December 21, 2020 - The last time I wrote on this blog was March 17th, the day after we got home from Florida. In the last paragraph of that posting, I predicted that this would be a Century year, one that we would never forget. Little did I know how true that would turn out to be. I needn't go over the reasons for that prophecy having been fulfilled, as we've all been living with the impact of the Corona Virus for just over 9 months now. And it ain't over yet, baby!

However, there are good reasons to be hopeful, despite the reports of a new version of the virus in Britain. Seems this little bug can transpose itself into something more effective in terms of transmission, but we have to hope the vaccines that have been developed will deal with it in its new form. Despite the naysayers, who abhor the idea of having their arms poked with the vaccine, we will roll up our sleeves when our turn comes, whenever that may be.

How have we been spending our time since we rolled into the driveway in March? As usual, we try to find ways to be active, so have always managed to stay busy. Gail enjoyed her kayak during the summer, and did quite a bit of biking, as we now have a terrific Milennium Trail, which is flat and rambles 43 kilometers along a transformed rail bed here in the County. We have both given time to volunteering, Gail at two of the local thrift shops, and I at the Food Bank. I played golf with three of my buddies, once or twice a week in various locales. And we always try to work in a walk most days.

In addition, Gail is back to knitting, now trying to do a 4 needle thing. And since getting home, I've been painting barn quilts. I'll give you some samples below, if I can remember how to post them.

The barn quilt project been an enjoyable process, but the basement is beginning to be over-run with the finished products. So some have been given away, and one even sold, the proceeds going to our Hospital Rebuild project. Any that may be sold will find the funds directed to the same project, probably the most important initiative in out community at present. We have the approvals for a new hospital, needed to replace a our current facility, which is aging and needs to go. Hopefully shovels will go in the ground in a couple of years. But there's still a lot of fund-raising to be done locally.

Aside from that, we wrestle with the limits of interaction with others. Christmas will be different this year, as we will probably do an outside visit with the kids in Belleville, then come home to have an intimate dinner for two in front of our Christmas tree. Hopefully we can arrange a drink with our neighbors, out on the deck, maintaining distance around our little outdoor portable fireplace. 

For any of you who happen to get an alert that this posting is available, Gail and I hope you have a good Christmas, and wish you all the best in 2021. No doubt it will be a much better year, once we get through the first few months.

Tuesday, March 17 - We're home. Got back last night, after a 12 hour drive from West Virginia. Once we saw the shining waters of Lake Erie, we decided to forego arrangements made to get the r.v. winterized in Erie, and instead forged on towards the border cross-point. We expected a considerable delay in crossing over. But you may not believe this, we were through in less than 5 minutes. There was one car ahead of us, and once he was through, we rolled up, answered 4 questions, the usual ones except "Are any of you feeling sick?". We are feeling fine, of course. Passports handed back and on we went. Not even a hand-out about what to do in view of this pandemic. Rather surprising, as friend Kathy crossed at Windsor yesterday, and got a 5 minute interrogation and info session. Not too consistent!

By this time, why the hell should we motel it when we're within 4 hours of home. So we booted it on through, bleary eyed and in some kind of zone, staring at white lines and trying to stay between them. Somehow I missed the 401 transfer from the QE, so ended up downtown and then onto the Don Valley. Wondered why the lanes were so narrow and why so much construction, until it dawned on me that I was downtown. As I say, you get into a zone, and hardly know where you are.

Anyway, we arrived in Belleville at 9 p.m., in time to have a hastily thrown-together birthday celebration, thanks to Jeff and Sharon. Even had a birthday cake and presents for the newly crowned 77 year old who looks like she's 20 years younger than that. They made a big decision to go into voluntary seclusion, given that Anna has just returned from the U.S., and thus if she is to stay there, they are subject to the same rules as is she. Not good for sister Kate, as it means she can't see her boy-friend for two weeks. The sacrifices one must make for one's sister.

And now we're home. Slept about 11 hours last night, and now have the r.v. unloaded, pretty much, and the mail sorted, emails caught up, and the floor swept. What the hell do we do for the next 13 days? We've had numerous calls from friends, which are much appreciated. That will be our pipeline until we are liberated. We can still go outside for walks. Just don't come near us. We do take this very seriously, and keep saying this is like nothing any of us have ever seen in our lifetimes. We were born during WW II, but since that time, nothing has really impacted the world as seriously as this which we face today.

So we wash our hands regularly, cough into our elbows, stay away from people, and drink lots of fluids. I'm on my second whiskey for the evening as I write. I'll no doubt have another cup of tea as well.

This year will no doubt go down as the Century Year, the one that we will all remember for a long time. Many will not live through it. We will!! And life will go on, as it always has. We are truly glad to be home in our little house, safe and sound, and thank all who have followed our adventures, dull and mundane as they may have been. We will travel again. But not for awhile. So more later. Sometime. Stay tuned.

Monday, March 15 - Beware the Ides of March. These are evil times. Black clouds cover the earth. Danger lurks around every corner. Walk carefully. Sneeze into your sleeve. Wash your hands regularly...and thoroughly. Corona hides  where you least expect it.

And so we have fled the lovely climes of Florida. Last night in Statesboro Georgia was just fine, except for some weird alarm system that went off at 5 a.m. and didn't stop for an eternity. Today we were off at the crack of 8:30, and are now safely placed in an r.v. park that isn't supposed to be open, but is, here in West Virginia. Our goal is to get to Erie PA, where I've lined up an rv. dealer who will winterize the unit, as we expect there will still be a number of nights with sub-freezing temps. We'll motel it for tomorrow night, somewhere, then breach the border, with hopes they will allow us to return. How could they not!!??

