Sad and Glad

 Our thoughts this morning were with Matt, who lost his older brother to cancer.  Matt was to deliver the eulogy today at the funeral.

That was the sad part.  The glad part belongs to granddaughter Sarah-Jean.........

.......who will be leaving at the end of the month to begin her nursing career in Campbell River, B.C.  Mom Sue will share the drive out west and help her get settled in her new home.  An exciting adventure for our young lady!

You see Easter Lilies in the above picture.  They are currently being sorted and harvested......

..........by a good temporary work crew.

Unfortunately, the current U.S. tariff climate has put the crop in jeopardy.  As well, a portion of the crop has grown too tall to fit in the cardboard boxes you see in the background.  So they can't be shipped and David has decided to give them away.

Free Lilies folks.  Limit of six per customer.  Come on in.

---------------------------------------------

When we left the greenhouse, Mardi and I headed to Grimsby's Service Ontario office to renew our driver's licenses.  Thankfully, we can both still see and we drew very pretty clocks, so we're good to go for two more years.  By then I'll be 90 - hopefully I will still remember what a clock looks like 😬.

---------------------------------------------

Stay well.

Mail

 You'll have to forgive this paragraph, but the best thing about coming home?  Our "Right Size" toilet!  For the first time in three months I haven't had to grip the woodwork, worried about falling, while I sat myself down - way down.  Life's small pleasures!

Second best?  Watching the Blue Jays sweep Washington.  They weren't on the TV we watched in Florida.

Went through a huge pile of mail today, some of it from before we left and delayed by the strike.  Dealt with part of it.  More to go.

One of the mail items told us old people that we have to update our Driver's Licences, so that's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Despite the weather right now, Mardi has headed out to choir practice.  She's really missed that part of her life.  My singing angel.

That's all.  No real news today.

Stay well.

Rain and Shine

 Can't believe that it's been ten years since Lynn dragged Roger out of the Hawaiian Pacific for their marriage.  All the best to the two of you!

---------------------------------------

Packed up this morning......

................then I went into recovery!

-----------------------------------

I drove the first two and a half hours during a morning drizzle, then Mardi took over (sunny period) and I finished in a torrential downpour.

Recovered at a Japanese restaurant where we had agreed to meet the girls.  And I was treated to a (bit premature) happy birthday.

Lots of fun.

Stay well. 

Games Day

 A picture that may have added some context to the Orlando Wetland piece:

The boardwalk is over half a mile long, and they have placed it strategically - close enough to the trees that you can see and enjoy the birds, but far enough away so that they are not disturbed.

The Wetland improves the quality of the water at minimum cost, and provides a sanctuary for thousands of birds.  Brilliant!

---------------------------------

Our one bedroom condo here in Myrtle Beach is beautiful.  And they also have a lazy river, although it's just wide enough for one of those tubes you see in the background.  Probably creates traffic delays - just one lane!

Today was cool and damp so we didn't swim, or even check out the beach.  But we did enjoy a game of Mexican Train with the girls at our temporary home.

And we'll be seeing them again tomorrow night in Summersville, West Virginia.  And the Ottawa girls are then staying in Stoney Creek for a week so we're not finished with them yet.  More fun to come!

----------------------------------------

Stay well.

A Long Day

 We were packed and loaded by 9 a.m. and headed for Myrtle Beach.  Should have been here by 5 p.m.  But a short lunch stop and a gas fillup, plus an hour and half traffic delay got us here around 7 p.m.

The last part of the journey, after we turned off I-95 was a delight.  Quiet back country and lots of  Wisteria vines. in full flower, clinging to the trees.

A slow check-in and then we couldn't find our unit, and we were supposed to meet my daughters at 7:30, so we gave up and headed to the restaurant.  But it was located in a bizarre shopping centre/amusement park and it took another few minutes to find it, so we arrived a half hour late.

Fortunately, a glass of wine  (after I showed proof of identity - I know that we didn't look our age, but really!) put me out of my misery..........

 and I was able to enjoy Barbara........

.....Jo-Ann..........

...........and Kathryn (steak, not crab legs).....

and my better half.....

We had an enjoyable evening, with more to follow tomorrow.

And I was actually able to find our unit afterwards.

Life is a test, but it's still good!

Stay well.

Last Day

 On the advice of a lady that we talked to at Bonnet Springs, today Mardi and I headed toward Titusville to see the Orlando Wetland.

Orlando sends its treated water (14 million gallons a day) through a 17 mile pipeline to what was a cattle ranch and is now a 1650 acre wetland.  It drops through three levels, contained by berms, to a stream that empties into the St. John River.  And the wetland takes most of the remaining phosphorus and nitrogen from the water as it flows through the three levels down to the river, a process that takes 30 to 40 days.

It is a beautiful place!

She's cute too!

We toured by electric tram (they only run Friday, Saturday and Sunday), with a wonderful volunteer driver/guide.

And the birds!  Jim Maguire would be in seventh heaven with his camera here!  

Roseate Spoonbills by the dozens, on the ground.....

...........in the trees...

...........including lots of young Spoonbills.

And treeloads of Wood Storks as well.

I watched a Stork fly back and forth taking building material for a nest.  What a graceful flight!  My cellphone just doesn't cut it - couldn't get a picture.

Lots of other birds as well.  Like this Giant Egret with a frog.

And lots of these guys too (Mardi's cell phone takes much better pictures than mine - if we come back I'll bring my old camera).

A wonderful way to spend a few hours!

------------------------------------------

Then home for a last splash in the pool.

And dinner at Sakura Asian Fusian................

......with our friend Joy looking after us.

------------------------------------

In the morning we leave this place (it looks much like the ones across the street).

Tomorrow we'll be reporting from Myrtle Beach.

Hopefully the current political drama will have subsided so that we can return to Florida next year.  We'll see!

  

Stay well.

Winding Down

 We said goodbye to Maureen and Matt this morning.  They have left two days early - Stoney Creek neighbours are vacationing in Myrtle Beach and invited them to stop over on the way home.  Maureen loves the ocean beach so the obvious answer was "yes".

With our time running out, Mardi and I decided that we should use up the balance remaining on our Orange Lake golf card and our Miller's Ale House card.

So we headed to Orange Lake and the Crane's Bend course.  And we both beat our age!  Oh wait, it's only nine holes 😉.

We did see a male Osprey on a branch near his bride's nest.

These days he has to feed two or three mouths while mom tends to the nest.

We also saw several Sandhill Cranes, but this year we have yet to see any chicks.  Disappointing and concerning.

After golf we headed to Miller's for a beer and I got a nostalgia feeling.  Using up those cards felt like a farewell.  Will we ever be back to our beloved Orange Lake?  Or to Miller's?  You look at these  things with a new appreciation at a time like this!

-----------------------------------------------

And we enjoyed the pool for the last time.  Our planned excursion for tomorrow will take up most of the day.

I had a minor victory over Mardi at Skip-Bo.  Enjoy it while you can Bud.

Stay well my friends.