from the porches

full moon

I can't tell you how beautiful the moon was last night here in North Florida. 

I read recently that if you look at the moon and it seems huge, that when you take a photograph of it, it will be the same size as an itty bitty full moon.

Last night's moon was amazing because it was partially covered by rivlets of clouds.  Truett and I dined with friends last night in High Springs at the Fleetwood Diner; and when we left, I paused and said,  "Would you look at that!"  The moon was gorgeous, partially hidden behind clouds.

When I got home I used my Nikon to photograph the moon; however, that picture wasn't any better than this one.  You had to be there to feel the magic of the full moon.

Even this morning as I drove out my driveway to head to work, the moon was completely bright and full.  I took a photograph; but I don't think it would show any fuller than this one.

I'm stopping here.  I need to appreciate the fullness of the moon, my friends, and my family. 

What else is there?

busy

I suppose all of you are as busy as we are right now, October 30, 2009. 

It's almost Halloween.  Oooooh!

I am of the age when Halloween meant fun.  Lots of fun. 

Halloween was a time for children to imagine and create scary images and run off screaming,  "Ahhhh!"

(I really dislike the phrase, "Ahhhhh!")

It's because that's what eight and nine year olds say in their essays and stories.

It's not their fault. 

It's up to me and you and all of us to teach them other things to say when their scared.

How about,  "Run for your life!"

or "Hide!"

or even "Holy Crap!"

But please.  I beg of you don't let them get away with "Aaaaah!"

Plus, it takes up way too many spaces on a line of notebook paper.  Some children stretch "Ahhhh!" to "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

That, my friends is what I call killing time, wasting space, and being downright LAZY!

So anyway.  Halloween is upon us.

I have a word of advice.

"DON'T LET THE HAY BALE EAT YOU!

superstitious

October is the perfect month to be superstitious.  I have always been superstitious, even as a child.  I always carried my rabbit's foot when in elementary school because it brought me good luck.  I had a great childhood, so I know it worked.

As a young adult I would jerk my earrings out of my ears and throw them out my car's window if I felt I was having bad luck.  Now that I look back on it and have somewhat matured, I realize I made bad choices and didn't want to accept responsibility for my mistakes; therefore I blamed my bad luck on my earrings.  That was pretty juvenile, wasn't it?

Well, even today and with all my wisdom gained since I was a superstitious child, I am, nevertheless, still superstitious.

Yes, I am . . . along with probably millions of other football fans. .and coaches. . and players.

Yesterday at the Florida/Arkansas football game many of those people around us began joking with each other on why Florida was struggling. 

Merry Jennifer and Sam sat with me and Truett, and that only happens once a season.  Was that it?  I almost said,  "Go on back to your regular seats."  But I didn't because I'm superstitious and selfish.

  
The couple who sits in front of us came alone for the first time and were boasting about it.  At the third quarter I did suggest they invite their families next time. 

The game was tit for tat the whole way and Florida needed a break from fumbling and getting sacked.

 
 Then a fellow a row behind us showed up at half-time.  His comment, "I told my buddy I had to get back up to my regular seat in row 86 that where I was sitting now was bringing the Gators bad luck."  And I do believe that may have been the answer because Florida won the game with only seconds to go.

So you see, we all have quirks about bad luck and our superstitions to go along with it.  How many of you feel the same way?

what's going on?

As I sat down at the computer tonight I asked myself,  "What's going on?  What's new I can share?"

Then I thought I could tell you about the little preschooler that literally fell out of her daddy's truck onto the gravel while I stood there with the truck door ajar and how I lifted her up and told the dad,  "She's okay" as I hurried her in the gate.

Or I could tell you about the disrespectful class I had the last hour of my working day today and how this one girl gave me a wrong telephone number to call in order to reach her dad.  I fumed over that one for a short while.  But, not to worry.  I'll deal with it in the morning.  Gotcha' kid!

Hey, I could tell you how wonderful Maddie and Oliver were when I took them to swim lessons today and how they fell apart once they reached the safety of their parents.  They were just too darn exhausted. But I had no good pictures to show, so I kept thinking.

Then I wondered why fall takes on such a hurried, harried pace.  It is my favorite season; but I am so busy, it seems I don't relax and enjoy it.  Then I remembered an essay a fourth grader wrote today about relaxing on her porch in a hammock with a glass of tea in one hand and a book in the other and a cat purring on her lap.I thought it sounded much like me during the summer.  She ended with,  "Ah, the relaxing days of fall."  And I envied this nine year old.

So what's going on?

The Gator Nation is gearing up for the Florida vs. Arkansas homecoming game on Saturday.  The big parade is tomorrow, but our schools are not out because we're in Columbia County...not Alachua.  Too bad.  One year I may take that Friday off and go to the Homecoming Parade.

But wait!  After this year I'll be able to go to EVERY parade because I WON'T BE WORKING!!  At school, that is.  Heaven forbid I may have to supplement our retirement dollars.  But that was only a fleeting thought that I will not allow to formulate.  So there!

Okay.  Here's something new. 

The other day I had the opportunity to watch ducks at the lake at North Florida Regional Hospital.

Yep!

I watched them mate and I took photographs of the whole thing.  Many of the photographs were blurry.  Too much action going on.  But the strange part was . . . three maintenance men relaxing in their truck watched ME TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF DUCKS MATING!.

