A Full-time Life

BLUE SKIES

 

We've seen stormy gray skies and soft coral and pink  skies and dramatic red skies  this season and I've posted pictures of all of them for SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  

But quite often our Florida skies look just exactly like the way we used to color sky when we were in grade school.   

   

All you really need are three crayons!  

 

Remember how the blue one always wore out first?

 

  

This one would be hard to color.  The white crayon never worked.

Broken clouds look to me like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

 

 

Thank you to Yogi and the SWF team.  Click the links to view skies as seen by kids and grownups all over the world!

KITCHEN - CONTINUED

 

OUR WORLD is still centered around the Canal Cottage remodel.    We cooked the first meal on the new island stove-top yesterday.

 

 

There's still the sink to hook up,  and the backsplash on the   counter will be installed this week.  THEN -- THEN -- finally THEN  --    it will be time to move everything from the old kitchen to the new one.  (The old kitchen space will become the new living room.   We reversed the floor plan.) 

 And after that comes the  cleanup -- donation of old cupboards and appliances and of course that part of any project we really look forward to (oh yeah) --gathering up the remnants and scraps for the dump run.  

So this week, for a change,  I'll not only be watching other people work, but also actually doing some work of my own.      

 

Thanks to the host team at OUR WORLD TUESDAY:   Jenn, Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, and Sandy

BLOOMING WHILE OTHERS SLEEP

 

 

 An early morning gift this month is the sight of a  night-blooming cactus plant in the yard across the street from us.   

 

 

I love the idea of "catching" this  beautiful flower, which blooms after dark and fades as the sun hits it.  It seems like discovering a secret every time I see it.

 

It seems to bloom only during the month of May.  

 

I don't think this is a native plant -- the lady who used to live across the street from us planted many exotics.    This one has survived her.

 

 

 

This is what happens when the sun comes up.  Another neighbor with whom I occasionally walk tells me she has "no use" for this flower.  She said "if it can't be bothered to bloom all day, I can't be bothered with it!"

But it still feels like a gift to me.

 

Shared with:    TODAY'S FLOWERS, hosted by Denise; Nature Footsteps  BLOMA on Monday;  and Nick's FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS

QUIET MORNING

 

A misty morning last week accentuated the quiet of our RV Resort, now that most of our fellow snowbirds have left for the season.

 

 

There was a different feel to the day that reminded me once again that Florida is a "whole other world."      (In our native Pacific Northwest, foggy mornings are usually bone-chillingly cold.)  

 

Here, the mist felt good in the morning,  but later in the day the humidity, along with a temperature in the low 90s,  meant  it was definitely time to turn the A/C on.

 

Another Spring day in the subtropics.

 

Shared with WEEKEND REFLECTIONS and SCENIC WEEKENDS and SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY,  and STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA SUNDAY with thanks to the hosts.

SURPRISE ENDING

 

This time of year here in Fort Myers, you don't  know what to expect of a day from the morning skies.

 

Sometimes  soft lovely mornings like these give way later in the day to wild rainstorms with thunder and lightning.    

 

You will not see pictures of lightning here (not if I have anything to say about it).  In between thunderclaps I might step as far as the screen porch to take a picture of the driving rain.  But that is all.   

 

I'm grateful for modern weather forecasting.  Because I'd hate to plan a day of outside activities based on those beautiful morning skies  -- and then get caught out there in this.  

 

For SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  Thanks to Yogi and the hosting team.

HOW TO GET THERE?

 

Silly directional signs are a cliche, but I'm a sucker for cliches so they  make me smile every time.  

 

 

This one was at the RV resort in the Keys where we stayed earlier this season.  The arrows pointing to the beach and the Tiki Bar were actually important.

 

 

One side of the post tells you how far it is to the moon.  The other side says "Not for Navigational Use."  You think?

 

 

This post is linked to (I bet you guessed this one):  SIGNS SIGNS.   Thanks to Lesley.

 

WALKING WITH WOODPECKERS

 

Woodpeckers seem to love Upriver this time of year!  The morning walks last week were not so much about exercise as about chasing them......stopping every few steps  to marvel at these flashes of bright red and occasionally trying to take their picture.

I'm pretty sure that the ones on the left and on the picnic table are red-bellied woodpeckers. The top one is a pileated and the other two are red-headeds (a new bird for me).  

 

I'll keep chasing these beauties as long as they (and we) are here.  The perfect picture remains to be taken.  Meanwhile it's fun trying.  (And I can always go for another walk in the evening, for exercise!)

 

FOR:  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY, thank you to Stewart for hosting.

BUSY WEEK

 

 

 Our ongoing Canal Cottage  renovation has kept us busy lately.  We spent quite a lot of time wandering around stoneyards before finally choosing just the right counter-top material. Since "the season" is over,  the installers were able to get right on the project.  That made us happy, because we'd like to finish this year's project  soon.  It's time to start thinking about getting on the road again!    

 

It's amazing how much time it takes me to watch other people work.

 

So we haven't done much exploring lately except around this quiet RV Park  (most people have already left for the summer).  Here are a few of the bright spots from the week's morning walks.

 

 

For:    OUR WORLD.  Thank you to the hosts.

 

MAGIC MORNING MOON

 

 I went out early hoping to see an enchanting sunrise.

 But I   found only  this pale one:

 Then I spotted a daytime moon:

 

And that, after all, is enough magic for one day!

 

    Thank you to the SKYWATCH FRIDAY team

RAINY SEASON

 

Here's another one of those "cya" signs we love so much -- seen earlier this year at a trailhead.  At least this one rhymes.

 

Maybe there really are some people somewhere who don't already know that it's best to take shelter when it's pouring down rain and thundering.

   

I was reminded of this photo because Southwest Florida's summer rainy season seems to have arrived early this year and we've had wild afternoon thunderstorms for the past several days.  

 

We're still surprised that it can be a hot day while it's raining.  In Oregon (our former home) it rains in the Winter and that rain is bone-chilling.

 

 Here, we may need the air conditioner on even while it's pouring outside.  

The rain is definitely needed here ....  and its nice to have a few hours every day to go outside, so we aren't complaining (too much).  

Today's weather report is shared with SIGNS SIGNS.  Thanks Lesley.