THIS IS SPARTA!
Frankie inspects the bounty, we are on a mission! Somewhere in my attic is a mouse, or worse, a rat or even worse, plural—EEK!
I hear the foot prints over my computer desk. I thought it was a squirrel for a while and figured it would leave, but then noticed that there was mouse crap in the garage. I took everything out of the garage Tuesday and uncovered a nest of some lose, torn plastic and inside was birdseed and nuts from the bird seed, a nice stash for a mouse wanting to eat at home. Then I pulled an old antique mirror away from the wall and saw a big field mouse or a young rat and she ran. I had the doors, both the door to the outside and the double garage door open, but it hid behind a desk. I found Ringo and brought him out with me, he sniffed around and stopped at that nest and sniffed and sat . I pulled it open and 8 baby pinkies were in the nest. Ringo baby sat and the mouse must have snuck out. I pulled everything out and looked in all nook and cranies. Next strategy, put the squealing babies in a box and put them up in the attic with Ringo, I was hoping their distress would bring out a sympathetic rodent. Ringo bounded up the ladder to the attic and I sat up there and watched him disappear, but it was hot up there, I came down after five minutes, Ringo stayed about fifteen minutes, he didn’t bring anything with him, but went inside and plopped down on the kitchen floor to cool off. It has to be 100 degrees up in the attic because it is mid nineties on the ground. I brought the babies down and left their box outside figuring maybe the mom would come back or maybe there was some nice snake who would be quick. Sorry, I do not want 8 more rodents around here.
I had my son put expanding caulk in the place where the air conditioner wiring goes through between garage and outside. And sealed up everything, EXCEPT, the roof long vents, that is where they had to have gotten in, – they are open and have plenty of room to welcome the weary animals who get tired from climbing the roof. I bought wiring to try and rig inside the vents, but not just yet!
What’s next? Strategy planning, first I called the critter removal places, it’s either a free inspection and $250 with no guarantees or even more depending on what they find and the services they deliver. I have found they clean up and repair damage. It’s $89 for some to come set the traps and then a few days later another $89 to retrieve and remove the dead animals. Everything is ala carte, one place says they have a 5 and 10 year guarantee, but who knows if they will be in business when you call them in a week to pick up the traps? That makes those mice worth their weight in gold. What I need is three hungry feral cats to go out and have a field day! But since that isn’t feasible and I don’t want Ringo up there around all that insulation anymore, THIS IS WAR!
I have employed neo-con thinking, screw the Geneva Comvention stance on these rodent terrorists, forget it PETA, unless they want to come save the animals. I am going to employ Abu Ghraib tactics — loud loud torturous music supplied by two boom boxes simultaneously blasting music at full blast from the two attic access doors.I am looking at music choices now and will load a DVD later with our special rodent removal songs. Right now I am researching the music our military used on terror suspects. AC/DC, Britney Speirs, Metallica, I am scrutinizing, but at this point, I am considering Hendrix, Judas priest and even a bit of William Hung, remember that guy, Keith Olberman was obsessed by him. We will experiment a bit, and when we come up with the right mix, we will blast from the boom boxes and I will be standing by with my camera to see if there is any exodus. If it works, I will sell my rodent revenge mix for $19.99! That will save people a lot of dirty work, and a lot of financial pain!
If that does not work, we will switch to plan B — dehydrating/bloodthinner D-con biscuits and big traps. Plan C- is the default pet removal - Stay tuned…. This rodent image caught my eye, what the Hell???
Ran by the zoo Thursday looking for crows. Did not see one, but here’s what I saw:
The leopard wasn’t panting today, just looked board as when I saw him last. One of the elephants was still in her stall, the other one came out to greet me. The tortoises were kept apart by a fence because he is a bit too amorous all the time. They look like they miss being together. Both are 50 years old and can live for 200 years! The keeper came in with food and he scratched her back and she just loved it! I did too, she looked so happy. The emus always look at you like they judge you. The kangaroos always look so lazy, didn’t even take a picture. The cheetahs could not be seen, they were still in their den. The porcupines were quill to quill in their dream state. Even the goat was sound asleep. But some kids came with food and he perked up. The Llama just peered over top of his barn window and decided I was not worthy of his presence.
The reptiles were more active, well not the alligator, he slept in the sun with a hat of greenery. The lizards were busy.
Then I went to get french fries because I love their fries, but they did not have any made up, so
had to settle for a pretzel instead. It attracted the grackles which were everywhere, but still no crows at all.
The grackles and I ate the pretzel and I headed on back to the car. There was an adorable marmoset out on a leash, but all it was doing was sleeping, her name is Judy, Oh well, I’m sure if I had gone to the Walmart parking lot, I would have found some crows, but there’s always another day to catch crows. I do enjoy the zoo, especially when I have it to myself like I did early Thursday morning, even if most of the animals were still sleeping.
Last night ther heron came down and fished with Ringo and I. He stood in the water, I stood at various places on the lake, neither of us caught anything, but that didn’t matter, I was glad to have the heron back. Every morning I keep going out to see if it is on a branch in it’s nesting tree. Earlier I had been out in the yard taking pictures
of dragonflies, they are everywhere and will stop close to me as if they are as curious about me as I am about them.
The butterflies too were all over.
We now have a small bunny that appears from time to time . The little guy came when the cranes were here and Papa crane chased him off. Baby crane is still changing color, his eyes are still lighter and he does not have the red crest yet, though it is coming in little by little.
Ringo was busy under the bushes eating a long blade of grass.
The band of brother mallards are still hanging around with the pekin ducks, but Carbs is nowhere to be found. Have not seen him in weeks.
Fishing is horrible for some reason, even with the harvest moon tonight, not one little tug on the bobber.
Tomorrow night I think I will go to the marina and take some pics of the moon coming up over Lake Monroe. It’s just such a treat to see it so close and so big. The anhinga sat up in the tree and watched from his vantage point. It was a good night for moon gazing and bird watching, just not for fishing, only for feeding turtles.
It was time for my daughter’s cats to get shaved again, I had to go over and wait as the mobile cat shaver did his clipping.
Now, I have three cats, one of them is a real cat, the other two are luxury items like my daughter has.
Ringo, epitomizes ‘Catdom’. He is the real cat, he hunts and eats his kill, he challenges raccoons, possums and even dogs much bigger than he is. Ringo’s personality is larger than life, he thinks he is a full blown lion and acts like one.
Ringo plays with snakes for entertainment, My daughters cats play with battery operated mice. My other two cats, Frank and Sealy, have been with us 17 years, they like being indoors, cuddling and finding a good place to sleep around the house. Not Ringo, he likes it outside and doesn’t even mind getting wet.