Today is our dear friend Marian Ellis's birthday...so we send many happy felicitations. Tomorrow is Gail's birthday. God knows where we'll be, so we'll likely celebrate on Tuesday, with family, assuming we get across the border.

We've been in a few grocery stores in the last couple of days. No toilet paper!! Totally gone. And at Walmart's this evening...no bread. The entire section of shelves...empty. People are being irrational, yet somehow are fighting for survival against this unseen enemy. We know it's out there. We just don't really know where! So we all wash and sanitize and sneeze carefully, hoping it will save us.

Not really meaning to make light of this crisis, as it is truly dangerous, and is claiming lives in considerable numbers...just like the flu does every year. So we'll do as we're advised. Go home. Stay at home. Hope that neighbours will look after us.

More later. Stay tuned.

Friday, the 13th of March - Appropriate date for things not going as we'd hoped. We have a time share booked in the Orlando area for next week, with the idea that Jeff and family would join us for March Break. Because of the Corona crisis, that's not going to happen. With good cause, they have decided they are best not to come, given the uncertainty of border crossings, all of the alerts, the increasing number of cases all across the world, and all that goes with it. So we will head home tomorrow with Anna.

It's kind of gone crazy. We went shopping at the local Publix store this morning, and there was clearly a heightened business in the store. The large space for toilet paper on the shelves was empty. We were limited to 2 small boxes of tissues (and me with my allergies..oh well). People were clearly stocking up on certain items. One woman had a cart full of large Diet Coke jugs. Go figure. The woman in front of me at check out was quite upset with the way people were thinking only of themselves by stocking up on some products in such large quantities. The store is trying to control that, but it's difficult.

The multiple cancellations at so many venues, and all of the sports leagues, really drives home the severity of this crisis. Trump has not helped with defensive statements, and unclear policy. The left wing tribe are certainly out for his scalp, as usual. But the problem isn't much different in a lot of other countries including our own, where there isn't really a national policy in place to date. Some provinces are closing schools for two weeks. Others are banning travel?| We don't know. But all we know is we'd best be going home. If all goes well, we should be back by Monday night.

Thanks for riding along with us. We'll wrap up when home. So more later. Stay tuned.

Wed., March 11 - We are now in a very large r.v. park north of Orlando, just outside of the town of Eustis. Look it up on the map, and you may find it. We came to this area because someone we met told us about a place called Mount Alma, which she said was a really neat little town. We're about 8 miles from the place, so plan to visit it tomorrow.

Eustis is a nice little town, located on a lake (Lake Eustis, wouldn't you know!) with a lovely waterfront. The town has suffered the fate of many small towns across the world, evidenced by a walk around the main core. Several empty  store fronts sadly attest to the declline of the town. Two miles out of town, near our park, are two large grocery stores and two of the drug store chains, which have obviously diverted a lot of shopping from the main street of town. In order to try to bring commerce back, the town has constructed a really nice walkway over the water along the lake front, and they're in the process of redeveloping a large park area on the waterfront. Good luck to them.

Today Anna and Gail and I walked to the Trout Lake Nature Park, and did some nice walking around a fine cypress forest. Not much action so far as wildlife, but it was a nice outing, with two very good buildings full of interesting displays. Then Gail and I walked into town while Anna headed back to the park (she doesn't handle the heat very well, and it's quite warm today). We tried to spur the local economy along by having lunch downtown, after taking a look at an anhinga nest with three little ones, newly hatched. By the time we got back to our rig, we'd put in about 12 kms on foot, so were ready for chairs and a book.

About this park. It's huge. More than 900 r,v, sites, and another 400 permanent sites. There are three sections to the park, three rec halls, swimming pools, shuffleboard, bocci courts, and a vigorous activity program. It's a small town, really, about the size of Wellington in terms of winter population. Wednesday breakfast (we didn't know you have to buy tickets ahead of time, so went home empty), Thursday lunch, Friday dinner, and entertainment quite frequently. We'll do bingo tomorrow night, as Anna got a kick out of it in Homosassa. There's no end of things to do. Good thing, 'cause there isn't much to do in the area, unless you want to head into Orlando. Is this the life for us? Categorically, at this stage of our young lives, NO! There's good spirit here, and the people are friendly, but we're not ready to join the shuffleboard brigade just yet.

It's been great having Anna along. Lots of games, jug saw puzzles, just fun having her along. Then we move to Kissimmee to our time share, and wait for the kids to show up. We've done some biking, a lot of walking, just putting in the time in pretty good weather. I've been feeling pretty well since the hospital adventure, although there are still traces of the abdominal problem, but the main thing has been big problems with sinuses. I finally got a pharmacist to recommend something that I think will work, based on last night's experience. Previously, I was up in the middle of the night hardly able to breathe. This is pollen season, and if you're allergic, it's pretty tough to deal with.

Bottom line, I think we'll head home as soon as the kids are on their way after March break. We're ready to head north. We also are sad to learn that Jan Munn, one of our good friends, had a fall recently and did some serious damage to herself. We wish her all the best during this difficult time. It's been that kind of winter. So it'll be good to get back to hearth and home.

Below, a couple of pictures of mother anhinga ( a bird similar to the cormorant) with her chicks, and a sizable water snake coiled up on an old pier post. And that's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Thursday, Mar 5 - The weather has returned to normal. As I sit here, we have the air con on, as Anna doesn't do well with the heat. It's breezy as well, so we decided to stick around the park today, 'specially since there may be rain later on. Doesn't hurt to hunker down for a day, although it's not something we're known to do too often.

