Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Joy Of Being Retired


I got up early today for no known reason but still waited until it got hot to take my walk. I'm so perverse. I think it got up to about 97 here today. Happy first day of Fall, y'all! 

The wild flowers beside the sidewalk are going crazy right now. I can actually smell a sweet scent from the Bidens Alba, there are so many blooms. I had never smelled them before. 


I took a picture of the house that the line of hurricane lilies is marching up to. 


A few years ago it looked like someone was working on it but whatever plan had been in mind appears to now be abandoned. The fence and gate were put in and some work was done on some steps on the side but that was it. 
Here's another abandoned house that I pass when I walk. 


Can you see it back there? The blooms of the cardinal vine are taking up all the glory, I believe. I adore those flowers. They are so very scarlet, so very perfect in their shape and design. 


Even their foliage delights me. They are part of the morning glory family. 

The sky was faded-Levis blue today. I do not believe there has been one cloud all day long. We are dry. I am having to water my garden which is coming along. I already need to weed and I definitely need to mulch. I am telling myself I will wait for a few days for the weather to get a little more temperate. And speaking of weather- there is a "tropical wave" that even my favorite and definitely non-alarmist meterologist is watching that looks to be entering the Caribbean and then possibly the Gulf in the next few days. Early spaghetti models show it heading directly towards the Florida panhandle but of course, it may not even develop into a hurricane at all. Still. Mr. Moon is making plans to go to a high school reunion in Nashville week after next and I keep reminding him that there is no way in hell he's leaving if there's a storm headed this way. 
He knows that but of course I feel the need to reinforce that information. 

My anxiety ramped down a bit today as if my mind and body know that I can only take so much. I am grateful for that. Mr. Moon, however, has a thousand niggling things fighting for his attention and he is the one who needs a little special attention, I think. So after my walk I suggested that we go down to the river this afternoon for a cool-off and a slow-down. 
He immediately agreed that this is what was needed. 

When we got there, there were four women and a toddler and they appeared to be a family to me. Possibly sisters, and they were all bikini'ed, all beautiful, and the mother of the child had a lovely round belly that foretold a sibling for that little girl soon. 
But besides them, the whole place was almost empty and it was peaceful and quiet. When they packed up and left, it was just us, a fisherman, and a couple at the far end of the beach who did not have swimming on their minds. 


So much shade, and all for us! 




No children squabbling, no teen-agers being teen-agers, no beer-drinking guys telling fishing stories, no one jumping from the rope swing. Just...peace.


This is what the water looks like when it is undisturbed by the little feet of children and their mamas and daddies and grandmamas. So clear. 

We cooled off in the cold water and rested under the cypress tree simply sitting in the quiet, the breeze, the sweetness of almost-solitude. The couple I mentioned (you can see them, maybe, leaning on a picnic table to the right of that aluminum stairway at the far back of the picture) were, I am certain, clandestine lovers. I did not stare at them. They were there for privacy, but I could hear the sweet, low voice of the woman as he held her. 
I so wonder what their story might be. 

And now we are home, our bodies cooled, our souls less restless. We do not have to be clandestine lovers, this man and I. We are long-timers in the game and as such, appreciate with all of our hearts being at a place in our lives where we can say, "Let's go to the river!" and do just that, and then come home to where we live and where we love. 
Together. 

Love...Ms. Moon




30 comments:

  1. That's a lyrical account of a lovely day. It reads like a gentle picture book!

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  2. Those abandoned houses look so intriguing. Do you know who owns them and I assume someone has to be paying taxes on them/land? They make for great pictures and oh, I bet they could tell some stores!
    The river looked so serene and peaceful....and inviting. Of course, leave it to me, I'd be worried about alligators and water snakes. Have you ever seen any there? The cardinal vine blooms are stunning.
    Paranormal John

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    1. Someone must own them. I have heard that the house behind the cardinal vine belongs to the people who live closest to us to the west. The Trump sign people. I was told that they bought the house to keep out undesirables but I have no idea if that's true.
      There was indeed an alligator there but I could not get a picture out of it. Anywhere there's a river or a lake in Florida, there will probably be alligators. As you know! Sometimes they even swim in the surf. I've never seen it but I have heard first-hand reports. As for the snakes- we rarely see those except when we are paddling as water moccasins are abundant. I hate those things. I'd rather face a gator. Maybe.

