Old, Good-looking, Green Truck

Don't see many of these around anymore. I'm at a loss as to the make (Chevy?) or year of this truck. Any ideas?

Remnants of Fall - 2017

The Springs at Silver Springs

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago.  Surprisingly, there were a lot of visitors present, most of whom were from out of state.  As you can see this is the main area of interest with some restaurants and souvenir shops.  It is also where the glass bottom boats dock to take on and unload passengers.

If you were in a boat and went to the right side of the dock area, you would find the famous spring 50 feet below.  You would also see some artifacts left in the water from various movies and TV shows that were filmed here.  "I Spy," was one of them, a James Bond movie, and many, if not most, of the Tarzan movies were filmed in Silver Springs.

But it's the springs that make Silver Springs what it is.  The cave at 50 feet below gushes forth with about 1/2 million gallons of water every 24 hours.  That's enough water to quench the thirst of New York City for a day.  The water is 99.9% pure and is at 72 degrees Fahrenheit year 'round.

The water becomes the Silver River which feeds into the Ocklawaha River, and then into the St. John's River and finally into the Atlantic Ocean.

Matching Mustangs

It seems rather appropriate that one of our neighbors, whose house is located adjacent to a large horse farm, should have twin Mustangs sitting in their driveway. Of course, these particular Mustangs are made by Ford. They just appeared one day "out of the blue," as is said. I think they are quite handsome.

Azaleas in December?

These azaleas were planted in the median of the main road into the Trilogy resort about two weeks ago. Azaleas are hardy and thrive in our climate but I'm curious where the maintenance people found so many in such beautiful shape...love those reds!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

In spite of what has been said on occasion, people living in The Villages can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Party Time!

I posted a photo similar to this one a few months ago.  This is a large space in the line of shops which make up the Silver Springs commercial area, and is just across from where the glass bottom boats board visitors.

In all the years I've visited Silver Springs, I've never noticed this space.  Now, it appears to be used for various large events.  In my previous posting, I believe it was staged for a wedding reception.

That maybe the case here but these colors are more Christmasy than wedding.  The photo was taken after Christmas but I have a feeling it had something to do with that holiday. 

You can get a glimpse of the boarding area and one of the glass bottom boats in the reflection.

Wagon Wheel Benches - Brownwood, The Villages, Florida

The Villages is a huge municipal complex, consisting of three main "hometowns" and hometown areas. The first was Spanish Springs; then came Lake Sumter Landing; and relatively recently, Brownwood. I'm not certain of the statistics as The Villages continues to grow at a rapid pace, but suffice it to say that there are probably some 50,000 homes and many more people and just as many golf cars. 

Brownwood has a western theme and so the downtown area resembles an old west town, which is rather funny, because we are about as far east in the United States as one could get!

At any rate, wagon wheel benches are part of the "western" theme and thus you'll find a number of them in the Brownwood downtown.

A Boat Afloat on the Silver River

Steve's Downtown Music

Steve's Downtown Music is located in the central Florida city of Deland. It's been the place to go for CDs, records, movies, posters, shirts with music themes, magazines, etc., since the late 1990s.

Deland is an interesting city and the home of Stetson University.  A few years ago, someone asked me how Deland got its name.

Well, I explained, back in the 1890s, a couple of Europeans on a pleasure cruise, but really looking for a place to settle down, disembarked near what today is Daytona Beach.  They decided to go for a walk.  They headed west and walked and walked and walked and finally came upon a most beautiful city with a downtown, a courthouse, a playhouse, a movie theater, a university, a Walmart and several saloons.

These two explorers were stunned.  One of them blurted out, "Are you sure this is de land?"  And the other, tired and grumpy from their travels, said, "Well, it sure as hell ain't de sea."

And so the city was called Deland ever after.

And that's the truth.

A Not-so-dumb Duck

At first I thought this was one of those dumb ducks; that it would soon go head over behind in these wee falls.  But then I noticed, this duck isn't so dumb; it's standing in shallow water and isn't going anywhere.  (Unless the duck behind her gives her a shove!)

A Buick Called Rudolph

This poor car needs help.  It thinks it is a reindeer and goes by the name of Rudolph.  You can see it has had plastic surgery to attach antlers and a red nose.  I wonder if there are psychiatrists who work specifically with Buicks or SRS (Santa Reindeer Syndrome)?

Ditch Witch

If you needed a ditch dug, which digger would you choose? Would you select this Witch Digger to dig your ditch, or another Witch Digger? I know there are different kinds of ditches and different kinds of ditch diggers, but that's about it. So, if I needed a ditch dug, I'd probably choose this Witch Digger. Which Witch Digger would best suit your ditch? If you needed a ditch dug.

Studying, eating and talking

This young lady was seated in the cafe area of our local Barnes & Noble book store. She was talking on the phone and carrying out other activities at the same time. What a fascinating society we live in.

I read an article today which noted that our social media, e.g. Facebook, has become for many an addiction which is almost impossible to break.  Facebook and other social media were created to be addictive.  And once you're hooked, it's almost impossible to break free.

How many times a day do you check your smartphone?

Beeg Bus!

We ran into (metaphorically speaking) this beeg bus on SW Highway 200 in Ocala the other day. At first I thought it was a large RV, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a bus that transports singers, or other entertainers, from one town to another.  Or it may have been a tour bus, one of thousands that haul the elderly to Florida's casinos where they gleefully watch their money disappear in slot machines.

Clearly, the driver was in a hurry, charging down the highway, darting in and out of traffic; I thought surely he/she would wipe out several smaller cars before he/she got where he/she was going! :)

My father was a careful driver and he often said he'd rather be known as Mr. Anderson late than the late Mr. Anderson.  Not a bad motto in these days of crazed drivers and road rage.