It's been great having  Anna here. We took her to our favorite Wildlife Park on Tuesday, and spent the day there. We go every year, as it's such a nice setting, and we're very familiar with many of the creatures that live there. I'll post some pictures of our friends. We also like the park a lot because most of the residents are rescue animals and birds, well looked after and monitored for their health.

Yesterday, Gail and Anna rented kayaks and enjoyed a couple of hours on the river, chasing manatees. They saw 5 of them, including one mother with her calf, which was pretty exciting. We had also seen several at the Wildlife Center, but seeing them out in the river is even better. Last evening was even more exciting, however, as we played bingo here in the park. Gail got lucky on one game and won 15 bucks. Anna and I were shut out. But it was fun, with about 50 people taking part. We go to all lengths to keep our grand-daughter amused.

I've not been quite as perky as usual, mainly because of the inflammation issue in the lower body, and because the sinuses don't want to behave. So my energy level has been a bit on the low-side. However, I'm taking my medication, and hope all goes better by the end of the week. Not a worry!!

Oh, I also have to mention that we walked into the village on Monday, and introuduced Anna to our favorite pub, The Shed. Sat and had a drink and watched the pelicans fly by. We've noticed this year that there seems to be an increase in traffic and the number of people in Homosassa. Seems like this little spot we've come to like so much is being discovered by a lot of other people. We hope it doesn't get over-run so that it takes away from the special atmosphere of the area.l

That's about it. I'll see if the wifi here supports pictures. In some parks the photos come up very quickly, and in others they crawl to the screen. Here goes.

First guy is a little burrowing owl, a tiny little guy who lives in a hole in the ground, sometimes a tunnel that's constructed by gopher tortoise.
Next is a caracara, a very handsome bird. Then a couple of white pelicans, which we can sometimes see in Canada, particularly in southern Alberta.
Next is a wood stork, showing his full wing span to this mate. Trying to lure here into his clutches, no doubt. Then a black vulture, cousin to our turkey vultures. He's much better looking than his cousins.
On to a look at two fine looking ladies who are enjoying the park.
Next is a roseate spoonbill. His name is pretty self-explanatory. Next is a great egret with a lovely water back-ground.
On to manatees out in the river area. In the park there is a rehab center for manatees that encounter problems in the river, such as getting hit by boat props or rammed by boats. There is a vet available to oversee the health of these huge harmless creatures. And finally, our friend Lu the hippo, who has been in this park for 56 years. He has been in a couple of movies, is the oldest living hippo in this hemisphere, and just turned 60.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Monday, March 2 -- We're in a new month, one that usually suggests that spring can't be too far away. We are finally getting out of the cold spell we've had for several days, as yesterday was quite fine. Sunny and warm during the day, perfect for biking and for sitting on the deck at our favorite roost, The Shed, listening to a very good 6 piece band and enjoying a couple of brews. Life is good when you are well.

I wasn't well on Saturday. For some reason, I had considerable abdominal pain, which started just after I got up, and increased as the day wore on. Not being accustomed to such, we finally decided we'd better get it looked into. So we phoned our insurance people, who authorized us to go to the Seven Rivers hospital in Crystal River. We went immediately, as I was able to drive,  not wanting Gail to have to do so, as it would have been very difficult for her. We have to get her behind the wheel more often to give her confidence that she can drive this old rig.

Long story short, I got great attention. I was taken to the intake nurse before the receptionist had all of my info. Into the ER, checked out by a nurse, blood taken, samples of other fluids taken, and before long, in for a catscan, if you can believe it. After 3 hours, the results came back, showing all readings good, except there seemed to be some inflammation in the bowel. Prescription issued, bill to be sent (no idea what it will cost), and home we went. I was feeling somewhat better, and by the end of the day, the pain was minimal. Next morning I felt well.

So we tested the out-of-country medical coverage system for the first time, and it came out shining. We'll see how it goes when the bill is processed for a claim, but since everything we did was pre-approved, there shouldn't be a problem. A little scare well looked after.

The good news is that our grand-daughter Anna arrived last night after a monumental day of travel. Her devoted father drove her to the airport in Toronto, leaving at 2 a.m., and after a plane ride, two city buses, a bus from Orlando to Tampa, another bus to Crystal River, and an uber taxi ride (with the driver and other passenger smoking during the drive, much to Anna's disgust), she arrived at our r.v. park. We fed her and chatted a bit and put her to bed. It'll be fun having her share our digs for the next couple of weeks.

That's it for now. No pictures. Stay tuned. More later.

Friday, Feb 28 - Normally the last day of Feb., but one more to go given this is a Leap Year. Just what we need, an extra day of winter. Which is what we have here in Florida. We have another cold front, so the heater is on, the furnace has been working, and although it's going to be another sunny day, the temp is going only into the 50sF. Down to 1F tonight. But it's only temporary, as next week promises to be back to normal.

So we haven't been doing much. It rained all day Wednesday, so we were confined to barracks. Yesterday we managed to get in a little 15 km bike ride, and sat in the sun reading, despite a quite cool breeze from the north. Today we hope to venture a little further, as it should be a little warmer.

The main excitement yesterday was having a red-shouldered hawk land on our skylight. We were having breakfast, when all of a sudden there was a clatter on the roof. I looked up, and there was a hawk, having a drink from water that had accumulated on the skylight. And he stayed there for several minutes, long enough for us to observe him as close to a hawk as you'll ever get, and to take a few pictures. I'll post a few of them right now.

