The Land of Painted Caves

That's the title of the latest offering by Jean M. Auel, one of my favorite writers.

Ye socks who may not recognize her name may be peripherally aware of the series of books she began some three decades ago with The Clan of the Cave Bear.

I had planned to buy the book last week when I first heard it was hitting the major book outlets, but held off til the latest gadget arrived from our friends at Apple.

After downloading it late last night from iBooks, I'm pleased to report that I've made it thru 8 chapters already. Some of these were done lakeside from the comfort of a folding chair I posted beneath a cypress tree full of jays and mockingbirds. The occasional breeze actually made it a little chilly in the shade, but I wasn't complaining . . . especially since the heat and humidity of the Florida summer is just around the corner.

Hoping ye socks are enjoying an equally blissful weekend!

Weak tropical storm, weak.

I suppose given the horrific tropical season we endured in this little corner of heaven back in 2004, yours truly should never pooh-pooh all the hullabaloo the local news teams make over the slightest disturbance in the atmosphere this time of year.

But, Tropical Storm Bonnie was pathetic.

All we got was a bunch of rain. Much needed rain, actually.

The only bad thing about the rain is that it kept us indoors this weekend.

I'll take that over getting roofs ripped off any day!

PCPD update

For ye socks who have been following the ongoing efforts to revive Pine Castle Pioneer Days, the site committee met this morning on the festival grounds to discuss lay-out of arts/crafts vendor booths.

We scheduled the meeting to start at 9am, with the hope that we could get our work done before the summertime heat became too unbearable.

While we failed in that effort, we were successful in identifying a great central spot for said booths, took the necessary measurements, and should have a final map, etc., to report back to the finance committee by their meeting on June 30th. If they approve, all of this will get passed on to the next general planning session for the final go-ahead and vendor packets will be sent out next month. (For more info, email: pinecastlepioneerdays@hotmail.com .)

In the mean time, dealing with all the heat generated by the asphalt parking lot out there served as a rather uncomfortable reminder of my need for a haircut. So, I'm now headed to the barbershop. (There's must be a pun somewhere in that last statement . . .)

I need a haircut!!

Ye socks who know me well, know that yours truly tends to keep his locks trimmed.

It's not so much a function of any delusions of dapperness as it is the result of necessity.

Living in this little corner of heaven, especially this time of year, makes it extremely uncomfortable to sport a moptop.

I was reminded of this as I headed out the door at 7 o'clock this morning and heard on the car radio that the thermometers already read 91 degrees!

Unfortunately, the chop shop that I frequent is not open on Mondays. So, it looks like I'll have to wait another 24 hours . . .

Cooler by degrees . . .

Had to laugh at the radio weather forecast I heard as I was heading out the door this morning.

Apparently, this little corner of heaven is going to be welcoming a "cool front" today!

It's ONLY going to be 92.

Whoo-hoo! Break out the sweaters and hot cocoa, and I'll go get the ice skates!

Scratch that off the weekend to-do list . . .

So, I've discovered the trick to getting the lawn mowed around this little corner of heaven is to risk annoying the neighbors by getting out there early.

Not, TOO early, mind you.

8 o'clock is my own self-imposed limit.

But, we only have a very narrow window of opportunity to get this chore done before it gets too beastly hot around here.

So, if any of ye socks were annoyed by the roaring engine, you have my apologies . . . but, not my promise to abstain from said behavior again next weekend!

A little reminder from driver's ed . . .

So, we finally got some of that rain, the lack of which yours truly whined about in a previous post.

And, yes it was accompanied by the standard thunder and lightning.

While the precipitation was more than welcome (says my parched lawn), it apparently was the culprit for several traffic light problems around this little corner of heaven.

I can testify that the lights at the intersection of Virginia and Mills were definitely out of order during this afternoon's drive time.

It was shocking to see how many people have forgotten that means said intersection immediately became a FOUR WAY STOP.

Take your turn in said situation, and remember the old Sunshine State slogan: "Arrive Alive!"

Bring on the rain!

It hardly seems fair . . . at least to my parched lawn . . . that we should be experiencing so much thunder and lightning in this little corner of heaven, and yet we've had NO ACTUAL RAIN!

Saturday in the park . . .

Think it was the Fourth of July . . . .

No, wait . . . it was the First of May in Central Florida . . . it only FELT like the Fourth of July!!

Yep, we went straight from Spring into the depths of Summer this weekend.

The AC's are running overtime already!

ARRRRGGHHH!

Spring has sprung!

For the first time this year, as yours truly walked out the door to head off to the office, the breeze off Lake Ivanhoe was bearing the aroma of his neighbor's Confederate jasmine vines.

There are worse ways to start the day, no?!

Jungle update

OK, ye socks can stop worrying about it. Yesterday's rainy weather has blown away. Ye olde Briggs and Stratton got fueled-up. And, yours truly finally got out there and mowed the yard. No longer the neighborhood pariah!!