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  3. Your writing in this post moves along like a soft cool breeze - the photos are stunning, particularly the water and of course the red flowers that look like advanced kindergarten, happy, so RED, and simple. WOW I would grow those and only those! Thank you for the lovely time.

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    1. I am wondering if those vines are invasive. If not, I would surely like to grow them on a fence in my yard. Who wouldn't love them? They seem to shout, "Hey! I'm a cool flower!"

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  4. It got at least that hot here today but no river to go cool off in. Not that there isn't a river but this little town does not have any kind of access to the water, the banks are very steep. Why do people abandon houses? If they don't want to live in them then sell them, not just walk away.

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    1. Well, I don't know about the abandoned houses. See my answer to Anonymous (Paranormal John) above about why one of them may be empty. If that story is true, the people who own it can't even keep their own house up. It's looking very bad these days. They are about our age but have many health problems and not much money. Someone does mow the grass around the other house. I suspect that people plan to restore them at some point. But then they never get around to it. Who knows?

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  5. what a glorious day you had, and lovely photos. Love that Cardinal Vine.......I sigh at your account of your day.......just divine! We are getting very hot again, unfortunately......ugh. Poor Calif. .......dry, hot, offshore winds......alas, seems like an endless summer. We don't usually have the humidity you do, but the heat seems relentless this year and neither my body nor my psyche like it.
    Susan M

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    1. Too much heat for too long is definitely not good for humans. Okay for lizards, not for us. I sure hope you guys catch a break soon.

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  6. I could feel my stress levels decreasing as I read your words. What a beautiful way to spend a late summer/early autumn day.
    I am intrigued by the number of abandoned houses and how quickly the bush seems to take them back. You do live in an amazing place.

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    1. It's pretty jungly here. Not exactly like in the tropics. We are sub-tropical, but we have so many vines and plants and trees that just grow wherever they can.

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  7. Oh how lovely! I spent a day puttering today, reading, cleaning, baking. It felt wonderful to be retired, even if it is chilly and rainy. Tim came home to his favorite meal, and I figured out how he could watch his Steelers on television tonight. It's a peaceful happy day here, too.

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    1. I do love those ordinary days of peace and general serenity, doing whatever I want to. Just- such a sweet sort of perfection.

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  8. The pretty red flowers almost were transported to the river and dropped down to make the lovely concentric circles. Good night until tomorrow.

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    1. I think those circles are made by little minnows. There were lots of tiny bream in the water too. If I were a little fish, I would want to live there.

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  9. I have never seen cardinal vines before ... the color is amazing!
    It's been a lazy day here, too!

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    1. Wouldn't that be the best color for a nail polish?

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  10. I love your trips to the river and how they cool and calm. The house behind the cardinal vines looks sorely in need of attention. Perhaps someone will buy it, fix it and fill it with children.

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    1. I wish someone would bring some children around here. There are none directly near us. They've all grown up!

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  11. What a lovely day out. Having the river (almost) all to yourselves and just enjoying each other's company!

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    1. Yes. It's such a good thing for us to take the time to do things together like that.

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  12. That water looks so clear and beautiful. And I'm sure you've blogged the cardinal vine before, and I'm sure I've also said this before, but I swear I have never seen that plant. It IS amazing!

    I always wonder about interesting people I see out and about. What's their story?!

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    1. Oh, I know I must post a picture of that vine every year. Still- isn't it wonderful?
      And yes- is there anything more interesting than the stories of others?

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  13. You certainly know how to make the best of a beautiful day. Sounds perfect and you describe it so nicely.
    Those red star flowers are lovely!

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    1. It was a wonderful day. Honestly, it was. Lots of sweetness.

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  14. All my working life I wanted to retire, but when I got there I just couldn't do it. I think I need to take a leaf from your book (blog?) and relax more. One day and I will but I worry that it may then be too late. Meanwhile....

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  15. Such sweet solitude by the river, with all the summer revelers back in school. I would have been making up a story about the lovers too.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.