Hershey Girl; Sailing! (Part 1); High Energy Girls

One of the lesser-known facts about My Lovely Bride is that her dad Bill Smeltzer was once Milton Hershey's personal assistant. If the name doesn't ring a bell, think "CHOCOLATE"! Her grandmother also lived in Hershey, PA. (That's Pennsylvania, for the uninitiated). As a result of her familial relationship with the center of American chocolate production, it is unsurprizing (don't blame me... she actually spells it that way) that she is addicted to Hershey's Chocolates in Every Form, No Stinkin' Substitutes allowed! Here we have visual proof of her chocolate habit. I had liberally squeezed in a stream of Hershey's Genuine Chocolate Syrup... she obviously deemed it insufficient, because Suzanne grabbed the container and squeezed in... a river... a cascade... nay, a veritable deluge of Mr. Hershey's finest chocolate sauce to smother the French vanilla ice cream remaining in the carton. (I have to admit, it was delicious, and worth every calorie!)



The blog has been off line for several days because we have been at sea... not mentally, although I have been accused of that condition as well... rather, we were aboard a bareboat charter sailboat in Tampa Bay with our wonderful friends Renee and Greg Scalzini and their beautiful daughters Samantha and Juliana from Atlanta, Georgia. Renee had attended Suzanne's S.O.A.R! Workshop in Marietta, GA, last year, and offered to give Suzanne's web site a complete make-over. Renee was a Fine Arts major, and is a very gifted web designer. The fabulous job that Renee did can be seen at www.LoveAtTheCenter.com.






Here is Summer Breeze, our Hunter 44 Deck Salon with three cabins and two heads, a relatively spacious charter boat for four, although a tad cramped for six. Suzanne and I were used to cramped spaces, having lived aboard and cruised our Morgan 46 Liberty from the US to Europe for six years.

One of the differences between boats and houses is the head, otherwise known as marine toilet. Its only similarity with the household version is the "end purpose" and the shape. Actual functionality is radically different, as the Scalzini family is learning from Captain Drew, our charter contact, during our pre-sail brief. One of the big differences is that almost anything will clog a head, resulting in an immediate panic on the part of the boat owner/operator, since un-clogging toilets is the least glamorous and most dreaded job on a boat.

After a run to Publix for groceries, we got underway for Bahia Beach, our destination across Tampa Bay. The weather was supposed to turn rainy and very windy, so we "beat feet" while we had sunny skies and a strong but not overpowering sailing breeze of 18-20 kts. Here we see Captain Greg at the wheel, doing a great job for his first time steering a sailboat under sail. It isn't an easy task, since a sailboat reacts a lot slower than a power boat or a car.  It also tends to slew back and forth around your base course when the winds increase and decrease. Renee was keeping a watchful eye on Her Intrepid Captain...







Although there were three cabins, that belonging to Samantha and Juliana was "Off Limits" to adults without specific permission, as indicated in the sign that lovely Juliana is holding in the photo. Greg took this nautical equivalent of  "No Trespassing" in stride... well, mostly. There were several screams heard when he burst in on the girls to tickle them or give them hugs... It's been a few years since we were around little girls with that much energy, and we still wonder how they keep up such activity from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM without naps! (Please note that we are moored (tied up) pierside in this photo, hence wine glasses are deployed for imminent use; had we been underway, our boats are always "dry" until we are anchored or moored pierside.)

Monday was Samantha's 8th birthday, and she got to open a few presents out in the sunny cockpit of the boat while wearing a very stylish swim suit. Samantha is an avid reader, especially the Rainbow Fairies series.

Meals were interesting... once while Suzanne was preparing dinner, Greg asked if he could help. Suzanne appreciated the offer, but suggested that since this boat's galley (kitchen for you landlubbers) was only big enough for "one-hiney-at-a-time", he could do clean-up instead. That worked out very well, since that dreary job usually falls to Your Intrepid Correspondent... thanks to Greg, I had a few days off... Hoo-Ray! 

Here are Juliana and Samantha posing on the bow of our floating home for four days while tied up to the pier in Little Harbor, Bahia Beach. Because we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, there was a somewhat loud party going on aboard some of the full-timers' boats; "alcohol may have been involved". Fortunately, the noise died down right about sunset, and we had a quiet evening.









