Tuesday, March 5, 2019

All Is Well


This is how a photo of the Wakulla River came out today. Just a simple snap! as the old metal jungle tour boat started gliding away from the dock and down the river. I think it is rather lovely.

Dinner went fine. My husband's old friend is a laid-back, mellow guy as very tall men so often are. He is hugely nostalgic but not in a mourning the glory days sort of way. More in the way that he appears to still have a lot of love for the people whom he knew and loved back in the old days of being young and playing ball, first for Auburn and then in Europe. He brought pictures and he and Mr. Moon had a great time going over them, remembering, sharing stories and memories. They were happy. And I was glad for that.
The wife is a fine woman. She is the mother of two and also the grandmother of five. She and her husband have always been extremely family-centered and they still are. She and I are not much alike although she, too, was a nurse and yes, a mother and now a grandmother. I have a feeling that our lifestyles are a bit different but I felt comfortable showing her my house which, even if there is mold and a lot of it needs painting and the floor goes downhill in the kitchen, I think is dignified and beautiful and welcoming and cozy and I am proud of it.
When I was cooking, I asked her if they had any food allergies.
"Oh, no," she said. "I'm just very allergic to cats."
Even as she spoke she was about to sit down on the towel I keep on one of the bar stools in the kitchen for Maurice to sleep on.
"Wait! Don't sit down!" I said. "Here, take a Benadryl!"
And she did. She seemed to be fine. It was not a big deal.
We ate our supper and I think everyone was happy with it and made our plans to go to Wakulla Springs the next morning. I take everyone from out of town to Wakulla Springs because I think it has a little bit of all of the best of this part of Florida. Some outrageously beautiful untouched nature as well as the lovely old lodge with its dining room that has absolutely terrific, local food which is representative of a uniquely Florida menu.
And so we went today and as always, it was lovely.


Here's the lobby of the lodge with its pecky, painted cypress ceiling, its marble floor, its cool old furniture and the graceful iron arched windows. You can see the dining room entrance at the end of the room. 


This is one of the iron herons that form the balusters beside the stairs guests take to their rooms on the second floor. 

We ate fried green tomatoes with a sriracha mayo sauce and goat cheese and greens and smoked mullet dip as a shared appetizer and between the four of us there was a grouper sandwich, a Cobb salad, a Beekeeper's salad which had shrimp and greens and pasta and a delicious orange/honey/poppyseed dressing, and an order of shrimp and grits. 
Fresh and delicious and soul-satisfying. 
And then we took the jungle boat cruise which I have probably done at least twenty times with family, with school classes, with visitors. And I never, ever wish I hadn't gone. It's always beautiful. Today we saw so many types of birds and we saw manatees, including a small baby, spider lilies, ancient cypress trees, turtles, gators and the beautiful clear water (not as clear as it used to be) that boils out of the spring head beneath the high dive at the rate of 300 million gallons a day. 
It is a holy place. 
I loved our guide and boat driver. She was small but mighty and she knew her birds and her trees and where we would probably see the most gators. 


I am a terrible nature photographer but here's one fairly large gator, sunning himself on the river bank. As our guide explained, those bumps on his back are called scoots and are essentially solar panels which collect the sun's heat and distribute it through the body. Every time I take this tour I learn something new although I generally forget what I've learned before we even dock to depart the boat so each new journey down the river and back is educational for me. 

And then we drove back to Lloyd where I was dropped off and our guests drove back to Tallahassee where they are staying and Mr. Moon drove in to town behind him as they are all meeting up to go to a basketball game which of course you know I am not attending. 
I'm here at home, making a birthday cake for our darling Rachel. It is her birthday tomorrow and we are meeting up at Persis, the Indian buffet to celebrate her. She is doing so well in her new job and it is a job that is making a difference in people's lives and I fall a little more in love with her each day. How fortunate we are to have her in our lives now and for her to let us be a part of her life. We love her more than she can know. 