He is the boss of the neighborhood, has been for about 8 years. Everyone knows Ringo. He belonged to my neighbors next door. When I moved in with three cats, Ringo decided he fit right in and adopted my porch as his too. When Ringo’s folks moved away, Ringo ended up staying here. I have chronicled the details before. Ringo for some reason terrorizes the cats next door, they call Ringo “psycho kitty”, but getting back to my story, neither Ringo nor my other two cats have ever needed grooming, (though I do brush them from time to time.) The luxury cats my daughter has are beautiful rescued Persians, they are her children and are treated as such, no, I would say they are treated like royalty. They might as well have their own silverware because they have everything else. Cats like these are good for the economy, they have every cat toy there is and if you go back and read older posts, they have lots of cat condos too. They also require cat groomers, they keep people in business. I love it though after the cats are shaved, they feel wonderful, soft as anything, like Chinchilla! This is sweet Coco before being shaved:
and this is her after: She doesn’t mind being shaved at all. Not Musa, he hates it, I think he was Sampson in another life - Musa before:
Musa, is very mad when his hair is gone, and he is less of a bully to his two female companions. As for Lola, she is so adorable and loves loves loves being brushed, , so as long as you brush little Miss Prissy, she is happy with or without hair, except when I tried to take a photo of her , she bolted upstairs under the bed, thinking I was going to make her get shaved again.
You wonder why go through the trauma? Persians get so matted and throw up a lot of furballs and hair floats all over the place even when you vacuum a lot. These cats are luxurious, pussy cats. Not Ringo, he’s a cat, he would probably fight someone tooth and nail if they tried shaving him! So where am I going? The cat-egories don’t really matter do they? Anyway you look at it, they are all loved unconditionally and that’s the truth.
Back to nature! Today was a slow day of wildlife. It was hot, sauna like 90’s, a quick burn if you go out for any length of time. Last night my neighbor Sonja and I went to go see the art walk in Sanford, they had terrific art at several locations, it was nice and crowded and made you feel that Sanford is pulling together the community for these great venues. I had nothing on display, but Sanford is having monthly Juried shows so when they have one that is related to nature, I’ll enter.
This morning outside there were very few birds, but a lot of dragon flies and butterflies. From my desk I saw a few and ran outside to take a few pics. This zebra longwings was extremely beat up and shredded. It actually flew very slowly from all the rips and tears in it’s wings, but flew with a purpose. It was actually interesting to watch as it seemed to be moving in slow motion. I saw lots of different butterflies, but they were too quick. I did see a dragonfly that landed on a branch near the back door, but the Sony could not focus on it with the wind blowing the branch, so I went in and got the old Kodak. It is a sure bet with that camera. Though the quality of the Sony DSLR is better.
Flowers were wilting all over, I did get a canna lily, and crepe myrtle is just beginning to bud and bloom, My lemons are huge and I am going to have a nice little harvest when they finally ripen.
The blue jays came out later and this one was especially beautiful.
Of course later I came out to go fishing, the water was dead calm and of course, the damn turtles were everywhere I went from one end of the property to the other, they love that bread on the hook. at one point I looked down and it almost looked like a turtle was swimming through the clouds. I counted six turtles, four softshells and two sliders. I did catch one bream, threw it back. And looked up and noticed that the heron was on an island in the middle of lake, He was big. like the male that has been building the nests for the past 4 years, so I assumed it was him. And when I threw the bream back and the heron flew over to the yard next door, that signaled to me that this was the male who will eventually come over and stand beside me when I do catch fish. I didn’t catch anything else, but the sky was gorgeous, there was just one large cloud in the sky that changed colors and had such a beautiful shape to it. The planes flew too close over head, and there were many woodpeckers all over trying to contact each other. The weather will change and soon the herons will be back building their nests. I am hoping this heron will be coming back each night now. Ringo did not fish with me tonight, he stayed in the garage, I am wondering if he too thinks there is a squirrel or rat or mouse in the attic after hearing footsteps near my desk. I put the ladder down to the attic so Ringo could go on a hunt if he feels like it. I am confident if something is there, Ringo is my pet removal service.
Right now as I write this we are having a nice little thunderstorm which is much needed as my poor plants were wilting today. Earlier the half moon was out and I marked on the calendar that October 3,4,5,6 should be all harvest moons, you know I will be taking photos and I so hope it will be over the lake when it rises next week.
I hope it will cool off enough that more wildlife will be coming out to capture on film. The marina is devoid of much diversity, and as for Carbs the muscovy duck, have not seen him in weeks. The BOBs were here earlier, but have not seen Pekin ducks in a while. And that’s Saturday around here, for now, I am enjoying the storm, hoping for more water in the lake as soon it will be our dryer season, so it’s good to have the lake up.
Have not heard any footsteps above my head, so maybe Ringo got whatever it was, might have to do a check tomorrow and if anything is dead in the attic, will let ya know… Sleep tight.
Today I went over to Petsmart in Casselberry, Florida where RAIN, Rescuing Animals In Need, a 501(c) Corp. had some of their animals on display for people to adopt. They had an assortment of cats and dogs, dogs both small and big who need new homes. RAIN volunteers foster many rescued animals they get from people giving up their pets to rescuing pets from the streets and from shelters that have animals ready to be euthanized.
They take care to observe the animals first and get their shots and tests like feline leukemia, and heartworm updated. All adopted animals are neutered before adoption. You have to always admire these people for going all out to help animals find a loving home. Here are a few of the photos of pets available for adoption. ANd you can contact them at 407-620-9736, or go on their website http://www.rescuinganimalsinneed.org
The people at Animal Welfare Alliance of Central Florida have a wonderful founder and activist named Gloria Wade. She has been working with animals and looking out for their rights for years. She and volunteer, Gail Nagin, (who had just come from protesting the Greyhound conditions at the racetrack,) are both trying hard to get a ‘high volume, low cost” spay and neuter clinic for central Florida, one that only specializes in neutering because having animals sterilized is needed badly to discourage this overrun of the dog and cat population. That has to be a priority and hopefully it will be a dream realized. Gloria had with her a “Chain of Colors”, each link representing a dog or cat euthanized in one Central Florida shelter. This link represents a Siberian Husky put to death because someone did not have the space for him, each link has a story, and there are over 5000 of them. Gloria
showed them to me with much sadness that so many animals have to be put to sleep because they are unwanted which is her reason for helping people have a low cost spay/neuter clinic. visit http://www.awacf1.org both groups are reaching out for your help, if you can, take an animal home and give it the love and attention it deserves, that is a great reward to all these volunteers who open their hearts for animals in need. Contact AWACF about helping fund the clinic and RAIN for any of the animals in the photos, and they have plenty more cats and dogs in need of a home, if you are looking for love, try looking here.
It’s Sunday, the week flies by in nano-seconds anymore. The good thing is that hurricane season is coming closer to the end.
This morning had the cranes right outside mooching for the loose bird seed on the ground. They have gone and a soft rain is falling on the lake. The cardinals have taken the cranes place. And as I write now, it is sunny again — that’s Florida!