 Lest our readers think I was a total boat bum during this holiday afloat, this photo proves that I was indeed hard at work (occasionally) preparing breakfast, in this case gourmet bacon and eggs... and yes, Greg took care of cleanup!

We will file an "after-action report" in the next blog, as well as show you some photos of some of the finest glass art any of us had ever seen. "Watch This Space!"

Swiss Misses; A Birthday Surprise; Alafia River State Park; Guard Dogs; A Very Cool Tree

April is a good time to visit Florida, because the weather is just about perfect. We were happy to welcome two young women from Switzerland on their first visit to The Villages on Tuesday. I met Claudia (on the right) on line while researching hiking in the Alps and staying in huts operated by the Swiss Alpine Club, where she works. She was very helpful in providing information for a trip Suzanne and I are planning to her beautiful country in 2015 or 2016. When I heard she would be visiting Florida in April, we invited her and her friend and traveling companion Elena to stop in for lunch. Claudia is touring the US for 3 months, while Elena only has a month here, but they had a good start, with stops in Miami, Merritt Island and Orlando before arriving in America's Friendliest Hometown. We walked around Sumter Landing after lunch, and Claudia and Elena thought The Villages was a lovely place. But since they are both "underage" and still working, it's unlikely that they will be starting a Swiss Miss Club here in the near future.






As Claudia and Elena were departing, Corvette Chick had to rev up her red C-5 convertible and burn the carbon off her valves; at least that was her excuse for violating Sumter County noise regulations again...

(I have to add a side note here about "meeting Claudia on-line". When I first mentioned to My Lovely Bride that I had invited the nice lady from the Swiss Alpine Club to the house, she looked at me somewhat askance... "Oh, really? I don't suppose she's young, blond and pretty, is she?"  "Uh, I have no idea. I only know her from email." "Okay, Buster, she'd better not be cute." Uh-oh... In all seriousness, she could have been any age, and even might have looked like Cloris Leachman in Young Frankenstein... what are the chances???  I think I'm in trouble... again...)





On Wednesday, we loaded up The Coach and headed south to Alafia River State Park about 30 miles southeast of Tampa. The primary purpose of our trip was to attend a surprise birthday party for Connie England. Her partner John had arranged for Connie's sister Jo Ann, and Connie's daughter Ann, to fly down from Maine. Another sister, Margaret, and her husband Frank, were already in Florida, and would attend as well. We met the family at Spinner's Restaurant in St. Petersburg Beach. Spinner's is a revolving restaurant, and provided remarkable views as well as a fabulous meal. John was the consummate host, and Connie looked lovely, as well as very happy to have her family in town. (I have to thank Joanne for these photos of Connie and Ann, and Connie and John, because all of my photos were either deleted or misfiled when I downloaded them to my computer, and they cannot be found... sigh; this never happened with Kodachrome prints!)

While camping at Alafia River State Park, we decided to try out the mountain biking trails, which are extremely popular and known for some very challenging sections. Here is My Lovely Bride with her new Giant Lust. ("The bike, Smarty Pants.") 

We found the "Easy" trails to be a lot more challenging than at the Santos area trails in Ocala. After 3 sessions on the easy trails, we ventured onto our first intermediate level trail, named North Creek. It was amazing... a real roller coaster ride compared with the flat trails we are used to in Ocala. This was the start of a black diamond side trail; it's hard to see, but the trail drops about 20 feet in a 45 degree slope, with a 15 foot rise after you bottom out. Yikes! (No, we did not try it. Sometimes sanity actually prevails.)





While we were mountain biking, Rudy and Gretchen were guarding The Coach. You can see how any burglar would be terrified by these ferocious hounds...

