A Slithery Visitor

A slithery visitor arrived on Sunday

 He asked our cats to come out and play 

The kitties, fearful, fled in dismay 

And were not seen 'til Saturday!

Florida & Texas Longhorns

On a hot afternoon, the Florida Longhorns knew enough to find some shade under the old oak tree. The Texas Longhorns, though, being dumb as door knobs, remained in the open, chewing grass, allowing the heat to sap them of whatever energy they might have had when they lived on a ranch west of Houston. Turns out they belong to the Conservative Cow Patty Party.

Ye Olde Witch

This is Ye Olde Witch here at the Trilogy Resort.  She resides on the main road so gets a lot of attention which witches like on Halloween and even the days before Halloween.

Ye Olde Witch is supposed to be scary but she looks a lot like my olde aunt Gwendolyn who wasn't scary at all.  I didn't even tremble when I took her picture.

I thought it strange, though, that my bike burst into flames when I arrived home!  

French Bicycle

This is a beautiful road bike, made in France.  Everything fits perfectly and that's probably why it exudes quality and elegance.  The owner is seen most days riding the trails here at the Trilogy Resort.  Sometimes he parks the bike here to take a dip in the swimming pool.

Jody and the Flint Creek Outfitters

I am back, at least temporarily.  A variety of health issues have made blogging impossible for the past few months, but things are looking up now.  I just don't know how long the present situation will last.  It is good to be back and to see so many familiar blogs and friends still blogging away.

The gentleman in the first photo above is Jody.  He's an employee of Flint Creek Outfitters in the Heathbrook Outdoor Mall.  Flint Creek sells most everything one would need to spend time outside in the woods or the mountains or on a trail.  Their goods are not inexpensive but are of high quality.

Jody works in the Flint Creek bicycle shop.  He is a fascinating young man and is what's considered a long-haul bicyclist.  His bike, pictured here, is just about ready for a long ride; it is loaded with water, food, a tent, all the utensils one would need, medical supplies, etc.  When we met him, Jody was planning a 200-300 mile ride across Georgia and Florida.  

Jody is also active in a religious group known as Church in the Garden which is for the "housed" and the "unhoused".  They take their religion out of the building and put it into practice by providing food and clothing and haircuts and all kinds of other assistance for people in need, many of which are living on the street.

You can learn more about all of this here:  www.weargloves.org, and www.dignityroasters.com.

Please Google Flint Creek Outfitters for more info on that operation.  

The bikes you see in the last photo were, as I recall, made in Spain.  They are quite expensive but exquisitely created.

Taking a break

I'll be out-of-pocket for a little while as I need to take a break from the stress of everyday life.

See you again soon!

Women's Golf

There is a small but determined group of women in the Trilogy community who play golf. Once a week, they conduct a women's tournament. Notice that they are walking, not riding in golf carts.

I think that's rather special, especially in the overheated days of a Florida summer.

The Feisty Pelican Can

The seagull soaring from the sky
Saw the funky pelican
And laughed and laughed
And then it laughed some more
That pelican, said the gull,
Is such a funny-looking bird
It cannot sing, it cannot soar...

So cook it in a frying pan

The pelican got really mad
Went to work, made a plan
I'll grab the mouthy, ugly gull
With my great big beak
I'll make it pay, I can, I can,
Hell yes I can
For I'm a feisty pelican.

And the gull was never seen again.

Kayaks in Color in Cedar Key

On a hot summer day, you can cool down by renting one of these colorful kayaks in Cedar Key.

Options include casual kayaking on the various bayous in Cedar Key itself or on the numerous canals up and down the coast or by venturing a ways out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Wear sunscreen, and a life jacket and don't forget your camera.

Dying in the spring

When spring rolls around, our thoughts turn to new life, to all the signs of new life around us - fresh, green leaves, flowers exploding to color our world.

But this tree shows how, sometimes, spring brings evidence of death.

The tree is located in an upscale neighborhood on the east side of Ocala, not far from where we used to live. We were driving through that neighborhood the other day and I was taken aback by this wonderful tree struggling to survive.

You will note there are some buds trying to break through; it is showing it hasn't given up. But I don't think it will make it through the summer.


Special Note:  We have re-activated our website, L & L Photography.  But there is a new URL:

https://www.ourphotoart.weebly.com/

If you are interested, give it a look.  We'll be posting our more "artsy" photos there. 

Roma's Italian Restaurant

Roma's Italian restaurant located in the Foxwood Shopping Center in Ocala offers a large menu selection, good food and good service. Just recently, they opened a bar on the other side of an open space next to their original location.

Then, they added outdoor dining in that open space.   So, you can sit outside and order food from one side and drinks from the other side. The only problem I see is that the heat is stifling and I can't imagine sitting outside to eat these days.

These photos were taken a few weeks ago when temperatures were more moderate.

Fox Squirrel

First of all, I apologize for the poor quality of these photos. But fox squirrels are really goofy and do not stay still for more than a second at a time. I've posted photos of these squirrels before when I first made their acquaintance, about 5-6 years ago.

They are cute, but very sneaky. When you're not watching, they will burglarize your golf cart and make off with whatever goodies you may have stored there. They especially like chocolate bars with peanuts.

The reason they are called fox squirrels is because they look similar to a fox when they run.

No Passing!

This is Highway 225A which runs north from Ocala to where it meets Highway 441 and continues on to the City of Gainesville, which is the home of the University of Florida.

There are a number of large, beautiful horse farms along this stretch of the highway, but as you get farther north you'll see run-down very shabby homesites, along with a dreary little town which has very little to offer its residents.

As you can see, we were required to stop at this point, while cars coming from the other direction were given the rightaway.  We were pleased to note it would not be a long wait.  Evidently, the electric company was repairing lines and cutting away branches which could become a problem as hurricane season approaches.

Scenic from Spanish Springs, The Villages

As most of you know, The Villages did not exist 35-40 years ago. And although the buildings in the three "hometowns" appear to be old, some from the 19th century even, they are quite recent. The people who put The Villages together wanted to give residents a sense of community, a small-town feeling, a place where they could let go of their cares and simply enjoy life as it might have been in the "good old days."

What you see in this picture goes back maybe 40 years.  It's an iglesia or Spanish church, or so the faded writing on the wall would suggest.

The effect is quite effective!  And fun.  And because so much care was taken in constructing the Spanish Springs hometown, quite beautiful.

And that's why The Villages is sometimes called "A DisneyWorld for adults."

If you wish to know more about The Villages, one of the fastest-growing communities in the U.S. just Google "The Villages, Florida," and you will find more information that you can imagine.

Meet Me at Belk

The other day a friend of mine called to say he wanted to talk to me about something important. I said, "OK, meet me under the Belk sign at the mall."

My friend never showed up.

A few days later when I asked him what happened, he said, "Well, I went to the mall parking lot but couldn't see the Belk sign, so I left."

Obviously my friend is not very bright.  Or, he wouldn't be if I had a friend like that.


But I made up the story just so I could have a good reason for posting this photo.