Tallahassee Granddaughter

Left today around 10:30 am, went over to Masa Sub and Grill with a Touch of Mediterranean Restaurant, a place we found out about 2 weeks ago.  Ordered various Greek foods to take up to Tallahassee where Marcia's granddaughter lives with her husband and two children... granddaughter was dying for good Greek food.  Arrived at there house at 4:45, enjoyed visiting, she heated up the food and we enjoyed the meal too.

After more visiting tomorrow, we will head toward Peachtree Georgia and stay at a Cracker Barrel about an hour from where Marcia's oldest and dearest friend, Gerry lives...who we will visit with on Sunday.  

Winter Over, Time to Head West

 

There's Indy, sitting in the sun, looking for the Alligator that lives in the pond at the local library.  Well, I think she was looking more at the Birds, which were out of the picture to the right...but DAD always has a vigilant watch while there for that Alligator.  Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don't.  I have never seen it out of the water.  A funny thing happened about a week after this picture was taken.  

Out on the lawn was this HUGE turtle with a long neck, like the one seen in this picture.  Indy looked at it...the stare down lasted about 3 seconds...then Indy took a step toward the turtle, and BAMMM...the turtle ran down to the pond.  Indy did not bark, did not try to follow...I only wish I had it on camera.  It is called a Florida Softshell Turtle, found mainly in Florida, but also in neighboring states.

As we prepare to head to California, there are certain things that need to get done.  One of which is our taxes.  Well, that dirty deed is done as I mail the IRS our 2024 tax forms, and mail our 1st Quarter taxes.  Never a fun thing to do, but someone has to do it, and it is done.  I have done my own taxes since 1973 when I filed my 1972 taxes...of course, Dad helped.  In 1974, I did my 1973 taxes and Dad looked it over and gave me the big OK.  I have pretty much done my taxes ever since then, except for a few years after marrying Marcia when her accountant did them.  There were some write-offs back then that spanned over six years or so, so Tom did our taxes until those write-offs were finished.  The year they stopped, he did the taxes, but so did I.  When we agreed that I could handle them, and I have done them ever since.  Of course, our taxes are very simple so I just have to triple check all the math before signing and sending them off.

This (above) is most likely the general route that we will be taking.  "IF" the weather allows, we will be going through Salt Lake City.  I have a route going this southern route, and I have another taking us up to I-70...but my thoughts are that it will be too cold at night to go that route.  And as we get close to SLC, like in New Mexico, the weather will tell us to head up that way, or to stay south on I-40 and skip SLC, going on in to Sacramento.  Having lived in Utah, I know that Utah Snow Storms can dump a lot of snow, and can do so into April, even May.

So Friday we head north, will be gone for about 4 months.  Will try and keep the blog updated each day, after all, I want to test out our newest purchase...The T-Mobile AWAY™ – Unlimited Plan.  Costly at $160 per month, but it can be put on vacation twice a year for up to a total of six months, costing $10 per month.  That brings the cost down to $85 per month.  As for speed, tests here at home had speeds of over 250 Mbps.  Of course, speeds will vary while on the road, but should be better than our 4G Verizon Aircard gets.  Draw back is that we will have to run the inverter to power up the 5G Gateway TMO-G4SE device (shown above).  When we get back, I am dumping Frontier (100 Mbps at $115 per month) and get the T-Mobile All-In Home Internet for $70.  Overall, when we dump Verizon phones for Consumer Cellular, we will have faster service at about the same price.
 

 

 

V-Day, Anniversary, New Washer, Gators, Birds and THE DESTROYER

 

It has been since before the Hurricanes that I had seen the Gator at the pond at the Library.  Well...it is still there, and a little bigger than the last time I saw it.

Saw this guy who had fish bits to feed them...reminded me of the fishermen in Alaska who tossed fish bits out of their boats and the Eagles would catch them mid-flight and soar off.  Here (above) about a dozen pelicans gather around this lone fisherman.

 Of course, our little girl is always looking out to see what is going on.

One day I see this crane on a barge with two non-survivors of the hurricane.  

    

A few days later THE DESTROYER, ummm, barge had moved over to the other side of the boat ramp, and chewed up and removed boat rubbish to this garbage/rubbish for disposal. On its way over it must have swung by and got that boat that was run aground that I showed in my last blog and got it back into the water, or loaded onto a boat trailer...either way, it is gone.

Although I only got a picture of one Juvenile Eagle, there are two, and boy do they grow fast.  Google AI (artificial intelligence) says, "A young eagle, or eaglet, typically takes around 10-12 weeks after hatching before it can fly, a process called fledging, where a bird leaves the nest and takes its first flight; this involves a period of practicing on branches near the nest before fully taking to the air."  Well, I have seen other photos and clips of these two Fledging Eagles sitting on the nest flapping their wings, but nothing yet of actual flight...but that is coming real soon.

  

Of course, we always have a healthy population of Osprey around.  This nest has at least two, if not three, birds in it, as I can here them chirping when mom and dad are out looking for food.  I thought in the one picture had captured them bringing a fish to the nest, but it was nest repair material, or perhaps bugs in the Spanish Moss it has in its claws.

This is our Fisher & Paykel washer, with the dryer sitting to the left.  On Friday (10 days ago or so) Marcia was doing a load of rags/towels and the washer would not empty the water out.  Called a repair company that had fixed it before, and they said they would be out first thing Monday morning...which they did.  Bad news, the pump is no longer available as a OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and although cheap (his words) pumps are available on Amazon and other places, his company will not allow the repairmen put any parts in that are not OEM.  The washer has been good to us, it is around 20 years old, so we decided to replace it.  I had asked the repair man, a real nice man who even Indy liked, what type of washer he would get and without hesitation he said, "Speed Queen...they just don't breakdown."

 DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH A WASHER IS NOW DAYS????  Well, the low end, on sale, are about $500-$600.  The Speed Queen's are running $1,000-$1,600, depending on model.  GULP.  Bit the bullet, went to Famous Tate's, and got the middle level Speed Queen for just over $1,300 including taxes, delivery, and taking old one away, and a 5 year guarantee.  Saturday (4 days ago, 8 days after the breakdown) it was delivered.  Glad I didn't have my ICE t-shirt on or it never would have made it through the front door.  Because we did not need inlet hoses, they would not hook up washer with the old hose, but they did allow me, reluctantly, to attach the hose before he pushed it in.  I offered him $10 to screw on the two hose lines...no go...go figure...forget that tip!  Yes, that is how rude he/they were, AND, the dryer exhaust hose came loose and blew warm damp air into the condo as Marcia washed clothes yesterday.  Good news, our neighbor Mary had her two boys coming out, and today John was nice enough (and young and thin enough) to get it hooked up for us.  Now, as long as that dryer does not break, we are in good shape for years.  If the dryer needs to be replaced, we are in deep crap because finding a top loading dryer (easier for Marcia to use) will be a hard thing to do.

Yesterday we celebrated our 14th Anniversary!  Around 150,000 miles in a RV.  About 1,400 loads of laundry.  Over 5,000 dinners, same for breakfast, 50% less for lunches which we don't eat each day.  Oh, the list goes on and on...but we made it through the big unlucky "13" years, and headed for number 15!  For V-Day (valentines) we had a leg of lamb, and still have some left overs in the freezer of that...so we decided to have something we don't have very often...PIZZA!  My guess is that of those 5,000 dinners, maybe 100 of them included Pizza!

 

What a Day for a Daydream

 

What a Day for a Daydream (SONG)

Oh, I told you all that we were going to have a nice weather week...and boy have we!  Daytime temps in the low 70's, nighttime temps in upper 50's.  A little bit of fog to start the day (not FOG like I knew when I was a kid!), but by noon the sun is shinning, the birds are singing, and Indy and I are out and about enjoying it all.

This tour boat, above, is the Sponge-O-Rama's Dolphin Cruise Lines.  From $15 to $30 they will take you out, try and find some wildlife which includes Dolphins, Manatees, Whales (rare), Birds and such.  The more expensive cruise is the sunset cruise.  No sunset or animals guarantee, but they are sure to inform you of the local sponge business, the various islands, and I think they stop at an island for a short time period.  There are other cruises that not only explain the sponge business, but they will have a diver go down and pull a sponge up onto the boat...problem is, it is one that has already been caught, cleaned, and used for this "EXHIBIT" cruise, because everyone would probably loose their lunch if they pulled up a real, smelly, living sponge.

A bit of fog along the Gulf of America (above), the Anclote River facing east (below).  The river is essentially the Northern Boundary of Tarpon Springs, though the city limits extends just beyond it.  Holiday, an unincorporated city, is just north of Tarpon Springs, and that is where we live.  We live in Paco County, Tarpon Springs is in Pinellas County...the River is only 29 miles in length, and most of it is in Pasco County...now you know the logistics of it all.

 The rest of today's blog will be some pictures of birds, starting with Eagles, then Ospreys, then other birds.  

EAGLES

(This is a new nest I have found, but will be harder to get pics of)

 OSPREYS

 OTHER BIRDS

Florida's Winter is Over?

 

While west Florida had 5-6 inches of snow just a few days ago, it appears that Florida's Winter is just about over.  We woke up to 35 degrees this morning...Pensacola awoke to 30 degrees.  They nearly got up to 60 degrees, we got up to 64 degrees.  Look at the blue skies over our home area!  

The White Ibis were just eating it up!

That brown bird is a young White Ibis...the brown feathers will drop off, and will be replaced with white feathers...probably by summer.

The Great White Egret, or Great White Heron, is also a frequent visitor to the Library Pond.  There were 5 or 6 when Indy and I arrived, but all but one flew away immediately.  An Osprey flew through too...I have seen them quickly fly into the water, and take a fish out and fly away.  Very common thing in Florida...and now and then, you will see a fish out in the middle of the street, parking lot, lawns as every now and then they have a premature dropping of their fish.  That is when the Seagulls and Black Birds fight over the remains.

So, what got me to dig out the camera, charge up the batteries, and write another blog just days from my last blog???

Well...maybe it is this guy...could it be?  Is it??  I have not seen one in our area for a couple of years now... 

             

      YES it is...an American Bald Eagle!  And if there is one...

There is probably a nest...and this time of year, if there is a nest...

There is probably one in the nest.  Both male and female bald eagles stay in the nest to incubate and care for their eggs and young. But the female usually spends more time at the nest than the male.  My guess is, since the one out of the nest was not hunting, there are probably eggs in the nest...but it is probably time to hatch here real soon.  

As I have been taking Indy on her potty/exercise drives, I have seen many people, some with those HUGE LONG CAMERAS, taking pictures of the nest below.  I never saw any birds, but I knew there was something there.  And by the size of the nest, I figured it was an Eagle.

    

This Osprey Nest is a familiar sight in our area.  The female is very likely to be the one that stays in the nest while the male is out "fishing".  Sound familiar???  At least they don't need the newest and best fishing boat to "do their thing"!

She came out, spread her wings a few times, and sat perched looking around.  In this picture above she was staring right at me, her back is to the gulf (Gulf of America!!!!), causing the feathers on her head to stand up just a bit.  Again, did you all notice that blue sky we had today???

Here is a better picture of the boat that run aground during Hurricane Helene. 

This is what our week is going to look like.  Pretty soon we will be complaining about the heat and humidity again.