Doing Nothing

I know you and I are incapable of doing nothing. However I am taking a few days to just rest and recover from a little overactive few  days where my desire to work was greater than my ability to preform. After one such day I was so happy with the result that I planned to do the same today. To get caught up in your reading, blogging and just forget about all the little tasks is something we are not used to.

Theresa and I sat for almost two hours just having breakfast and talking out beside the pool this am. I usually arrive at my reading spot in the rocking chair beside the pool at daybreak and with hot green tea I begin my day. Theresa joins me later with her coffee and we plan our day. With this new way of life we do not need to plan, just live. I could get used to this.

By mid day I will realize that flowers need watering and the bird bath has to be filled and so on. We really don't know how to relax completely. When alone in the morning I meditate in a kind of way and it causes one to think deeply and makes you wonder.Wondering is sometimes called day dreaming and that is all right as well. Most inventions and good thoughts come from wondering. As a teacher I used to see kids day dreaming and brought their minds back to reality. Maybe we should give students time to wonder and meditate for a few minutes every day.I had one wonderful teacher who at the end of the school day used to get us to close our eyes and put our heads on the desk and dream or wonder  for two minutes. It was a great  way to end the school day.

As we age we share more time in activities which bring us happiness. Frequently I have a short nap and awake refreshed and ready to get going again. Most young people today are so busy they do not have time to do nothing and if they do they fill that great space by exercising their thumbs texting. For me I plan to do nothing in a meaningful way for a few days. I might even accomplish something.

Seeds From Our Palms

Palm trees have some beautiful flowers which come out during the spring time. Although not as bright in colour as some of the other seeds, on close examination they are quite beautiful. We have more than a dozen palms and they surprise you with the swiftness of growth and the speed at which they produce seeds. Almost overnight they appear and are gone nearly as fast.

One of the most interesting of the flowers appear on the giant Bismarker. The seed growths come at the nodes and will grow to a length of thirteen to fifteen feet. Not too showy but on close examination they  have exquisite red and brown colours. They stay in this stage for several months.

For people with allergic reactions this is not the place to be for a few weeks. When the weather is calm there is little to worry about but when it is windy the air is full of pollen. The cactus just finished but has bright red flowers.

Sad Day For Some Of Our Fruit Trees

Looking after citrus trees is a twelve month operation. Our orange and grapefruit trees suffered stress this last summer and fall and I have to remove them. They were great bearers of fruit but once they get to this stage they are no longer capable of recovery. Even this year we collected great amounts of fruit but after blossoming they just gave up the ghost and withered away. I hate cutting any tree but these seven year old ones were special.

We still have a flourishing orange tree and our newer star fruit and papaya tree is fine. Even the bananas which gave their best ever crop this year is doing well. We will possibly replace the grapefruit next year but we will see. The tomatoes we planted some fifty days ago are producing a great crop to cheer us up.

Travelling With Friends

This was the second time Theresa and I took a cruise with long time friends. Although there are thousands of people travelling on the ship it can be lonely if you are without some contacts. With friends you are able to have meals together and share time at the special events.

We played mini golf and cards on several occasions and shared our experiences when we alone.It is good to meet for breakfast and plan the events of the day. On this voyage I was unable to take part in some of the really nice events like dancing as my body was not quite ready. I refer to dance lessons which were given by great instructors and we were looking foreword to improving our floor moves. Theresa however never missed and promises to teach me when I am ready.

There is little free time on a cruise as numerous events call you to take part. With friends you have people to share many of the special attractions. On this trip we took time to enjoy the shore visits with long walks and picture taking. It is amazing how far you can travel when you are seeing new things and forgetting the time.We had a good time and it was made better by sharing it with friends.

Eagle Count

After a week of counting eagles in the Southwest Florida it appears that the number of chicks will be down from last year. The count for Lee County is not complete but there seems from our vantage point that our county will be about the same. We observed  two large and old nests for eight years and every year they produce two chicks except one.

This morning Theresa and I went to see the nest where one chick was weeks late in hatching. The little one has taken wing and that is good. The second nest has two chicks which will be ready to go on their own by late April. This is the first year we saw such a difference in the time of hatching. We also read that this is not unusual and there can be quite a difference in hatching times even in the same nest.

We have one empty nest very close to us and we hope that the eagles will take up housekeeping there next year.

Two years ago Great Horned Owls took over an eagle nest and hatched two babies much to our delight. .The nest of doves which we watched for some twenty days was destroyed in a moment when the young we born. We never witnessed the event but Blue Jays were close by for several days. Nature took its cruel course and we were happy to be away when it happened.

Observing nature and loving the birds can be very rewarding and here in our area there is a wonderful opportunity to do just that.

Missed Opportunities

Being a resident of Florida for half the year is a wonderful opportunity to live in a summer climate year round. In my case it afforded me the special weather to complete my recovery. On the other hand we miss the every day interaction with the family. Phone calls and Skype are great but not being at the birthdays and family celebrations are events that will never occur again; hence missed opportunities.

We have less than a month before we return home and already we are in a preparation mode. It is not a full fledged effort but our minds are on that goal We have become the perfect planners and are always prepared well in advance of events that are going to take place.We find security in this as we do not have the luxury of second guessing when we leave one home for another.

On our recent holiday there were hundreds of things to do, all offered by the cruise line. We preferred to go on our own and hire a driver who was familiar with the island and take a tour shown by a local resident. In this way we with two friends were able to interact directly with the driver and have our many questions answered. The alternative is to be herded on a tour bus with 40 others and listen to a recorded message. Even a stop for pictures is a major operation but with the private tour you have excellent opportunities to do as you wish and dictate.

We have found that the small and personal tour gives the driver the opportunity to show you what they are proud of and wish to show off. We were not disappointed and after two hours we had a better understanding of the islands. I was very surprised to find out that Aruba is practically a desert. Little or no rain for years made growing any food crops impossible. There are no animals like cows or chickens and everything they eat comes from Florida. Half the island is absolutely barren and the only life is snakes and iguana. There are few birds as the snakes have ruined the nesting and they have the same problem as Florida with a growing number of huge snakes.

The city is beautiful and colorful because of a water plant which turns the salty water into  good water and the excess heat produces the electricity. Both water and electricity are extremely expensive. The lure for tourists is the perfect weather and white sandy beaches. We liked our time ashore and our shared time with our driver Eddie.

Crown Princess

Theresa and I returned home after a week on the Crown Princess. This is the second time we sailed on this ship and we had rooms on the same 12th floor. This is a huge ship which had 3480  passengers and a crew of over a thousand. We really like this ship as it has everything you could imagine and the activities are for all ages. We even had a small golf course on the 18th deck. With the slight movement of the ship you always had a excuse for a missed put.

Our main stop overs were Aruba and Curacao. These two small Islands are close to South America and were much different than I imagined. We did enjoy the time were shared on shore and you could see how these cruise ships shape the economy of these small islands.

Food is always a highlight on these ships but the crew was the most helpful and well trained I had experienced. As much as we enjoyed the week it was great to be back in Florida to again share our time here in our own home.