Newest Neighbor-Baby Bald Eagle

The Turk and I headed out to Honeymoon Island this morning, bikes in the back of the truck. We were on a birding mission - likely influenced by the rescue earlier this week (see earlier entry). Once on island, we hopped on our bikes and peddled the Osprey Trail to check up on our feathery neighbors...and Mark's fishing competition.

The osprey were very active caring for their young chicks, catching fish for breakfast, and renovating their nests. (seems they are always 'adding on'). We saw a bright red cardinal who was brilliant in the pine forest. The cool morning was beautiful as we peddled, stopped, peddled, stopped..our way across the island trail until we reached a net fence. A ranger was there with a couple who had a camera with a very looong lens. Hmmm....we quickly realized that we had come to the bald eagle nest.

Its the first time in 40 years there has been a bald eagle nest on Honeymoon Island - so there is a lot of excitement about it. There have been families on Anclote Key, just north - near Tarpon Springs. And the guess is that this is one of those families who have relocated to Dunedin (just like us!). The ranger said that the county flew a reconnaissance mission over the nest to check for eggs in January, and when they spotted one, the area was fenced off for their protection. Because bald eagles are still protected by the federal government, there are mandatory steps that must be taken to ensure their safety. And any breech of security is a federal crime.

The baby, a month old, is large and dark. There isn't anything 'bald eaglish' about it to the untrained eye (that would be me and mark). It will begin to fly in the next few weeks, but in the meantime one parent is hunting for fish while the other watches from a nearby tree. Perhaps baby's largeness is crowding the nest a bit.

We finished our ride to find a festival of sorts going on, complete with bagpipes (well, it IS Dunedin), a lot of information on nature related activities, recycling, kayaking and biking, along with some history displays of the area. We were quite 'in' with our bikes and didn't admit to anyone that our truck was parked 1/4 mile away.

A great morning! We left just as the masses were arriving to the island via their vehicles - which were backed up to the end of the causeway. I really dont like sharing the island...except with the birds!

Mark's Wildlife Rescue

Mark was hanging around the causeway on Sunday, checking out the fishing action. The woman next to him threw out her fishing line and inadvertently caught an osprey's wing. He was circling low to catch fish and he got caught instead.

The bird was brought down to the water with the fishing line and it appeared its wing was broken. The bird was unable to fly and was being carried away by the current. The disabled osprey floated under the drawbridge and was heading out to Caledesi Island when Mark ran to that side of the causeway to begin the rescue.

With it traveling so quickly beyond the beach, Mark asked some jet skiers to retrieve the bird and bring it to shore. It took several jet skiers to accomplish this as no one wanted to get bitten. The bird was finally laid on a jetski foothold and driven to shore, but it laid motionless. Mark called me and I contacted the Honeymoon Island park ranger station where they prepared a cage for the wounded bird. Mark gently wrapped the osprey in his shirt to keep it contained in case it started fighting, and brought it to the rangers.

The rangers quickly caged the bird and took it to the shelter. Mark was worried all day for that bird. He worried that the bird's spouse would be waiting for the fish it was catching. And when it was clear the mate wasnt returning, they wouldnt be able to leave the nest to hunt food.

So, we went out to Honeymoon Island for sunset and to ask the ranger about the osprey. He sadly said that the vet had to put the bird down. That in addition to a broken wing, it had an illness that was weakening the bird and that it couldnt be cured.

Mark was devastated. But I assured him that since this bird was really sick, it likely didn't have a spouse and a nest to support. So there wouldnt be a waiting spouse.

We watched a wonderful sunset at the beach that evening, while the birds were actively catching dinner, and the dolphins were doing their synchronized sunset dance. And that is the way nature works.

Turkish Furniture To Go

In between fishing and beach walking, Mark has given his daily trips to Home Depot a purpose with his latest project. We needed a media center... a long media center, that would balance out Mark's big TV and store all of the media stuff we have, plus speakers, woofer, electronic equipment, discs and...my record player!

