Back at OTOW

Bill and I are getting settled into our little home in Ocala after a long but pleasant drive from Colorado. We stopped to visit friends Mike and Mel along the way. I ALWAYS enjoy seeing them and spending time on their porch watching the amazing variety of birds they have at their feeders.

Back at OTOW, Bill is flying every day, I'm playing Mah Jongg and I finally finished the Bargello quilt top. Bocce begins next week and we are having some improvements done on the house: new counters in the kitchen and new -much larger - lanai on the back. I've been meeting with contractors, looking at floor tile, stainless steel sinks (who knew that 16 gauge stainless is better than 18 gauge stainless!), ceiling fans and blinds. It's great seeing our friends again; we've missed the active social scene here at OTOW. BUT, since we returned early, we got to experience Love Bug Season - the worst here in years. Love Bugs look like lightening bugs with out the lights and fly around in pairs hooked together at the tail - hence their name. They don't bite but their sheer numbers are mighty annoying! Fortunately, they don't stay very long and are now completely gone.

The birds won't eat the Love Bugs because they taste bad and they need to be washed off your car before they damage the paint. Needless to say the car washes love them! This is a Northern Mockingbird who sat in our tree in front of our house and sang the morning away.

Out back we have a daily visitor (he's there now) - a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

He likes the sun flower seeds. It's interesting how he uses his tail.

Polite as ever, he takes a seed and goes back to the top of the feeder post to eat it.

I also made myself a new purse. The last one had served me well (it was the first thing I made after getting a sewing machine). This one was inspired by a couple of my favorite patterns and material I purchased a couple of years ago in Denver. Now I can bird watch right in my living room!

Shakin in the Shell!

Shell Knob, Missouri that is! We stopped to visit our very good friends, Mike and Mel for a few days on our cross-country drive from our summer home in Colorado to sunny Florida. Over the weekend we went to a real down-home country festival in "downtown" Shell Knob.

Great music! Check out the special seats for the audience.

There was even a car show. This was one of my favorites - lots of potential.

Young and old alike had a great day. There were stands with crafts, lots of food and beer, an "Ugly Dog Contest" and an extremely messy pie eating contest for the kids.

Back at Mike and Mel's, I spend my days on their beautiful porch overlooking their own nature preserve bordering on Table Rock Lake. The hummingbirds were thick at the many feeders.

Most of the hummingbirds were Ruby-throated. This one looks different with tuffs of white - but maybe it is a juvenile that hasn't lost all his baby fuzz yet.

We watched a huge variety of birds, including this White-breasted Nuthatch. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful visit. Neighbor Tom took me fishing one afternoon and I caught a Kentucky Bass. Tom is an accomplished fisherman and caught a dozen fish to my one. I'll do better next time.

Back at our winter home in Ocala, one of our first jobs was to put out the feeders. After seeing this beautiful Cardinal, we went out and bought a humongous feeder with seating for a dozen birds and a 20 pound bag of that expensive bird seed that is supposed to attract colorful songbirds. We haven't seen a bird since. This shot was taken from the Florida room - through the screens - so it's a little fuzzy.

We went for an early morning walk in the park where this Great Blue Heron posed in the pines.

I have no idea what these beautiful berries are - but the birds liked them.

I'm still learning how to use my new camera - especially the manual focus. Many times, when a bird is sitting in a tree, the auto-focus will focus on a branch or leaf closer to me than the bird I want to photograph - so I'm hoping I can learn to get clearer images. This is a Mockingbird - the State Bird of Florida.

Here's a great example of a picture I would never have gotten with auto-focus. This cute little Tufted Titmouse was hiding in the leaves.

Another picture I tried in vain to get in the past - a spider in his web. I won't tell you how many pictures I missed - or how many I took to get a couple of good ones - but I'm learning.

Last week, we bought Bill a new gas stove with five top burners and a convection oven and a new propane grill with a searing unit. The food is always good at the Cruff house (Bill is the cook NOT me!) but this should make it even more fun. Yesterday, we started an exercise class to work off those extra pounds from all his new delicious recipes. I am one lucky lady! There is so much to do here at OTOW - Bill is out at the RC Flying Field and we are looking into continuing our line dancing classes. I will probably join the birding and camera clubs, take some classes at the "Master the Possibilities Center," and Bill is joining the wood shop.

