'Ere Leaving Central Climes

It's been a good time in Central Florida with Francie and seeing Sue. Yesterday was a 'see Sue' day, another shot at the Shamrock restaurant (it was good again), a drive to the end of Trail's End and pure entertainment in Sue's backyard. Wild Kingdom indeed. Like the ocean, never the same. Again.

But first, another Lake Panasoffkee moment. Because it's here. 

There are usually ibis to see here, to the point of them being somewhat of a common nuisance in yards and the streets. But it's impossible for me to see them like that, their determined pecking nature, their curved slender beaks brightly or dully colored orange. A bit of exotica to me. 

And some ibis in a dead tree
(you know the tune)

The highest one looks so uncomfortable!

And then, with seeing the bird below, the guessing began. I said some kind of ibis something something combo. Francie said ibis. Maybe. So of course I went to the fount of all knowledge, facebook, posting a phot and hoping to find Teresa or Nadine for information. Teresa responded first. We texted back and forth images, nothing quite right, until Teresa stumbled upon a bird poster and there he was. The Limpken! So called because of his awkward, limping like gait. And he really is sort of a combo, in the ibis and rail families. Mystery solved. If you want to know more, go here. 

Double the pleasure

Walk this way.

Ok, back to yesterday, because that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone. Sorry. There is a song about EVERYTHING.

Before we got to Sue's we went first down a road untraveled, called Trail's End. Sue had told us that it was one of those 'biggest some kind of tree' places. She actually named the tree but I forget. Anyway, those things are rare, so we went to see it. Spoiler alert, we didn't see it, apparently it's a fall thing when the summer jungle growth dies back.

You can't tell it in this photo because it sort of creeps me out,
but the nose on this deer is mushed and made it look a bit peculiar.
It was very tame-ish though, meandering about as we watched.

At the true trail's end, there is a little store and kayak place.
There's also camping spots, even RV hook-ups.

The river is really pretty here.
This guy was going fishing.
Or coming back from fishing. I didn't ask.

Back at Sue's, it had started pouring. It's been like that, intense lightning and thunder lashing rain storms, which I love (as long as I'm not outside under a tree standing in water) and then out comes the sun. But in between are cloud covered, not raining but still cool moments. They don't last long, sort of like rainbows and just as welcome.

As we sat solving the world's problems, Sue saw these two, tearing it up in the backyard. Another of my favorite birds and not seen often by me (they don't grow on Culebra), I crept outside with camera in hand. The rain was almost done, the spigot turned to a mere soft drizzle before ending completely.

In a little gust of breeze, his feather tuft blew

I don't know what was there but they were literally tearing that tree up to get it/them

I've never noticed the way these Pileated woodpeckers so assiduously
search before pecking the wood. And they are contortionists as well.
Here's the Exorcist twist. 

They were so busy, they didn't notice when Francie and I came into the yard.
I've never been so close before, usually if I see one it's 50 feet above my head and
half a campground away.

While not perfect, this shot came out way better than I thought it would!
It's my favorite. 

Eventually the pair flew off, but the three of us stayed by the water, seeing what we could see with Sue telling us stories of happy hours past. And then along came this little fellow. I know he looks big in the photos, Francie says he was only three feet, I say four so I'll settle on 3 1/2. 

He was swimming fairly quickly along until he spotted us and came to a complete stop. We all agreed we could take him, if need be. That's a joke, animal people. 

Hello, baby dragon!

While not clear, you can see under the water a bit as he silently treads it.

Yes, we're watching you watching us.

I am Alligator!

We hoped for an owl sighting, one of two Sue says is a regular visitor, but it was not to be. Next time!!

Next stop - Northern Florida. 

Have a teachable Thursday. Do something on tip-toes.

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. 

Simple Sunday ~ Lake Panasoffkee

Sunday fishin' time

Lines and hopes flying wild

Ephemeral days

Florida ~ It's Out There

Florida is so many places at once, long empty roads lined with oaks, cities, beaches, ponds, lakes and lots of all of that. But I think empty landscapes, dotted with cows and horses, make up more of Florida than is usually thought. Wandering around the two and four lane roads, with little traffic and lots of Mom and Pop businesses, a visitor could wonder if one was in Florida at all and be right if guessing yes.