I designed the piece and put the specs together for Mark. Then the negotiations took place. I think for every feature I altered for Mark, I added another! After a while, he stopped questioning the specs so they wouldnt keep growing.

I added the drawers - which didnt bother him at all and ended up being a great idea for CD storage...and possibly small animals. He liked the sliding doors cause he could go to the glass vendor and get shower door tracks. I thought the challenge was really cutting out a lid from the top that you can lift to access the record player, without impacting the front of the piece.

Well, he's finally done and we love it!! The media center has a sleek, modern look and it balances the large TV. And everything fits!

Spring is in the Air

The air is different this weekend. It smells like spring - unless you are at the parental units' house where we found the air smelled like something died...but no need to dwell on that mystery. After a rough winter of several freezes (remember this is the central coast of Florida where the 'freeze' word is spoken in hushed tones, if ever spoken)we are finally out of the freeze woods and enjoying warm balmy breezes.

The cold is abnormal for this area. Birds were scarce and even the fish headed out of town - we suspect they went to Aruba. We didn't miss the mosquitoes, but they have accompanied the rest of the hoards of wildlife that are rapidly returning.

The spring brings a lot of 2 legged critters too. Those snowbirds were here since January, but in hibernation until the spring air hit. Now they are recharged and on the road, at the beach and in front of me at the grocery store checkout. And, by next week the younger snowbirds - college kids - will be invading the beaches. Mark will claim he's fishing...but methinks there will be more wildlife than usual for him to observe over the next month or so of spring breaks.

The patio is washed, the sunscreen is on, the legs are shaved. We're ready for SPRING!!

In Search of the Fleas

I think flea markets are the epicenter of American culture. Successful flea markets carry the necessities along with the latest trendy items. Because goods are sold in a very basic manner (no showroom, little to no advertising, no nice displays, poor lighting, crowds, poor temperature control, etc) these businesses can meet customer demand with agility. Something to think about in today's economy.

Mark and I visited the Oldsmar Flea Market recently. While I was searching for something (a wooden expandable hat rack for the wall which apparently aren't made any longer), the search was secondary to the exploration into the depths of 'flea marketism'.

Walking from the sunny parking lot, we entered a shady (so to speak)and dimly lit series of hallways lined in stalls. We soon realized that these hallways were somewhat endless and the challenge of walking each of them became a goal. The items fall into several general categories: cheap stuff from china - which can be found in any dollar store, or on the streets of any major metropolitan city, or actually in china; garage sale items - which likely came from all of our garage sales so that we could go and buy them back when we realized we missed our velvet dog painting or mismatched coffee cups; manly items - hunting knives, camouflaged clothing, binoculars, ammo, posters of hard rockers or nearly bare breasted women; womenly items - cheap underwear, cheap perfume, wigs, makeup; furniture and plants - what you see is what you get; fruits and vegetables - maybe from the farm, or were tossed out by Publix; and oddities - fill in the blank.

My shopping senses were on overload, but the stalls were only part of the reason. At each major hallway intersection, there were several food stalls that filled the air with the scent of fried foods. Memories of the county fair hit me hard. The only sense left was sound and that was assaulted as well with a constant dialogue over the ever present loud speakers. '...you can get all your smoking needs at Nick's Smokeshop on isle D23. We have your hookahs, your pipes, your tobaccos and other smoking items you cant find anywhere else. isle D23....come to Sue's exotic lingerie on isle G8. We have your bras in all sizes up to quadruple F. We have your name brand underwear and sexy nightgowns in time for Valentines Day. isle G8...Mary's Makeup and Incense shop is having a buy 1 get 1 free sale today in isle B14. We have your name brand makeup, and incense in all flavors. Get your favorite incense in time for Valentines Day. isle B14.... " You get the idea...unending... It kind of reminded me of Clockwork Orange torture.

We escaped the adventure with some green beans and a new fishing hat for Mark. And a deeper understanding of the core of American capitalism.