Thank goodness we have had no pythons come crawling through here YET as yesterday they picked up an 18 foot Python about 20 miles away that was being kept in a risky enclosure. A snake like that when hungry could do some serious eating, like kids!
The owner said the 300 plus pound, 18 foot snake gave his daughter rides – SAY WHAT? It was fed about 4 rabbits a day. I noticed on Yahoo a story about a python that ate 11 guard dogs, that wasn’t in the US, but it could be the way pythons are showing up here in Florida these days. I’m sure people are letting them go because they can’t afford to feed them and they grow so large.
I can remember in the learly 90’s when we were involved in the Central Florida Herpetology Club, the people came to meetings with snakes around their necks and arms, (they had to be bagged and caged during the meeting.) There were lots of vendors selling ‘herps’ of all kinds; turtles, lizards and of course all types of non-poisonous snakes. We have had ball pythons, rat snakes, Texas longnose snakes, milk snakes and Brazilian Rainbow boas. We lost some of them in the house from time to time, (but never told any of our guests that when they visited.) And we let our boas swim in our pool once in a while, climb the banisters, but Aaron, the snake’s caretaker grew bored and we sold them. Not once did we let any go, oh take that back, we did let our mean mean yellow rat snakes loose in the woods, (those were the snakes that bit me,) but they are native.
Today, we still have the same cats we did when we had the snakes, and the
prospect of seeing a 12 foot or longer snake in my yard would be a bit unsettling. So I will just focus and show some pictures of the more delicate flora and fauna.
The flowers are bright this morning, spider lilies were wet.
The canna lilies bright red. The Meyers lemons are getting bigger and bigger, can’t wait till they ripen. The water in the lake is still up nicely, though fishing is still bad. Last night I caught a turtle. The fish are not biting. The cranes were though, they did not realize Ringo the cat was so close and Papa crane almost got him.
So that’s how Abbesworld is going today so far. How’s your day?
The clouds are schizophrenic today, dark, light, puffy, happy and sad. I went up to the marina to see if anything was going on. Only saw limited birds and ducks. Took pictures of whatever looked interesting.
Went back home and it stormed hard with driving wind.
It settled down and have had lots of jays, cardinals, and doves by the feeder right out my window. I watched one titmouse take a sunflower seed and put it between it’s feet, then crack the seed and carefully eat it. These birds work so hard for their treats. Carbs of course is down at the lake. Adam and I went off to lunch at Imperial Dynasty on 434, we love the sesame tofu. They are even offering sushi classes over there if anyone in Longwood area is interested. Afterwards we took the long way home up Markham Woods road to look at some of the mansions they have built – I can’t even fathom what it costs to live in those massive homes. Did notice several homes that are in foreclosure, lawns uncared for, the abandoned look of emptiness.
We drove up through International Parkway and handed Adam the camera when we saw a woodstork. He did a good job!
After coming home and sitting here at the computer. I am just so spoiled by an eyeful all the time! Beautiful female red wing black birds are on the feeder this afternoon. they are brown, unlike the sleek males, but still very nicely marked birds. And that’s how it’s been today so far, dark, dreary, bright and light and so enjoying the birds in the tree outside my window.
Looking at the time, wondering where did the afternoon go? I have been lost in the world of wings, amused by blurring colors and captivated by flight… here’s photos for your enjoyment.
Had a great time in Tampa. Did see my nutria, , also there was tilapia in the condo pond – how they got there — who knows — they are certainly not native. Also on the condo pond were many female mallards with beautiful faces, and all had different markings.
Other than some long distance birds that I get over here. the wildlife was quiet. I didn’t go anywhere interesting to take pics this time. Just quiet family time. My Bella and Sasha were there to be my bed mates. Then it was back home to reality, two tropical storms about to turn into hurricanes with one as a fairly substantial one. Both could impact us. The first is tropical storm Ana due to possibly hit Florida between Miami and Port Canaveral so far. It will be a rain maker they say, winds around 70mph, that’s not too bad. The other one is worse, will be a Category 2 hurricane. That one is following behind the other one. So far it is TD #3. I went this am to stock up on food and water just in case. Will be watching closely. Don’t plan on leaving home, will be here to monitor and blog. I can’t imagine leaving my ‘box’ unless it is possibly Katrina big. Meanwhile, it’s always good to be home. Today went to the flea market and got Orangeblossom-oak flavor honey, ummmm, delicious! I also bought a suet feeder and something is eating the whole block of suet in one gulp over night. I will have to remove it nightly. I do have a lot of cardinals and jays lately. One last thing, I was at a garage sale that had dept. store dummies, a few male torso and legs, if you need any, call Katy 407-690-2929
After 4 years of having droughts and very few storms, we are finally back to normal. Back to having the sky change it’s face in the afternoon.
The heat becomes a slow southern burn and the clouds decide to ban together and grow dark and scary. It’s been wonderful having the rain. The lake is coming up nicely and everything is green and fresh and humid, oh the humidity. You open the door to go out and immediately your hair crimps up like the Bride of Frankenstein. Today I had almost finished mowing when the sky looked a bit crabby so I came in and watched with Ringo.
The lightning flashed across the lake.
The lightning was flashing in front of me as I filmed from the porch. Look for lightning bolt in that big cloud around the middle of the film. The rain poured down and about a half hour later, it’s about all rained out, in fact. It now looks like fishing time…
Okay, I’m back – the fishing sucked. But at least there were nibbles. Here are some familiar faces that always surface and bug me.
This is my desk at 12:51am – maybe I need a blog that shows my desk at different times during the day just for effect! It looks a little messy, but there is a method to my madness. And breakfast at Tiffany it’s not- but that box of POPS was a great deal at the grocery today, 21.4 ounces for $2.50! Can’t get get perfume per ounce for anywhere near that, not even stuff like nuts, makeup, or even other cereal! It’s the biggest box of cereal I have ever seen – how could I turn it down? Right now it’s keeping me and my stomach company. I can see how insomniacs gain weight, this box weighs 1 and 1/2 pounds, I should weigh 5 more at the end of the week. Ha ha – just kidding, I don’t intend to eat it all, Adam is about ten feet away and he has been dipping his hand in the box pretty good himself.
Right now I am looking at the huge tree frog on my window, it showed up about an hour ago. I will have photos later at http://offshoot2.wordpress.com
Yesterday it seemed like I got a few visitors pictures of things around here. First of all Ringo, because he starts my day with a smile. I see his big face and hear him meow and see him flash those big blues and that is a good sign. Out on the porch was a busy anole running around chasing off the other lizards. Went out in the yard and there were a lot of butterflies on and off. Two were flirting for a long time. There even seemed to be a few monarchs trying to find some milkweed. Behind the large hibiscus bush I have a tree stump that had a fresh snake skin across it, so a nude snake is somewhere around. And later on, just about the time I was getting ready to fish, the clouds came in for a visit and they did not look happy. Even Papa Crane was keeping a close eye on “weather” or not I would be down at the lake. And I wasn’t, we had a lot of lightening, but no rain. I took many photos of the changing sky and will probably post them tomorrow. But for now, I am finishing this and getting ready to post tree frog pics at the other blogsite -
Sweet dreams – don’t let the tree frogs bite…
It’s always fun to go to the Farmers Market on Saturdays at the back of the City Hall of Lake Mary. I went early to go get some of my favorite honey. Frederickson Apiaries will be opening their own store and bakery in a few months. Will have to go for that grand opening! Orange blossom and wildflower are my favorites. After walking around the many booths, I walked across the street to where they had opened a new shopping area.