At the end of the day, we were bushed. At least, I was bushed. The conversation with My Lovely Bride went like this:  MLB: "Sweetheart, let's go for a short hike in the woods after dinner."  Me: "But My Darling, Love of My Life, I am exhausted; couldn't you go hike and I'll have a glass of wine?"   MLB: "Aw, c'mon, Ty, don't be a lazy butt. Get your hiking shoes on and we'll knock out a few miles before dark."  Me: "Yes, Dear..."   Lest you think this was a mere walk in the park, so to speak, the trail she chose paralleled the double black diamond Moonscape mountain biking trail. I think there is a special ward in the local hospital for anyone over 30 who rides Moonscape. Several of the local kids (kids meaning "teenagers") who had ridden that trail were wearing pads on their elbows, knees and shins, and one guy in his 20s had just endo'ed off a wooden bridge and did a face plant in the dirt. But he was still smiling! Here is Suzanne on the trail (note: it is not flat) standing next to an unusual palm tree that I thought I might smuggle out of the park and plant in our front yard... hmmmm.... how to dig it up, carry it out, and fit it into the coach will be my next trick!

A Brilliant Medical Researcher; A Really Long Trip; Disputing the Ball; Photo Quiz Lunch; Lawyers for Dinner?

Here at Blog Headquarters, we are always happy to receive complimentary emails about our blog posts. (Complaints from outraged, disgruntled or otherwise dissatisfied readers are passed to our Circular Filing System Manager for disposition.) One of our obviously very bright and discerning readers (whom we met in person last year at the Center for Spiritual Living in St. Louis) is Kathryn Tristan, a medical researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine, pictured here in her lab/office. The piece of equipment behind Kathryn in the lower photo is a liquid nitrogen tank, in which she keeps her lunch as well as vials of cells, proteins, viruses and various and sundry biological hazards. Kathryn advises that the temperature of her liquid nitrogen tank is about 330 degrees below zero (F), or about the temperature of a sunny Spring day in Coon Rapids, Minnesnowta. Judging by her coffee mug, she prefers warmer climes like Nassau in the Bahamas.






When she's not reading this blog, Kathryn studies how the immune system regulates itself; she also mutates proteins to determine how they react in certain genetically-based disease states. She has most graciously offered to give Your Ever-Inquisitive Correspondent and His Lovely Bride a tour of her lab when we return to St. Louis next year (2015) and even show us the "confocal microscopy" facility that makes a grain of sand look like a penny and peers into the inside of individual cells (see photo at left). This would be "Way Beyond Cool"... thanks, Kathryn - we look forward to seeing you again in St. Louis!

Speaking of research, I am on Mapquest right now planning our summer tour. In particular, I just input Greenville, SC, and Wilmington, NC. The distance to be traveled is 305.77 miles, and the calculated time (based on current traffic) is 8,337 hrs 59 mins. I had hoped to be able to make the drive in about 6 hours, but now I have to plan on 347.416667 days. Leaving on 1 May 2014, we won't arrive until 13 April 2015. I'm not sure we can afford that amount of time, but we have friends in Wilmington that we want to see, so we'll just have to suck it up. Maybe the traffic will be a bit lighter by May 1st.




Spring has arrived here in The Villages... how do I know, since it's almost always warm and sunny here? Well, for one, polo is back! Our local newspaper (AKA "The Happy Paper") advised that the first polo match of this season was played on Sunday. Here is a photo captioned "Disputing the ball". Let's see, you have two thousand pound animals galloping at 30 miles per hour with gals and guys with long mallets pushing each other around while trying to whack the ball into a goal. "Disputing the ball" seems a grossly inadequate phrase...

On a less confrontational note, on Sunday we were able to have lunch with our recent Photo Quiz winners, Steve and Carole Jasper. Steve had the first correct entry identifying the frozen strawberry photo. Our good friends Joyce and Sharon also joined us at Panera; you may recall that Sharon won the Impertinence Award... We had a great time, and fortunately the Panera staff did not eject us for excessively loud laughter.



Finally, the last post title does not refer to feeding lawyers to sharks or piranhas. I am told that because of professional courtesy, man-eating fish will not attack a lawyer. Actually, we were able to reciprocate dinner for several friends, two of whom are lawyers, AKA attorneys, advocates, and ambulance chasers. (Yes, I was able to constrain my desire to tell lawyer jokes, but it was very hard.) Peter is a patent attorney with lots of experience in technical patent applications; his wife Jan is a nutritional adviser, yoga instructor and artist whose beautiful hand-painted scarves are very popular here in The Villages and back in their home state of Michigan. Jan, in fact, gave us the idea to visit the Detroit area; Suzanne will be speaking in their home area in Farmington Hills in May. Lawyer Gail is a public defender in Sumter County; she has more stories than you can imagine... many of which deal with her speeding tickets, but I don't want to overly publicize that aspect of her life...