To paraphrase the Carpenters . . .

Rainy Days and Mondays

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old

Sometimes I'd like to quit

Nothing ever seems to fit

Hangin' around

Nothing to do but frown

Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

What I've got they used to call the blues

Nothin' is really wrong

Feelin' like I don't belong

Walkin' around

Some kind of lonely clown

Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you

Nice to know somebody loves me

Funny but it seems that it's the only thing to do

Run and find the one who loves me.

What I feel has come and gone before

No need to talk it out

We know what it's all about

Hangin' around

Nothing to do but frown

Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

Winds of change?!

All I can say, is I hope all the winds around this little corner of heaven today are bringing some of that warmer weather we've been promised by the eggheads with the super-dee-dooper doppler thingamajiggies.

In the mean time, we're subjected to howling burst of leaves and dust.

Angry gusts leave us all looking disheveled.

And, my motion detector keeps getting tripped by the swaying branches.

I almost feel like I'm back in Lubbock, Texas.

Almost.

Come on, 70 . . . .

First of all, "White Rabbit!" to ye socks in the know.

Secondly, isn't it way past time for Spring to get sprung around this little corner of heaven?

Rushing out the door this morning, as I am wont to do, found it more than a little uncomfortably brisk!

The weatherman assures us the mercury will climb into the 70s later this week.

Can't happen soon enough!

Psyched out by Mother Nature . . .

Just when we thought it was safe to pack away our sweaters in this little corner of heaven, the schizophrenia that has been winter around here has reared it's ugly head once again!

I'm really getting sick of this.

Guess the groundhog was right, after all . . .

Arrggggghhh!!

Is that Springtime we can see on the horizon?!

Methinks ye olde groundhog was mistaken!

Given the weather in this little corner of heaven today, yours truly is hopeful that winter is indeed drawing to a close!

It's been a brutal one, at least by Central Florida standards.

The egghead meteorologists with their super-dee-duper doppler thingamajigs tell us that this has in fact been the fifth coldest winter around these parts since whoever started keeping track of such stuff started keeping track.

I believe them.

Granted, we've had no snow or ice like some of ye socks.

But, when we have to turn the heat on down here, significant panic ensues . . . if for no other reason than the anticipation of the ghastly utility bills that come with taking such action.

Today, though, I can report bright sunshine, moderate temps, and nary a cloud in the sky.

Can I put in an order for a couple dozen more of this type o' day?!

Winds of change?

Given the windy weather in this little corner of heaven today, it is probably little wonder that yours truly finds his thoughts turning to the staked plains of his youth.

When we moved to the "llano estacado," we were warned that we would have to compensate for the high winds.

"Either lean into it, or back from it, but don't try to stand up straight in it or it'll knock you down!"

For the record, I chose the lean into it strategy. And, on only one occasion did that have negative results.

With all we've got swirling around us these days, I'm trying to figure out what kind of wisdom might be drawn from that old lesson . . .

I know, marshmallows woulda tasted better . . .

Considering the weather forecasters are saying it will drop down to 26 degrees in this little corner of heaven tonight, and given the fact that the master of the house is unwilling to crank the heater above 66 degrees, yours truly decided a cup of hot cocoa would be a good accompaniment for some much-anticipated NCIS viewing.

Unfortunately, as I was getting situated in "command central," ye olde clicker fell straight into my steaming mug of chocolatey goodness . . .

Now, none of the buttons below the first row of numbers will work. Or, I should say, they don't work as intended.

I'm wondering how difficult it's going to be to get Bright House to give me a new one. (Already know how hard it's going to be to get up to change the channel and adjust the volume!)

Keep warm out there, ye socks!

Winter arrives in Orlando

Too . . . cold . . . to . . . type . . .

Woke up yesterday to 38 degrees.

Haven't checked the thermometer this morning.

Not used to this down here!

Take it back up north where it belongs!!

Dense Fog Warning!

Today, yours truly found himself in the heaviest fog he'd ever encountered.

I didn't notice it much as I stepped outside to head off to work, mostly because it's always dark and gloomy that time of day.

But, then the security light went off. It always does that, and I'm glad for it because it helps me to find the keyhole so I can lock the deadbolt behind me.

Today, however, said light struggled to illuminate the threshhold . . . much less the narrow space between my service door and the neighbor's wall.

I had second thoughts about even getting in the car at that point, figuring it was just too dangerous to drive in these conditions.

But, after peeking around the front hedge, I realized that it was just a particularly heavy pocket of fog that had settled in between the houses. It was a little thinner in the unusually quiet streets of our neighborhood. Just a LITTLE thinner, though.

Anyway, I decided to brave it, and stuck to the side streets instead of getting on I-4. Glad I did, too. Even at the slower pace, my knuckles were throbbing by the time I reached the office!

Be safe out there!