I've been staying with Francie until we both head out to western destinations, she to Nevada, me to California. She picked me up at the I-said-I'd-never-do-that-again bus station in Ocala and we headed north to see Kirk and Pam near the obliquely named spot in the road Sopchoppy, the Worm Gruntin' Capital of the World. 

Porch time with Pam and Kirk (and kitties)

Wikipedia says this about the name: The town's name is a corruption of "Lockchoppe", derived from the Muskogee lokchapi (lokcha (acorn) / api (stem)), which was the old name of the nearby river.[7]

There are other theories as well, but this one seems as good as any of them. 

I'd been hearing about their place for years, but each time I drove by it, heading to the Gulf shores to camp in the Turtle, they were somewhere else. It was time!

I don't know how big the property is but it's big!

Bordering on a swamp, the feeling of being far off in the woods is strong. But nearby are beaches! Nearby being a relative term.

Kirk's shop is huge, no surprise to anyone who knows him

The boat Pam and Kirk have worked on three years now.
Launching time isn't far away.

I love this wood burning stove Kirk made, named Croc. 

One of Pam's sculptures. I'm in love.

All over the property are visual surprises.

What is it? Pam and Kirk are searching for the answer 

I have a lot of photos of the above jig, it's one of those objects that begs for an answer as to its origin. Moving parts, a serial number that I can't track down... If anyone is interested in joining the hunt, let me know and I'll send more photos.

After sitting up talking while drinking a lot of wine and looking at various treasures until the wee hours, we all turned in. Francie and I headed out the next morning, taking a detour to Cedar Key. She'd never been there and I'd not been there for over 30 years. Incredibly enough, it still has some of its old Florida charm left, though the modern world has crept in. More on that in a minute. 

When you start seeing big expanses of water, you know you're there.

Little islets dot the waters around Cedar Key and the feel of another time and places hit immediately. Out of the woods, into the zone. A Florida I remember better than the one that exists today.

We walked the main drag, a very short walk, in search of a place to have lunch. The one we wanted to go to was closed so this place was it. It was okay, the oysters were good, but nothing to say, GO HERE!

I did really like this oyster shell wall

Oysters and crab bisque, a fish sandwich and potato salad
The oysters are from a local oyster farm and they were good

This is for Jack, if he ever sees it. 

There are still some funky buildings

Street art

Of course Francie loved this. 

The car was feeling a bit wobbly and as we headed off, the wobble became a distinct bumpity bump. Getting out to look, a tire had started to split apart, as in a two foot separation, though for some (thank you, Universe!) reason it wasn't flat as a pancake. With no phone signal, we headed back to Cedar Key and the first store. Still no signal. Using the store phone Francie got in touch with AAA. Sure, we might have done it ourselves but that's why you pay AAA! 

After a long wait, the best AAA guy in the world showed up. He changed the tire and then followed us 40 miles back to where new tires could be purchased. He called ahead and with 5 minutes until closing, the tires were changed. We swapped old Florida stories and one he told us was really sad/maddening/sad. 

Apparently, as 'Yankees' as he called them, found the charms of Cedar Key, they decided one aspect that any old Florida person considers part and parcel of Florida, wasn't so charming. Shrimp boats have been banned from Cedar Key, with the reason being they were 'unsightly'. That seems so bizarre, but it's true. There were a few more stories too, the ones you usually don't hear until you've been lured by the location and find yourself in Paradox. That's why he and a few more live 'out in the woods' nearby. Oh Florida!

Since neither of us like to drive at night anymore, we found a reasonable motel to stay in, in the town of Chiefland (it wasn't on my bucket list but it did the trick), found a BBQ place with excellent ribs and called it a night. The next morning, it was back to Lake Panasoffkee.

With so much rain, the land is lush!

Yesterday afternoon, after it cooled down a bit, we took a walk to the lake. Even with all the rain, the lake is way down on water. The birds I'm used to seeing everywhere were nowhere, except a couple of anhingas too far off to do justice to with a photo.

Some dragonflies entertained instead of birds

In all of the greens, these blooms stood out in fiery contrast

Soon we'll both head out in separate directions, except for generally West, to meet up again another time somewhere. That's what friends do. 

While this trip took a curve unexpected, with a leap to the West far sooner than I thought, everything has a reason, some of which remain to be seen. Roll with it. Or fly. Life is short, carpe diem. 

Have a Sunday Funday! Do something serendipitous!