We were pleasantly surprised when our sweet little Miniature Dachshund Gretchen allowed Gail to hold her; Gretchen even gave her lots of sloppy kisses. (I don't know what it was that Gail had on that made Gretchen kiss her, because we have trained Gretchen as a lawyer-attack dog...)

Sleeping on Air; Citrus Tract Trail (Part 2); Weight Matters; Hobbit-Like Woods; A Gorgeous Visitor; Hello Kitty? An Unexpected Scowl

How long had it been since I slept on an air mattress (a new acquisition, to replace a well-used foam pad), especially a comfortable one? At least 30 or 40 years, I surmised, as I lay cozy in my sleeping bag, to this pre-sunrise view above my tent on the Citrus Tract Trail. It appears hazy because of the mosquito screen that makes up the inner roof of the tent. The outer (detachable) roof, called a "fly", is waterproof. The whole tent only weighs 4 lbs 8 oz, which is pretty light. It won't keep a grizzly bear out, but (a) I wasn't in bear country, and (b) if I had been, I would have brought My Lovely Bride to stand watch during the night while I slept. Smack... Guess she wasn't amused...




 
 

Next came morning ablutions (I've always liked that word; it comes from the Latin ab: away, and luere: to wash), somewhat abbreviated due to the paucity of fresh water... I carry a small Ziploc bag of baby wipes for the purpose. Regular toothbrush and a tiny tube of toothpaste are also in my pack; serious ultralight backpackers will cut off most of the toothbrush to save weight; I'm not quite that anal. Then I fixed a cup of instant coffee (Starbucks Via, almost indistinguishable from fresh-made from ground beans) and a hearty breakfast of granola with a half cup of water to wet it down. (Don't laugh - granola is high in carbs, fat and calories, but not so high in protein; protein bars filled in that gap after an hour of hiking). My Esbit stove and pot combo is an ultra-light 7.5 oz, and uses small fuel tabs that boil a cup of water in under 8 mins. (The only down side is that the fuel tabs have the aroma of rotting fish... YUCK! I have to keep them in double Ziplocs.)



Back on the trail for the rest of my hike, another 12 mile day - feet a bit sore, but that's to be expected. My low-cut Merrell trail boots (the one on the right in the photo) are relatively lightweight at exactly 2 lbs; far lighter than my tougher Asolo mountain boots at 3 Lbs 5 oz, but on this benign and relatively smooth trail, I didn't need high-top boots with heavy lug soles and a steel last. Lots of foot powder kept blisters away, thankfully.

The terrain continued to provide a variety of visual treats. This stand of small twisted trees was kind of bizarro... but not as spooky as....













... this huge Tolkien-inspired oak grove I later encountered. This area could have given one the creeps on a dark, stormy evening. There were no bird songs to be heard, only a light moaning of the wind in the tops of the trees. You almost expected little hobbits to come running from behind the trees...












... or from caves... like this one. The karst (limestone) geological formations here in the Withlacoochee State Forest produce lots of caves and underground streams. It's hard to tell from this photo, taken 50 feet away, but the entrance to this cave is about 3 feet high. I briefly entertained a notion of trying out some spelunking and exploring the cave, but since I was traveling solo, I thought better of the idea.








There were many black and blue Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies (Battus philenor) flitting around during my hike. The first photo (blurry) is one I took of a "fast-mover" on the wing. The second provides much better detail, but is from the Internet. I may have to return next Spring with my good camera to get some better images. The Pipevine Swallowtail takes its name from one of its host plants, the Pipevine (Aristolochia). Pipevines confer a poisonous quality to the larvae and the resulting adults, much as the Monarch butterfly obtains protection by feeding on milkweed.







What a beautiful creature... Nature is truly awesome, and this Pipevine Swallowtail appears to be in perfect order!

Just after my last butterfly encounter, a flash of pink at the side of the trail caught my eye, and I found another sign of humanity... this tiny Hello Kitty barrette. It was heartening to see that there are still some parents who take their kids into the woods for a family hike instead of sticking them in front of TVs to be kept out of the way... Keep up the good parenting!