As low-key birders (meaning we love chasing after our feathered friends, but don't get too serious, like keeping a life list), this was very exciting. He is a beautiful bird, one we think we'd seen sitting on a tree branch the day before. But to have him this close for several minutes was quite a treat. The third photo shows him looking down to see what we were having for breakfast. Guess Gail's All Bran didn't appeal, as he left a couple of minutes later.

Other than that, we await the arrival of grand-daughter Anna on Sunday evening, and hope the weather is much better for her visit. She'll no doubt inject some life into the humdrum existence of these old codgers. All for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Wed., Feb 26 - We were about to go for a bike ride, when the rain started. And is it ever coming down now, with even a little thunder thrown in for effect. We could float away if this keeps up, although it's supposed to ease off before long. Folks in parts of Mississippi have been dealing with a lot of flooding, and southern Louisiana has also had a lot of rain, so maybe it's just as well we stayed in Florida this winter.

We moved here to Homosassa on Monday, into a park we haven't tried before. It's quite nice, right on the river, so we're pleased with the location and facilities. But yesterday it threatened to rain most of the day, and finally got started in the later afternoon. And didn't really stop all evening. We managed to get a good walk in before it started, but then we were confined to barracks, as we are now. Rain to continue until this evening, then sunshine and cooler for a couple of days. Should be nice by the week-end. Not really complaining, as for the most part, we've had pretty fine weather.

Our last couple of days in New Port Richie were pleasant enough. I did a long ride on Saturday, 54 kms, so the next day we took it easy. We went back to Tarpon Springs, did a little 25 km ride, then wandered the town, had lunch at Mama's, bought a sponge, watched the tourists, loads of them. It's a busy town, the sponge industry the main attraction (Spong Capital of the World), so it was a good diversion for our last day in the area.

We had a short drive to come here on Monday, so stopped off at the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. This is a very popular site, mainly because of the Mermaid Show that has been running here for decades.The spring has a pool 400 feet deep, fed from the aquifer, with crystal clear water. An ex-navy frogman discovered the place's potential, so started an entertainment centre that features swimmers dressed in mermaid suits, who perform for an audience behind a large glass wall. They carry oxygen hoses, and do a quite remarkable 30 minute show 2 of 3 times a day. There are about 8 females, and a couple of males, who run through several routines involving underwater acrobatics, a story line that tells the history of the place,  a skit about the invasion of algae, with a guy dressed up like a blob descending upon the mermaids. They speak to the audience, or rather lip-sync, but very convincingly. They also eat and drink underwater, which I wouldn't try to do. I have enough trouble these days eating at the dining table.

It's a little hard to describe, so I'll post a couple of photos that may convey the performance. The park is quite well set-up, with boat rides on the river available if you get there early enough (we were too late at 11:00), and they also have a reptile show, which was pretty basic, but okay. There's a good restaurant for the basics, and several colorful peacocks roaming the grounds, one of which gave us a full display. So it was a good stop, and worth a visit if you're ever in the Weeki Wachee area north of Port Richie.

We met an interesting fellow here in the park yesterday, a retired guy from Colorado, who is just getting used to not working. He and his wife were in the ski hill business in the mountains for 40 years, but had to slow right down as a result of an accident he had two years ago. He slipped on the edge of a slope, and went down end over end quite a distance. He managed to climb up and go home, but next day and the days that followed became very painful. Turned out he'd broken a major disc, the second cervicle, which resulted in a couple of tricky surgeries to patch him up. Lucky he didn't end up a paraplegic. He said he's broken nearly every bone in his body over his life-time, having been a bit of an adventurer, so finds having to slow down difficult. No more skiing, as the result of a fall could be catastrophic. He's lucky to be alive, and wakes up every morning acknowledging that fact.

Still pouring! So I'll post a couple of pictures. The first shows one of the mermaids doing her thing. Each carries an oxygen hose, which they use very efficiently, and they are able to control their position underwater by controlling their inhaling and exhaling somehow. Breathe in oxygen, and descend. Breathe out, and rise. Beyond this landlubber to know just how it works, but it's quite impressive. They do two costume changes during the show, as you can see in the second and third pictures, which is also pretty amazing for a 30 minute show, considering they have to exit the pool, change,  and come back in very quickly. Takes me 15 minutes just to get into my bathing suit.

The bottom two pictures show the bottom and front of Mr. Peacock. He was really strutting his stuff. There were 3 or 4 hens heading for the exit as we were leaving. The word was out that the male was feeling amorous, and they wanted nothing to do with it.

That's about it for now. We hope the rain lets up so we can get on our bikes and go over to The Shed, our favorite watering hole, for a beer and french fries. Sunshine tomorrow, so we'll get there eventually. Thinking of and missing our friends and family back home. More later. Stay tuned.

Saturday, Feb 22 - The weeks do roll by, as there's only one more week left in February. It's been a strange week weather-wise, as we were in very warm and humid weather during the early part of the week, until Thursday evening, when a cold front rolled in. If there were iguanas around this neck of the woods, they'd be falling out of the trees again. Hope it's warmer over at Lake Worth where the iguanas are in fairly large numbers. This morning the temp was 43F upon our rising, so the furnace was on overnight, and the little electric heater is still going as I speak. Warmer tomorrow.

We've had a good stay here. On Tuesday, we had a highlight day, as we drove to Tarpon Springs, got on the bike trail there heading towards Clearwater, and just as we got started, there were Tom and Betty Garrity. They'd ridden from Clearwater to meet us, and did so much more than half-way. That's their style...go go go. We had a lovely leisurely ride to a very neat restaurant, the Ozona Blue Grilling Company, right on the water, complete with a swimming pool. Bring your swim-gear, and you can have a swim during or after lunch. Bring the kids, and let them have fun in the water while you dine. What a neat concept.

