Sensual or Sensuousness at Cassadaga

"Sensual" is not an easy theme for people who usually photograph buildings and trees and golf courses and funny folks in malls or strange cars on our highways and byways.

Not finding anything remotely resembling the theme among my recent photos, I ended up searching my archives and discovered the above photo taken on a visit we made several years ago to Cassadaga, a small unincorporated area in Volusia County, Florida, just north of Deltona.

Cassadaga is a Spiritualist community, considered by some to be the "Psychic Capital of the World." There you will find a variety of spiritualists including many psychics and mediums.

Cassadaga was founded by one George Colby, of New York state.  He was a medium who traveled about giving readings and seances. One of his spirit guides, an Indian named Seneca, told Colby to move to Florida. Colby did so and it was there he acquired 35 acres and established his spiritualist camp.

The camp endures to this day.  There is a welcome center, a temple, a hotel, a park, quite a few residences and numerous shops where you can purchase Spiritualist paraphernalia.  During our visit, I took a number of photos, including, fortunately, one of this statue, which is the most "sensuous" photo I could find in my archives.

I apologize for this long-winded and convoluted explanation, but I did want to keep you abreast of what I was doing.

The theme for October 1, is "Sensual."  You can check out how other CDP bloggers interpreted the theme here.

Changing Seasons?

Over the past several weeks, I have noticed a number of CDP bloggers posting photos of the change of seasons in their community...mostly they show trees with leaves no longer green, but now orange, and red, and various other colors.

It was 92 F in Ocala yesterday.  Being in Florida, the change of seasons is hardly noticeable.  But Ocala is in the north central part of the state so, unlike south Florida, we do experience a bit of seasonal change.  This change is most apparent in December.

However, the tree pictured above (and I don't know its brand) appears to have been struck by a change of season. It is located near the pool area of the Trilogy Resort and its leaves are normally green, but lo and behold, they have changed to a reddish color.

How about that?

Caps Galore

You can buy caps like these in mall kiosks but the biggest and best selection will be found at a local flea market which is open each week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, you can advertise your favorite military service, your favorite TV show, your religious beliefs and more. One would think that in this very conservative part of the country one would find lots of Trump's red caps  about making some country great again, but I can't remember ever seeing anyone wearing such a cap.

I usually wear a golf cap but my favorite cap is a U.S. Navy cap I bought at this flea market.

Main Street - Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages

A Foggy Day in Lake Sumter Landing

I've posted photos similar to this one in the past, but I cannot pass up a foggy morning on a lake!

Hawk - Posting and Posing

We were visited by a hawk the other day.  So far as I can tell it was a Red-Tailed Hawk, but it could have also been a Cooper's Hawk as they are very similar.  The bird landed and perched on our neighbor's fence for several minutes.

Then, probably bored, it flew down to the ground where it sat in the grass and looked up at an immature tree, perhaps trying to determine if the tree could handle its weight.

Finally, it flew up into the tree at which time another hawk joined it and the two of them flitted about in the branches until his companion decided he/she would have better opportunities for love or food elsewhere.

At that point, our hawk flew to the top of the tree, where it sat in avian majesty.

But that lasted only so long.  It glided down to perch on a post, look back at me (I was taking photos through a glass slider) and posed one last time before it flew off to parts unknown.

Horses! Watch out!

We see numerous horse trailers in and around Ocala which makes sense because raising horses for racing and jumping is a major industry with over 200 horse farms in the area, many of which can lay claim to raising partially or in full some of the big winners on the horse racing circuit.

I'm not sure if the message on this trailer is to caution us about the driver and his/her inability to drive, or to suggest we watch out for horses jumping out of the trailer at some point, or to be careful because the cities mentioned on the back of the trailer have a vested interest in the horses contained therein and will come after you if you should somehow crash into this vehicle.

Of course, "CAUTION" could simply mean be careful as the drivers can't see behind them too well.  Nah, that would be too easy1

Cody's Roadhouse - Lake Sumter Landing

Cody's is the name of a chain restaurant company which designs their stores (restaurants) to resemble the "roadhouses" of old. I'm not sure what that means, but if they contained a lot of antique artifacts, sold liquor and featured steaks and french fries and other heart-threatening menu items, then Cody's got it right. 

Ocala has had a Cody's for 7 or 8 years. Lake Sumter Landing in The Villages got one shortly thereafter. Brownwood, the latest Town Center in The Villages has also joined the Cody club. We have dined in each of these and our experiences were quite satisfactory.

Most Cody's include an old orange truck parked in front of the building. The Cody's featured in this post is in Lake Sumter Landing, on the water, and has a great view.

The Amelia Island Marina

This photo was taken several months ago when we were on a day trip to Amelia Island. Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach are beautiful places and I was afraid Hurricane Irma might have done significant damage. But after a bit of research, I found that the island had been spared the worst of it. There were power lines down, trees down, some damage to homes, etc., but these boats, if they were tied in the same place during the hurricane, are probably still there and looking good.

June & Ocala Golf Cart

 

June is the manager for the Ocala Golf Cart shop on the northwest side of Ocala. She is warm and friendly and doing business with her is a delight.  It is a family operation, owned by her brother-in-law, who also runs another golf cart shop on Highway 200 in the southwest side of Ocala.  

As you can see, they've got the city covered.  They have been in business for a number of years and have been successful because they are people-oriented, or as they like to say "people driven."

In fact, we have purchased a golf cart from June and it is getting the finishing touches at the moment but will soon be ready to chase that little white ball down the fairways at various golf courses in Ocala, but mostly at the Trilogy Golf Course.

The Trilogy Golf Course

Shopping at Sears

"That will be $150.00, please," said the clerk.