The first store was Morris’s Market, they are carrying fresh produce, honey, meats, cheeses and they also do the Farmers Market with their own booth. There was a floral shop next door and I forgot to take the photo, but it had a beautiful courtyard in the rear packed with plants. Next to that was Coastal Gifts and Decor. There was jewelry, note cards, knick knacks with a flair for Florida seaside decor. Next to that was Kristin Shaw’s trendy clothing boutique called, ’sophie and trey’. Inside were reasonably
priced men andwomens clothing. Kristin organizes the once monthly, Paint The Towns. Now she is trying to organize artists for the Farmers Markets so they can display their wares on Saturday mornings. If interested, contact her, 407-324-5747.
The artists who were displaying were ‘Nine 2 Five’, Tina Pochedley who had beautiful handmade jewelry on her table, I apologize for having taken it from a distance. She works with silver and precious and semi precious stones and does private parties. Her number is 407-467-8138.
Also on display was Shelia Golden who does wonderful animal paintings and collage and note cards, there are some on display at Coastal. contact: http://www.sheliagolden.com
The last artist on the street was Randall Smith who does very cool robot paintings and robot figures.
To check out his work: To contact Randall: RandallsRobots@aol.com. 407-923-2075
The artists are always good to talk to and as I always say, support the arts!
On my way back to the truck, I stopped at the SPCA booth and got a t-shirt for making a donation. Remember, not only our artists need support so do the local animal service groups!
Walked past the Orchid Nanny, Though those orchids are gorgeous, I have a very deadly thumb with plants that need attention. But I find inspiration everywhere and always have a fun time making abstracts out of the picture I took.
My son and I had gone to the model train exhibit at the Lake Mary Historic Museum and when I came home I was gearing up to fish. I opened the door on the porch and saw Ringo in one corner and heard a ‘bang’ of the aluminum being struck and thought Ringo had a bird cornered. Upon closer observation, I saw a cottonmouth striking at Ringo.
I grabbed a hoe and had my son grab Ringo and I tried guiding the continually striking snake toward the porch door. He was a devil too. I finally got him headed out the door, but he might be hiding in the bushes next to the porch. Now I am rather paranoid to step out on the porch without giving a good look in all directions! If that snake comes back on the porch, he will be toast! Ringo is way too bold, he’s like Ricky-tickki-tavi. But it just takes one poisonous bite to make him really sick or worse. Ringo is guarding the door. Thank goodness Frankie was already inside. I worry more about her being bit than Ringo. She thinks she is as agile as Ringo and also as bold.
Meanwhile, the Historic museum in Lake Mary had a few tables set up with model trains. Old model trains. There were a few young children and their eyes were bright as they watched the trains round the tracks and whistle.
It is on display Saturday afternoon too. Here’s a few photos,
They had old railroad lanterns, and postcards. Some stamps and other memorabilia. So if you have a fetish for history and model trains, there you go. The museum itself is a small yet interesting place of all history relating to the tiny city of Lake Mary.
When we left we noticed that in the tiny and I mean tiny downtown of Lake Mary which encompasses only a couple intersections with no traffic lights, there were 4 beauty salons, so apparently the people of Lake Mary like to stay looking good. There is also an auto repair on that same side street as the Barber shop and there was a cool looking old truck /thing sitting in front.
The city hall and Events center are both beautiful new buildings, but downtown Lake Mary is still stuck in a time warp for now. There were also a few empty store fronts for rent
on both sides of the street, a sign of the times for sure. None of these spaces looked like good places for an co-op art gallery, too small a space, not enough wall area on all places that are available. Traffic is also pretty non existent. The signs of hard times are all over. The biggest sign of a hard time will be the axe waiting for that snake if it thinks he’s coming back for a visit!
Poor Michael Jackson, I can totally sympathize with his insomnia, last night I slept two hours, actually it was this morning from 8am to 10am. If I had to go onstage like he did, or held a regular job, I’d be screwed.
I was going to go with Dee-dee and listen to a bird lecture, but I had no attention span for sitting and listening, in fact I had invited her to go with me last week and she ended up going alone, some friend I am…
I could use some liquid coma too a few nights.
I have no idea what 8 hours is, I guess for me it is 4 or 5. Don’t get me wrong, I do like sleeping because I like dreaming, dreaming is so damn cool, you can do anything. But here I am after 2 hours sleep in a 24 hour cycle and I am still up and fooling around on the computer. I did see a raccoon on the porch,
I brought Ringo in as I was not sure if he would jump that coon or not, or maybe the raccoon would think it was another raccoon because they share the same tail.
I took a few pictures with me and Frankie:
Frankie was outside too, so I brought her in also. It was hot and very damp outside. Then I took a self portrait and worked it a bit, Hey, at least I’m smiling! And I took a few pics of furniture, and even cheated and took Andrea’s cat painting she did and worked that too. It should look like this: Isn’t Andrea talented? She makes the cutest paintings.
Maybe I will go into my bedroom and veg for a while, turn on the news and relax, maybe read. I do want to say a special shout out to Tabbie my blog buddy, get well ASAP!
Maybe tomorrow I will find more wildlife, these hot days the only things I see are birds quickly in the early morning, turtles when I fish, and cats on hot tin roofs and porches. Even the raccoons know better than to be outside in the afternoon. Good night, it’s almost one, cross your fingers for at least 5 hours of deep alphas and dream patterns…
The heat is bad – “how bad is it?” it seems the lizards are melting – or wearing protection. The flowers are wilting under the mighty swell of
sun. I went over to the Lake Mary Farmers market which is very shady. Not many people this morning. This was to be a debut for the artists who wanted to rent a table and I found one artist willing to pay.
There will be a new grocer on the corner of Lake MAry blvd and where the town hall is. It is the same man who has vegetables and fruits in a booth on Saturdays. The name of his place is Morris Market and he opens this coming Friday.
Yesterday I ventured up toward the zoo and stopped by the marina. Drove back toward the Palms, maybe 1000 feet and to the right of the driveway a few hundred feet to the right is the marina building.