I can only imagine what they thought of that pervert with the camera.

change

Today, at school, I noticed the water spigot right beside my classroom door.

   October 2008

I was fascinated almost a year ago by the green moss living on it.

   August 2009

So today I took this picture of the spigot.  I'm really glad no one scraped off the moss because I think it's beautiful.  It's so lush and green. 

I don't know if you noticed, but the wall behind the spigot has changed in a year as well. . . far less attractive than the water spigot.

And then I started thinking.  Haven't we all changed since last year?

Yes, we have.

magic mushroom

At the present time Truett is getting his jeep seats reupholstered.  The lady who is doing the job lives off a sandy narrow road tucked away in the woods. I'm not too keen on riding over there because mosquitoes live in those dense woods and invariably end up biting me on the sweet spots right behind my knee and on my calves.  But I do go to keep Truett company and with high hopes of finding something interesting to photograph.

Last week we drove to the lady's shop and I saw something that made my eyes light up.  I asked Truett to stop so I could get a closer look.

Folks, standing in those woods was the largest mushroom I have EVER seen in my life.  It was luminescent like I imagine an alien's body would look be. 

So I grabbed my camera and headed toward the mushroom, ever so watchful for mosquitoes and snakes.  I clicked the shutter and crept closer to it.

Then I knew in a flash that it MUST be the magic mushroom that all the hippies of the 60's and 70's partook of.  What do you think?

the wreck

It was a dark and stormy night. . . Okay.  Okay.  It wasn't a dark and stormy night.  It was a warm  Thursday night.  Last night to be exact.  I was settled in my favorite chair waiting for Truett to get home from a Lion's Club board meeting, the TV turned to my favorite show, "The Mentalist". 

 And then I got a phone call.  "Merry.  A woman just blindsided me.  We're alright, but you need to come get us."

I called Clay and he and I drove up to Lake City to highway 47 and King road near the I-75 exit.  The debris you see in the highway belongs to my Acadia and you may not know it, but the car is facing the opposite direction from which it was going. 

Wrecks are unnerving to say the least.  Luckily, Truett and Barney were not injured, even though Barney went to the hospital to be checked out.

It wasn't very comforting to hear the woman's grandson saying,  "Nana.  This is your second wreck since you retired."

Wreckers were called and the woman was cited with "failure to yield the right of way."

The woman's mom was shuffled to a truck saying,  "That seatbelt saved my life!"

And both vehicles were towed away.

 No, it wasn't a dark and stormy night.  It was just an ordinary Thursday night when an unexpected event took place.

Now we have to deal with insurance and repairs.  "I want my car back!"

this 'n that

I would really love to share all the exciting things I've been doing this past week; but quite frankly, nothing outstanding has been happening.  As I told my sister,  "I've just been piddling around. . . doing the same old same old, a little of this and a little of that."  

Yesterday we stopped by Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville where Advent Glass Works, Inc. is installing church windows.  While we were there we got out of the car to get a closer look at the chapel.

The chapel is a beautiful little building made of all glass except for the roof.

Then we made our way to Petco for dogfood.  After we parked, I took a shot of a dragonfly.  Looks like a little bi-plane, doesn't it.

Of course, since it's summertime, a summer storm raced in, threatening to drench us when we came out of the grocery; but we were spared and only got sprinkled on.

Meanwhile, on the home front, Roger and Punky insist on standing halfway between an open door leading to the porches, literally running up the AC bill, with me counting dollar signs rushing to the outside.  Why do cats do this?  I think they know that's one way to irritate humans.

Also, our town is bustling with tourists, snatching up tubes and rafts for a trip down the Ichetucknee River.

And banana spider webs are draped everywhere.

So, if you ask me what's been happening in my life, I may simply respond,  "Oh, this 'n that."

the tower

Yesterday we were driving a dirt road and saw a tower.

As we drove by it the tower began to reconfigure.

It's getting narrower. . .

And narrower. . .

It was almost like magic as we then watched it unfold.

Unfolding. . .

Unfolding . . .

Unfolding. . .

And now we have the tower again.  Tah dah!

new typepad

For any of you who post on typepad, you may be just as frustrated as I am.  Typepad has a new configuration and I swear it took me five minutes to figure out how to post a new blog, which, by the way was not going to be about this.

However, I am obviously stuck with the new configuration until I spend many many more minutes trying to decide if I like it or not.  Oh, well.  Just another little chink in my life regarding technology which absolutely drives me up the wall.  If I was a ten-year old, I'd be whizzing all around the new typepad configuration, fearful of nothing.  I guess the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" applies to me!

My gardener from Sunshine True Value is expected any moment.  Since I now have an underground irrigation system for my flower gardens, it is time I learned to control the outpour of water.  You see, we have been getting daily rains along with the timed irrigation system, so therefore, my plants are way over watered.

My roses are leggy and some of the leaves are turning yellow.  Not a good sign.  With all the rains the mosquitoes are viscious and I despise spraying that awful mosquito spray on my arms and legs.  Maybe that's why I see pictures in magazines of gardeners dressed in long sleeved shirts and long pants.  So maybe I'll quickly yank these shorts off and reconsider my gardening attire.

Have a good day.