Geocaching at Ross Prairie State Forest

Bill and I have done very little geocaching this season so after Bill returned from flying at the OTOW RC field (and to celebrate our anniversary) we decided to go back to Ross Prairie State Forest to find the two caches hidden there.

The well-marked hiking trails wind through some beautiful woods.

I guess this is a type of moss growing under the oak leaves.

The first cache was hidden in a PVC pipe and was hanging on a tree. This second cache was named "On Top of the H" and when I saw this tree, I understood the name. You can see the cache (a Tupperware box) sitting on the limb under some pieces of bark. I can't figure out how this tree grew - is it a conjoined twin?

After locating both caches, we hiked on to the open marsh land, around the loop and back via one of the many spurs off the main trail. We saw lots of birds in the trees, several lizards scooting across the fallen leaves, a bunny hiding from the hawks and a couple of squirrels - or as Bill calls them "Sport Model Rats" looking for nuts. It was a great walk but it was hot by the time we got back home and decided a visit to the pool was in order.

There are three pools here at OTOW - two outdoor and one indoor. The big (huge!) pool at the Health and Recreation Center is open to guests, including children. The other two pools and the hot tub are at the Arbor Club and are for adults only. After hiking, the hot tub sounded good so we were off to the Arbor Club.

As you can see, we are finding our way around and enjoying the amenities here at OTOW.

Four Years and Counting

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. It's been 4 years since Bill and I slipped away to Las Vegas and had "Marrying Marion," the notary at the courthouse, say the words that made us man and wife. (I made her leave out the part about "obeying") It's been - and continues to be - a great adventure. I am so lucky.

We did a little more exploring this week and found a nice hiking trail just a few miles from OTOW at the Ross Prairie State Forest. The main hiking trail is a loop deep into the woods and around a large dried-up lake bed. Other equestrian trails go even deeper into the forest - but they are all sand which makes walking difficult.

We heard this Great-crested Flycatcher long before we saw him. We hunted in the trees for about 20 minutes before spotting him. We also saw a pair of Carolina Chickadees, lots of Cardinals, some tiny birds that we have not yet identified (or photographed) and a Scrub Jay. Good hike.

These are Cattle Egret and it's obvious how they got their name. They hang around cattle and eat the bugs that the cows attract. Look closely and you can see this time of year, the birds have pink on their heads and body. Love is in the air!

Our next store neighbors, Richard and Olivia, came over for wine and cheese the other evening. We had a good time visiting and getting to know them better. Like us, they are snowbirds and will head back to their summer home in Canada this coming weekend - the same time we leave.

As you can see, they are a spirited couple - which we found to be even truer the next night when we attended the OTOW Happy Hour. Olivia likes to dance and Richard couldn't get her off the dance floor. Hard to believe she is in her 70's isn't it? Bill and I danced our share - and will take some classes in the Fall so we can dance even more. Line dancing seems to be very popular at the regular Friday and Saturday night get-togethers.

Last evening we had more neighbors over for wine and munchies - Anne and Sal from across the street. Bill and Marilyn popped in later and we had such a good time talking and laughing that I forgot to take pictures.

This community is very active - and social and we are loving it! But it's time to turn our thoughts - and car - back to Colorado. I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends - Nancy & Joe at Einsteins and the girls at Bunko. Our yard, ponds and gardens are calling us so this weekend we will close up our little Ocala home and head west to the Rocky Mountains.

Pickle Ball, Air Show and Lots of Birds in the Yard.

On Top of the World (OTOW) is a very active 55+ community. Everyday, there are so many activities, it's hard to choose which ones to attend. Last Thursday, we went to a Get-Acquainted Coffee and heard a presentation on Pickle Ball. Neither of us had ever heard of it before - but we decided to go to the beginners class in the afternoon. Pickle Ball is a cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played on a badminton court with a tennis net. The balls look like plastic wiffle balls and you hit them with a wooden paddle - slightly larger than a ping pong paddle. We had a great time, got some exercise, and met some very nice couples. This morning we were back to practice our serves and volleys.

Yesterday, the OTOW RC Flyers held their annual air show. The turnout was phenomenal. Golf carts from all over the complex were parked in nice neat rows facing the flying field. Some of the flyers have built racks on the back of their carts to transport planes - but Bill will have to make do with his ManVan II for now. (ManVan I lives in Colorado.)