We did a lot of catching up on many things, including a bit of planning for the 2022 DND Reunion we're charged with organizing. Then we rode on towards Honeymoon Island, thinking to check out the beach, but ran out of time, so turned about, said our farewells, and concluded a really nice day with two great friends.

Thursday we had a slow leak in Gail's front tire to deal with, so found a bike shop via the internet, and rode to downtown New Port Richie, which we'd never done before. It's about 10 kms from here, all urban riding, but we managed, got the tire fixed, did a little tour around the lovely park in this rather nice little town center, had some pizza, and headed back. I carried on to the nearby Starkey Park, and did a good ride, ending up with 51 kms for the day. And then the cold front came in. We went to the country music show some of the residents put on every Thursday evening, and that warmed us up.

So yesterday, cold and windy, hunkering down, reading a book, a walk by Lar over to the shopping center to get some supplies. And last night we attended a concert right here in the park, a father-son-daughter trio called the Marlinaires. Could they ever entertain! The dad is one of 6 sons, from Indiana, whose father was big-time in American music, playing with many famous people, like Chet Atkins. All 6 sons ended up in the music business, playing all over the States as group for 40 years. This son decided to set up his own group with his daughter and wife, and was then joined by his son, who took Mom's place when he got out of the military. They put on a great show, the Dad in particular an amazing musician on guitar, fiddle and banjo. Plus singing, some good humour, some patriotic stuff...a really great show for the older set. I checked their schedule, and they perform nearly every night in the winter season, at legions, r.v. parks and so on, around the Tampa area.

This morning we went to a pancake breakfast put on by the residents of the park. Everything that is going on here is organized by the park residents, and there's a lot of it. A great spot to stay if  want a sociable place to spend the winter or part thereof. Very friendly folks, some from Ontario. In fact, we met one fellow from Picton, who has been staying here for about 4 years His name is Maurice Yarrow, a former Cement Plant employee. Met his wife last night, Cecilia, who was a Champion. We remembered each other from school. They're good friends of Dr. Janice Istead, who is down here not far from this park, apparently.

I'll probably do a ride today, Gail a walk. Our Grand-daughter Anna is doing her audition for entry to Mohawk College's Music Program, so we have our fingers crossed that all will go well. That's our main preoccupation for the day. So that's it for now. We move on in two days to our old favorite, Homosassa. We're trying a different r.v. park, so hope that works out. All for now. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, Feb 18 - We've moved! We're back in the New Port Ritchie area, at Orchid Lake Park, one that we discovered last year and enjoyed. Good weather today, so it looks like a fine day to go for a bike ride. We'll drive over to Tarpon Springs, sponge capital of the world, and hit the Pinella Bike Trail, so that we can meet friends Betty and Tom Garrity for lunch. They'll bike from their place in Clearwater, so that's what you call meeting friends half-way, which we should always try to do, no?

A bit about last week, because we managed to do something interesting each day. We mentioned the very nice state park that we visited, Koreshan SP, which has a nice little river, the Estero, running though it. So we went back, rented a canoe, and paddled up and down the river for a couple of hours. It was very peaceful, a quiet river, narrow, slow-flowing, so great for two people who don't always agree on who should be doing what on which side of the canoe. As the captain, I found that my mate didn't always follow my orders. But I shouldn't have been surprised, cause that's usually the case with most things we do. A good day, with the canoe ride sandwiched in between two 10 kilometer bike rides.

Next day we dared to ride the urban bike trails all the way to the beach, about a 12 km ride. And a nice beach it is, as dear friend Marian Elllis well knows, as she's spent quite a lot of time in this area. It reminded us of Portugal on the Algarve. As you came down the stairs onto the beach, there was a considerable crowd of people, all bunched into a relatively confined area. As you walked either direction along the beach, there was hardly anyone. Just like Portuagal, where the people clearly wanted to be where lots of other people were. Nice beach, nice walk on it. That's it for me and beaches. Gail had a swim in the rather cool water. Good for her. I cheered her on.

We went back to Koreshan Park once again on Sunday, because they had a Farmer's Market going on. As well, some of the old buildings were open, with demonstrations going on, of baking, machining, and in particular, blacksmithing. I want to focus on the latter. The blacksmith was in the process of demonstrating a range of the elements involved in the trade, and set about creating a snake, which he fashioned out of a straight steel rod. He patiently explained everything that he was doing very clearly and in an interesting way, not overwhelming us with too much detail. In front of him was a young boy, about 7 or 8 years of age, between his parents, watching intently everything that the blacksmith did. Not only that, he had very mature questions about the process, which the smithy answered respectfully and patiently. At one point, the young lad said "I could watch you all day long".

As the snake took shape, the smithy involved the lad for the final stage of the process, handing him a brass brush used to polish the finished object. "Now that it's done, come back in 5 minutes after it's cooled, and you can take it with you," said the smithy. The whole thing was a beautiful example of good teaching. When the family left, I told the smithy he should go into teaching. He does do a bit of that, teaching adults, so I told him of my former role, and that if I'd had the opportunity, I would have hired him for sure. He was very appreciative of the feedback.

All of this also drove home the thought that hiring teachers could be much improved if we could ask them to teach a lesson before making a decision about their suitability for a position. So much more meaningful as a screening process than an interview and paper qualifications.

