Time for a Change... and more flowers

As close as I could get -- wish I would have had a longer lens to get closer!

Shell Game

Air plants hanging from the tree - neat idea

Can you believe it's daylight savings time already?  Wish the weather would catch up a little.  I LOVE having an extra hour of sunlight, not so much when it's cold and gloomy.

Am I boring you to tears with flower pictures yet?  Saturday was sunny after several cold days so I headed to Orlando today to visit Leu Botanical Gardens.  Beautiful place and a good way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Some more flower pictures follow -- I swear I'll have some actual Airstream travel to talk about soon.  I'm waiting for the weather to clear north of here to head out.  Camping in Florida in the winter is a lovely thing, but you have to plan in advance, there are very few (if any) campsites open on the weekends.  They are filled with snowbirds escaping the northern climate.

Leu Botanical Gardens

Almost Spring

Sending some sunshine for my friends that are getting blasted by icy weather yet again.

A sunny (but windy) day at Washington Oaks; a few more plants were blooming this trip.  It's almost spring....no, really.... it is         

Click on the first picture to scan through larger images of them all  (or not )

Dinner with Friends

Tam, Judy and I met in Gainesville last night for it's monthly "Art Walk" where local studios showcase artists of the area.

Home to the University of Florida, the largest and oldest university in the state, as well as the Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville has a college town vibe, with a strong art and music undertone.

We started with dinner at The Top Restaurant.  Great menu selection with lots of vegan choices, or local meats.  I had blackened flounder, which was delicious!  As usual, I didn't get any pictures until we got to dessert.  We all shared a piece of carrot cake... I highly recommend.

Main Street, Gainesville, FL

Local studios open the last Friday of the month for Art Walk

 " Luna"

Interesting light post

Mimes

At least the dogs have retired....

You'd think with all this gorgeous sunshine we've had the past few days that I would have a LOT to write about... I don't.

It occurred to me this morning, that the only ones in this team of three that have really retired are Grace and Dillon, my canine companions.  They wake each morning to a quick trip outside, someone (me!) serves them breakfast, then it's back to lounging while I toll away.  They stay inside in the A/C except when nature calls or Grace dumps the slobbery ball in my lap enough times to get me outside for a game of fetch.  I do my hair with supplies from Wal-Mart;  they have 'beauty' appointments at the local Petsmart.  The rest of the day, they guard the front door in case anyone is brave enough to use 'their' street.  Meanwhile I take conference calls shut in the back room (in case Grace decides to tell someone off for walking down her street.) Heaven forbid the UPS driver has a delivery and actually comes to the porch!  At night, I clean the 'dog art' off the front door so they have a clear view to guard the next day.

Rough life!

Guarding the door

I did manage to stroll around the Fine Arts festival on Sunday, and enjoy dinner with my mom, sister and brother-in-law... Grace and Dillon had to stay home!

Great day for a bike ride!

Dinner at the beach

Snow, snow, snow....

Everywhere but here it seems... according to USAToday...

"Snow is on the ground in 49 out of the 50 states — only the Sunshine State of Florida is completely snow-free, according to a map produced Thursday morning by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

Hope everyone is staying safe, and warm!  A couple of pictures from the beach this morning...

Black Skimmers

Learning to surf

Finally have the "Dude" back from his repairs... a new antenna and a bit of new paint on the hood and we are ready to roll again. ..making plans for spring.  Think I'll wait until the chance of snow is gone!

Before

and After

Here Comes the Sun... And I Say....

Finally!

Outside this morning, there was a bright orb in the sky....what was it?  I remember now, the SUN.  For those of you that haven't seen it yet, it is coming your way I promise.  Spring is only 38 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes and 42 seconds away... or thereabout.  Not that I'm counting.

Grabbed a camera and the keys and headed over to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park;  the former winter estate of Owen D. Young of NY.  Young was Chairman of General Electric and founder and Chairman of RCA.  He also served as a diplomat and was Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1929.  The estate was a wedding gift to his wife.  Just before her death in 1965, Washington Oaks was donated to the State of Florida with the specification that the gardens be maintained for public enjoyment.

There was not much blooming in the formal gardens yet, but the weather was beautiful and it just felt great to be out in the sun again!

Mantanza River

Birdwatching

Family fishing

A Blah Week

No post last week because, frankly, last week kind of sucked!  It was dreary, cold and rainy to start with... then I woke up to no lights in the front half of the house.  A few days later, and a lot of $$$ later, a wire that had been nicked in a former owner repair was replaced, the wall in the garage re-drywalled and we were back in business.  Then I had to deal with getting an estimate on repairs to The Dude (the vehicle that tows Breezin' on her adventures).  During our last trip to Silver Springs, something flew off a passing truck and broke off the radio antenna, left a small ding or two in the hood and broke the windshield.  The windshield was fixed last week, but I have to take the truck in for a few days to get the hood and antenna fixed.

The good news is - the wire just shorted out the lights and didn't burn the house down and I have auto insurance to handle most of the truck repair.  The glass is always half full if you keep things in perspective.

I've been trying to improve my picture taking and get away from "auto" mode on my camera.  Grace and Dillon will be really glad when the weather improves and I can find other subjects to take pictures of instead of them!