Here and There in Francieville

The fun of coming to see a friend in a place you've been before is going to places you like and avoiding places you don't like. Of course, it has to be of a size that you kind of know (and remember) the difference. The more my memory jiggles, the more new places I find. That's not always a bad thing.

One place I obviously like is Lake Panasoffkee. The part of it I can walk to and see and the parts glimpsed on other drives to other places. 

It wasn't glassy still but cloud reflections were strong

People taking an airboat ride across the lake.
"Look Mommy! An alligator is looking at me!"

Bird decorated pilings 

Ok, I'll stop now

The other day we went to Webster Flea Market. It's way too big to see all in one day unless you are a masochist, but we covered a fair bit of ground. My favorite part is the 'old stuff' area. All sorts of antique everything is there, from purple rhino heads to antique toy soldiers to vintage wood handled kitchen gadgets. 

It was hard to resist getting one of these but I managed

I don't really get chicken pets to this degree but he seemed like
a really happy guy and they seemed content as well

(Side note on the kitchen goods. I was talking to the guy about one piece that I wasn't sure what its use would be and just about cool old kitchen things in general. He asked me to pick out some I wanted and he'd give me a price. Which I did and he did and then I realized I didn't have enough cash on me and he didn't take cards. He said, don't worry about it, send me a check. I picked my jaw up off the ground and noted how trusting he was with a stranger. He looked at me and said, 'Why? Are you a thief?' to which I replied I was not but could I PayPal him? Nope, they didn't use PayPal, I could send him a money order. We agreed, he gave me his card, I took my goods and caught up with Francie and friend to continue our perusing. I hear in the background a man saying, Ma'am? MA'AM? and checking to make sure I had everything, I ignored it, until it was MA'AM!!! in my ear. He said his wife mentioned that their address was NOT on the card. Oops! We took care of that and were on our way again. Yes, I mailed it to him later that afternoon and hope he was happy to find his trust rewarded. Though I do wish I looked a little shiftier...)

Creole chicken, mixed grains and rice, along with roasted veggies.
That was a good dinner! And lunch. And breakfast. 

Besides great blue herons, cattle and great white egrets, there are a LOT of vultures. There are a lot of other birds too, big and small, but the vultures are ever present.

Or you can call them turkey buzzards. I like vultures better.
However, if you want to get really confused but somewhat more educated on the subject, you can check out this article on what is what and why. 

Some more sights along the way to and at the lake. 

Every year this gets a little worse

The oaks around here are so impressive, I can't really express it
verbally or by camera. 

Today we went to get some plants for the front yard area. On our way there, this little cabin was being trailed in next to a house badly in need of being loved. On the way back, we stopped to take a photo. I told Francie to just go ahead, I'd walk back. It seemed like no one was around and I wanted to do some up close and snoopy camera work. Until the front door opened and this woman is staring at me. I told her how much I liked it and blah blah blah and she invited me in. There was yet another person in there and while I live tiny, it felt REALLY tiny. But it was pretty cool, with a bed and tiny loft and small refrigerator and wood stove made out of an old propane tank. Even so, my claustrophobia was waving red flags so I wasn't there long. Here's a little glimpse.

Made of pretty much all salvaged materials.
The slabs of wood were very impressive. 

Just in case you need a quickie wood stove.  

Out in the country while looking for a plant nursery, we saw this. I don't know what it is except that I like old machine things and this is one. If you know what it is, I'd love to be informed!

Wheels and gears and rods and more wheels.
I can't figure it out. 

Soon it will be time to head home. It's that time of year here where the weather is pretty close to just right, spring type warm in the day and cool at night, making for good sleeping. But I think I'm ready for some hot sun. Uh huh!

Have a treat-like Thursday. Do something temporarily tantalizing.