So. In one more bit of chicken news, Dearie has also disappeared and I feel certain that she, too, is sitting on eggs. 
People. This means that I have at least two hens on eggs and possibly three. Do you remember that Dearie's first hatched clutch amounted to ten babies? 
Oh for god's sake. 
Can you spay a hen? 
Well, at least I won't have to be giving the Farm and Tractor Supply store any of my money for chicks this spring nor will I have to have a pack-n-play in my bathroom with peeps in it. Whatever chicks are hatched from these mothers will have full reign of the yard and coop from their birth because I'm just going to totally let those jungle fowl have their mama way with their babies. 
Speaking of which, I feel certain that our visitors from Chicago now know far more about chickens than they ever wanted to know. It's like I'm obsessed with chickens or something. 
Or something. 

Time to go make the frosting. 

Love...Ms. Moon


27 comments:

  1. So glad things seemed to go well with the visitors, what a great day. I personally love homes that have interesting, eclectic stuff! There’s more life to them than the staged, all perfect ones. I also have some religious statue guys although I don’t do religion, I just like them hanging around, also collecting dust. Good luck with the chickens, and Happy Birthday to Rachel!

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    1. Thanks, Ms. Stillwaters. If you like eclectic, you'd love my house! I don't know why I'm so drawn to madonnas but the fact is that I am.

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  2. Happy Birthday to Rachel! What kind of cake are you making for her?

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    1. Well, it was SORT of a hummingbird cake. One of the prettiest cakes I ever made and one of the least delicious. Goes to show...

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  3. I may be a little obsessed with your chickens too:)

    Glad you had a good day with your guests.

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  4. So glad all went well with the folks from Chicago, The birthday celebration will be lovely.

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    1. The birthday celebration was a lot of fun. Kids and food and cake and presents. Hard to beat.

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  5. I take the river cruise at Blue Spring State Park whenever I can. I love it - and it seems it is just like the one you take. Go chickens!!!

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  6. I'm glad it was a pleasant visit. what will you do with ll the roosters yet to be?

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    1. Oh, Ellen. I don't know. The very thought is overwhelming and depressing.

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  7. I'm glad the visit went so well. That lodge looks amazing and I want to go there and have a Beekeepers salad and take the jungle tour. Well, I hope this new batch of chicks has more hens than roosters for you.

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    1. I think you should definitely visit Wakulla Springs! It's really a treasure.
      And your lips to god's ear about those roosters.

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  8. Glad the visit went well. I'm sure you've posted pictures of that lodge before, but it looks so amazing. I really need to check out Wakulla Springs sometime. It's one of many places in the panhandle that I've never visited.

    As for the chickens, can you sell the baby chicks back to the farm store? Is that an option? My brother used to do that with gerbils!

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    1. You'd love Wakulla, Steve. So many things worth photographing both around the lodge and on the river. And there are hiking trails! You need to come and spend a few days in Lloyd.
      Nah, I don't think the Farm and Tractor would take chicks. They have to come from a reputable dealer, I do believe.

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  9. Glad the dinner went well. It would have been a little late for finding out about food allergies!

    Your trip tp Wakulla Springs sounds very lovely.

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    1. Well...I thought I'd at least ask about the allergies!

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  10. I'm glad you had a pleasant time with your Chicago visitors. This is old home week, with Steve seeing old peace corps friends, mr moon old college friends, and me having a house guest this week from my growing up paddington terrace days. We're all getting a glimpse of who we used to be be, and maybe still are.

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    1. That's such an interesting insight!
      Funny how we in the blog world seem to share the same things at the same time so often.

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  11. Honey, I' d love to sit on your cat haired towel and hang with you in the kitchen.
    Anytime.

    XX Beth

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  12. A few years ago our son decided to raise chickens for the eggs and to butcher and sell. Then he bought some goats to breed and sell the meat and milk. He hasn't butchered a thing! His goats and chickens are named, and his ex-girlfriend has visitation privileges!

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  13. That cracks me up tremendously. Best laid plans...

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  15. Hey, your boat guide plays on one of my favorite trivia teans. Also, Ed Adair is her uncle.

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