The building looked pretty quiet and the little business building next to the Palms Resort had ‘ for rent’ signs. A sign of the time for sure. Ususally I see birds there, but nothing was there. I wanted to photograph crows and there wasn’t one in sight. I decided to go to the zoo. The drive along Lake Monroe was quiet, even the water seemed too tired to wave, (that was a joke). I turned into the zoo which is a few miles from the marina. Surely there would be some crows at the refreshment stand.
The zoo had a lot of small kids using the water park. The snake room was air conditioned and a refuge. They keep it colder so the reptiles will look perky. But outside, the alligator was not anywhere to be found and the croc was hidden beneath his water hole. The cats looked like my Frankie, panting and hot. After I made the rounds I stopped and got a pretzel and drink and sat down. I made small bits of the pretzel and tossed a few out and waited, nothing, no birds came at all. I stayed ten minutes enjoying the shade and drink, but not one bird took me up on my food offer. I walked back to my truck and came home. The birds are staying to themselves these days. The sun is singe-ing their feathers.
Back on Abbe’s lake things are quiet except for my moorhen, a couple of her eggs have hatched. Will save that story and pictures for tomorrows blog.
Today the news said it would be 94 and feel like 104 degrees, that was no lie. It is hot and the sun seems like a deep fryer and it’s only June! The flowers are beautiful after a great thunderstorm last night. They were closed yesterday, but today they were full bloomed and smelled so wonderfully rosey! The roses had small bits of purple on them. All around the yard, flowers looked happy. I do water them a bit in the morning and in the evening if there is no rain, otherwise they would fry under that hard light and heat.
The sandhill cranes sat under the camphor tree for a long time taking in the shade. The father was really panting a lot as was my old cat Frankie. I actually think she might have been experiencing heat prostration as she looked way too lethargic on the porch and I could see her heart beating rather wildly. I brought her in and put her on the cool counter and she drank a lot of water. I was kind of worried her heart might give out, but after a while, she did perk up. So remember to keep lots of fresh water out there. I keep it, but poor Frankie looked like she was almost too tired to drink so watch your older animals.
The cranes stayed a long time down by the lake. The baby was first to buckle and sit down. then when the parents finally sat down, he got up and went over to give his father a hard time. He would jab his father in the rear and then touch beaks.
Finally they all relaxed and then finally flew off. The Moorhen is also a pretty smart, she built her nest up high on the side so as to shade her from the sun as she nested.
Tonight I tried fishing, but only got greedy turtles trying to find bread. One is so bold as to come up and take it out of my tackle box, so I keep it up on a plastic chair now as not only the turtles, but the ants swarm inside the plastic bags once they sense food. Ringo looks at the turtle with amusement, but does not bother them. Fishing sucked, maybe it’s too hot. If there was no breeze off the lake tonight, I would not have thrown out a line. No use standing down there sweating profusely and ending up like Frankie prostrate on the ground, no one would notice me!
Finally Ringo and I gave up and walked back to the house. I picked some small rose buds to put in a shot glass. Ringo and I were glad to come inside and absorb that nice cool air. No thunderstorms tonight. All is quiet around here. I came in to blog, Ringo passed out and then was treated to a massage from my son. We all have our ways of dealing with the heat, that’s for sure!
This is the last photo I took of Church just two nights ago. He would come out and share the cement with Ringo watching me fish. He was old, perhaps 17-18 or even more. He was a stray when we found him hungry in our driveway as we were about to move in 1995. We packed him up along with our stuff and our two other cats. I had him immunized and neutered and brought him into our new home where he fit in just as if he had always been there. The vet thought he might be 4 years old back then. He was the cat that resembled “Church” in the movie Pet Cemetery, so that’s how he got his name.
In the past months poor old cat has been shrinking and acting old. Last night he did not eat and he is usually the first one talking in the morning for the food. This morning I put the food out and he had no interest, didn’t even meow. I took chicken to him and he ignored it and went back to the corner and curled up. I knew it was time to take him in to the Vet.
I got there at 8am when they opened and when I signed in the clip board, they ask the reason you are here. I left it blank and could not put even the word, was it death? Termination? The guy at the desk asked me why and I told him the purpose. He put us in a room to await the vet who was not due in till 9am. I sat petting the drooling ,old, purring cat as the clock over the door ticked away each agonizing second of his remaining life.
The smells of the vet perk an animal’s interest and they know instantly they are not in a normal environment. Church looked up at every door closing, at each bark, at the noise of the techs behind the doors and still he purred and rubbed his head hard against my hand. We spent that time reflecting on old times, he let me do all the talking. We laughed about his old nemesis Terra the bull terrier and how they would get into big spats and Church seemed to know just when Terra was going into the show ring and the day before the show and he would make sure Terra had some nice big scratches on Terra’s face and nose, the cat had a sense of humor. Church was a good “mouser”, he liked bringing a gifts home.
He leaves behind his adopted sisters, Miss Sealy and Frankie, (also strays) and his brother Ringo. He leaves behind Abbe and Adam and the memories a good cat should. Church was a gentleman at all times, even when Sealy would smack him repeatedly, he always let the girls have their ‘opinions’.
A good cat will never be forgotten, and neither will a bad one, we have had our share of both, but for a stray, he came into our home with respect and love and we will miss our Church.
It stormed most of the night! So far we are up almost ten inches. The funny thing is, at a point where there was no rain this morning, I went out to garden a bit and pick up downed tree limbs because you get stir crazy after three days of incarceration. So I transplanted a few canna lilies and the ground about five inches down is dry as dry can be! It’s just as sandy as if no rain has ever fallen. It is another day of rain and what can I say, same old same old, but at least it is helping with our drought! The only visitors have been the ducks and regular birds.
Okay — so how does one get through the days of liquid peril that assault us? Comfort food of course. The best is the new Haagen Dazs ice cream “Five”!!!! OMG it’s amazing and it has fruit in it so I am counting that as a fruit suppliment in my daily diet as I count the nuts in the Payday. The cookies count as needed carbs of course. And it does give comfort when the weather is blaring all day long with lightning, thunder and storms all around us and the repeated warnings. It’s all one can do to make it through the day besides petting cats…
That’s him! The missing baby heron has grown a bit and now he and his sibling have taken to regular flights back and forth to the nest. I am convinced that is the same one who was rejected. What’s fun is to watch the two babies fly awkwardly around the lake, they stop and eat at different spots then fly back to the nest to compare. They are always competing up there, YAK YAK YAK, their necks go up and down, their wings extend and it’s always competiton.
I enjoy looking out and seeing their activity from my desk. Yesterday the one baby was here twice and that’s the one I think finally found his way back home.
It’s also quite evident the dragonflies are busy. At the lake they are all over. I also get them on the porch and have to take them outside. They do pinch too! And of course, the band of brothers and Pekins are here off and on as usual and even Carbs will show up during early evening then take off before the BOB’s pick on him.
Then last night I was flipping through the channels and came across the American network and another winged specimen the old Batman series with Adam West and he looked like a little kid!
