Winter in Florida
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A pot of chili to warm us on a cold evening
On the news the other day, they mentioned that so far this has been the coldest winter in over 10 years in Florida. I guess that is why many here are complaining. To me, the weather in December and January has been perfect. It feels like Fall which is my favorite season. The evenings are cool and we have had a few cold nights where the temperature got down to 32 degrees. Even with those cold nights, for the most part, the days have been sunny and warmed up to the high 60’s or low 70’s. Even with a few cooler, rainy days, we can’t complain. We don’t have to shovel snow or deal with driving in snow or ice, so I am happy!
One of many campfires
We have a fire ring now and they allow campfires here so we have enjoyed relaxing by the fire on many cool evenings. Another thing that reminds me of fall. I love the smell of a campfire and it feels so good when there is a chill in the air. A campfire always seems to attract others which has also helped us to meet some of our neighbors. We have met a few nice couples who stopped by to chat and enjoy the fire with us. Unfortunately, most of those that we met were only here for a couple of weeks so they have moved on but since they mostly camp at Thousand Trails, there is a good chance we will run into them again in the future.
A few drinks by the fire also help keep us warm
Covid is still impacting us going out to do much as cases have been pretty high and hospitals are very busy in this area so we are mostly hanging around the RV park. We have tried to go somewhere about once a week where we can be outside and stay distant. When it first started getting colder, we headed back over to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park to see if the manatees were at the springs. This park doesn’t seem to get as many manatees into the springs as some others but it isn’t far and is free with our Florida State Park pass so we went. There were a few manatees in the springs and many more out in the river but we couldn’t see those well. There were other people in boats and kayaks who had a much better view of the manatees, but we did have fun watching a mom and baby swimming around in the springs and saw a few more near the inlet from the river. They rescue injured manatees at this park and we got to see those ones up close. I love the manatees and feels so bad when you see their scars. Tim was surprised that we could see scars on almost all of the ones that we saw. Very sad. Of course, we walked around and watched the other animals at the park as well. All in all, a very enjoyable day.
Had to get a cheesy pic!
Mom and baby at the Springs
It is a little hard to see but there were many fish in the springs
Rescues
A few more manatees at the inlet
Between Christmas and New Year’s, I wanted to find a place to see Christmas lights. There weren’t any big drive through displays close to us but I was able to find a walk through display at Venetian Gardens, in Leesburg. They had a light show set to music. We decided to check it out and got there a little before 6 PM. The show started at 6 and there were a few people gathering to see it on one side of the park near a bridge. We walked over to the other side of the park and found a walkway lined with stones carved with Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. As we were walking around that loop reading the quotes, the lights started coming on in the trees surrounding us. We ended up being right in the center of the display which was quite magical. The lights danced all through the trees to various Christmas songs for about 30 minutes and then the same show started over again. What a great show. The music was louder right under trees and we were surrounded by the lights. We walked over to the other side of the park and the light show was definitely prettier when you were farther back by the bridge where you could see the entire display. It was definitely a good place to see the lights and feel some Christmas magic.
A view of the lake from Venetian Gardens
Christmas magic
The lights across the lake reflected perfectly in the water.
We had a quiet New Year’s Eve and had Sue and Greg over for New Year’s Day. I made pork tenderloins and sauerkraut and Sue brought pierogis so we started the near year with a delicious meal. I always heard that eating pork on New Year’s Day brings you luck, so hopefully it does. We could all use some after 2020.
For Christmas, I bought Tim a dart board with plastic tip darts so it is safe to play in the RV. We decided to try it out while we had guests so we set it up outside for some competitive fun in the afternoon. I don’t know if any of us was really good; these darts are definitely different than what we are used to but I can say I was as bad as I am with regular darts! As is usual, I didn’t take any pictures. I am really bad at that when we are having fun with family and friends. I guess I don’t want to take my focus away from enjoying the time we have with them to take pictures. For blogging, I guess I have to get better at taking pictures.
After the holidays, we decided to check out another local nature park, Bourlay Historic Nature Park in Leesburg. Although you access the park near the center of downtown, the property feels fairly isolated and was quiet. We were the only people there the morning that we went, so the only noises we heard were the birds. There were a few loop trails in the park and while none were really long, we were able to move from one loop to the next so we walked a few miles in the park. It was similar to other preserves that we have visited although this one is along a lake so part of the trails provide great views of the lake.
As we settled into January, our days have become a bit routine similar to last winter. I am doing a fairly good job of walking every day and riding my bike a few days every week. Unfortunately, Tim’s bike is in the shop so he can’t ride along and last week, I had a tire blowout on my bike. UGH! We will provide more details of our bike issues and some more RV repairs that we have had to make in the next blog entry.
