My Fire Pit Buddy!

OK, since I don't have a grill down here I've had to revert back to my camping skills (Thanks to my Dad and the Boy Scouts I've had expert training!). So whenever I need to cook something outside, you know like ribs or chicken (other than fried), steaks, etc. I need to improvise.

So I've noticed that I've got a buddy that likes to hang out with me when I cook outdoors. Not once, not twice, but this is the third such encounter with this dude. He's actually pretty cool about it all. He's always stealthy too, because I'm hauling brush, branches, and logs to the fire pit and all of a sudden there he is just popping in to say: "Hey man, what's up?".

I think he's some type of "Fence Lizard" although he doesn't match up exactly with the descriptions and pictures in the books that I have, and he doesn't stick around long enough for me to turn him over to see if he has a blue throat (I was lucky to snap this shot before he bolted to the nearest tree, he's really camera shy)

You may need to click on the pic to see him, but trust me he's there! ;-)











Oh I may have forgotten to let you know what I did today! I've got a few trees that died this past year and I need to clear them so they don't fall during a storm and hit the deck, house, car, etc. So I was playing "Lumber Jack" again today. Thank goodness the chainsaw is back up and running and I made pretty easy work of the trees (only the ones that I needed to clear!) The one thing that was a bit unsettling was this dang HUGE wood spider that decided to crawl up and stand on the toe of my boot, while my hands were full loading wood into the truck!

This thing (no lie) was as big as my hand, and I swear it could have been a tarantula except that it didn't have enough hair! He/she, merely climbed up on the toe of my boot and stopped, as if to say (Again): "Hey Man, what's up?". So when I flinched (Oh and I did flinch!) He/She calmly stepped off my boot toe, gave me about a 2-inch personal space, and just waited for me to go on about my business of cutting and hauling wood! It was clear to me who's forest this was,no matter who's name is on the deed! ;-)

Back Stage at Silver Springs!

So just what do the OTT and Silver Springs have in common? Well Thunder and Lightnin for one thing now!

















So we moved down here to get back to a slower pace, a more lay back way of life. We pretty much keep to ourselves as do most other folks in the area, dealing with the occasional rif-raf that try to cause trouble where they don't belong, but mostly its nice, quiet, and slow out here. If we need to run into town for supplies we usually stop off at the Old Town Tavern (OTT) on the way home to quench our thirsts and to catch a view of TV, especially the weather channel to see what's happening. We can also get some of the local news and find out more info on who knows how to what, if we need help with anything (always a good thing to know).

This day last week we're sitting there soaking up the local info when the owner of the OTT calls us into his office, by name! Crap i felt like I was 13yrs old getting called into the Principle's office, I was thinking: "What did we do, we haven't been down here long enough to get kicked out of someplace yet!" It ends up that he was just offering us his tickets to go hang out with the Bud Reps, back stage, along with some of the other patrons of the OTT, to see R.E.O.!

Today we headed out to Silver Springs in the van with four other folks to have a great time taking in the sites and ended up back stage with R.E.O. in the process!


Silver Springs is sort of a natural wonder, amusement park, zoo, and concert tour stop all in one! It's actually a combination of 3-4 springs that meet to form a river of crystal clear water, hence the name "Silver Springs".










This is a turtle that is about 30ft below us! Talk about clear water!

















Several movies have been filmed here because of the clear water: "Creature From the Black Lagoon", and "Thunderball" for a couple!





Our seats are up on the left of the speakers!













R.E.O. takes the stage and to say we were close is an understatement!




















These guys were really friendly, nice guys, and when they took a break they spent the time mingling with us signing whatever they were asked to, like guitars, and umm Lightnin!





























It was a great day filled with sunshine, good food, a few beers, new friends, and really good music.
Here's to a slower pace of life!

Rain Dance, Well Sort Of!

We're experiencing a drought down here and the Suwanee is so low that the Manatee's don't have enough draft to get into Manatee Springs! So I thought short of a rain dance the next best thing is to wash the car. So I doubled the chances by washing and waxing both the car and the bike the other day and it looks like it worked because we finally got some rain again late last night.