The bat mobile looked so cheap, but it was fun watching the action scenes with POP, POW and cartoon effects when our imaginations were so much simpler. We had no bloodshed, only lame storylines and stupid acting that made it work in the 60’s. I stuck around and saw The Hornet was next and watched about ten minutes and my son pointed out that Bruce Lee was the Hornets butler. How weird! The Hornet was really a great looking guy!
So it was a full day of wings and even Ringo the cat was exhausted and dreaming as his tail seemed to take flight. Was he dreaming of flying, or growing up to become a lion and catching all kinds of things?
I would say if Sonja’s garden were to be a song, it would be written by Joni Mitchell. We are Joni’s Ladies of the Canyon, I am Trina, she is Annie. First you go there and you are greeted by her sweet dogs. Oscar is my favorite and he hates having his photo taken, but I tricked him. She has cats here and there and lots and lots of citrus which she gives to you “for free”. She has now grown her own garden with all sorts of “vine and leaf are filagree” ; peas, green beans, cukes, squash and it all looks lovely and orderly like someone who knows that they are doing. The plants seem like soldiers standing at attention, guarding their terrain. I wonder if Sonja goes out at night and sings them a lullaby? They are truly pampered plants like her animals. And because of it, they have so much to give back. She brought over wonderful snap peas and dip, ummm, they were fresh and organic and I, the not a bigtime vegetable eater, loved them! Sonja is trying to practice what she preaches about buying local produce and being a “locavore”. She wrote a terrific article in the Sanford Herald about needing to get more local farms working and getting fresh fruits and vegetables to our own local markets. We went to the produce docks one day and on the docks where pallets of food waiting to be loaded to be shipped off. We saw nothing except peanuts from the USA! The pineapples were from Costa Rica as were the bananas, the green peppers — Hondurus and on and on. We were both disappointed that our Florida soil isn’t used much for other things besides citrus and developers.
The backyard at Sonja’s is so inspiring, besides the luscious squash,
there’s zucciniand wonderful lumbering trees just as calm as Sonja. She has sentimental plantings around yard and her home is just as luminous as she is. She brings me “apples and cheeses”, we chat about life and writing, and she is one of the brightest people you’ll ever meet. Even when she is away, (which was a lot last year) and…. she is not like me who goes to Tampa and feels that was a huge feat! No, she ventures down the Amazon, has hot cocoa in Switzerland, and loves climbing the hills in Greece. And she is always considerate of others and always spoils me with little things she brings back. The best was the chocolate from Switzerland, hint hint. I am so lucky to have such a friend who puts up with me, and I am smarter just by being around her and learning so many things. There is always something fun going on in Sonja’s sharing garden.
THIS IS SPARTA! 
and the mouse must have snuck out. I pulled everything out and looked in all nook and cranies. Next strategy, put the squealing babies in a box and put them up in the attic with Ringo, I was hoping their distress would bring out a sympathetic rodent. Ringo bounded up the ladder to the attic and I sat up there and watched him disappear, but it was hot up there, I came down after five minutes, Ringo stayed about fifteen minutes, he didn’t bring anything with him, but went inside and plopped down on the kitchen floor to cool off. It has to be 100 degrees up in the attic because it is mid nineties on the ground. I brought the babies down and left their box outside figuring maybe the mom would come back or maybe there was some nice snake who would be quick. Sorry, I do not want 8 more rodents around here.
And sealed up everything, EXCEPT, the roof long vents, that is where they had to have gotten in, 
– they are open and have plenty of room to welcome the weary animals who get tired from climbing the roof. I bought wiring to try and rig inside the vents, but not just yet!
We will experiment a bit, and when we come up with the right mix, we will blast from the boom boxes and I will be standing by with my camera to see if there is any exodus. If it works, I will sell my rodent revenge mix for $19.99! That will save people a lot of dirty work, and a lot of financial pain!
This rodent image caught my eye, what the Hell???
The leopard wasn’t panting today, just looked board as when I saw him last. 
One of the elephants was still in her stall, the other one came out to greet me.
The tortoises were kept apart by a fence because he is a bit too amorous all the time. They look like they miss being together. Both are 50 years old and can live for 200 years! 
The keeper came in with food and he scratched her back and she just loved it! I did too, she looked so happy.
The emus always look at you like they judge you. The kangaroos always look so lazy, didn’t even take a picture. The cheetahs could not be seen, they were still in their den. 
The porcupines were quill to quill in their dream state. Even the goat was sound asleep. 
But some kids came with food and he perked up. 
The Llama just peered over top of his barn window and decided I was not worthy of his presence.
he slept in the sun with a hat of greenery. The lizards were busy. 
Oh well, I’m sure if I had gone to the Walmart parking lot, I would have found some crows, but there’s always another day to catch crows. I do enjoy the zoo, especially when I have it to myself like I did early Thursday morning, even if most of the animals were still sleeping.
Earlier I had been out in the yard taking pictures
The little guy came when the cranes were here and Papa crane chased him off. Baby crane is still changing color, his eyes are still lighter and he does not have the red crest yet, though it is coming in little by little.
It was a good night for moon gazing and bird watching, just not for fishing, only for feeding turtles.
epitomizes ‘Catdom’. He is the real cat, he hunts and eats his kill, he challenges raccoons, possums and even dogs much bigger than he is. Ringo’s personality is larger than life, he thinks he is a full blown lion and acts like one. 
have been with us 17 years, they like being indoors, cuddling and finding a good place to sleep around the house. Not Ringo, he likes it outside and doesn’t even mind getting wet.
She doesn’t mind being shaved at all. Not Musa, he hates it, I think he was Sampson in another life - Musa before: 
, so as long as you brush little Miss Prissy, she is happy with or without hair, except when I tried to take a photo of her , she bolted upstairs under the bed, thinking I was going to make her get shaved again. 
So where am I going? The cat-egories don’t really matter do they? Anyway you look at it, they are all loved unconditionally and that’s the truth.
This zebra longwings was extremely beat up and shredded. It actually flew very slowly from all the rips and tears in it’s wings, but flew with a purpose. 
It was actually interesting to watch as it seemed to be moving in slow motion. I saw lots of different butterflies, but they were too quick. I did see a dragonfly that landed on a branch near the back door, but the Sony could not focus on it with the wind blowing the branch, so I went in and got the old Kodak. It is a sure bet with that camera. 
Though the quality of the Sony DSLR is better.
and crepe myrtle is just beginning to bud and bloom, 
My lemons are huge and I am going to have a nice little harvest when they finally ripen. 
at one point I looked down and it almost looked like a turtle was swimming through the clouds. I counted six turtles, four softshells and two sliders. I did catch one bream, threw it back. And looked up and noticed that the heron was on an island in the middle of lake, 
He was big. like the male that has been building the nests for the past 4 years, so I assumed it was him. And when I threw the bream back and the heron flew over to the yard next door, that signaled to me that this was the male who will eventually come over and stand beside me when I do catch fish. I didn’t catch anything else, but the sky was gorgeous, there was just one large cloud in the sky that changed colors and had such a beautiful shape to it. 