"What, that's on sale for $100.00!" said the woman customer.

The clerk responded, "Oh, no, that was yesterday.  Today it's $150.00."

"That's not fair!" said the male customer, angrily.

"True.  But we don't care and it really doesn't matter, your credit card has been rejected," responded the clerk.

"Well, we'll just take our business elsewhere," said the customers in unison.

"Oh goody," said the clerk, "I can go on break now."


(Please note that this mini story is fiction and bears no resemblance to any Sears clerk or Sears customers, especially those persons pictured above.)

A Napping Teddy Bear

The store is called Blocker's Furniture.  It's fairly upscale as reflected in their prices.  While browsing one day, this chair piqued my interest.  I asked to see it in its normal configuration.

Well, that didn't sit well with the people running the show.  They said, in no uncertain terms, that teddy bears needed their cat naps just like anybody else and I could come back when he woke up.

Now, I may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier but I knew this was one teddy that was not waking up anytime soon.  So, I pulled myself together, choked back my tears, and said "I'm going to look for a chair elsewhere, a chair without a bear!"

And that was that.

Hit the Road, Mack!

We call this the headless truck. I'm not sure what it's all about but it belongs to an electrical contractor.

Whatever, it's certainly funny looking for a Mack!

Cleo Supervising Our Movers

Cat as you may know, like to be in the middle of things, and they want to know what's going on. Some, like our Cleopatra, need to have some say as to how things are done. In order to supervise effectively, she realized she needed a vantage point from which to determine how to proceed. I must say she did quite well, as the movers never shirked their duties.

En Garde!

This fine-feathered friend is standing guard over a nest which is located in a bush just to his left. I think he sensed danger, but I'm not sure from what source. After a bit he flew away so the danger probably passed and he felt his nest was safe again - for awhile.

Wishing Well

This beautiful wishing well is located on a small farm in Ocala. We often ride our bikes up the street where it is located and it finally dawned on me that this is probably the source of the phrase, "We wish you well." I don't know why anyone would wish me a well, though.

(I'll quit now, as, well, I think my sense of humor has hit the bottom!)

Horse Farm Territory

The Trilogy resort abuts a large and beautiful horse farm.  At one time, of course, all of the land in this area consisted of horse farms.  But time marches on to the beat of what some would call "progress" and many of our horse farms are disappearing.  

Our home is on a cul-de-sac and the first shot is what you see from the window in my office or den.  The horses don't always show up, but they are there often enough to bring pleasure to those who live on this street.

The 2nd shot consists of a shady lane which the horses can take advantage of on certain days and certain occasions.

Lastly, is a photo of some of the beautiful equines that grace this property.  This was taken after Hurricane Irma came through.  Evidently, the horses weren't adversely affected.

Upscale Torn & Ragged Clothing

It is probably best that I do not comment on the above but leave the comments to my insightful, incisive and extremely intelligent readers.

But I will say that you can pay good money for these items in upscale stores right here in Ocala.

Is this a great country or what?

It's a Party!

People place balloons in places like this to indicate that a party is to be held at this location and also to help people who are directionally challenged and can't find an address even with GPS.

But most of that is irrelevant.

The question is:  What kind of party do these balloons suggest? 

a) A bridal shower
b) A Bar Mitzvah
c) A birthday party
d) A First Communion
e) A baby shower
f) A rain shower
g) All of the above

The persons who choose correctly will receive bragging rights.  Aw, c'mon, what did you expect, a candy bar?

Ups and Downs

This is one of those favorite photos that pop unexpectedly out of the camera.  I think the reason I like it so much has to do with its lines and angles.  It has what I'd call a sort of geometric eccentricity.

It was taken at the Oaks Mall in Gainesville, Florida.

Waiting for Irma

Saturday morning.  Trilogy Ocala Preserve.  The workmen have left.  The silence is deafening!  We're waiting for Irma.

The Move to Trilogy

I'm back and am excited to once again share photos with my friends in the CDP community!  It's been a hectic and difficult couple of months, but we're now settled in and I'm hoping to find the time to post on a regular basis.  

As some of my readers know, Lois Anne and I have moved from a relatively large house to a much smaller house located in the resort community known as Trilogy.

Trilogy operates a number of 55+ resort communities here in Florida and in other states as well.  The first time we visited Ocala's Trilogy was about a year and a half ago and it was just getting started and we were not allowed inside the gate and left unimpressed.

Time, they say, changes things.   We went back a couple of months ago and were quite taken with the entire community.  We'd been thinking of downsizing for some time and after looking things over we decided this was the place to do it. So, we sold our house and bought another smaller house in Trilogy.

The first and last photos show the iconic Trilogy tower.  I've been told there's nothing in it but some steps which lead to the top.  I've yet to discover if it has any other meaning than that of representing Ocala's Trilogy resort.

The 2nd show shows Reflection Lake in which you can kayak, canoe, and fish. The building you see is where you obtain the vessels to traverse the lake.  The 3rd shot shows what's called the Oak House.  It contains a restaurant/bar, a concierge to assist you, a golf pro shop with pool tables, a workout gym, a spa, wine lockers, and the Trilogy mail delivery room.  

The Oak House also has a massive "common" room where you can come and relax, read, converse with friends, etc.  That's what you see in the 4th shot.

As time goes by, we'll show other photos of the community and its amenities - including the unique and fun golf course.

Now, all of the above depends upon us not getting blown away by Hurricane Irma! We doubtless will get some strong winds and rain but we're on high ground, about 75 miles between the coasts and far enough north that we tend to hang our hat on the hope Irma's force will dissipate substantially by the time it gets to us.