Funny thing is, my camera has stayed in the r.v. for most of last week. Not sure why. Guess when we're biking so much, it's a bit of a hassled to deal with a bulky camera. But I did get a few shots at Corkscrew, so I'll try to post a couple.
One, the big otter and his scat on the boardwalk in Corkscrew. Second, find the beautiful painted bunting in the bushes. And third, Gail's new slogan on a t-shirt I should have bought for her.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Friday, Feb. 14 - Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

We've had three interesting days here in the Bonita Springs area, so today's rest and catch up day. It's quite warm today, probably going to themid 80s, and humid, so this morning everything was wet, inside and out. But we persevere.

We found a nice area to bike, so on Tuesday, headed out, and ended up in a very nice state park about 9 kms from our r.v. park. Koreshan State Park is located right next to the Tamiami Trail, a major highway that runs parallel to the I-75. The Trail is extremely busy, but once you get 300 meters west of it, you're in a lovely quiet park. The interesting thing about the Koreshan Park is that the property was once owned by a cult or clan, headed by a charismatic guy who brought his followers and ideas from Chicago to set up a New Jerusalem. He envisioned eventually having millions of people centered here, all following his ideas of what a perfect world would look like. At one point, he had a couple of hundred people living and working and sharing life in this area, starting in the late 1800s. There are still quite a few of the original buildings on the grounds, but after several decades of decline, the whole thing was sold to the State to set up a park.

We wandered about the trails, visited the old buildings, and watched a video that described the history of the people who lived here when the cult was going full tilt. It declined, by the way, because the charismatic leader was beaten badly by a sheriff and his deputy, which caused him to fade away. And with his lack of leadership, the whole thing fell apart.

Once of the nice features of the park is the Estere River, a quiet and peaceful flow that goes through the park and on to the Gulf. So yesterday, we biked back, rented a canoe, and paddled up and down the river for a couple of hours. It was quite lovely, a couple of manatees there to greet us, a large gator giving us the eye, and a fine great blue heron watching us as we floated past. That little trip, with the 18 kms of biking, got us home ready to settle down to do nothing for the rest of the day, although the tireless Gail did two loads of laundry just to cap things off.

On Wednesday, we drove to one of our favorite places in Florida, Corkscrew Swamp. It's a great facility, with a 2.5 mile boardwalk that allows you to wander through the area very comfortably. Dave MacKay will remember this place, as we came here for the first time with him and Sue a number of years ago. It's just a lovely peaceful area to wander about, looking for wildlife, enjoying the surroundings. There were quite a few birds, although not huge numbers, and you had to look hard to find them at times. The highlight is getting a sighting of painted buntings, beautiful little birds of multiple bright colours. We were lucky enough to see a half dozen of them at one of the feeding stations. We also saw a large otter, who came up on the boardwalk right in front of us to have a massive poop, and then hobbled along and disappeared, favoring an injured leg. What else? A marsh rat, a first for us, a coon wandering about in the swamp (much nicer place to see him than in our back yard), and the usual gator.

Getting there wasn't bad, as it's about an hour away; but coming back, I made the mistake of taking the Tamiami Trail, which was totally clogged. It was stop and go for several miles, so took almost twice as long to come home. Should have taken the I-75. I keep saying, "There are just too damned many people in Florida!", which is true, especially of popular areas such as in the Naples-Fort Meyer area, Tampa area and Orlando area. That's why we like our less crowded areas like Lake Worth, and Homosassa.

Anyway, not to complain, but it does give us pause as to where we'd like to spend future winters. Arizona and Texas have a lot of appeal, as they have wide open spaces, and except for the urban areas, aren't nearly as crowded. Food for thought for next year.

That's enough for now. Hope you have a nice Valentine's Day. Maybe we'll go out for lunch to note the day. More later. Stay tuned.

Tuesday Feb. 11 - We have moved on. We're now over on the other side, not far from Naples and Fort Meyer, at Bonita Springs. We're in an older r.v. park, but it's okay, as it's close to Corkscrew Wildlife Center, which we really like. So we'll go there, and possibly to Sanibel Island as well, where we can do some cycling. It means uprooting the rig, but it's not a big deal to do so. That was the nice thing about Lake Worth. We could do what we wanted without having to pack up.

A couple of interesting things. I had a little dental problem, so after getting it fixed up, I commented on the fact the dentist, a sweet gal named Dr. Lam, and her assistant were both wearing masks. I jokingly implied they were doing so out of concern for the Corona virus. Not at all...standard practice in their office when dealing with patients. But the Corona outbreak has created a problem that affects their practice. Their suppliers have run out of masks because of the panic that seems to be happening, resulting in severe shortages. Dr. Lam has been trying to find new sources without luck, and said if the problem isn't corrected, she'll have to shut down her office. Who'd have thought!? That could be a big factor in many health facilities.

Second thing. We've been riding the circuit around the lake, and have established a nice relationship with two homeless guys that I've mentioned previously. I've supplied Red with several novels, as he's quite a reader, and we always have a little chat when we hit their corner on the trail. So last ride, we had to say good-bye, wish each other well, knowing we might not see these two interesting guys again.  We left with laughter, so it was okay. You might think it's curious that they're allowed to set up on a very public site, but they've been there for almost two years, so obviously don't bother anyone. Not too far from there is a rather large tent town, within the confines of the park, hidden behind tall hedges, and it seems to be quiet most of the time, although well patrolled by the park security people. We also see quite a few folks on the trail with their bikes and packs, but again, we've never had one negative incident from any of these people. Just sad that there are so many of them.

