Gratitude Journal

Tyler wanted to spend some time with us while he was home on leave from the Marines, so we borrowed Rachel’s single kayak and went on a trip up the Weeki Wachee River. We didn’t really plan how far we were going to go, but once we got more than halfway, we said the heck with it, and decided we would go to the top. I wanted to quit a few times (out of shape), but I had made a comment earlier in the day about other people we went with being wimps and not wanting to go all the way, so Trav held me to to my word and we went as far as we could go, which is almost to the springs. It was an 11 mile trip and poor Tyler had sore arms the next day. It was way worth it, though. On the float down, we had the river to ourselves, and we saw lots of fish, turtles, birds, and a small manatee.

While our friend is out of town, we’re helping to give him his subcutaneous fluids. He’s very calm, and today, he rested his chin on my arm. Awwww.

Greg got us J hooks for Christmas, and they work great! It’s a bit of a struggle for me to get the blue kayak on and off, but that’s OK. I’m going to start working out again and then it shouldn’t be a problem.

On the way to pollworker training, I took the backroads route to Dade City, and there are many cattle farms along the way. One field was spectacular, with lots of cows and a bunch little calves. So cute!

Every morning, I check the black bear cam and the Cornell bird cams. The bear cam has mostly just been a black lump, but today, the baby poked its head up and moved around for a few seconds.

I have been playing cribbage with our friends Clyde and Carol, and their son is visiting. After we got done with the three games, he got out his guitar and one of the songs he played was a nice rumba, so Clyde & Carol danced, and I did, too. It was lovely.

My new cigar box project is making little tables. I tried Elmer’s glue for the first one, and it came apart. I asked Rachel (our artist friend) what is the best glue to use, and she said ES6000. I remembered we had a tube and when I checked, I discovered that it’s still soft and flowing. Yay!

Weird find of the day was a mannequin torso. This is at Aripeka Sandhills Preserve. We went there last week for a night walk and were appalled at the amount of garbage, so when our friend Theresa said she wanted to go pick up trash, we knew where we should go.

Congratulations to the happy couple and best wishes for everlasting joy & contentment.

We’ve started Florida Adventurer, to chronicle our experiences.

What I saw of them, anyway… the theater has super comfy recliners and it was a late movie, so I missed about half of it. Oops!

Our friend Rachel wanted to learn how to make them, so we got together and made three batches. That’sa lotsa cookies. Aunt Susie appreciated the ones we brought to her.

It gives me a little lift when I wash my hands first thing in the morning.

I love foggy mornings and it’s still there as I write this.

They are one of the most common things we see on our night walks, and it’s been fun sharing the knowledge with the people subscribed to our page on Facebook.

We led 75 people through the park, one batch of 50 and 25 in another. It was fun, challenging, and rewarding. People enjoyed it and we saw neat things: millipedes, scorpions, a toad, a moth, and lots of spiders.

And, the rocks I painted went over really well. A few people were fooled and we had to tell them they were rocks!

I am working on a batch of fluorescent rocks to put out for our next night walk, plus a few others. I forgot how much fun it is to create the rocks.

After our kayak trip, we went to a place called Brooklyn’s Backyard. Not only were the s’mores delicious, we then had fun burning the skewers.

Our friends have a visitor – their German exchange student from last year – and we took him down the river. We saw nine alligators, lots of anhinga and cormorants, turtles, and fish.