As I was in the last mile or two of my trip, I spotted another backpacker about a quarter mile ahead, going in the same direction. I would probably have caught up with him, but I encountered four day hikers resting on the side of the trail headed in the direction in which I had just come. I stopped to tell them about the cave and the hobbits' forest ahead. We chatted for almost 15 minutes about hiking and mountain biking. Then they asked whether I knew the backpacker up ahead. I said that I had not yet met him, but hoped to. They said that when they passed, all four had said "Good Morning", but had only gotten an annoyed scowl in reply. That was unfortunate, because hikers are usually friendly folk. We parted, and I thought no more of the other backpacker until I arrived at the campground and started into the rest room. I almost bumped into that guy in the doorway, both of us with backpacks on, and I gave him a friendly, "Howdy; how are you doing?" He scowled and turned away without a word. In all honesty, I have only encountered that negative a reaction a handful of times in my entire life. I think he may have a lot to learn on this earthly plane...


In reflecting on my solo backpacking experience, I was reminded that I was not really alone. I needed to thank My Good Friend and Guide Prudence who dictated that I remain above ground rather than diving into that cave and getting my butt stuck. She is the only feminine presence other than My Lovely Daughter Elisabeth that Suzanne encourages me to travel with out in the woods... Pru doesn't keep me warm at night in the tent, but she does keep me out of trouble. Usually.

Norm Shealy; Off the Grid; One of the "Coolest Places"; Citrus Track Trail (Part 1)

On Saturday, while I was preparing for a big trip, Suzanne was introducing Dr. Norm Shealy at an event sponsored by the Edgar Cayce Group here in the Villages. Norm is a delightful gentleman, a renowned expert in pain management, a pioneer in biogenics, a neuroscientist, and an author of 24 books on medical intuition and energy medicine. I got to meet Norm over lunch at the Arnold Palmer Country Club with Suzanne and good friends Elizabeth, Ann and Gloria. Suzanne really enjoyed his talk, and came back with lots of ideas to try on me when my back pain acted up. (Little did she know how soon she might have to go to work...)





 Your Faithful Correspondent has been "off the grid" for a couple of days... while backpacking and hiking in an area that the World Wildlife Fund rated #1 on its list of "The Ten Coolest Places in North America That You've Never Seen". Where was I? Well, some of the others in WWF's Ten Coolest List were the Torngat Mountains in Labrador/Northern Quebec (maybe one day); Camp Pendleton, CA (been there); Old Rag Mt. in Shenandoah (climbed it); and Klamath-Siskiyou Forests on the border of Oregon and California (going there this summer).





With such really cool places to choose from, maybe I went to Alaska? Maine? Wyoming? Naaahhhh. How about 35 miles from the house in Withlacoochee State Forest, the other side of Inverness, FL? WSF spans over 150,000 acres, but the Citrus Tract (42,500 acres), where I backpacked for two days, is the most popular section. Mature longleaf pine forests predominate here, allowing open vistas and a habitat found nowhere else on earth. As many as 200 species of plants and trees can be found at a single site. A 43 mile loop trail meanders through the woods and prairies, but since rain was forecast during a frontal passage, I limited my trip to two days. (I don't do tents in the rain if I can avoid it.)






My Lovely Bride dropped me and my 35 lb backpack off with a farewell smack (of the amorous kind, fortunately) at the trailhead near Holder Mine Campground, a couple of miles off CR 581. This was typical scenery along the trail on day 1. The orange blaze on the pine tree marked the northern loop of the trail.











Because I wasn't sure if wild turkey hunting season was still open, I hung two small orange towels on my backpack to attempt to convince local hunters that I wasn't a valid target. Fortunately, I later learned that the season had just ended two days earlier. Unfortunately, no one had told the deer, wild hogs and turkeys, all of whom were still hiding out after hearing gunshots all week prior... I didn't see a single large animal during my visit.

There were some wildflowers blooming, like these blue thingies (I'm not a botanist) that brightened up the landscape. Otherwise, the flora varied mostly between pines, oak trees and saw palmetto, with some tall palm trees thrown in for good measure. There were even a few orange trees with fruit high above my reach. (Actually, I wouldn't have picked them in any case, because I follow the Leave No Trace backcountry ethic).

