Bike Riding Beauties

Sparky had been riding her bike in between subbing days, averaging anywhere from 12-20 miles a couple of times a week until she was sidelined with severe tendonitis on an ankle. No idea how that happened except thru ignoring a slight twist that must have happened months ago, then dancing her booty off a couple of months ago, then wearing not enough shoe support while subbing....all of the above, probably. It got to the point where she could hardly walk at the end of the day after subbing. Can't have that, so off to the doctor. The ankle was taped for a few days, and Sparky was told no bike riding (that is one of the worst things you can do for a bad ankle, the doctor said) and no swimming for three weeks. That was tough, following the doctor's orders. Then Sparky got a Trilock ankle brace which was great, and that helped a great deal. It's a little bit of an ordeal to put on, but you get faster at it after a few uses. TONS of velcro everywhere on it, always catches in the wrong place, so you have to keep unpeeling it until you get all the straps on layer by layer. After a month, the ankle still hurts now and then, but physical therapy is about to begin, so that should strengthen it, MAYBE.

Back to bike riding...YIPPEE! And here are some of Sparky's favorite photos from recent bike rides....All the photos are with a Canon SX530, a little point and shoot camera, currently just under 200.00, and it has a nice 50X zoom. If the pictures are with an iPhone, Sparky has captioned them as such.  Red lilies....

An osprey on the nest.....She's feeding two little ones and has a bit of fish caught on her beak.

Here's the dad preening....

March was the month for many sandhill crane hatchings in the area...Sparky took LOADS of photos of the mama and the babies, and here is ONE of her favorites...That's the mama's leg on the right.

Sparky was thrilled to catch a yellow rump warbler sitting still long enough to get a photo.

Blackbirds are a dime a dozen around here, but isn't this one beautiful with the iridescent shades of blue in its feathers?

Sparky's favorite Florida bird, the roseate spoonbill. This one was chosen to be featured in a weekly newspaper in our area...

Sparky likes the bottle brush tree...There are always little busy bees on them....This photo is with the iPhone 6S.

And finally....a limpkin or glossy ibis...It has the head plumage of a limpkin, and the body of the glossy ibis...But Sparky thought it was gorgeous....

Hope you enjoyed today's nature show!  Sparky will be back soon with tales from Sarasota Jungle Gardens, a very cool place to visit if you are in the area....Bye for now....

Is it Boring in Bradenton? Let's See What You Think!

So after the VA trip, things settled down into somewhat of a routine...Sparky is subbing a LOT and really loving it. Kids say the darnedest things. She had a 5 week job in second grade and it was with a  high functioning class, a class full of very smart, great thinkers, and it was a ball! So that kept her busy all of January and into February. Eldy is playing golf at least two to three times a week, so he's keeping busy, too....

When Sparky isn't subbing, she's riding her bike....15-20 miles two to three times a week. Now, that might seem impressive, but Sparky stops a lot to take photos. When she IS riding, however, she boogies....A pair of sandhill cranes sat on a nest for most of February, and the first week of March, they hatched two little ones. March is prime time for sandhill crane hatching, especially early in the month....Sparky knew they had hatched after missing a couple of days at the marsh due to work, because of the small crowd of amateur photographers that descended on the marsh with their whopper lenses...Sparky used to have a Canon Rebel SLR with two lenses, but the darn thing was SO bulky, and every time she saw a cool shot, she had the wrong lens screwed on, so after trying and trying to like the camera for about a year, she decided to go with a Canon point and shoot, the SX530 with 50X zoom. She can just throw it over her shoulder and go. She hears there is a Nikon P900 with 85X zoom or something like that, but she's pretty happy with the one she has. And here's the kind of photos she gets with it....She's VERY happy with it.....Here the parents are changing nest guarding duties...off goes one to eat, and the other one comes on duty....

And here are the little cuties. They are about four days old in these photos...Sparky apologizes for the watermark, she has decided to start marking her photos after getting a bunch of them chosen over the past year for the local weekly newspaper, Your Observer. Time to get serious about submitting some photos in some contests, maybe....