On Saturday we went to the big Southern Florida Garlic Fest. It's a big show, complete with major rides, tons of booths peddling various wares, art, jewellery, you name it. There was a great line-up of booths with distinctive garlic-based food, plus a big band-stand, featuring a variety of musical acts throughout the day and evening, with the Wailers ( a descendent band from Bob Marley days) the finale. Big crowds, probably 20,000 each day. Neat that it was close enough that we could walk over.

We wandered about, had some good food (I had a garlic pulled pork plate and Gail had garlic scampi), and took in the Wailers until our feet told us it was time to walk back to our camper. I'd download a picture or two, but the signal in this old park is just too weak.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Friday, Feb. 7 - A big rain this morning, but did that dampen our spirits? Not much. We just think of our homeless friends, trying to stay dry, and can't complain at all. The fellow I've been supplying with books is named Red, and he's always positive. His partner, a black fellow who is always in his lounge, seems somewhat less cheerful, but he's always friendly and ready to greet us as we ride by. They survived the deluge okay, so weren't complaining. I gave Red another book, this one a Harlen Coben, which he hadn't read before. So all is well in that quarter.

We departed from our usual routine yesterday by riding to the beach. We hadn't done it before, as we are usually content to do the circuit around the lake. However, we thought it foolish to be here as much as we have been and not check out the waterfront. So over we went, riding the urban trails (i.e, sidewalks, for the most part), up and over the big bridge that crosses the inland waterway (nearly blew us off our bikes at the top, as there was a very strong wind), and on to the beach.

And what a nice beach it is. Surfers, kite surfers, swimmers, loungers, wanderers, all enjoying this lengthy beach area. There's a casino, a vibrant bar on the pier, all the things the folks who go to Cocoa Beach enjoy. Seems to be pretty much the case all the way up the coast. We wandered about, went out on the pier, had a beer at Benny's on the Beach, and worked our way back home midst the traffic. A good day. Pictures to follow.

Aside from that, we spent this rainy morning planing the rest of our lives (assuming they end when the kids head back home after March Break). We're never this well-organized. Disturbing to me! But with Anna (grand grand-daughter) coming at the beginning of March, we felt we should have some sense of where we'll be during her stay with us. So we've booked two different places at Homosassa, our old favorite area in Florida, followed by a week in the Eustis area (not too far north of Orlando). So we've actually filled in our schedule until March 21st. Unheard of for us.

This week-end is the big Annual Garlic Festival, right here in an area adjacent to our campground. The Wailers are the Saturday night headliners, appropriate, as much of the music seems to have a reggae flavor. This is a big area for Hispanic people, so we expect there will be a lot of them in attendance, which they claim should be close to 40,000 for the week-end. So we'll spend some time there, trying some garlic goodies and enjoying some reggae. You never know what these old grey-heads will end up doing. No doubt the music will be loud and hearable right from our campsite, but we'll go have some fun.

A couple of pics to follow. First, one of my buddies, doing a tai chi manouver., graceful, balanced, full of concentration Amazing birds, these pelicans...my favorites down here. Second, Gail enjoying s Stella in the bright sunshine at Benny's on the Beach; and third, the lovely expanse of the Lake Worth Beach area. That's all for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Tuesday, Feb. 4 - Here we are in February. The winter months are sliding along, with folks at home enjoying an especially mild time of it, for the most part. Why did we leave? Well, it's sunny, breezy and around 25 today, so I guess that's a good reason.

We're back at Lake Worth, after a very nice week-end with our dear friend Joyce in Palm City. We arrived on Friday, having dealt with the Miami area traffic for a good part of the day. Maybe it was because the Super Bowl was played there on Sunday. But the traffic was really heavy. We got off the Turnpike, which was packed, to I-95, which was packed, and looked for relief on highway 1. But there is no real relief, because although the traffic was a lot less, the whole highway is built up, from Miami all the way north. So eventually got tired of red light after red light, went back up to 95, and found it not too bad.

We had a pretty laid back time with Joyce and Lily, her little white doggie. There was a little tension, as the roofers have removed the tiles over the entire house, and had left the underlay, awaiting the delivery of the new tiles. Would it leak? Saturday proved that it's leak-proof. It poured most of the day. And all was dry inside, much to Joyce's great relief. So we were relaxed enough to go over to Total Wine, a huge booze shop, where we did our duty to keep the economy going. Sunday, we went to Beall's for shopping. And bought supplies for the Super Bowl. Which was a super game. I was betting on the Chiefs with my friend Marian, so I'm afraid that she came up short once again. No gloating on my part, as I know the worm will turn soon, and I'll be on the wrong side. But 6 out of 7 is not bad.

Yesterday, the roofers were at Joyce's bright and early, so we left the chaos, controlled as it was, and headed south. We have time before checking in here, so went back to our favorite bird place, and wandered about for a couple of hours. Always enjoyable, and got a few good pics to show for it.

We'll be here for the week, then over to Bonita Springs, near Naples, next week, and back to New Port Ritchie the following week. That latter booking will put us fairly close to Clearwater, where Tom and Betty Garrity are staying, so that we can have a chance to get together for a ride and a beer. After that...maybe Homosassa again. We have to go there for sure for at least a week. And so it goes with the Richardson gypsies.