Thankfully, there was almost no sign of humans (i.e., trash) along the entire trail. I had one tragic encounter, though, with this poor fellow who had been buried up to his neck in the middle of the trail. I tried reviving him with CPR, but to no avail. He was a goner. Sadly, I mumbled a few appropriate words over him and returned his body to his resting place. At least his remains are in a scenic spot, and fellow hikers can pay their respects as they travel this beautiful forest.

In researching the trail, I found reference to gophers; although I never saw one above ground, I was advised that their dirt mounds were prevalent through this area, and indeed, here is a set that marked the topside of their underground burrows. Pretty amazing engineering, and lots of exit points to escape predators.

This area has no streams running through it, so it is what backpackers call a dry trail... meaning you have to carry your own water, and at 8.34 lbs a gallon, that adds up quickly. There are two old open cisterns along the trail, but even with a filter, this water wasn't very appetizing. If I lived around here, I could have prepositioned (cached) a water jug like another hiker had in the second photo. But since I was only out for two days, I could get by on what I carried, though I had used every drop by the time I finished my 24 mile trip.

The trail guide had mentioned Five Mile Pond being an "ephemeral water source". That is a euphemism for "almost nonexistent" and "pathetically inadequate", unless you are a wild hog that doesn't mind wallowing in a few inches of wet muck to get your daily dose of water. I declined to wallow, and enjoyed the Gatorade I was sipping, but regretted that there wasn't a clear stream of sweet water flowing nearby.








After five hours and 12 miles of hiking, I was happy to reach Jackson Camp, a primitive (no water, electric hookup, picnic tables, or even cable TV) campsite under a big old gnarled oak tree. I had not seen another hiker all day, pretty amazing for being on a popular hiking trail not too far from civilization. I set up my tent and prepared a gourmet dinner of dehydrated chili mac out of a bag. It doesn't sound that appetizing, but believe me when I tell you it tasted really delicious after a long day afoot.The bag states that there are two portions inside, but there wasn't a drop left when I finished. The bag is handy because you just pour in 2 cups of boiling water, let stand for 9 minutes, and eat out of the bag... no cleanup required, just pack the bag out in your (very small) trash bag. I was a very tired puppy after dinner, so I rigged my lightweight air mattress and sleeping bag and read until 2100 (Mutiny Aboard HMS Bounty, by William Bligh). I fell asleep with the call of a whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus) (and I am not joking, that's his real scientific name) just a few yards away. For those who have not heard the whip-poor-will (a nightjar, which I hadn't heard in many years); here's a link to an audio... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTATW8H8zpQ


The whip-poor-will's song is described as "haunting and ethereal", and is the stuff of legends, especially in New England, where the whip-poor-will is alleged to be able to sense a soul departing, and can capture it as it flees. One Native American legend regards the song as a death omen. James Thurber wrote a short story in which the incessant songs of whip-poor-wills results in maddening insomnia of the protagonist, who then kills everyone in his house, including himself. Fortunately, I was too tired for the whip-poor-will to keep me awake!

Albertans; "I Play Better in the Dark"; Berry Cold; Treed; Ticketed; Reading the Newspaper; Irish Sushi?

You've all heard of the Alberta Clipper, the Arctic air mass that descends from the Canadian Rockies to chill Southern climes... well, we were happy to be the recipients of an Air Canada delivery of two delightful, warm Albertans from Calgary, Marla Simpson and Mike Finch, for a brief visit to sunny, warm central Florida. We met them while stopping to get my computer repaired in Calgary last summer; because our cell phones were turned off while in Canada, My Lovely Bride had been on her computer at a Wendy's (thank you for free Wi-Fi)  looking for a repair shop. There were many listed in the search results, but her guides told her to go to one in particular, MicroTrends. (We have learned to listen to Suzanne's guides.) We drove there, and while I brought my useless computer inside to be fixed, Suzanne walked the puppies... about 30 feet, where she discovered Self Connection, a really cool metaphysical book store. They allowed dogs, so MLB, Rudy and Gretchen were chatting with Marla and Mike when a shriek came from the back of the store. Seems that a little girl had almost fallen over Briggs, a 140 lb. German Leonberger that was the real owner of the store. Leonbergers are known as Gentle Lions or Gentle Giants, and the girl was unhurt, only shaken by stumbling into the canine version of a Sherman tank.