The 14th Colony (yes there were really 16, not 13)

Between holidays, we jumped in the car and headed for St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Mark, with his Turkish perspective, wasn't too impressed with a date like 1513, but he considered the continent and feigned interest.

I was happy to see the old town was renovated and busy. There are plenty of museums to visit, but all require admission. It was great to see both the Spanish Village and Fort Castillo de San Marcos had employees and volunteers who dressed and played the roles of residents or army in the period around 1740.

I didn't get Florida history in school (since I wasnt in Florida when it is taught), so I found out some interesting things. For example, there were really 16 colonies, not just 13. Florida was split into 2 British colonies: East and West Florida. Because the 14-16 colonies were happy being loyal to the Queen, they didn't fight in the American Revolution, and for that they got no star on the flag! If you are wondering, the 16th colony was eastern Canada.

We enjoyed the mix of British and Spanish history (Florida went back and forth between the countries before becoming a state, and the abundance of sangria and ales to represent both sides. We saw and definately heard canons and flintlocks fired. We saw very old houses. Though St. Augustine was burned down by the angry British who couldn't capture the fort -which held the cities 1500 residents for 50 days- so I guess the houses could have been older!

St. Augustine had a resurgence back in the 1880's (until around 1914) when Henry Flagler built his railroad to the city so that the first snowbirds could come down in the winter. Being the entrepreneur he was, he also built fabulous hotels to house these wealthy people. One of the hotels, the Ponce de leon, is now the main Flagler College building while the Alcazar was purchased by Mr. Lightner for his museum. The Alcazar housed the largest indoor pool in the world at the time...though the water was from a sulfur springs which must have really stunk in an enclosed area. St. Augustine lost its luster when Flagler continued his railroad to West Palm Beach, and then to Key West. It seemed the further south those snow birds could go, the happier they were...until the depression when everyone stopped traveling.

For the holidays, the city was decorated in white lights which made the evening magical. While the country is in a recession, it appeared that a trip to St. Augustine during the holidays was a must-do. The streets were full of festive people wandering the town from morning to late night. It felt a bit like a tame mardi gras in New Orleans.

Farkels and Pancakes

Its about time!!!! Ya, that is what I was thinking as Mark and I drove over for a Farkel meeting...the 1st since we moved here. 'Farkels' you ask? In 1976, 8 girls (yes we were definately 'girls')went to Europe for part of the summer with Elmar, a history professor at UCF (called FTU at the time). Quite a memorable trip for each of us, which for me included a broken leg from sliding down an Alp. We all promised to stay in touch...and in fact, 5 of us have. For easy reference we are called the Farkels. The name is a long story, so just go with it.

We've gathered mostly over the holidays to catch up on marriages, divorces, children, dating, travels, excitements and disappointments. Gatherings have always included food and often drink. But life sometimes gets in the way of things, and it seems to have done a bit of that the past year or so.

With me back in Florida (most Farkles live in FL), I was hoping reunions could be more often than annual. In fact, they've been LESS. So, with great anticipation, we plotted and planned an appropriate time and setting for the 2008 gathering of Farkles.

3 of the 5 made it as the other 2 had iron-clad excuses for not coming. We met at DeLeon Springs, a beautiful state park complete with an age old pool built around the springs, and the spring fed river flowing from it. But even better than the natural setting was the food! The pancake restaurant was still there (visited in Farkel gatherings decades prior). Even the staff were the same.

But we each had 'our man' in attendance on this reunion...highly unusual for Farkle gatherings. So we introduced them to the art of cooking whole grain pancakes on the electric skillets built into the center of the table. Molasses, honey and maple syrup containers stood guard as we poured each pancake. We added toppings of bananas, berries, and apple slices while each pancake cooked, flipped them over either too early or too late, to be rewarded with heavy, hot bread covered in favorite things.

While the food was great (as expected at any Farkle gathering)it was so nice to catch up with each others' life adventures, some happy and some not. We knew that anything we did or said would be met with support, some laughs and some sighs. And we also knew that we wouldn't wait so long for the next gathering.