Back to Star Mt.

Magic times at Star Mt. How lovely it is to be back. Life feels so normal here and peaceful. In town it's a bit different - masks on and social distancing. Our little area was hit hard by the virus and all precautions are in place. Numbers are small right now and have not gone back up so far - crossing fingers.

Flap

Saw Flap the very first day we were back. So happy to see her. Quite the elderly doe at this point - at least 12 years old. Good for her Lots of animals out and about: deer,elk, grouse, plus a first time visit from a bear dumped over  community trash bins. Hummingbirds came back right away and we have had to put up all four feeders. Could be a busy summer.

Flowers are out two weeks early this year. "Normal" winter and snowfall so hard to say why.

A lot of trout were delivered to our community pond. We lost all the previous fish over the winter, just as we had the winter before. Sad. We have already deepened the pond so next is probably an aerator. Feeding the newly arrived fish for a couple weeks lands in our lap.  It's  kind of semi nasty pellets - just ground up other fish, corn meal, and who knows...

We happened to arrive in Crested Butte at the very moment the graduation car parade started. All graduations everywhere are a strange affair in this time of the virus. Crested Butte school is a national award winning one and has a graduating class of 45. Small town living.

Dusky Grouse

Thrilled to be here even if it means outdoor celebrations are cancelled and visitors are few and far between. Nature rules here and it's gorgeous.

Musings and time to go back to Star Mountain

Another month has gone by since I posted. March and April were the slowest two months of my life - was it the same for everyone else?

We leave next week for Star Mt. as second home owners are now let back in with no restrictions. Excited to get there but a bit anxious about the trip. Oh yes, it's flying and a rental car and masks. Sounds like a party right?

Summer heat has arrived in Naples which means no more sliders open to the fresh air but the crowds have mostly left so things are quiet. We do have some stragglers staying for some unknown time as their northern homes are still reeling in a big way from COVID-19.  We just ventured out for our first restaurant meal in months. A favorite sushi place at an outside table. They took our temperature as we walked in. First time for that but I think we better get used to it.

Our beaches are open, sort of. They did open, then closed (due to a giant pile of Miami people racing over since their beaches were still closed), and have no reopened with big restrictions. Strict enough I don't care to go. No chairs, no umbrellas, no coolers. Soooo not much to do except walk and I'd rather do my morning walk in my neighborhood.

Since I posted our new grandson Braden James was born. Happily everything went well (super fast) and all is good. Joy for these times. We have 4 grandkids now (3 girls, 1 boy)  - amazing!

All photos are from times before. It gives me a warm feeling and optimism for the future - hope it does for you as well. Be well be safe. Until next time.

Life in a time of global crisis

An entire month has gone by since I posted and the world is not what it was. Will we ever get back to "normal"? Most of the photos I'm posting are not current, some from a while ago when life was different. Nature continues on in her magnificence...

In the small creature world our big news is Lenny (our "pet" lizard) has vacated the premises. He stole away in the dead of night slipping out under our pool cage screen door. He had been alternating spending time in his koi fish and sitting with us on the outdoor lounge sofa for an afternoon cocktail for weeks now. And then she arrived. That's Lenny on the inside of our screen and she is on the outside. They started spending a lot of time trying to bond through that darned screen. We believe in a heated frenzy, Lenny realized he had to leave our home to be with his lady love. Adios and good luck Lenny...

So we walk as the sun comes up in what is now a steamy mess in the mornings. We are doing proper social distancing of course, which is easy that early. Mark is still able to play golf but for me this is the outing of the day.

More previous beach photos which fill me with longing. Still off limits at this point. And for the record, I'm in the camp of caution when it comes to "opening back up". We've been scared to death over this virus and I'm not about to start jumping into large groups of people in restaurants or stores. The grocery store run is enough to give me anxiety for a couple hours.

This is where we will hopefully be in a month. The mountains are calling. Our state and more importantly, our county, has banned second homeowners from coming back (which is us).

Lots of cooking, lots of internet surfing, lots of Netflix, some writing, walking, bits of yoga on YouTube, daily meditation, and some wringing of hands over the global situation. I have posted on my other author website while ignoring this one, if you care to have a look.... GretchenLeeAdams.com   Stay safe and be well.

Photos from a happier time

As I write this we are in the midst of a national and world crisis unlike anything seen before. I'm late as usual posting on the blog and my photos and story happened before everything exploded and shut down. It truly seems like 6 months ago. So these are photos from some happy moments and not irresponsible behavior photos - just sayin'.

Sherry and I made the most of our free time while the guys were playing in Mark's member/guest golf tournament and no photos of the guys made it into this post. They were busy off on their own. This was a spectacular setting for a dinner on the beach at Turtle Club, a long time restaurant and resort. The food and service were also amazing. Thanks Sherry for the treat - loved it so much!

Both Edison and Ford had massive wrap around porches. 

Next, we went exploring to the Edison and Ford winter estates just north of us. A beautiful piece of property overlooking the water that Edison built on, followed by Ford at Edison's invitation. Many buildings including a separate office for Edison to invent more amazing things. His legacy (and Ford's) is long lasting.

Another day trip was to the Koreshan state park. This was a religious order that was cult like without the koolaid component that peaked at 300 people. The founder Teed died in 1907 and the group gradually died out with the last remaining resident deeding the whole property (300 acres) to the state of Florida. Lots of buildings including a machine shop and bakery. The building above housed the seven women who governed the day to day activities (called the Planetary Court) Teed believed in equality of the sexes and communal ownership among other things. Interesting place to visit.

And lastly, this is Lenny. Lenny is a lizard who lives around our pool. Lenny likes to spend a great deal of time inside this metal decorative koi. Every afternoon he races over and hops in the mouth and gets himself situated. I felt he deserved a name...
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Please be safe and stay healthy in these perilous times. We will get through this to better days.

Road Trip: Hilton Head, Charleston, and St. Augustine

Rainy Charleston

A great week was had golfing in Hilton Head, visiting Tiffany and family in Charleston, and a last night in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the U.S. (1565) despite some chilly and rainy weather. We decided to do the driving thing rather than fly. Kind of a nice change.

Stayed at Inn at Harbour Town. Beautiful place and great golf courses. We got to catch up with old Maryland friends which was really nice. We moved in 2008 - a long time ago now...

Practicing holding breath

fantastic new library close to their house

Super quick visit to Charleston but got to check in on the Walker family. Busy bunch - swim lessons for Juliet, library visit, school activities galore. I love everything about their area - marvelous place to raise a family.

Casa Monica in St. Augustine. Right in the middle of the historic downtown area. All things Spanish including this kind of Moroccan theme.

Museums and churches on every corner. They've done a great job preserving the old.

The historic fort that protected the city. Pretty amazing it's still standing. Oldest masonry fort in the U.S. with construction beginning in 1672 finishing 23 years later.

I'd say we're settling down but boy, the schedule seem awfully packed. Company coming and Mark has two fishing trips scheduled with friends in a few weeks. He's definitely making the most of this newly retired life. Not complaining for sure...