Bonfires and Rain

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, sunny and mid 70's(F), so after we got the morning's task completed I got out for a short ride. After that I decided to build a nice bonfire for us to enjoy as the sun started to settle off in the horizon. Well OK as the sun set behind the forest, since we can't really see the horizon from here! ;-)

So for those less talented at starting fires than I am, here is the easy 4-step method that I use:


1) Kindling - It's important to use small very dry twigs, branches, leaves, paper, cardboard, etc. as your base









2) Build a Tepee type structure with the medium to large sized branches, leaving plenty of room for air to flow in to keep feed the fire from the kindling.






3) Light the kindling using a long handled lighter, same as for lighting grills.










4) Kick back and enjoy!














Today we finally got some much needed rain. The temperature was still nice, in the mid 60's(F), and I thought I'd grab a couple of pictures. The Forrest takes on a little bit of a different look when it's raining, but it's beautiful just the same.



















While I'm writing this the rain is easing up and clearing off, so we should have another star filled sky tomight. Tomorrow looks to be dry, sunny and mid 70's(F) again. We'll see what that brings!

He's a Lumberjack and He's OK....

So we decided to smoke some ribs for dinner yesterday! No problem, except I don't have a smoker/grill, no charcoal either, hmmm. Let's see I've got a clump of dead trees right over there, dang, my chainsaw isn't running. OK what did they use before chainsaws? I don't have an ax either, just a splitter, ah ha I do have a cross-cut bow saw!

That's how the day started yesterday. I was able to get a couple of the dead trees dropped and had them cut up by 10:30AM. So I gathered up some kindling and got the fire started so it would be ready for cooking in time for dinner.



Making the drop angle cut












Conquered that one














Building the fire








































Just add meat









The payoff, complete with spicy potato salad and a killer rough cut slaw provided by Lightnin













It's fun living back in the woods!

It Takes a Lot of Clams!

We decided to locate one of the seafood markets around us to get something to cook for dinner the other day. We ended up going to the highly recommended Rick's, in Cross City; where we were able to purchase some huge shrimp and a 10lb bag of clams.

Ten pound may sound like a lot, but it's mainly the weight of the shell because the local clams are tiny, tender, and sweet! If you've ever had the little tins of smoked clams or oysters then you know what size these little clams are, but amazingly packed with flavor!

So what to do with them, well for an appetizer I steamed about half of them in a garlic, herb, and white wine sauce which held us over until the min event was completed. For the mian course I whipped up a Sicilian style red sauce which we served over spaghetti.

Both dishes came out fantastic! The steamers didn't make it through the night, but we stretched the pasta sauce out for several meals after!


10lb bag-o-clams








Steamers








Main event













What happened to the shrimp? Well that will just have to wait for another post now won't it! ;-)

Morning in the Woods

It's been warm enough that we've been able to get into the routine of having the first cup of coffee out on the deck. Here's a glimpse of our wake-up view.


I never get tired of looking at our palms!









One of the trails I'll try to keep clear







If you look close in this one you can see the post that marks the southwest corner of the property










Unfortunately we do have some nosey neighbors. They're actually rather comical to watch. Mostly they try to stay hidden in camouflage, and behind objects, but when the sunlight finally comes out bright enough they can't help but expose themselves!





Our nosey neighbors, The Anole's!












They're probably the closest thing we'll have as far as pets down here, at least for now. We are really enjoying the freedom of getting out whenever we feel like it, at the drop of a hat, and if you have pets you have to make preparations for them to be properly cared for.

We'll also get around to some new picks of the house in the future. Right now it's still pretty much in disarray, as I mentioned we're only tackling one task on the list per day. Once we get it presentable we'll share! ;-)

Which Way Do We Go?

So Saturday morning after breakfast we thought we might get the bike out and head over to Cedar Key. We've shown excellent restraint so far, being here for an entire week and not going over there, so we thought it was time.

We ran into a few new friends who had mentioned another possible destination for us: "Scooter Haven". So we thought about it and decided: "Hey we can go to Cedar Key anytime, why not give it a try", so we did.

