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.

Home...

Introduction:

I went to my home town for a few days this week. It is hard to describe the experience - something like slipping through a veil to a different dimension.

It is a small town. There is relatively little traffic (Yes, there are traffic lights - at least 6!) and you can find a parking space with ease. Everyone knows everyone (and most of everyone else's business).

Time does not stand still there, but does seem to slow down a little.

I had a few things I needed to do...family visiting mostly...my baby brother lives there with his family. And I have a great-nephew I had not met who might be stopping by to see his grandpa (and his GREAT aunt). And this short visit was an opportunity do a little prep-work for "graduation" projects.

Part I:

While most of the folks who were my neighbors growing up are gone now, our across-the-street neighbor (IW) still smiles her sweet smile when we see her and invites us in for a visit (if we can catch her at home.). Just after I arrived, she drove up with another neighbor (having visited my former Sunday school teacher in the hospital) and I walked over to get a hug.

Of course I went in and sat down for a little chat and she apologized that her Christmas tree was still up. It seems she lost the key to the shed and had not resolved that problem so she could not put the decorations away. "Wait a second," said I and I trotted across the street and grabbed my brother's bolt cutters (and a new lock - that boy is prepared for anything). IW and I messed around until we managed to cut the bolt off and installed the new one (She held the lock while I leaned against the bolt cutters that I wedged against the door frame of the shed. VOILA!).

I think this lock was painted each time the shed was painted. And, of course, my brother discovered he had a key that fit the lock. Too late, too late. But it's all good.

I miss this. I miss that "neighborly" thing. I miss the generation of elders we are losing so rapidly.

Soon enough I was called back across the street for supper (Remember that? Remember being called home for supper?).

Part II:

My family originated in Ireland, Germany, Scotland, then Tennessee, Louisiana, and Indiana, mostly. They moved here and lived in only a few counties - from the central part of our state to the middle coast. Thus I have ancestors scattered in just a handful of cemeteries in the area. <heavy sigh> Or so we think.

Since I was traveling with no actual demands on my time (that never happens, but did this trip), I thought that, after visiting with the living, I would check on the dead. This may not sound like a good idea to some, but I have needed to "get my bearings" a bit and start organizing my genealogy efforts - at least in my head.*  And last October I had discovered one great grandmother's stone was completely (should I say horribly?) overgrown by a forsythia bush** (My other brother will correct me if I have misidentified).  I was determined that my first trip south "with nothing to do" would include chopping some on this shrub - at least enough to free Theresa's stone.

The photos here show our 45 minute efforts with loppers and other sharp instruments. [My brother insisted on coming too and it is a good thing. He did a lot of the hard work and found the cemetery brush pile - as we had not realized how large our pile of cuttings would be and did not want to leave a mess for the workers there.]

This was not a subtle pruning.*** This was a "we don't plan to come back again for a while and want to be able to find our great grandmother a little easier on our next trip" slash and burn. ****

Photo from October 2013 - brother is pushing back the branches of the shrub to disclose the stone.

 

As we got started we discovered another stone - a large standing headstone completely enclosed by the bush in the adjacent plot. We also uncovered a standing pipe/water faucet that had been "overgrown."

The small pile.

Loppers resting on the now visible stone.

The big pile.

There it is.

This town (where our mother was raised) is about an hour's drive north of my home town and one we all love. After our labor, my brother and I drove around a bit and talked about old buildings and businesses owned by our great grandfather. We told stories about the past and our plans for the future. We shared things you can only share with a sibling (How was I so blessed to have 3 of them?). Then we headed back to our home town - where he still lives as there were children to pick up from school and he had to head to work.

Part III:

Fortune smiled again this trip as my youngest nephew was out of school early and agreed to do his homework immediately so that he and I could take another "history" trip before the end of the day. We drove seven miles east to the town where my father was raised. We stopped at the cemetery and I told him tales of each of my great aunts and uncles who are interred on either side of my paternal paternal great grandparents (Is that what you call the parents of your father's father? Wow, don't I have a lot to learn?). Then I walked my nephew to my paternal grandparents graves and explained a little about their lives and the lives of the three (of their 8) children who did not reach adulthood and were buried on either side of their parents.

Detail from my Great Uncle John's stone. He was killed in action in WWI.

