Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sunday Chill


When Bear does this kind'a thing, I just have to stop what I'm supposed to be doing and get down on the floor with him.
This is often why the "to do" list stays in the future tense.


Life is short, play with your dog.


Last week, Bear mentioned this owl in his unauthorized post.
Yes, I found out.

None of my photos were spectacular, it was dusk, and the flashless shots were soft, so here's a barely acceptable flash shot.
It wasn't nearly that dark and the owl did not actually have laser vision, but at least you can get an idea of the scene.

This is about 4o feet from my side porch.




It was in the 20's a few nights last week and I did the evening run-a-round turning faucets on to a slow drip. Only this one had ice the next day and it was just serendipity that it did.
A tall grass seed head happened to line up with the faucet and give the drips a slow pathway to the ground.

The current forecast is for windchill temps comparable to 10 degrees tomorrow and Tuesday, even though the actual temps are forecast in the 20's.
I just planted a young satsuma, (a cold hardy tangerine) a few weeks ago. She's too young to be uber cold hardy, so I will cover her with plastic today. Yesterday, I cut several slender bamboo poles and laced them together tee pee style over the tree. That framework will support the plastic sheeting and help this young tree withstand the freeze to come.

This morning was grey, chilly, and rainy, but the sun is out now and the skies are clearing so the big chill should be arriving soon.

I'm looking out the window as I type and the wind is really picking up out there.

That is because, yesterday, I loaded my kayak onto my little trailer so I could slip out to Cedar Key for a little redfishing today.

My compromise is that I am detaching the trailer, but I'm leaving the kayak on it. This is the last week before school lets out for the Christmas holiday and since I am doing ALL my shopping on line, I will be out on the Gulf of Florida while the hordes are malling each other.

Let's see ... what else do you need to know ... hmmm ...

  • The Southern Sisters catering crew had 4 events in the last 3 days, so I haven't seen but a fleeting glimpse of Mrs. FC. ... I think it was her, ... sure resembled her.

  • Wednesday I get to go see my perky Dermatologist for our semiannual chitchat in which she tells me to stay out of the sun and usually finds something to zap with liquid nitrogen. I will attempt to earn good patient points by informing her that Santa might be bringing me a Tilley hat this season.

  • Today, I will be blending Cuban mojo cooking with a traditional southern method, so stay tuned for an update on that.

  • Question: Do any of you have experience with GoPro wearable video cameras? It seems like exactly the thing I need to capture some of the situations I get into while still keeping my hands free for snake handling(getting bit), tree climbing(aka falling), motorcycling (speeding), kayaking (tipping)etc. The online testimonials and video quality is pretty positive. Chime in if you have first hand knowledge.

  • The frosts are browning the grass in the meadow here ... just in time for Emma to arrive home for the break. We shall pyromaniacize together as usual in the annual ritual of meadow burning.

  • Tomorrow is a special day here at Pure Florida. I have a neat pair of before and after photos to share with you.

8 comments:

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

The temperature in Melbourne is 77.
The temperature in Orlando is 55.
22 degree temperature difference and only 50 miles away! Cold front, maybe? ha ha
I don't have any experience with those cameras, but the $99 one has been added to my official tree-climbing equipment wish list!

SophieMae said...

Duller totally agrees with your play now philosophy. The 'PLEASE play with me' look is completely irresistible.

I think the owl shot is pretty spectacular! Wish ours would come in a bit closer. Sweetgums are filling in some of the back 'lawn', but they're, apparently, not owl-worthy. I know they're out there, coz I hear them AND coz I found a pile of black and while fur behind the blackberry patch a while back. 8-]

'Cool' (har) ice... now can we please get somebody to turn off the freeze machine?!

Those GoPro veejos were pretty dawgawn awesome! The flying bikes left me a bit queasy. 8-} I think I'll stick to the snorkel mask camera for now. But this looks like JUST the thing for you!

lisa said...

Oooh boy, that has got to be cold for you down there. How often does it actually get that cold?

Ericka said...

awwww, bear! you HAVE to maul him when he's got that look.

it's blizzarding here. i am not impressed. good luck, little tangerine tree!

Deb said...

I didn't know "wind chill" was in the Florida vocabulary! It's supposed to get down to -15 here tonight. Stay warm!

Caroline said...

I think my Minnesota kids would be glad for your frost-browned grass and 20s after the storm they had this weekend.

Anonymous said...

I always love seeing your resident owl, fc. Mighty cold temps in your neck of the woods. Hope everybody stays warm and toasty.

Plant Maps said...

There is an interactive version of the USDA hardiness zone map covering Flroida at http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-florida-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php
There is also a detailed zipcode to usda zone search tool that will tell you the usda zone, heat zone, drought conditions, first frost and last frost for your zipcode.