A Few More Shades of Brown

I glanced out the window as I went to wash dishes tonight and found three deer almost at our back door! I grabbed my camera, but what must have been two yearlings, ran into the woods. Mom stayed awhile and ate some of the grass. She looked like she had a hard winter and wasn't particularly afraid of us watching her as she foraged for whatever she could find to eat, including the small buds on the trees and bushes. Meanwhile, her 'kids' were picking at the buds on the berry bushes at the edge of the woods (I guess we won't be expecting the banner crop of blackberries that we had last year). It's amazing that the thorns and prickers don't bother them. If they are hungry enough, they'll eat just about anything and everything in the yard. Oh well, I still enjoy seeing them.

50 Shades of Grey...and Brown!

We  have arrived in upstate New York and it still looks rather wintery up here. We even saw some snow in our travels to Ticonderoga today (and there was ice along the shady shore of Eagle Lake). It is hard to get used to the bare trees and hardly any green grass coming up, which makes everything look mono-chromatic and grey. Luckily though, lots of the old brown leaves from the fall have blown into the woods, but there is still plenty of work to be done around here. Dave even had to fix two frozen pipes in the cellar despite winterizing them before we left. The heat came right on, and thanks to Jim R. and John V., our cellar dried up from the deluges of intruding water this winter. The vehicles are all on the road now, and Hercules is ready to remove any fallen trees. Tomorrow I will be out on the New Holland tractor...if it's warm enough out! The tractor/motorcycle shed had 3"of ice in it this winter and everything was frozen to the ground. My favorite Billy Goat blower will be put into service too, and it makes quick work of any leaves and small branches that are left. Once the yard is picked up and in good shape, all the equipment will move down to the Saratoga Rd. house, which was defaulted on once again and we now have regained ownership. MUCH work is required there before we try and sell it...for the last time. Wow, I know I have said this before, but we sure have diversified lives!

North Bound

We are packing up and getting ready to head back home on Monday. I hope spring has arrived!

Cousins

What a fun day we had visiting Dave's cousins Eric and Peggy, down in Satellite Beach. It was fantastic to see them (and their adorable Chihuahua Daisy) and get caught up on all the news. To top it off, we found Mom's favorite restaurant to have lunch at...Friendly's!

We are looking forward to doing it all over again in the fall!

Practice

Dave is getting ready to return to W-O-R-K soon. Re-spoking my brother's wheel was great practice for him. Once the wheel was put on the truing stand you could tell that he hasn't lost his touch. It was almost perfect and required minimal adjusting.

My father(!!), sisters and I had an English teacher in junior high school that had this motto:

"Practice makes perfect, but only if it's perfect practice."

Oh so true....

Slow But Sure

What a great sighting when we came upon this large tortoise wandering in the sand dunes at Ponce Inlet!

Blogger just informed me that this is my 500th post. WOW, what a milestone!

The Many Faces of the Inlet

Ponce Inlet is one of our favorite places to go every time we are in the area. The conditions always differ and today was the exact opposite of our last trip.

Gales in November show its angry face.

Perfection in April keeps everyone smiling.

Last time we couldn't get near the fishing pier and this time we walked out to the end of the concrete pier itself. With the low tide and fairly calm conditions, other people were walking all the way out the rock jetty to the end, to get the best chance at catching fish.

 

We saw a few people catch fish, several surfers, paddle boarders, and a whole lot of variations of sunbathers. These two little boys really had us laughing. They were laying in this little puddle of water that must have been super warm. Then the one boy stuck his face right down into the water and sand. It was so cute to see how long he could hold his breath and what he looked like when he came up for air. It looked like his friend didn't want to go to quite that extreme. Both boys were young surf rats and had their own small boards.

It sure brought back memories of beach days as a kid, playing in the surf and sand, and building the Daytona Beach famous dribble tree sand castles.

Cheers!

It's been a week filled with lots of yard work, gardening, pressure washing, and projects to help Mom. This really gets us ready for doing the same kind of things when we head back north, only up home everything is on a much bigger scale. After all our hard work around Mom's house we decided to take a few days off and have some fun around Daytona. Note to self: ALWAYS BRING YOUR CAMERA, even if you are going places that you have been before! While kayaking I saw a bald eagle on a power pole that just sat there staring at me, an anhinga so close I could touch him (what gorgeous green around his eyes), and a manatee at the dock. Bummer, three missed photo opportunities.

When we went up to the Main Street Pier on the Honda Helix though, the camera was definitely in my pocket. What a difference a few months make.

November 2013

April 2014

Spring break had descended on the beach, and a national dance and cheer leading competition was taking place! Talk about an extreme sport! We tried to see what was happening up by the band shell, but it was totally cordoned off and we just peeked through the bleachers and saw girls and guys being tossed in the air. The acrobatics were phenomenal. All along the green space, groups were practicing, so I did get to take a few photos.

On the way back to the Helix, this bike was parked near us. 

 Ah yes, this must be Daytona where every biker under 21 needs a surfboard rack!

Wild Ride

We are back in Daytona! What a wild Gulf Stream ride we had on Ganesha yesterday. Actually the southerly current made the waves less in the Gulf Stream itself (wind and waves were from the SSE), but on both sides of the Stream there was a 2-5 foot swell/chop. Ganesha took it in stride at about 20 knots, and once we got used to the motion, it was quite fun. Picture going through an automatic car wash for several hours. Waves and spray would fly onto the windshield, then over the roof and wash down into the cockpit, all the while Ganesha charged on through the indigo water. Sorry I have no photos, but it would have been difficult since we all pretty much stayed put in our seats and didn't move around. We jokingly asked for seat belts. Thank you so much Heinz and Jacqueline for your amazing and much appreciated hospitality!

Once we were tied to the dock in Stuart, it was time to call and check into customs and immigration. We all had our local boaters cards (ours were old and we hadn't used them...as soon we got them we flew instead), but when Dave called they said mine didn't exist in the computer system! I was informed that I would have to go to the nearest airport to check in, which was closed at 4:30PM. We took our chances and headed to Daytona in our van. We went to the Daytona International Airport and checked in with the customs officer there, who said that the whole system was updated since we got our cards and we should get new ones (he couldn't find Dave in the system either, and wondered how the agent we had spoken to had found him). Thankfully the officer did complete the check-in process and I am in my own country legally now. ;-)

Dave has already been out on the Honda Helix several times and we are doing projects around Mom's house. It's a transition time as we generally decompress and get used to being back. Tomorrow we take on a REAL grocery store...what a treat that will be!