This somber visit was followed by a stop at the local museum. It is an interesting place. We found references to my dad, my three uncles and my aunt (these survivors of that harsh country upbringing) who attended the local high school (mostly in the 40s). We squinted at blurry photos (Daddy in a football uniform) and tried to logic out "inside" jokes from back in the day.

The museum also boasted a collection of arrowheads and native American (North and South!) relics collected by the old town doctor. [He delivered my siblings and me and cared for our parents almost to the end of their days. His wife was also a doctor and our pediatrician. She had a quick step and we dreaded that fast step-step-step coming down the hall as we figured a shot was on its way.]*****

Finding we still had a little time before we had to be home, we hit two flea markets/junk stores. We looked at and commenting on almost everything, but we purchased nothing. We headed home and talked about a future archeology dig perhaps (this is the nephew of last summer's train adventure and we have another summer coming up!).

I have two (or three) more area cemeteries to visit, but it is likely I won't get to them all tomorrow. One is a quick trip here in our town. The other two are a short drive, but I have a luncheon date at the middle school and cannot miss it. Then it will be a quick trip to the airport to drop off my rental before going back to DH and the pups.

I owe them all a few walks. And I am bringing home a couple of stories...something to "dine out on."******


NOTES:

* I am less about the pedigree (I believe it is wise not to look too closely sometimes) than the stories. I want to tell what I know (and some of what I have heard and learned) about these people. I want to remember and I want them remembered, at least for a little while. So many "lines" are closed down - no longer lineal descendants.  And I vow to tell the truth. [And when the truth is not known, I vow to tell the family story and note it as such. There is often a kernel of truth there  somewhere and someone else can research it in the future, or not.]

**  [If you have one of these in your yard, please prune it regularly or I fear you will find it entangles and swallows the unaware.]

*** For directions on how to prune correctly remember that the Aggies almost always have a reference.  http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/landscape/proper-pruning-techniques/

**** Only after unloading the tools back at my brother's did we discover he had left his machete at the family plot. We called a friend (I am telling you...there is an invisible line somewhere about an hour and a half north of my home town where things change.) - the youngest son of our mother's oldest friend - to see if he would stop and try to recover the knife. Wonder of wonders, the machete was still there and has been secured.

*****They were Drs. John and Rose Tunnell. They are gone now, but legend still. Someone needs to write their story.

******And these stories are true - really.

Ant hills at the stepping stones just off the back porch. These were so interesting and I had to put this somewhere.

Overdressed? Under-dressed?

I joke a bit about my "dog walking" clothes. These are cargo pants/shorts with a little pocket for my cell phone (Yes, my FLIP-phone. Leave me alone!), and bigger pockets for wallet, keys, camera, plastic bags, dog cookies (I seem to launder a few of these cookies every wash day), water bottle, flashlight...and probably a few items I cannot remember right now. Most of the "pocket fillers" are lined up on a shelf at our back door.

Now, I guess by now you realize that these are not attractive pants. They are bulky and baggy. They probably "add about 20 or 30 pounds" to my appearance (pounds I don't need, I might add). But they are functional (and I don't care what I look like when I walk the dogs* - really. I might actually LIKE looking like a crazy bag lady so that people leave me alone. Just saying.). And every now and again I find myself wearing them to work (only on a day when the weather is bad so I dress "prepared to change a tire" or on casual Friday.).

The shirts range from tie-dyed to camo. Many are torn or holey. During cold weather the ensemble is not complete without a fleece jacket and/or my puffy Army surplus jacket providing the look of a green Michelin man/woman.

Footwear includes a variety of hiking boots/tennis shoes with socks that actually do have little letters (L or R) to make sure you have them on the correct feet (these guys are very thick so you want to make sure you wear them on the correct foot as you establish the correct arch cushion and such).

We also have an assortment of flashing lights (for man AND beast) and reflective belts/vests to make sure the sleepy early morning drivers see us.

I love my "dog walking" clothes.

Hobbes clearly loves my insulated coat as well. Guess I need to hang it up.

"Yawn."

All that being said some days we misjudge the weather - overdressing or under-dressing:

Recently we "geared up" and headed to the park with time for a leisurely walk in the pleasantly cool weather.  It was in the mid 50s and windy. I wore the insulated coat and realized I was going to get too warm about 6 blocks into into the walk - too far to go back and change.  DH was in leather. He "looked" better than me, but got a little too warm as well.

