Christmas Eve 2021

Hope you are enjoying this holiday season! Below is a poem written by a man named Joseph David, which is perfect for this year:

T ’was the night before Christmas, but Covid was here,

So we all had to stay extra cautious this year.

Our masks were all hung by the chimney with care

In case Santa forgot his and needed a spare.

With Covid, we couldn't leave cookies or cake

So we left Santa hand sanitizer to take.

The children were sleeping, the brave little tots

The ones over 5 had just had their first shots,

And mom in her kerchief and me in my cap

Had just settled in for a long winter's nap.

But we tossed and we turned all night in our beds

As visions of variants danced in our heads.

Gamma and Delta and now Omicron

These Covid mutations that go on and on

I thought to myself, "If this doesn't get better,

I'll soon be familiar with every Greek letter".

Then just as I started to drift off and doze

A clatter of noise from the front lawn arose.

I leapt from my bed and ran straight down the stair

I opened the door, and an old gent stood there.

His N 95 made him look pretty weird

But I knew who he was by his red suit and beard.

I kept six feet away but blurted out quick

" What are you doing here, jolly Saint Nick?"

Then I said, "Where's your presents, your reindeer and sleigh ?

Don't you know that tomorrow will be Christmas Day? ".

And Santa stood there looking sad in the snow

As he started to tell me a long tale of woe.

He said he'd been stuck at the North Pole alone

his white collar elves had been working from home,

And most of the others said "Santa, don't hire us!

We can live off the CERB now, thanks to the virus".

Those left in the toyshop had little to do.

With supply chain disruptions, they could make nothing new.

And as for the reindeer, they'd all gone away.

None of them left to pull on his sleigh.

He said Dasher and Dancer were in quarantine,

Prancer and Vixen refused the vaccine,

Comet and Cupid were in ICU,

So were Donner and Blitzen, they may not pull through.

And Rudolph's career can't be resurrected.

With his shiny red nose, they all think he's infected.

Even with his old sleigh, Santa couldn't go far.

Every border to cross needs a new PCR.

Santa sighed as he told me how nice it would be

If children could once again sit on his knee.

He couldn't care less if they're naughty or nice

But they'd have to show proof that they'd had their shot twice.

But then the old twinkle returned to his eyes.

And he said that he'd brought me a Christmas surprise.

When I unwrapped the box and opened it wide,

Starlight and rainbows streamed out from inside.

Some letters whirled round and flew up to the sky

And they spelled out a word that was 40 feet high.

There first was an H, then an O, then a P,

Then I saw it spelled HOPE when it added the E.

"Christmas magic" said Santa as he smiled through his beard.

Then suddenly all of the reindeer appeared.

He jumped into his sleigh and he waved me good-bye,

Then he soared o'er the rooftops and into the sky.

I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight

"Get your vaccines my friends, Merry Christmas, good-night".

Then I went back to bed and a sweet Christmas dream

Of a world when we'd finished with Covid 19.

Merry Christmas from Jensen Beach and thanks for reading!

Walk The Walk

 After some gorgeous weather, we have had a couple of quite chilly days, which have been great for morning walks on the local trails, or as they are call it, the scrub community. Yesterday we were at the Walton Scrub Preserve, which was a short half mile loop through the sandy scrubs and along the train tracks. This morning we went back to one of our favorite trails called Hawk's Bluff, that meandered about a mile through the beautiful sugar sand and scrubland, along the Savanna marshes, and though a woody hammock (see last season's post). They call this a very difficult trail, but to us people from the Adirondacks, it was quite easy. I think they say that because of the soft sand and at one point there is an incline, which, since we did the loop backwards, we did it going down instead of up. Plus, we are still trying to figure out what this rack is for...bikes, walking sticks, kayak paddles?

Now this is what we consider a white Christmas! 

Those white flowers were the only thing in bloom at this time of year, but last spring there were all sorts of flowers. Birdlife included a great white egret, mockingbirds, gallinules or moorhens, and even a sandhill crane. What a fantastic way to explore and get back to nature. Christmas rush? What Christmas rush?

😎

Great Starts

I won't bore you too often with RC sailboat racing, but yesterday Dave had some awesome starts (that is his white boat out front with the Flyin' Fish insignia on the sail in the photos below). He would end up falling back in the pack, but during one of the races he placed second. No 'Bubble Boy' for him this time!