After about 3 hours of watching the giant (wingspans over 80-inches) gas-powered planes fly, they allowed the spectators onto the field to see the planes up close. They were amazing!

This bi-plane was one of my favorites.

So far, Bill flies only electric (battery powered) planes, but now that he has such a nice work space, maybe he'll try one of the gas-powered ones. His Delta needed some repairs after a not-so-smooth flight.

His other planes are hanging from the ceiling of the garage. Please notice the toilet to the right of his workbench. We replaced the toilet in the master bath and this is as far as the old one got. I kid Bill that now he has everything he needs so he can work out there all day.

The bird population here is very different than that in Fort Myers. We don't see the shore birds, heron, egret and ibis, but we do see - and hear - lots of beautiful smaller birds. Love is in the air and the males are sporting their colorful breeding plumages.

The Bluebirds are regular visitors to our feeder in the backyard.

This Bluebird looks more like a hummingbird here. Usually, they look for seeds on the ground under the feeder. His dinner companion is a finch.

The Goldfinches are also regular visitors. Sometimes we have dozens on and around the feeder.



This male is further along in his spring breeding plumage and is showing the black cap. Click on the image and you can really see how the bright yellow feathers are growing in replacing the duller winter colors.

At first, I was sure this was a Chipping Sparrow - but they don't have streaks on their breast, so I looked at Song Sparrows - but they have a central spot on their breast, which this bird lacks. One of my pictures shows yellow on his belly - which led me to the Palm Warbler. He should have more yellow on his face and breast - but his markings are closer to the Palm Warbler than any of the other birds I checked.

Next week, we head back to Fort Myers to spend time with my oldest grandson, Zachary, over his Easter vacation. We are really looking forward to it!

Epcot and Ocala

Okay, okay - it's been over a week since my last blog and my "regulars" are getting antsy -- well at least one is. You know who you are.

And quite a week it's been! A week ago Friday, Bill and I met daughter Pamela, husband, Orlando and my handsome grandsons, Gabriel and Sebastian, at Epcot for the day. Bill earned his ticket volunteering at The Bridge - a non-profit center for at-risk youth in Fort Myers.

Gabriel had his face painted like a tiger. He was very proud and scary.

He really wanted to make sure the artist did a good job and I was exceptionally pleased that he sat so very still the whole time she was working. Afterwards, we went to lunch and he found a mirror in the restaurant. He kept going over to see how he looked. It was very cute!

Pamela and Sebastian. I wish it had been warmer but the kids didn't seem to mind the chilly weather. Pamela is wearing Gabriel's "ears." They just did not go with his tiger face!

Sebastian was a little young for most of the rides but he seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds of the park anyway. Bill got him to take a short nap while mom and dad went on the rides with Gabriel.

Here we are - Pamela with Sebastian, me, Gabriel and Orlando. Mickey and Minnie are in the background - along with an unnamed couple who was in the wrong place at the right time.

We had a great day and enjoyed the kids before heading north and dropping off another load of furniture at our storage unit in Ocala.

On Monday at 11:30 a.m. we made settlement on our new house in Ocala. At 1:00 p.m. Stanley Steemer came to clean the carpets, at 2:00 p.m. the guys arrived to measure the floors for new carpet and flooring, at 2:30 p.m. Jeremy arrived to set up the Internet and after that our new bedroom furniture arrived so we could spend the night in our new house. It has been non-stop - buying, fixing, adding, assembling new, etc. ect. We actually made friends with our sales-person at the furniture store and purchased some new furniture she had stored in her garage. I'm waiting for the last of it to be delivered any minute.

This is an endangered fox squirrel and we took this picture across the street from our new house. The locals call it a raccoon squirrel because of the dark face mask. It is the largest species of squirrel in the U.S..

One of our priority jobs was putting up a bird feeder in our open backyard. Our first visitors were Bluebirds followed by Chickadees - lots of Robins, Cardinals and Blue Jays. This is going to be fun!

This is our new bedroom...

And living room...


eating area in the kitchen...

and Florida Room. A Florida room (I learned) has both screens and windows under air and heat. We had a lanai in Fort Myers - which is an outdoor room with screens. In Colorado we have a patio. Regardless of the name - it's where we spend most of our time.