We took our bundled, sweaty, red-light flashing  selves down to the park. We definitely overdressed.

It was slow going. It seems that every creature in the neighborhood has been out and about since the ice and snow melted. Scents are everywhere and the dogs intended to sniff, smell and mark every one of them.

It was deceptively bright outside because the lights of town bounced off the low clouds and lit up the walk before the sun struggled up.

This is the best sunrise we have managed for days.

Today the news told me it was 21 degrees, but felt like 8 due to the wind. Even with lots of layers, hats, gloves and all, I was cold. DH had to work today. I took the day (actually the entire week) off so it was just Paddy and Scruffy and me (and the cold winter wind). We moved fast. The dogs were glad to be out, but we all kept getting tangled in the leash. At one point I was so wrapped 'round with the leads that I had to lean against a fencepost and extricate myself UP out of the spiral of strapping. [No, I have no idea how that happened. I am grateful there was no "face-plant" resulting...lucky, lucky me!]

One new thing about the walk, political signs were everywhere in the yards and in the empty lots. They block/spoil the view and provide more opportunities for tangled leashes. But speech, it is speech...that's another story for a different blog.

There are a bunch of people named "Parker" running for office (or so I have been told). I suspect there will be some confusion.

The photos from this walk - as you can see, they aren't much. But the light was bad (overcast - grey day), I only had my old OLD camera and it was a weird juggle today. But I am talking about a new camera (and I am taking Photoshop) so better times and photos are ahead.


Miscellaneous photos (gotta put them somewhere):

Looks like we definitely won't be getting our flashlight back.**  This is where the "borrowers" lived.

Loved this. I bet I can do better with better lighting (and after I learn some PS).

Paddy is looking for water or a cookie. You can just see the reflective belt at the bottom of the photo.

Tracking something.

Found something.

My bulbs are confused by this crazy weather.

NOTES:

*My children will tell you that I don't care what I look like most of the time. I guess that is true, but I do clean up pretty well for special occasions. But then my college room-/suite-mates will tell you that "You can dress her up, but you can't take her out." Just saying...

** We had seen a U-Haul there the other day, but weren't sure they were all moving. It is okay. I bought DH a new flashlight for Christmas. It cost a fortune. He bought me one too - a different kind. I guess you can never have enough flashlights. And from now on we will keep a cheap flashlight at the back door to loan to neighbors.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

In central Texas, the part of this state I have called home since 1978, we don't "do" ice and snow. Drivers don't know how do drive on it. Communities have no equipment to deal with it - no blowers or salt spreaders or plows. We do have sanders, but we are limited in what we can sand - well traveled bridges and overpasses get the attention.

The dogs sheltered inside last night, as they do whenever the weather is bad. They are "outside" dogs, but it was "not a fit night out for man or beast." *

This morning we had to figure out how we would get them outside for a "break" and for some food and water (As outside dogs, they are not polite eaters. And  Scruff attacks water, getting more on him than in him.). We have concrete steps at every exit and we knew they would be iced over.

We decided to use the front door as the original handrail is still there. We tested our exit and discovered things were not as hazardous as we had imagined. Walkers bundled and puppies, confused at change in routine, figured out the drill...all headed out to play in the snow and ice.

We dared not the slick sidewalks and the hills of our walk to the park. We walked around and around in the side yard. It was reminiscent of our efforts to establish a "pack" at the pound when we picked up Scruffy. We walked around and across, together and separately.

Paddy isn't quite sure what is going on.

I tried to get her attention. She sat instead.

Scruffy at the edge of our sidewalk. He is watching some idiot driving down the street.

I tried to get his attention, but he was still watching the car as it "crunched" around a corner.

Puppies ate and drank and investigated along the edges of the yard where other animals had wandered or sheltered last night. Even in the ice, the dogs sniffed out the smells of other creatures .

We stayed out as long as we thought safe - puppies have no shoes! Then we all headed back inside.

There is nothing better than a warm breakfast (with a hot cup of coffee) on a cold winter day!

Scruffy at the sidewalk.

Aspidistra around the pecan in the side yard.

Close up of the aspidistra

Some of the plants - guess who forgot to "cover tender vegetation."