RC Regatta

The big radio-controlled sailboat regatta was a huge hit in Poppleton Park about a week ago. Dave didn't race, since he felt he didn't have enough experience yet and didn't want to get in the way. It was still fun to watch, and with 34 boats entered, they had to split them into three fleets, so there weren't too many on the course at the same time. The Palm Beach Gardens RC Club ran the races and were extremely organized. Race meeting and instructions...

Their chase boat was a kayak, and the paddler also was in charge of moving markers and trying to get rid of any weeds that floated onto the course (he stayed away from the gator that checked out what was happening though 😉). There were two full days of competitive racing with Saturday set aside for the smaller Dragon 65s and Sunday for the 95s, which is what Dave has. They didn't even have an official break for the provided lunch, and the racers had to grab it when their fleet wasn't racing. The funniest thing was when the PRO (Principal Race Officer) said that as soon as one race ended with most of the boats crossing the finish line, another would begin. If you were way back in the race, you were considered in a bubble, since a new race may have started before you finished. If you were a "Bubble Boy" and needed time to eat, you could request it and they would give you a few extra minutes. This wasn't quite as important with the 95s with 3 fleets but was with the 65s as they only had 2 fleets.

Today is another local race day and Dave will be out there with perfect wind conditions to get the experience he needs to enter the next big competition. Our friend Bob, and also our neighbor John across the street, both have new 95s and will be racing today. Somehow, I think they will end up being the "Bubble Boys" this time. Practice makes perfect though! 😎

Dinosaurs In Florida?

Yes, there are dinosaurs in Florida right now! They are at the McKee Botanical Gardens in Vero Beach, and it couldn't be a more perfect place for the display. The 18 acres of lush tropical gardens with paths, creeks, and ponds had all sorts of exotic plants, flowers, fish, and of course the dinosaur displays throughout it. Being as it is Christmastime, the paths are lined with luminaries, lights, and other seasonal displays. There were also a couple of decorated buildings to walk through, along with a huge bamboo pavilion, plus a Stickwork archway called Grand Central. In 2020 it took 3 weeks and lots of volunteers to build it from willow trees. Be sure to read all about it by clicking on the photo below.

I had no idea what most of the flowers and plants were called, but many had informative signs and they were in bloom, including this Cycad with huge seed pods that looked like gigantic pinecones about 18" long. 

Then there was this Rainbow Eucalyptus tree that was so colorful! We had never seen anything like it before.

Here are a few other scenes in the gardens...

Then there were the dinosaurs which moved and roared. I loved the eyes opening and closing. They too had informative plaques, but I would never be able to remember their long names. What a natural environment for them, some complete with ponds and waterfalls in the background.

To top it all off, we had a really nice lunch at their cafe. It really made us hungry seeing all the cookies coming out of the kitchen that were cooling and ready to be bagged for sale during the nighttime Christmas light display.

Thank you Bruce and Judy for introducing us to this marvelous place! What a memorable day we had with you. 

The Extreme

What a day we had down at Peanut Island in Palm Beach! We joined Barry and Barb when they trailered their skiff down to Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach. We timed it perfect for the tide to be nearly high and the water was crystal clear like the Bahamas. 3 of the 'Fab 4', as we are calling ourselves, went snorkeling as soon as we got anchored on the northern side of the island (I was having some back issues and stayed on land). Dave claims that he had never seen the underwater visibility as good as it was that day, and not a jellyfish to be found...or felt. After our picnic lunch, we took a great walk around the perimeter of the island eying up all the iguanas, which have really been multiplying since our last trip in the spring. 

Then it was time to venture though the port to see what freight boats and mega-yachts were docked. We certainly weren't disappointed! 

This is the 183.9 ft. sailing yacht 'Fidelis' with its 31.11 ft. draft and 192 ft. mast!

Then there was the yacht 'Bold', which is 297 ft. in length.

Next, we headed south to Safe Harbor, which used to be Spencer-Rybovich. We were in awe of all the yachts docked there. They weren't quite as big as the 'Bold', but still huge, and many were so different looking (notice in the first photo, the 'tender' in the side of the yacht). Definitely extreme and you could tell we were in Palm Beach....or is this St. Martin? 😉

This is where the 'Empress of Palm Beach' used to call home, back when we were deckhands on board, many moons ago. Now it is for the sheriff's boats. That's a lot of 400 HP outboards!

Thanks Barry and Barb for an awesome outing! We are so glad we could show you around this area that holds lots of memories for us. Now we have made special memories there with you too!