Dog walking clothes revisited...judge not...yeah, kind of preachy today.

I like to dress for the dog walk and then do messy chores (dishes, floors, cat litter, yard work - whatever) before or after. There is no reason to mess up two outfits. On Saturdays I head to the local taqueria to breakfast with a friend and run a few errands or go to the grocery store.

Last Saturday I had a deposit to make at the bank (No, I don't have a smart phone. I don't take pictures of my checks. I have direct deposit for those things that allow it and like to do the rest of my banking in person.). I took the last month's coins in as well.

I used to roll my coins (kind of therapeutic really) but then everyone got a coin machine and insisted on us using it (I didn't roll Canadian coins in with the U.S. - really. And I always counted and recounted so that I wouldn't cheat the bank.). Anyway, I took in my coins and ran them through the machine ($56.00 exactly).* As I walked away from the machine to the desk to write the deposit slip, one of the clerks asked, "Ma'am, can we cash that for you?"

"No." I replied. "I have a deposit to make."

I quickly realized it was the "dog walking clothes" that confused the clerk. She may have been gently trying to help the poor disheveled street person, but it irritated me. I knew she would realize her mistake as she assisted with my deposit and hoped she would learn from the experience.

After breakfast my friend and I drove to do some of her errands. I rode along to tell some lies and share some stories.** We ended up in the Salvation Army store*** after stopping at the bread store.

I was just riding along. I don't go to the bread store anymore now that we aren't feeding a crowd of children. My friend was shopping for things she can only find there. In any event, I spied a young man I know. He was helping out at the Salvation Army store. He is quite the character - tall and skinny (I love this kid. He has a crazy-mad-fabulous sense of humor. He is brilliant. He has a good heart.) and he told us that his program has a "community service" component.

I mentioned to my friend that I had considered introducing this young man to my daughter, except he was a smoker (apparently he has stopped smoking now, hmmm.).

My friend gave me a strange look and asked if I was serious. She had been a prosecutor for years. While I think of "students" doing volunteer service, she thinks "probationers" or "parolees" complying with terms of their release. I knew the young man was in a "college program," but my friend did not.

Now this friend is the most down to earth, real human being I know. I would say that she doesn't have a biased bone in her body, yet she cannot help but see the world through her experience, her filters.****

And so do I -- and the teller too.

So, I figure we all need to cut each other a break. Bank teller forgiven.


Notes:

* My grandmother used to save all her change. After a month or so she would hand coin-filled envelopes (wrapped with a rubber band) to my mother. Mom would roll the coins and take them to the savings and loan, splitting the money four ways and depositing it in our savings accounts. Those deposits added up and taught me a bit about savings. [Yes, this is one of many lessons in frugality for which I credit Grandma and Mom. Those lessons have served me well.]

**Like the one about my sister-in-law:  My sister-in-law riffled through my suitcase - confessing it to me just before bedtime the first night I was visiting them recently. She had thought my suitcase was my niece's diaper bag and was looking for a diaper for the baby. She was terribly embarrassed and all I could think was "THIS IS THE BEST STORY EVER!"  ( I should note that I love both of my sisters-in-law. I think my brothers and our family lucked out. We all get along beautifully.)

***It was a good morning. I received another story to tell and I also snagged a pretty fabulous hat for my future historic character representations ( I will leave that tale for another day).

**** And I guess she figured I would not be encouraging my child to be dating someone who had been in trouble with the law. And I guess she would probably be right.

25 degrees and cranky

I am still adjusting from a short visit to the east coast. So I was up at 4:45 this morning and gave up going back to sleep.

DH humored me (well, he wasn't going to run this morning anyway and needed to work out the sore muscles from last evening's X-fit ) sort of and agreed to a walk.

We headed out with the morning star* shining brightly before us. The sky was clear and the temperature dropped to what will be the coldest for the week. The puppies were happy to escape their crates. The weather folks could not decide what the temperature would be last night so we brought the dogs in (They are not well-behaved....we have had too many destructive games of tag in the house.) We heard estimated lows  from 23 to 30 and decided to err on the side of keeping them warm and safe inside.

The frost glistened on the grass. The moon showed itself, a sliver in the east, hanging low in the sky. It was a spooky scene viewed between the naked branches of pecan trees in the park.

The morning star is to the right. A blurry red radio tower light is to the left. The other light may be a blurred moon - or not. (Grumpy took this photo and was not amused by trying to work his smart phone in gloves...)

That's it.

We went to the park and then walked home.

DH was cranky.

What do you expect on a Thursday morning?



NOTES:

* It was probably a planet.