The planes flew too close over head, 
and there were many woodpeckers all over trying to contact each other. 
The weather will change and soon the herons will be back building their nests. I am hoping this heron will be coming back each night now. 
Ringo did not fish with me tonight, he stayed in the garage, I am wondering if he too thinks there is a squirrel or rat or mouse in the attic after hearing footsteps near my desk. I put the ladder down to the attic so Ringo could go on a hunt if he feels like it. I am confident if something is there, Ringo is my pet removal service.
Earlier the half moon was out and I marked on the calendar that October 3,4,5,6 should be all harvest moons, you know I will be taking photos and I so hope it will be over the lake when it rises next week.
They had an assortment of cats and dogs, dogs both small and big who need new homes. RAIN volunteers foster many rescued animals they get from people giving up their pets to rescuing pets from the streets and from shelters that have animals ready to be euthanized.
This link represents a Siberian Husky put to death because someone did not have the space for him, each link has a story, and there are over 5000 of them. Gloria
visit 
They have gone and a soft rain is falling on the lake. The cardinals have taken the cranes place. 
And as I write now, it is sunny again — that’s Florida!
The Meyers lemons are getting bigger and bigger, can’t wait till they ripen. The water in the lake is still up nicely, though fishing is still bad. Last night I caught a turtle. The fish are not biting. The cranes were though, they did not realize Ringo the cat was so close and Papa crane almost got him.
dark, light, puffy, happy and sad. I went up to the marina to see if anything was going on. Only saw limited birds and ducks. Took pictures of whatever looked interesting. 
Went back home and it stormed hard with driving wind. 
These birds work so hard for their treats. Carbs of course is down at the lake. Adam and I went off to lunch at Imperial Dynasty on 434, we love the sesame tofu. They are even offering sushi classes over there if anyone in Longwood area is interested. Afterwards we took the long way home up Markham Woods road to look at some of the mansions they have built – I can’t even fathom what it costs to live in those massive homes. Did notice several homes that are in foreclosure, lawns uncared for, the abandoned look of emptiness.
He did a good job!
And that’s how it’s been today so far, dark, dreary, bright and light and so enjoying the birds in the tree outside my window.
, 
also there was tilapia in the condo pond – how they got there — who knows — they are certainly not native.
Also on the condo pond were many female mallards with beautiful faces, and all had different markings. 
Then it was back home to reality, two tropical storms about to turn into hurricanes with one as a fairly substantial one. Both could impact us. 
The first is tropical storm Ana due to possibly hit Florida between Miami and Port Canaveral so far. It will be a rain maker they say, winds around 70mph, that’s not too bad. The other one is worse, will be a Category 2 hurricane. That one is following behind the other one. So far it is TD #3. I went this am to stock up on food and water just in case.
Will be watching closely. Don’t plan on leaving home, will be here to monitor and blog. I can’t imagine leaving my ‘box’ unless it is possibly Katrina big. Meanwhile, it’s always good to be home. Today went to the flea market and got Orangeblossom-oak flavor honey, ummmm, delicious! I also bought a suet feeder and something is eating the whole block of suet in one gulp over night. I will have to remove it nightly. I do have a lot of cardinals and jays lately. 
One last thing, I was at a garage sale that had dept. store dummies, a few male torso and legs, if you need any, call Katy 407-690-2929
It’s been wonderful having the rain. The lake is coming up nicely and everything is green and fresh and humid, oh the humidity. You open the door to go out and immediately your hair crimps up like the Bride of Frankenstein. Today I had almost finished mowing when the sky looked a bit crabby so I came in and watched with Ringo.
flashed across the lake.
This is my desk at 12:51am – maybe I need a blog that shows my desk at different times during the day just for effect! It looks a little messy, but there is a method to my madness. And breakfast at Tiffany it’s not- but that box of POPS was a great deal at the grocery today, 21.4 ounces for $2.50! Can’t get get perfume per ounce for anywhere near that, not even stuff like nuts, makeup, or even other cereal! It’s the biggest box of cereal I have ever seen – how could I turn it down? Right now it’s keeping me and my stomach company. I can see how insomniacs gain weight, this box weighs 1 and 1/2 pounds, I should weigh 5 more at the end of the week. Ha ha – just kidding, I don’t intend to eat it all, Adam is about ten feet away and he has been dipping his hand in the box pretty good himself.
I will have photos later at
Out on the porch was a busy anole running around chasing off the other lizards. 
Went out in the yard and there were a lot of butterflies on and off. Two were flirting for a long time.
There even seemed to be a few monarchs trying to find some milkweed. 
Behind the large hibiscus bush I have a tree stump that had a fresh snake skin across it, so a nude snake is somewhere around. 
And later on, just about the time I was getting ready to fish, the clouds came in for a visit and they did not look happy. 
Even Papa Crane was keeping a close eye on “weather” or not I would be down at the lake. And I wasn’t, we had a lot of lightening, but no rain. I took many photos of the changing sky and will probably post them tomorrow. But for now, I am finishing this and getting ready to post tree frog pics at the other blogsite -
It’s always fun to go to the Farmers Market on Saturdays at the back of the City Hall of Lake Mary. I went early to go get some of my favorite honey. 
Frederickson Apiaries will be opening their own store and bakery in a few months. Will have to go for that grand opening! Orange blossom and wildflower are my favorites. After walking around the many booths, I walked across the street to where they had opened a new shopping area.
There was a floral shop next door and I forgot to take the photo, but it had a beautiful courtyard in the rear packed with plants. Next to that was Coastal Gifts and Decor. 
There was jewelry, note cards, knick knacks with a flair for Florida seaside decor. Next to that was Kristin Shaw’s trendy clothing boutique called, ’sophie and trey’. 
Inside were reasonably
Kristin organizes the once monthly, Paint The Towns. Now she is trying to organize artists for the Farmers Markets so they can display their wares on Saturday mornings. If interested, contact her, 407-324-5747.
I apologize for having taken it from a distance. She works with silver and precious and semi precious stones and does private parties. Her number is 407-467-8138.
contact: 
Remember, not only our artists need support so do the local animal service groups!
Though those orchids are gorgeous, I have a very deadly thumb with plants that need attention. But I find inspiration everywhere and always have a fun time making abstracts out of the picture I took.
Thank goodness Frankie was already inside. I worry more about her being bit than Ringo. She thinks she is as agile as Ringo and also as bold.
and postcards. Some stamps and other memorabilia. So if you have a fetish for history and model trains, there you go. The museum itself is a small yet interesting place of all history relating to the tiny city of Lake Mary.
There is also an auto repair on that same side street as the Barber shop and there was a cool looking old truck /thing sitting in front. 
