Bushnell, FL Nov 22, 2008

Here is another report from Northern Florida. It has gotten quite cold a couple of times, below freezing a couple of nights. I am not sure what that does to the citrus crop. Much of the citrus farming has moved further south of here because of the years with frosts which destroys the crop, and if bad enough kills the trees. However, in our campground there are a number of orange and grapefruit trees, that seem to be doing just fine.

This week I went to Jacksonville and had the cataract removed from my right eye. I now only have reading glasses purchased from Walmart. However, I think am eventually going to need glasses. Already I miss the trifocals, I used to have. I think I still have a little astigmatism in one eye that was not complete;y corrected by new corrective lens put in to replace my old cataract-ridden natural lens.

While walking about the campground, late one afternoon this week, Madeline spotted an owl in the tree-top. It was a fairly large bird. It was calling to another bird out in the woods near the campground. It is a Barred Owl -- called by some, erroneously I believe, a "Bard Owl". When we have been here in the past, in the spring there often were a pair of owls, with a nest. I suspect these are the same owls, or possibly their offspring.



We are enjoying the political news. Those who know us, know we would and did support Obama -- so we are pretty happy with the result. We now are pleased with what, so far, seem to be good cabinet appointees. We are NOT enjoying the stock market gyrations. One wonders just how much worse things can get. Well, if we live long enough, this will be one can can tell our grandchildren about. I barely remember, the tail-end of the Great Depression, but it certainly had an indelible impression on the generation before me. I suspect, we may be in for some of the same in the years to come.

Bushnell, FL Nov 15, 2008

There is little to report. We have made a couple of runs to the Mayo Clinic, and the cataract from one eye has been successfully removed. Next week, the cataract from the other eye will be removed. Right now I am viewing the world through glasses with one lens removed, and reading by covering up one eye with the cardboard bookmark.

On the way back from Jacksonville to our campground we stopped at Marjorie Rawlings home. This is now a Florida State Park. Marjorie Rawlings wrote "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek". I must confess, I have not read either book, but I did see the movie, "Cross Creek".

Marjorie Rawlings moved to Cross Creek Florida, to a small citrus farm, in 1928. She and her husband (they later were divorced) hoped that the income from the farm, would provide financial support sufficient to support their writing careers. I have been told, that indeed, the citrus farm was successful.

The Marjorie Rawlings House sits in an orange grove, and is surrounded by numerous outbuildings, such as a barn, chicken house, tool shed, tenet house, and a large vegetable garden. Much of the original furniture is in the house, and it reminds me of the way our "cottage" on Sunset Lake was furnished. I begin to realize my age when I see these older homes furnished the way I remember homes furnished when I was about in the late 130's and early 1940's.

The house is a rambling house, described as a typical Florida Cracker House. We have had some discussion as to what that means, but I would describe it as a house, surrounded by porches, with lots of window for cross ventilation, an supported off the ground with some type of stone or cement piers. The walls of the house and the ceiling were of fairly narrow tongue and grove boards, whitewashed --- giving the house a fairly open and airy feel.

Madeline probably best described the home and the surrounding grounds as "Old Florida"' The farm was very pleasant, and it is easy to see that it would be a good place for a writer . The way the home is furnished, I felt as I someone was living there, and had just stepped out for an hour or so.

There is little more to report from here. Watching the financial markets crash has been unpleasant and worrisome.

Bushnell, FL Nov 9, 2008

Wow, it has been about a month since I have checked in. Lots has been happening since I last posted, but mostly of a personal nature, as I will relate.

When I last wrote, we were in Gaffney, SC, where we were getting routine maintenance on the Freighliner chassis part of our RV. (This involves, oil change, grease job, and that sort of thing.) From there we drove over to visit our niece, Robin and her son, Colin. They live just south of Charlotte. it was good to see her, and we are happy to report she is doing well. She has a new job, that involves a fair amount of travel which seems to agree with her.

From there we worked our way down to Jacksonville, FL, for some medical attention. The doctor there has been following some lumps on my lungs for over a year. The happy report is that the lumps are getting smaller and are almost certainly benign ---- Good News, Indeed! I have been having some vision problems, and it was decided to have cataracts on my eyes removed. One was operated on about a week ago, and the other one will be done in about a month. We moved from Jacksonville to Bushnell, FL -- about 200 miles, and are commuting for the eye work.

We went to Tampa, and I got evaluated suitability for cochlea implant. I was found to be a suitable candidate, and will have implant out in the first week of December. Our campground here in Bushnell, is about 50 miles from the hospital in Tampa, so we are staying here for a while. After the implant is completed, there is a one month healing period. then they turn the electronics on. Then, I am told, sound reaches your brain as a series of squeals. Voices sort of sound like Donald duck talking. Eventually your brain begins to interrupt these as sound, and speech. I look forward to a fairly long period of learning to hear again, and a period that will test poor Madeline's patience.

Meanwhile we are here in a RV Park owned by our RV club, and we have many fine neighbors, who are people like us, in their late 50'w through late 70's, mostly full time RVers. so we talk about where we have been, where we are going and our wonderful children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We are playing games -- mostly dominoes and of all things, poker.

There have been a couple of Sandhill Cranes that visit every morning. They walk through the campground, squawking with a rather unpleasant call, picking up bugs. I suspect that as the park fills up with snowbirds, the birds may find there is too much activity for them.

Above, see the male Sandhill Crane, strutting his stuff through the campground.

Although it is in the shade, I thought this profile of the pair of Cranes rather striking.

We are fortunate that my sister and my niece live near here, so i go visit them periodically. All in all, it is quite pleasant here -- good company, nice weather, and getting some medical stuff fixed, that should give us a marked improvement in the quality of our lives.