Last night we had a sunset. For those of you who have been to our Florida house you would know that we cannot normally see the sunset -- but with all that Brazilian Pepper removed, voila ! The sun is on its way down again and that's why I remembered !
No sooner had the area been cleared ... I saw the first snake other than roadkill. Tonight I saw another snake -- it seems that removing the vegetation has created an area where they can actually sun themselves. I expect that by the time we get back in June there will be enough short growth that they won't be interested in this area any more. I have not checked out what kind of snake it might be.
Tonight I saw a bobcat -- not unusual in itself because we've seen them before. This time, however, it was walking by at the bottom of the slope up against the mangroves. I expect that they don't want to get very far from shelter, should they need it.
We did go boating today, a fairly short trip. Out into the ocean -- a little rough -- back to the sandbar -- over to Inlet Harbor for lunch -- out of the water. It was quiet today, in real contrast to what it's been the last couple of times out.
What else ... with the boat back from our last trip this season, I gave it a good wash-down. I should also check the bearings, using the grease gun to force the old grease out to ensure that I don't see any water or rust. I'll do that before leaving. I have a spare set of bearings and races if necessary.
That's all - I'll write more in the a.m.
--------
After the 600k ... Terry, me, Alain, Viktoryia
Olivia & Carmen
Abby waiting patiently, or not
Looking up at the palms at the back of the house, a new perspective
Is it a bird, is it a plane ?
nope, it's the shuttle
I posted these and other pictures yesterday in RECENT. It's embarrassing to realize how few I've taken. At the same time I moved the pictures that were in RECENT into 2008 and 2009 folders. It's easier to do that down here because upload/download speeds are so much better.
I hear that AT&T is bringing fiber into the area but I am not streaming video or (illegally) doing file sharing so would not likely notice any real difference. In fact, I could probably reduce my internet speed with RoadRunner and not notice the difference. We'll shortly be back to the land of slow internet connection anyway with our satellite service up north. They call it "high speed" ... ha. It's only high speed compared to dial-up.
Today ... pack the car for tomorrow's biking adventure. I'll leave here around 3pm so that I get into Gainesville in time for the 6:30 check-in. Hopefully the weather will hold. Even though it's supposed to be dry, we got a quick downpour after dinner last night. I don't have a packable rain jacket for that kind of thing.
We talked to Bonnie yesterday. All's well there, except for her knee. She has an MRI appointment in Orillia on the Friday afternoon of Victoria Day weekend to get it looked at. It's only 135 miles away but traffic will be heavy when they head back home. Looking at the map, Orillia has to be pretty close to her daughter Pam's, so they may go there before/after, I don't know. They are heading to Sault Ste. Marie the same day that we are due to arrive up north so she plans to put our mail etc. inside the back door.
I was just checking my old emails and it looks like Jason, Lorraine and Kim return from the UK tomorrow. I exchanged emails with George and they are heading out right after we get up north, on their way to Calgary and on to Alaska.
The northern hemisphere is shedding its winter clothing and our summer alter-egos all come out to play !
George referred to my obsession/passion/activity and I responded that it's an addiction. Yes, my biking addiction will continue, just in another venue. Jason had referred to my pro biking career ... unfortunately it costs money, it doesn't make money. It costs a lot. Parts wear and need to be replaced. Clothing wears and needs to be replaced. I can continue to wear a ratty looking jersey, (and do) but with biking shorts I have no choice. The rides themselves are relatively inexpensive -- eg. $40 for the 600k ride tomorrow + 2x$50 for the hotel room for two nights. To that add about another $100 for Perpetuem, gels and convenience store purchases - but that's just food. I need food regardless -- of course I'll consume a week's worth of food in 30 hours, but ...
Some pictures:
Onward. Don't expect to see any posting until either late Sunday or early Monday, depending on how I feel. This time I won't bother to bring the PC with me. The last time at the Gainesville Rush Lake Motel I did not have a connection, but even when I did have a connection at the Days Inn in Tavares, I didn't use it.
No comments:
Post a Comment