Lost in Florida

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday

                         
                        You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
                        Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of 
                        sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. 
                       You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, 
                       of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into 
                       the Twilight Zone.  ~ Rod Serling*



Little did I know that, after doing a week's worth of chores on Sunday morning (fixed breakfast/lunch/supper for DH for at least 4 days, washed and dried three loads of clothes, went to the bank for cash and to my office for a couple of work-related issues, took out the recycling, and cleaned the cat litter, and caught the monster cat - bad boy escaped as I was in and out of the house) and flying across the country, I would be crossing over into another dimension.

 It was dark when we arrived. The enormous fireworks display we watched on our way to our rooms (and the towels folded into a familiar shape) merely hinted of what was to come.

Note the mouse head on the tapestry.

Daylight:

It was entirely too "perfect" this "happy place." Everything was green and lush and starting to bloom. I did finally see two pieces of trash (more on that later) and some scummy water, but otherwise everything was manicured and perfect. [OK, OK. It does appear they had some bad weather so there was a bit of brown foliage...but not much.]

Everyone smiles. The people who pick up the trash sing. Really? Really.

I missed my rowdy walking buddies.

In spite of the heat and humidity, I decided to take a few walks around the lake and document the amazing vegetation and the few creatures that managed to sneak in past the protected borders of "the kingdom."

Birds are not really welcome...

When I saw this rock I had a vision of my dear children (especially CJSB) climbing all over it.

Plants:

Plumbago was just starting to bloom (My grandmother had this plant as did my next door neighbor. I cannot grow it).

Pink azalea?

Azalea in the sunlight

Bird of paradise

Double hibiscus

Hibiscus buds - promising amazing blooms

I felt that if I stood there long enough I could watch the blooms open - like a time lapse photo.

Another pink one.

Another (slightly different) pink hibiscus

Ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata)**

More "not" moss growing on a tree trunk.

Variegated ginger

A different variegated ginger

Palm trees towered over everything.

More hibiscus

Water lily and bud - day one

Water lilies - day two

Beautiful pale yellow hibiscus (My mother would have loved this one!)

This is the bud for the pale yellow hibiscus.

"Miniature" split leaf philodendron

Regular split leaf philodendron

Red hibiscus

Firecracker plants grew all over.

Along the lake were streetlamps with these amazing succulent hanging baskets.

Yellow tab trees ***  (I don't think I have ever seen one of these before.) were blooming around our hotel.

Close up of the blooms of the yellow tab tree.

Fallen blossoms from the yellow tab trees covered everything below.

White azaleas

Close up of white azaleas

Bougainvillea were just starting to bloom.

Palm with fern growing from trunk.

Close up of fern on palm tree.

This was only a sample of the plant life. If they had one specimen of a plant they had hundreds planted in landscaped beds and other groupings. I tried to focus on the individual plant or bloom and crop out the buildings and such around them.

Creatures:

     I. Mammals (I should just title this squirrels - there were two. Or I may have seen the same one on two different days.):

You know it is a strange day when I am happy to see squirrels.

This variety seemed a little different than the ones who love my attic.

I saw another squirrel on day two. You see him, don't you?

Let me help you - a close up of our little furry friend.

This guy was all over the place, but didn't stop long enough for a good photo.

He thought he was safe in the flowerbed.

But then he came out and watched me.

     II. Birds:

Mallards on the lake.

Drakes by the docks.

I freaked out when I saw this big guy sunning himself/drying his feathers. What in the world?

He turned and the name - cormorant - came to me. [But I still had to check and make sure he WAS a cormorant...and how to spell "cormorant."]

I watched him groom his feathers before moving on.

How often do you see a solitary gull?

He posed for me.

He turned as if to say, "This is my good side."

Little guys searching for crumbs under the tables.

Remember the tall palms? See the - um, maybe grackle - in them?

There he is.

I should be able to identify this small bird (with a little effort). He is grey with a yellow breast and red crown - maybe a yellow warbler (?).

American white ibises****

Immature American white ibis

Mature American white ibis. I noticed his right foot was damaged, but he got around just fine.

     
      III. Reptiles:

My friend  - day one.

They say that each body of water in Florida contains at least one alligator.

This little guy (between 3 and 4 feet in length) hung out at the same spot - at a bridge on the lake - day two.

He really was lovely - beautiful markings.

I met a lovely woman from Michigan***** (she was attending the same conference as I was) who was also out taking photos and she let me know where to find the gator. Apparently he is the only one in this lake (or the only one they know about). I saw the aforementioned trash  near where the gator hangs out. I don't think I would go picking up trash there either.

I apologize these photos were taken with the old camera, but I think you will get the gist of this beautiful, if strange, place.

I was so glad to see DH when he picked me up after my return flight. A thick fog had moved in and provided an appropriately creepy transition from the magical place to the real landscape I call home.


NOTES:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillandsia_recurvata (NOT a true moss!).

***http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/TabebuiaAureaSilverTrumpetTree.pdf

**** My brother helped me identify these guys. Thanks, RF!

*****This woman is one of those special aunts who takes her nieces and nephews on adventures! We had ideas to share.