Chicks and mama's legs.....

And here is Sparky's favorite.....

Cranes are not all that Sparky sees on her rides...Always fascinated with bees among the beautiful blossoms here in Bradenton, Sparky likes to try and capture them in the flowers and buds. Her favorite bee shot is this one....This was taken with an iPhone 6S. Sparky uses her phone for 99% of the close up nature shots.

Sparky likes to try and capture the big shore and wading birds close up, too....Love this anhinga eye....This one is back to the Canon point and shoot.

And that's just one bike ride on a good day.....See you soon...More photos and blog coming about the Venice Rookery this week...stay tuned....We told you we've been busy! :-)

"Are you my mama?"

                                                            Sparky and Eldo

In the Meantime.... How's Eldo Doing?

Eldo is doing well...It's 2 1/2 months since quadruple bypass surgery..Eldy is driving, walking 30 minutes a day, and just recently got back on his bike.  He is also back to playing golf twice a week. He has very little discomfort of any kind. No chest pains or "pulls" as he describes it--a pulling sensation as if gravity were tugging his chest down to the floor, which is what he had felt for the first month and more after surgery. He is having a lot of trouble sleeping, that's his only complaint right now. He is just really really restless when it's time to go to sleep and sometimes he can't fall asleep. We don't think it's related to any medications he's taking...(Plavix and Lipitor, blood pressure medicine and a vitamin.) He still has numbness along his right leg where they took an artery from the leg to do one of the bypasses. The numbness might never go away, the dr. said, but he can live with that. His biggest complaint is his chest hairs growing back in prickly. :-) (Eldy is a hairy guy, it's just not on the top of his head!) If that's his biggest complaint, he's made it almost back to where he was. He still tires easily, and the simplest activities remind him that he still has a long way to go as far as stamina goes.

What have Sparky and Eldo been up to lately?  A trip to Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island one Sunday....What did we see and do? A great blue heron high up in the pines preening....

A little girl peeking out from a changing station at the beach, watching the passers-by on the boardwalk.....

We took a beautiful walk along the boardwalk.....Eldo is still trying to keep up his walking, so we walked the boardwalk, which is a lovely, shaded with Australian pines, long walk parallel to the beach...

We saw a circus performer wannabe.....set up a cord between two trees and then practice over and over to try and keep his balance. Sparky went over and talked to him. He wasn't really aiming for the circus, he just wanted to achieve this goal of being able to walk a tightrope.

We've been going to Anna Maria Island's Gulf Gate Cafe for Sunday breakfasts now and then....We love the vibe out there....

After breakfast at the restaurant, we drive over to the city pier to see what the fishermen are catching...

Eldy celebrated his 68th birthday this month....He's got a new lease on life....Doctors have told him several times it's a miracle he didn't experience a heart attack before they fixed him, with the "widow maker" 90% blocked. We may be doing a little traveling soon to celebrate... We celebrated his birthday dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in Sarasota, in our opinion...healthy, fresh food cooked by a wonderful chef...Paul Mattison, at Mattison's City Grille, in downtown Sarasota. The food is presented beautifully...This salad looks ordinary, but the tomatoes had the most wonderful flavor...white balsamic vinagrette dressing...yum!

Sparky's dinner....Extra rare steak, of course! Eldy had a wonderful meatloaf dinner...

And for dessert.....Mango cheesecake for Eldy....

We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful area and for Eldy to be on his way to being healthier.....Although Sparky complains a LOT about the heat, (and HOW! laughs E.), she loves her subbing job and as long as we can get away some times in the summer, she'll try to not complain as much. :-)

Bye for now......

Out and About....

There's a temporary lull in our activities....In a week, Sparky heads to Myrtle Beach, VA, to visit with Eldy's sister-in-law for a couple of days...

For the time being, we are putzing around the house, reading, Eldo is researching where to escape the heat for a month next summer...Colorado, maybe?

Sparky celebrated her 65th birthday last week...Just a special dinner out at Mattison's City Grille in Sarasota, that was all that was needed to make her happy! And a glass of wine....She's VERY happy to be on Medicare!

