Not the big island

I had all sorts of plans to go to the big island today for shopping. I was up on time. My list was ready. And then I started thinking about cleaning up my still branch strewn yard. About going out in the dinghy, just because I can, now that all the hoses are in place and it's running pretty again (thank you Francie, Mini Mas and Singing Doug). Maybe some fishing. And I waved good bye to the ferry, saving the trip for another day. There isn't really anything I need so badly right now. Then I got an email about chickens for my coop who will arrive tomorrow. So that is the numero uno project! Get the coop happy for them. Oh boy, here we go...

Dawn was so beautiful this morning, the almost waned sliver of moon so bright in a sky barely more blue than black. Photos are a joy, but they sometimes fall far short of what is actually seen with the eye. Maybe because some sights involve far more than the simple act of seeing, traveling below the skin into whatever one calls that place that swells up inside with an airy grandness until its release as a smile with no words. Well, no words I know, anyway!

All of that doesn't mean I won't try, though!

If I could just get the moon to look this big in the whole photo...well, you'd need one of those
ginormous flat screen televisions to see the whole thing...sort of like the sky, but different

Florida weather has gone crazy. Iguanas are falling out of the trees in Florida, semi-dead. Fish farmers are losing their food and exotic fish. Citrus trees, strawberries and other crops are being lost. In central Florida right this minute, it is 28 degrees. That's Fahrenheit, not Celcius. Yep, crazy. And expensive. Plan on a)paying a lot more for your citrus and strawberries or b)grow your own.

Anyone living in the tropics who hasn't got at least a few trees capable of giving them something to eat is a puzzle to me. It's not even like gardening...plant a tree, tend it awhile and then let it take care of itself for the most part. Then get free food from it. What is easier than that? Even growing your own food isn't rocket science. And guess what? At D's nursery, she has strawberry plants! Already started...you just have to provide a place for them. I highly recommend using a container to grow them. How? There are many sites you can google to find out, rather than me explaining it to you. Here is one of them that keeps it as simple as it really is. Give it a try; they can be grown in anything from a cleaned out plastic liter bottle to a fancy strawberry pot. It's fun, it's rewarding and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying them!

George McConnell (1852 - 1929)