Suzanne was so impressed by Marla and Mike (hereafter called "the M&Ms") that she invited them to visit us in The Villages, and when they called to say that they would be stopping by, we were thrilled. We borrowed My Good Friend Bob's 4-seater golf cart, and took the M&Ms on a driving tour of America's Friendliest home town. They were particularly impressed by our two polo fields and grandstand; I had to look up the actual dimensions (300 yds x 160 yds, each). They laughed when I described the half-time tradition of "divot stomping" while sipping champagne, and I suggested they return next year to try it out. The M&Ms were also impressed by the reasonable home prices here, about half of what they might be in Calgary; but then, when you have to pay for 11 months of serious snow removal up there, your amenities fees have to be astronomical. We would like to see the M&Ms move south to TV; barring that, we expect to see them next summer in Calgary, where Suzanne will have an event at their store. See their web site at www.selfconnection.ca.




After a grilled salmon dinner, cooked but regrettably not caught by Your Faithful Correspondent, Suzanne held a small Sanaya session here at the house. It was a good opportunity for our Heart Circle to meet the M&Ms and enjoy their company. After Sanaya's messages, we sat and chatted and laughed for an hour; I have to relate the following quote from one member of the Heart Circle who shall remain anonymous - it produced some raucous laughter - "I play better in the dark..." she was actually referring to an annual golf match played under the stars with glow-in-the-dark balls, but the way it came out was a thinly-veiled double entendre. (Thank you, Donna, for the best quote of the evening...)

Okay, the Photo Quiz the other day was correctly identified by several readers as a frozen strawberry. The earliest email came from Steve Jasper, so Steve and Carole will get lunch with Corvette Chick and The Bruised Bicyclist. Thanks to all of you readers across the country (especially my Navy shipmate Dale from La Otto, Indiana) for your submissions, and also to Dr. Elsa, whose "marks left by edible bivalve mollusks on colored grated ice" wins Honorable Mention (and lunch!) for scientific creativity. Lady Sharon of TV gets the Impertinence Award (and lunch) for her answer of "looks like YFC's boo-boo with one of Suzanne's fingernails in the wound". Sharon, really...

One of the neat things about this contest for MLB and I is getting to meet/renew acquaintances with so many great people!







On a w-a-l-k in t-o-w-n with Rudy and Gretchen, our two little fearless Dachshunds treed this specimen of Sciurus carolinensis, the Eastern Gray Squirrel. It was particularly gratifying because the encounter was in Sumter Landing, just over two miles from the house. Now that trees in our area are maturing, more wildlife (okay, rodents) are moving in. The puppies love chasing squirrels! And for the PETAphiles in the audience, "No, we do not allow our Rudy and Gretchen to catch and eat the rodents in question..."












While getting a cup of coffee in Spanish Springs the other day, I observed one of Lady Lake's finest motorcycle officers writing two tickets to grandmothers who had not brought their golf carts to complete stops at stop signs in the town square. While fully supporting traffic safety, I also suspect that the income stream provided by nabbing retired folks in golf carts making "California stops" has become more rewarding to our local constabulary than reducing serious crime like drug sales, meth labs and car theft. It's certainly easier for the fearless officer involved, because all he had to do is sit on his bike at the intersection and pull over senior after senior... raking in fines and meanwhile saving scarce fuel dollars for the Lady Lake Town Treasury... sheesh!

Another unbelievable sight was this lady sitting in her car calmly reading her newspaper... in the middle of the parking lot of our mailboxes! I very politely asked her if her car had broken down... she looked at me rather condescendingly and replied, "No, I'm reading my newspaper." Okaaaayyyyy....







Finally, I had a comment from Jan Smith related to our sushi event in Orlando. Seems that Jan, while out for dinner on March 17th, ordered a St. Patty's Roll at a local sushi bar here in The Villages (NOT our favorite, which is VKI, by the way). Jan reports that the roll was "pretty bland"... Jan, really, Irish Sushi????  I'm trying to imagine the ingredients... potatoes, turnips and Guinness? I can't imagine anything less appetizing, except maybe Haggis sushi on Burns Night... yuck!