Fantastic food this restaurant has....Sparky's dinner was a filet with gorgonzola cheese and bacon on top of mashed potatoes with a demi glace sauce with asparagus....

And creme brûlée for dessert! Perfect!

Life doesn't get any better than that!

Sparky is back out on her bike in between rainstorms....This is a different kind of rain pattern these past two weeks. Normally, the rains come in the afternoons, kind of late, hang around for a half hour or so, cool off the air, and they are gone. This summer, the rains come and they stay. It has rained two days in a row all day long. Rain is forecast in the 40-80% chance for two solid weeks, going on three. So getting a bike ride in is problematic at times. Sparky has checked the radar before heading out, only to find that she gets caught in pop up rain showers more than once! It can be sunny at our house, and pouring down rain in less than a mile. But she's still riding 15 miles at least a couple times a week... One rainy day we decided to go to the Red Barn Flea Market. There are supposedly 600 vendors at this market, but during the summer it's much more quiet. We think a lot of them head north.There are three open air Farmer's Markets, and lots of nice produce. There are also two food courts. In the summer, they host over 10,000 visitors each weekend. Because the hours are a little complicated, check here for when they are open: http://www.redbarnfleamarket.com/location-hours/

Sparky LOVE antiques and flea markets, but Red Barn has more junky stuff from China and India than true vintage stuff. But it's still fun to walk around and check out the junk. Sparky likes looking at the "As Seen on TV" stuff, and wondering how many of these silly inventions were once reviewed on that show, "Shark Tank"?

They've got the usual flea market stuff....license plates, tee shirts, sox, hot sauce.....

and jumbo jawbreakers....Nothing we can't live without.....

Eldo paused briefly at the golf supply shop but came away empty handed. (!)

Just as a personal opinion, we like the flea market at Webster Flea Market in Webster, Florida, MUCH better! Tons more stuff and variety, open every Monday....

Life is good and we are well and healthy.....Take care of yourselves and we'll see you again soon....

The Beautiful Bok Tower Gardens

Theresa and Chuck like botanical gardens so we thought we'd revisit Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales….That's such a beautiful place to go see a 260 foot Neo Gothic architectural 60 bell carillon tower and some beautifully designed informal gardens. Perhaps we'd see a live concert by a carillon player from a video cam in the gardens.  Bok Tower is located between Tampa and Orlando, and it is about an hour and a half drive from Bradenton. A carillon is a musical instrument that has at least 23 cast bronze bells. Because of the weight and size of the bells, it's one of the largest musical instruments. You play it from a keyboard and it takes some very specialized musical skills to play it. The bells weigh from 16 pounds to almost 12 TONS! There are four carillons in Florida, and 200 in North America.

The tower itself is AMAZING! It's been called "America's Taj Mahal"…..

At the very top are 8 marble heron statues….

internet photo of tower top

The tower is composed of many sculptures of plants and wildlife and birds. You can see cranes, eagles, herons, jellyfish, seahorses, flamingoes, swans, fish, pelicans, foxes, tortoises, baboon, geese, Adam and Eve and the serpent, and other biblical references.

The upper balconies have doves carrying oak and laurel branches symbolizing peace and strength. There's some beautiful wrought ironwork in the fencing and gates on the property as well….There's a beautiful brass door on one side of the tower and it shows the Book of Genesis, starting with the Creation of Light.

There wasn't a live concert, that's only on Thursdays and we were there on a different day, so we didn't get to see the talented bell player this day…..but recorded concerts play at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM daily, and the gardens are open all year round, 365 days a year. There is an admission fee, ($10.00 for adults) but coupons are available on the internet to print out and offer considerable savings.

Stokes aster

You could spend hours here, the 7 1/2 acre gardens are designed for wandering and meandering around….It's a lush, informal woodland setting with the most amazing selections of plants and flowers that take your breath away…..

There are little recessed places for sitting and reflecting…There are beautiful ponds and pools and wildlife to be seen……The grounds are designated as a Florida Great Birding Trail site.