Bulbs were coming up.

Snow angel in the front yard! (Yes, yes, my posterior is cold...)

*W. C. Fields - The Fatal Glass of Beer

Foggy breath and frost covered ground, a walk at the edge of freezing.

On this frosty cold morning two excited pups, one walker, and one grump headed out to the park.

Oh how he grumbled and growled all along the way. Finally, he said he thought he was "catching a cold." And the rest made sense.

It was really a perfect winter morning. It was cold, but not too cold. The only moisture was the frost - shining like diamonds sprinkled in the grass and dusted across the fallen leaves. There was not even the whisper of a breeze to chill our bones.

Dawn was breaking as we reached the park. The pecan trees stood naked against the lightening sky.
The park was empty, but we were late and couldn't stay for a ramble. DH growled again - about the time.

I had time today - having taken the day off to help a friend with errands. But my dear grumpy Gus had to go to work and so we headed home to get him fed and watered, dressed and ready.

We also planned an adventure in a nature area new to us for the end of the week. We will all be free to wander on Friday.

Cover your ears (or cover my mouth)! Cold walks with puppies....

Oh dear heavens!

It is COLD!

Our walks have been frantic short trips down the street with the pups so all can (1) get out of the house and (2) have a little exercise.

Our breath is frosted.

Our feet (and my hands) and our faces are numb.

We are the only creatures crazy enough to venture out in the cold dark evenings and COLDER dark mornings.

The water is frozen in dog bowls (Actually, we use large galvanized tubs, but that sounds weirdly un-poetic).

The sunrise promises warmth, but does not deliver (at least not until today).

Scruffy is thrilled to go inside.
Paddy is depressed.
Scruffy loves his crate.
Paddy hates hers.
Paddy is so sad, she rejects a cookie.
Oh, the degradation.

Cookie abandoned in the floor of the crate (she left it there all night and walked out without eating it).

We have struggled to find options for Paddy when the cold wind blows, but she will not behave in the house. It is really not her fault. Hobbes leads her on a merry chase. On one occasion (when she escaped the crate) I found some of our precious objects broken on the living room floor. It was obvious that either a hurricane had blown through the house or a dog and cat had played catch. [There is a "cat" in "catch," you know.]

NOTE:

OK. I did not deliver the <expletives deleted> you might have expected and I too thought would fill this post.

I warmed up and cooled off.

UPDATE:

It is warmer today, but raining. No walk - maybe tonight.

Food - Yes, I am that person

An army marches on its stomach* and walkers do need to eat. We did not eat "out" as much as we have on previous trips. MC and LD cooked many meals for us (We were well looked after!). These breakfasts and other meals were wonderful (and I have to get that crockpot roast recipe!).

LD, MC and DH's shoulder - in the kitchen.

German food is somehow comforting and familiar to me. I grew up on Texanized German cooking as my mother learned from her first generation German mother. We ate fried meats and potatoes and noodles and dumplings and boiled veggies and pickled veggies along with our southern black-eyed peas, cornbread, and okra.

My companions were none too cooperative in letting me photograph their meals, but they often allowed me a bite! And you can see how much I enjoyed the milchkaffee - especially with the decorated foamed milk.

 

Pizza - OK, I know this is Italian food, but it is pizza with a German twist.

 

Gnocchi with a creamy tomato sauce

Fish broiled in butter! The dish was rich and the plate was beautiful!

Look at this!

It was so lovely. I could have "eaten" the plate!

Coffee on the train. There was a croissant too, but I think it may have already been eaten.

See how pretty the decoration is on top?

  

Another decorated milchkaffee - German coffee with an Irish touch.

 

Breakfast with DH in the local bakery**.  Note the milchkaffe does not have a stencil atop, but it was still pretty good.

I'd best hurry - he is almost finished with his croissant.

A cone of small rolls and my final coffee in Germany. I think I ate my pasta dish before I remembered to take a picture. DH had a hamburger.

NOTES:

* Attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte

** DH and I traveled a bit for our honeymoon 30+ years ago. It should be no surprise that we still find it difficult to pass a bakery without stopping for a croissant (always a good choice).

[I will confess that we ate at McDonalds once. And it was pretty darned good! MC says there are different standards for fast food in Germany.]