Hey, at least I’m smiling! And I took a few pics of furniture, 
and even cheated and took Andrea’s cat painting she did and worked that too. 
It should look like this: 
Isn’t Andrea talented? She makes the cutest paintings.
The flowers are wilting under the mighty swell of
sun. I went over to the Lake Mary Farmers market which is very shady. Not many people this morning. This was to be a debut for the artists who wanted to rent a table and I found one artist willing to pay.
and to the right of the driveway a few hundred feet to the right is the marina building.
The building looked pretty quiet and the little business building next to the Palms Resort had ‘ for rent’ signs. A sign of the time for sure. Ususally I see birds there, but nothing was there. I wanted to photograph crows and there wasn’t one in sight. I decided to go to the zoo.
The drive along Lake Monroe was quiet, even the water seemed too tired to wave, (that was a joke).
I turned into the zoo which is a few miles from the marina. Surely there would be some crows at the refreshment stand.
But outside, the alligator was not anywhere to be found and the croc was hidden beneath his water hole. The cats looked like my Frankie, panting and hot. 
After I made the rounds I stopped and got a pretzel and drink and sat down. I made small bits of the pretzel and tossed a few out and waited, nothing, no birds came at all. I stayed ten minutes enjoying the shade and drink, but not one bird took me up on my food offer. I walked back to my truck and came home. The birds are staying to themselves these days. The sun is singe-ing their feathers.
but today they were full bloomed and smelled so wonderfully rosey! The roses had small bits of purple on them. All around the yard, flowers looked happy. I do water them a bit in the morning and in the evening if there is no rain, otherwise they would fry under that hard light and heat. 
The sandhill cranes sat under the camphor tree for a long time taking in the shade. The father was really panting a lot as was my old cat Frankie. I actually think she might have been experiencing heat prostration as she looked way too lethargic on the porch and I could see her heart beating rather wildly. I brought her in and put her on the cool counter and she drank a lot of water. I was kind of worried her heart might give out, but after a while, she did perk up. So remember to keep lots of fresh water out there. I keep it, but poor Frankie looked like she was almost too tired to drink so watch your older animals. 
Finally they all relaxed and then finally flew off. The Moorhen is also a pretty smart, she built her nest up high on the side so as to shade her from the sun as she nested.
Ringo looks at the turtle with amusement, but does not bother them. Fishing sucked, maybe it’s too hot. If there was no breeze off the lake tonight, I would not have thrown out a line. No use standing down there sweating profusely and ending up like Frankie prostrate on the ground, no one would notice me!
Ringo and I were glad to come inside and absorb that nice cool air. No thunderstorms tonight. All is quiet around here. I came in to blog, Ringo passed out and then was treated to a massage from my son. We all have our ways of dealing with the heat, that’s for sure! 
This is the last photo I took of Church just two nights ago. He would come out and share the cement with Ringo watching me fish. He was old, perhaps 17-18 or even more. He was a stray when we found him hungry in our driveway as we were about to move in 1995. We packed him up along with our stuff and our two other cats. I had him immunized and neutered and brought him into our new home where he fit in just as if he had always been there. The vet thought he might be 4 years old back then. He was the cat that resembled “Church” in the movie Pet Cemetery, so that’s how he got his name.
It stormed most of the night! So far we are up almost ten inches. The funny thing is, at a point where there was no rain this morning, I went out to garden a bit and pick up downed tree limbs because you get stir crazy after three days of incarceration. So I transplanted a few canna lilies and the ground about five inches down is dry as dry can be! It’s just as sandy as if no rain has ever fallen. It is another day of rain and what can I say, same old same old, but at least it is helping with our drought! The only visitors have been the ducks and regular birds.
Okay — so how does one get through the days of liquid peril that assault us? Comfort food of course. 
The best is the new Haagen Dazs ice cream “Five”!!!! OMG it’s amazing and it has fruit in it so I am counting that as a fruit suppliment in my daily diet as I count the nuts in the Payday. The cookies count as needed carbs of course. And it does give comfort when the weather is blaring all day long with lightning, thunder and storms all around us and the repeated warnings. It’s all one can do to make it through the day besides petting cats… 
That’s him! The missing baby heron has grown a bit and now he and his sibling have taken to regular flights back and forth to the nest. I am convinced that is the same one who was rejected. What’s fun is to watch the two babies fly awkwardly around the lake, they stop and eat at different spots then fly back to the nest to compare. They are always competing up there, YAK YAK YAK, their necks go up and down, their wings extend and it’s always competiton.
And of course, the band of brothers and Pekins are here off and on as usual and even Carbs will show up during early evening then take off before the BOB’s pick on him. 
The bat mobile looked so cheap, but it was fun watching the action scenes with POP, POW and cartoon effects when our imaginations were so much simpler. We had no bloodshed, only lame storylines and stupid acting that made it work in the 60’s. I stuck around and saw The Hornet was next and watched about ten minutes and my son pointed out that Bruce Lee was the Hornets butler. How weird! The Hornet was really a great looking guy!
So it was a full day of wings and even Ringo the cat was exhausted and dreaming as his tail seemed to take flight. Was he dreaming of flying, or growing up to become a lion and catching all kinds of things? 
She has cats here and there and lots and lots of citrus which she gives to you “for free”. She has now grown her own garden with all sorts of “vine and leaf are filagree” ; peas, green beans, cukes, squash and it all looks lovely and orderly like someone who knows that they are doing. 
The plants seem like soldiers standing at attention, guarding their terrain. I wonder if Sonja goes out at night and sings them a lullaby? They are truly pampered plants like her animals. And because of it, they have so much to give back. She brought over wonderful snap peas and dip, ummm, they were fresh and organic and I, the not a bigtime vegetable eater, loved them! Sonja is trying to practice what she preaches about buying local produce and being a “locavore”. She wrote a terrific article in the Sanford Herald about needing to get more local farms working and getting fresh fruits and vegetables to our own local markets. We went to the produce docks one day and on the docks where pallets of food waiting to be loaded to be shipped off. We saw nothing except peanuts from the USA! The pineapples were from Costa Rica as were the bananas, the green peppers — Hondurus and on and on. We were both disappointed that our Florida soil isn’t used much for other things besides citrus and developers.
and wonderful lumbering trees just as calm as Sonja. She has sentimental plantings around yard and her home is just as luminous as she is. She brings me “apples and cheeses”, we chat about life and writing, and she is one of the brightest people you’ll ever meet. Even when she is away, (which was a lot last year) and…. she is not like me who goes to Tampa and feels that was a huge feat! No, she ventures down the Amazon, has hot cocoa in Switzerland, and loves climbing the hills in Greece. And she is always considerate of others and always spoils me with little things she brings back. The best was the chocolate from Switzerland, hint hint. I am so lucky to have such a friend who puts up with me, and I am smarter just by being around her and learning so many things. There is always something fun going on in Sonja’s sharing garden.