A beautiful visitor's center has a unique pebble pathway with an air plant hanging display of more than 30 different species of air plants and the history of the gardens and it's originator, Edward W. Bok. Some interesting history about this Dutch founder and his views on the world of his time can be found at the visitor's center. Bok presented this tower and gardens to the American people as a gift for his gratitude at being given opportunities to become a successful businessman in America. It's a fantastic place and well worth the drive to go see it…

Theresa and Chuck loved their visit to Bok Tower Gardens today…Here they are in front of the Pinewood Estate, which is on the garden grounds and is an example of a 20 room Mediterranean style mansion/estate that is on the National Historic Landmark list. It is decorated at Christmas time and is available as a separate tour. We just toured the outside today…..

By the way, Sparky thinks the food at the little cafe is outstanding. Best chicken salad sandwich with dried cherries she's ever had! Yum!

We look forward to heading back to Bok Tower again some day, maybe when the next round of company comes!

Mothers' Day...

Sarasota, FL       High:  82    Low:   60

Sparky doesn't know about anyone else, but it sure was heartwarming to see all the profile photos on Facebook of people as children with their mothers....It seemed like a lot more sentiment floated around this year....It was really nice....

Even though Sparky and Eldy's mom are both gone, and both sets of children are too far away to help all the mothers in the family celebrate Mother's Day, Eldy took Sparky out for a nice late lunch/ early dinner on the water up in Ellenton at Woody's River Roo Restaurant. We had gone to Ellenton to get Sparky a suitable travel bag for flying to Houston on Wednesday. The outlet mall is at Ellenton, and there are some great stores and great buys there.

Woody's is a great place for families...They have mostly outdoor seating, and a wrap around deck/seating area that looks like a little island but is attached to the main restaurant site. Boats can come in and dock, and people came by boat today for lunch. These kids were really enjoying cooling their feet off in the water by the dock.

They have the BEST fish dip around served with saltine crackers...They had two of our favorite musicians playing, The Jack Tambourine Band. Those guys are terrific! They dress up for different songs....Here they were playing "Reggae Cowboy".....

The fellow on the left who plays a terrific fiddle gets on a devil costume when he fiddles "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" complete with smoke! We had seen them play regularly at Sun 'n' Fun so we were really glad to see them here at Woody's! The guy on the right sounds a LOT like Alan Jackson. One of Sparky's favorite songs is "Red Solo Cup." They do a little bit of country, some rock and roll, and the crowd really enjoys them.

People were dancing to the music....

It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon...We had a nice meal, the weather was beautiful, we sat by the water, and the music was fantastic!

See you later......

Bird Bonanza in the Middle of a Subdivision

Sarasota, FL          High:   71      Low:   47

After we got done looking at houses yesterday, we were driving through the burg of Lakewood Ranch,  don't know if that's an annexed part of Bradenton/Sarasota, or just a huge subdivision/community. Whatever it is, it's the 9th largest master planned community in the country. We were just kind of looking around and WHAM! We saw a TON of white pelicans and other birds in one of the lakes in this community....There are LOTS of lakes in Lakewood Ranch, but these birds were all congregated in ONE small lake today.

"Maybe if I skulk down, they won't see me."

And wood storks....

BUNCHES of wood storks, an endangered species....

And Sparky's favorite Florida bird, the roseate spoonbill--TWO of them, Mom and Dad. AND JACKPOT--their little one! Not so little at this point. Their offspring is on the far right. He doesn't have the ruby red plumage yet.

Here's a better look at the little one....Awwww, isn't he (or she) cute?

"Oh, Great One...Do you have any advice for me?" "Well, sonny, it's like this....."

We saw them flying and landing...

"BRAKE! BRAKE!"

And having conversations with each other....

"Promise you won't look?"

Maybe a tri-colored heron?

A young (?) sandhill crane with beautiful brown plumage....

Fantastic variety of birds today....all hanging out at a little lake in Bradenton/Sarasota....

All doin' their thing.....

What a fantastic day!