By the Sea

Many of the homes we looked at in our exploration of the area had swimming pools in their back yards. The house we purchased did not. I wasn't keen on having a pool. I know how to swim, but I've never really enjoyed it. However, the Mister wanted one. So, we contracted to have a pool installed in our back yard. 

Here's the story in pictures:

I am so glad that we went forward with this project. I love having the pool. What a surprise! I find it amazingly refreshing to simply jump in, paddle around for a bit, and then get out. (Especially this week with temps in the high 90's and a heat index in the triple digits!) Our project has also given us a beautiful outdoor room where we spend many hours each day. 

This Little Piggy Stayed Home

We are staying pretty close to home. We are taking the Coronavirus threat seriously, especially due to our ages and infirmities. Funny how a microscopic spec can change the way one views herself. I have come to think that I might be old, instead of steadfastly denying it! But regardless of what the years say, I stay active and can't find enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on my list!

The dogs help me. They make me go out at least twice a day, and due to the nature of their breeds, they need long walks to keep them from going mental.

Luckily, at 10 and 10+ years of age, they are slowing down a bit so I can keep up with them. Were they younger, I'd never be able to walk them enough!

Our new community has several trails, lots of roads and open spaces, and a large, underutilized dog park.

 There are also many acres of cleared land for future development. We really aren't supposed to walk there, but I'll venture out there on Saturday or Sunday.

We come across all manner of interesting things:

• Dogs: Naturally, there are other dogs all around us. Tucker is very friendly, but aggressively enthusiastic in his greetings, which is a bit off-putting for some dogs. Gypsy is very watchful of her younger brother, and wades in with her teeth barred and a bark that is definitely worse than the bite, if she feels things are getting out of control with all of the sniffing and wagging going on. So I assume a straddle-armed stance trying to let Tucker visit, and hold Gypsy back, and not let the dogs and leashes become entangled. It's awkward. It's physically taxing. I avoid it. Most often if I see another dog we change our course.
• Food: Gypsy manages to find, and scarf up, every scrap of food that has been dropped by anyone along the sidewalk, in the middle of the road, and as we pass construction sites (we are living in a new and growing community. The homes pop up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, even with Covid-19.)  Gypsy especially loves construction sites! The workers drop all manner of yummy things on the ground. Especially bones; ribs and chicken wings and legs. Oh my! We get into quite a struggle as I work to pry Gypsy's mouth open and dislodge and remove the bone. Then, while I'm involved in that battle, Tucker usually has the time to find one for himself, and I enter into another battle. Before the virus shut things down, our community had "Food Truck Friday". Over a dozen food trucks would park around our central square and folks from near and far would arrive to indulge in a great variety of food choices. Naturally, some of this food found its way to the ground. Gypsy took it upon herself to be the official DFCU: "dropped food cleaner upper" in the community. She loved taking late walks on Friday, or cleaning up on Saturday morning, and can't wait for this event to begin again.
• Scents: I wish I could wire the dogs' brains so that I could see what it is that they smell. I especially love to watch them when they catch a scent in the air. Neither dog is much on tracking scent, but on occasion I have been encouraged to keep up with them as they swiftly follow a trail. 

• People: Tucker is the unofficial people greeter in our community. He talks to everybody. Some folks even talk back to him. He loves that most of all!
• Critters: Tonight it was a rat. As we turned the corner on the trail, he was gathering up some sort of something in the middle of the trail. He scampered away. We see bunnies. The dogs used to chase bunnies in our yard in Colorado. The marsh bunnies here are better at freezing, and we can often walk right by them. There was the morning of the alligator: 

Can I go for a walk with you?

 And the evening of the gator; I wasn't far from the house, walking through a newly cleared area destined to become wetlands, mitigation for wetlands that were filled elsewhere for development 

Newly created wetlands. They were dry when I saw the gator.

purposes. We were about to turn into a large open area when an alligator charged across in front of us, heading for the lake. He was at least 8' in length, maybe even 10. He was moving fast. The dogs wanted him. I turned and dragged the dogs back. We won't travel in that area again! 

We have also had a few run-ins with pigs. Yes, we have wild pigs in the area! Of all the critters we have encountered in our years of walking, I think the pigs evoke the greatest reaction from the dogs. They go nuts! I didn't have time to take pictures on the three encounters we have had. Once it was a piglet running in the scrub next to us. I'm sure the rest of the family was nearby. Another time a group dashed away from us in the brush. The third time I came around a corner to find 4 or 5 piglets and about that number of adults rooting in freshly turned earth in the wetland development area. I was thankful they were more afraid of me and turned hastily to leave. The pictures I have included are from the Babcock Ranch Eco Tour which is about 5 miles from our home. I have to say they are kinda cute, at least from a safe distance! And heck, these lands are their home. We encroached on them!

The Devil Finds Work for Idle Hands

or

"The Devil made me do it!"

You may recall that we Dreamers were stranded in Florida waiting for a windshield, and then for medical tests and their results. OK, so I did take a brief sojourn to California by myself. But, before that we had a lot of time when almost everyone had left our resort and no activities were scheduled, and it was too darn hot to do much outside. We aren't shoppers (in the usual sense). I'm not much for sun bathing or hanging out at the pool.  I entertain myself with painting, writing and sewing, but after a while, participating in those pastimes is awkward and/or confining on the motorhome. We had cabin fever and needed to get out. So, get out we did. We went to look at model homes here and there. We both knew that at some point in the future we would want to take the wheels away and have a real home some place in Florida. We took this opportunity to see what was out there ,and where. We visited a number of developments, and walked through many homes. A lot of them were lovely. Many of them were well beyond our budget. Some were too far out in the countryside. Many were in congested traffic areas. Some homes were too close to others.

Then, we found it. The house was Perfect... with a capital "P"! We knew it the minute we walked into it. First, the house had an extended 3-car garage, so there would be plenty of room for the Mister's workshop. Second, one of the bedrooms was 15' X 12'. Wow! My longarm sewing machine will fit, and then some! The house is in Babcock Ranch, the first solar-powered "city". The first homes became available just over a year ago, so the community is still new, and everyone is open to meeting new people and forming new friendships. The developer has grandiose plans for this "city", with shops, meeting places, sports opportunities and even a school. It is beginning to grow quickly.

After much discussion we decided that we liked the idea of this community. All the people we met were very friendly. We like that this isn't limited to 55 years of age and over. Most of the homes on this street are owned by snowbirds. Thus we have similar interests. However, it's fun to see the kids. We like the idea of being in on the ground floor instead of coming into an established community. We might have an opportunity to shape what the community will have to offer. The community is going to be huge, with a 5-year or longer buildout. (Constant construction is a downfall, however) We like that the house is just under a mile from the main entrance. We won't have to drive miles through a community to get to our home. The house is close to a community clubhouse, pool, and a walking trail that leads to a dog play area. After many visits to the sales models and discussions with the builder's representative, and consideration of building the same home on a different lot, we decided to buy the house.

We closed in September, and began moving things into the home when we returned to Florida. Before leaving the area for California we did order some furniture. This season we will participate in events at the RV resort and in our new community, as we can easily go back and forth and spend a night here or there. We will probably sell the motorhome in the spring. We also talked about selling the house in California, as we no longer need something that large. However, we discovered how much we love that location, too. Perhaps we'll revisit that again next year. Who knows. Obviously, we don't! We didn't even know we were going to consider buying a house in Florida this year!

Recently the furniture arrived. We thought we bought a lot. We still need so much more! However, we do have spots for folks to sit, and the empty house echo has gone, so we can take our time and have fun finding the perfect pieces(s)!

Another day dawns... who knows what this day will bring!