Crystal Beach.  The Osprey, which is the last picture above, was actually taken along US-19.  Some years you can see Bald Eagles, but this year all I have found so far is an empty nest.

Above is a picture taken at Crystal Beach.  Shortly after taking the picture I hear the roar of a helicopter.

Which is smack in the middle of this picture above, and a closer picture below.

These Coast Guard Helicopters frequently fly along the Gulf Coast.  Sometimes we hear them going over our Condo.

Here are a couple of snowbirds (guessing) walking by where I was parked.  It is very unusual to see anyone in a mask, and it is very rare to see people wearing masks while they are out on a power walk.

My "guess" as them being snowbirds is because of the lack of a tan on their legs.

After I took this picture of the birds flying around the boat launch at Anclote River Park, I noticed the boat in the distance.

I guess we did have a casualty from Hurricane Nichole.  Below is a picture of the same boat taken the afternoon after the Hurricane blew through.

I figure it must have hit some rocks during the storm, and water leaked in slowly.  An earlier picture I took of it had it about 50 feet to the left of this spot, so I knew it had moved.  I wonder how long they will allow the boat to sit in the water like this...

Note:  Marcia, Indy and I are doing well...no sickness, no doggie parks (still), and we just learned yesterday that Marcia is NOT going to need Cataract Surgery as we had suspected.  She does need "Prism" added to her lenses, and we will get those ordered on Tuesday.  Will try to write another blog before or around Christmas.  For those wondering, the past two weeks has found our 'highs' in the 70's and mid-80's, lows in the high 50's and mostly lower 60's.  We had rain one day for a whole 30 minutes.  Had a few foggy mornings.