Biked this morning, and will soon go again. Love the trail here. All for now. Maybe a pic or ten. Stay tuned. More later.
First 4 pics, a series showing a silly wood stork having a bath. He puts everything into it, believe me.
Next, another wood stork, this one coming home from the office just a whole lot later than he should have, so wife, down and to the right, is letting him have it.
Then a cute little marsh bunny...just to break the stork saga up a little.
And a purple gallinule, a bird of lovely shades of...you guessed it, purple.
Back to the storks, this time two of them fighting quite vigorously over a good-sized branch, meant for a nest. The guy on the right prevailed, and was soon tucking it away.
Finally, two shots of the dolphins we mentioned visiting in Key Largo. They are quite amazing, and do tremendous work to help a lot of people. A terrific program.

Thursday, Jan 30 - A second posting in one day. Sorry about that, but have to talk about a neat thing we discovered today. We were trying to figure out what to do this afternoon, and discovered an online site talking about the Dolphin Care Center. So we went there, and were amazed at what we saw. Some of you may know about Suzie Latchford in the County who does horse therapy. All of you will know about how effective dogs are in providing service to handicapped people. Now we can tell you that there is a center where dolphins provide a similar service.

Thirty years ago a woman had a child with major heart problems, who also had a stroke when he was two. The mother is a psychologist, so she found that he really responded well to water, and started a water therapy program for her son. She had permission to take her son to hotel pools, but they eventually asked her to desist, as the child was upsetting some of the patrons. So she found out about a dolphin pool, where people can pay to swim with dolphins. She finagled pool time out of the owner, and eventually was able, after a number of years, to purchase an adjacent lagoon, wherein she had several dolphins housed. Long story short, her program of therapy for her son grew into something now enjoyed by people from all over the world. There is a staff of about 30 people, most with training in Psychology or Behavioral Sciences, who administer a wide-ranging set of programs for people of various physical and emotional disabilities. The son...learned to walk after two years, and is now in his 30s, normal, and getting married on Saturday. One of the staff, by the way, who has been in the center for 11 years, has a family place on the shore of the St. Lawrence near Gananoque.

The dolphins are truly amazing...responsive, intelligent, communicative, playful, and enabling of programs aimed at the therapeutic needs of the clientele who come here. Veterans, children, families, older people, anyone over the age of two is eligible to come for the programs. There is a fairly steep price tag for those who come for a week-long session, but there is also funding available for those who can't afford the price tag. The benefits are profound, to the point that families come from as far away as Germany to go through the therapy for a family member on an annual basis. We loved watching the feeding process, and the training that the trainers put their charges through. Quite an amazing program.

Second item of interest. We went down to the waterside to watch the sunset. On the way back, we commented to a fellow who had a Portuguese water dog that he must be a Democrat to have such a pet (Obama's family had two of them). He said he really wasn't either, as he's Canadian. A little chat led to the fact that his daughter works at a local craft brewery in Picton...Parson's. Her name is Emily, and we'll be sure to look her up when we get home. Another example of the 'small world' phenomenon.

Another good day. On to Joyce's in Palm City tomorrow. Stay tuned. More later.

Thursday Jan. 30 - I suspect many of you have had a couple of sleepless nights, wondering about the fate of Junior the Cat. You will recall that he had gone missing, to the great dismay and anguish of his owner, Candy. This cat is 16 years old, and has been with her through all of her troubles of late: losing her husband, her parents and her daughter all within two or three years. Junior was her companion through these times, her source of comfort. So you can imagine how upset she was.

Well, we didn't see Candy for a day, not until we were getting ready to depart yesterday. We didn't know what to expect. Our efforts to find Junior had been in vain, as had been the case with others looking for him. But when we saw Candy, she was like a new person. Smiling, happy, relaxed. She told us someone came knocking on her door at 2 a.m., having found Junior in a bush not far from home. He is now in confinement once more, never to explore the big bad world again. Happy endings are hard to find, so there's one for you.

We enjoyed the drive back to Key Largo, probably more than we had going the other way, because we had a couple of stops in mind, and so weren't frustrated with not being able to pull over for some of the views, there being very limited space for such with r.v.s We stopped at the Key Deer Preserve, with hopes of seeing some of these little guys, but it being mid-day, all were hiding in the bush escaping the heat. We did a 3/4 mile trek through the scrub, but saw nary a one. These deer are much smaller versions of white-tails, which because of their restricted environment here in the Keys, have evolved over the years into smaller versions of their larger cousins. We've seen them in the past at the Schiller Park we visit in Homosassa, but it would have been neat to see them in their natural environment. They were overhunted at one time, almost to the point of extinction, but have since come back, so that there are now about 300 of them on this Key.

We also stopped at the Bajia Honda State Park, which son Jeff highly recommended. It's a very nice spot, with beaches on both the ocean and gulf sides. Did a wander, had lunch, and moseyed on. Back here in our little spot in Key Largo. Lovely sunset last night as we sat on deck chairs by the beach area. So no complaints. Today it's sunny and breezy, so Gail will have to decide if she wants to rent a kayak or not. I'll stick to my bike, thank you very much.

Pictures: Gail on the beach at Bajia Honda. An alligator who came over to say hello at the Blue Pool at Key Deer Preserve. One of the old sections of the bridge that connects two keys along the route. (Don't want to go for a walk in the dead of night on this section...mind the gap.) Some work is being done to restore sections of the old route, possibly to create two two-lane roads. The old original train bridges which were the only connectors were destroyed by hurricanes in the '30s, I believe. Then the roads and bridges were constructed (no more trains), with again a lot of damage from hurricanes. But today's versions are fine, although only two-track for much of the drive, making for slow progress through the main settlements. Quite an impressive achievement to have all of these keys now accessible. It's 100 miles from Key Largo to Key West, and takes probably a minimum of 3 hours.

That's all for now. More later. Stay tuned.