It's a pretty nice campground/biker hangout, located just north of Inglis, and I mean just north!




First impression












Nice decorations









The temporary jail, if you get out of hand










The clubhouse














So then yesterday we thought we'd get the little car out and finally did head over to Cedar key. The weather was fantatic, mid 70's (F) and plenty of sun. We grabbed lunch of fried oysters, boiled shrimp, and steamed clams all good stuff! Then we walked around the shops for a awhile and then took a little sceneic drive around the island before heading back to the woods.



The tide was in, usually I just get to see the bare mud flats.











Lunch!











Sunning like a gator on the river bank to get my batteries recharged.









I could get used to this!

Yesterday's Task (updated)

So here it is:

















If you recall I mentioned that we're picking one task on our list and working on it in the morning and then basically goofing off the rest of the day. Well this was my task yesterday:




Can you guess what it is?











Maybe this will help:

Hectic Schedule

Since we left Cincinnati in a whirlwind it was now necessary to unpack and put things away in the new home. So we decided logically that the place to start would be the place that the house is centered around, the kitchen of course! We adjusted the shelving in the cabinets and rearranged the stuff that we had previously brought down and now the kitchen is functional at maximum efficiency!

It's important to point out that we've adopted a strategy to this retirement thing, and that is that we have put together a list of work items that need to get done and we will work our way down that list one item at a time. We will work on each item until noon that day, and if we get it completed early we're done. If we don't get it done by noon then we finish it the next day.

So with our work behind us yesterday Lightnin decided to stay home and read from her Kindle and I leathered up and went for a nice long ride.

The sun was out and the temperature was up to 65F. I decided to take a loop from the OTT to CJ's, then to Bear's Den, and end up back at the OTT. It ended up being a 70mile run and I made it home by 5pm. That timing is critical for two reasons: 1) It gets dark here around 5:30pm and I mean dark! The last thing I want to do is try to ride the bike down our lime rock road in pitch black and 2) It does actually get cold at night here this time of year, and with the extra humidity in the air it carries some impact.

So what's on the agenda for today? I'm not sure I guess I'd better check the list to see!

We're Back Up And Broadcasting From The Cabin In The Woods

So where do I start, let's see: Retired on Thursday, packed up and headed south on Friday (12hr 30min drive door-to-door), unloaded and here we are!

FC and Mrs. FC had us over for a fish fry the next day (New Year's Eve); where we got to see their lovely young ladies, and missed JR because he had to work (Hey we've been there!) We also got to meet some new friends and the food of course was fantastic (Mrs. FC that Chocolate torte was killer!). What a way to bring in the new year!

On New Years Day we went to a pot luck "hang-over party" at The Old Town Tavern (OTT). The menu was: the best black eyed peas I've ever eaten, greens, and several types of corn bread. If this is any indication then it's going to be a good year!

We worked around the house the next day, which means: we finally unpacked!

Then on the 3rd we headed to Gaterville to complete one of Lightnin's "Bucket List" items, to meet her cousin from Brazil who just happened to be on vacation in Florida. It was so nice to meet Sergio and his family! We talked and laughed and he and Lightnin were able to fill in gaps that had been opened years ago, what a great experience! We'll stay connected from here out.

Here we are (from left to right): Their daughter Fernanda, Yours truely, Ligntnin, Sergio, His Wife Anamaria, and their son Theodoro.
















One final good-bye photo (I'm thinking: Hasta luego, Bis spater, or Zaijian rather than good-bye though):
















That brings us to today. Probably boring to most of you, but we went through and rearranged the shelves and contents of the kitchen cabinets, making the set-up more efficient then it was when we first blew in and threw things in their places. Don't get in my way in our kitchen now 'cause everything is in it's place and I can move like a cat in there! ;-) The reward of course was a ride on the bike, a short ride I'll confess, but a ride none the less! Yes, we're having a record cold spell down here this week; and yes, everyone here is blaming me (somewhat joking), but hey the sun was up and the roads were dry so I leathered-up and rode!

So that's about it for now, we'll see what tomorrow brings!