Another day without wifi or DSL. Yesterday Skip went with me to the YMCA, South on the Tamiami Trail branch, can't remember its correct name. Anyhow I signed up for a month, great discount because I belong to the Y in Montclair. I didn't even mention that I also belong to the Y on Martha's Vineyard. Perhaps I could have managed a double discount. Oh, well.
Skip read the newspaper in the sun, in the car, although there are lots of great benches around, while I tried Yoga Fit, 10:30 - 11:30 Monday mornings. It was more Fit than Yoga. No time to breathe between positions. I am fit enough to do it, but I came out of the place thinking I'd like to relax a little. Very fast transition between poses and difficult poses. Full Chatarangas - holding yourself, hovering really over the floor in a plank or pushup like position. That isn't so bad, but jumping from that to Downward Dog, to Child's Pose. By the time I was gently slipping into Child's Pose I was being instructed into low lunge, Warrior One, Warrior Two, etc. etc. So I survived it fine. I'm fit, but I was not relaxed, as I said.
Today Skip went with me to the Y on our way to see a Gastroenterologist as follow up after his hospitalization in January. His plan was to sign up for a week at the Y, try out a few classes to see if he wanted to sign up for a month. At the last moment he opted to read the paper in the car and conduct business with the office on his cell phone. I went into Qi Gong for the hour. Alena is still teaching it. Very relaxing and restorative. All that energy collecting and weight shifting. Met a woman from Marion, MA. She and her husband retired there about 6 years ago. She moved to go into business with her daughter, but the business failed after two years, so they put a second story on their "Summer" house and there they are - retired in Marion and spending time in Sarasota. I saw a couple of familiar faces from the Qi Gong classes I attended a year ago, but I certainly didn't remember any names. Alena remembered my face, not my name. Same here.
Perhaps Skip and I will try again Thursday. There is a Gentle Yoga class I think he might enjoy and he thinks he might enjoy it. If not there is a great place to bicycle near by. In fact on Monday, was that just yesterday? we left the Y, driving North back toward Siesta Key. I spotted a ton of turtles sunning themselves on the far bank of what looked to me to be a man-made pond. There is a great empty parking lot near the, unfortunately, defunct movie theater and large empty building whose business didn't survive the latest economic downturn. The Sears seems fine. I think there is a Dillard's, a Macy's, maybe, possibly a Saks Fifth Ave, and other smaller stores in the Westfield Mall, I think it's called. A similar mall exists a few miles up the Tamiami Trail. Haven't been in either so far this trip.
Anyway, there were at least 30 turtles, sunning themselves on the bank, of various sizes. They had yellow stripes under their chins. Their backs were covered in green moss so it was difficult to tell just what kind of turtle they were. If I saw them in NJ I would call them painted turtles, but we are in Florida, so who knows. A few were pretty big. Of course I had my binos with me, but Skip did not have his. We took turns looking at the turtles, noticed the very empty parking lot and then I drove along the "pond." I stopped almost next to some Fulvous Whistling Ducks, always a good find. Something I've never seen up North. Also in this little water retention area, which had a lot of green vegetation, looking like lilly pads. I have no idea about plants. If my friend Marie, who died last Summer, had been there, back when she had all her faculties - when she was in her 80's, not so much in her 90's, she would have rattled off the names of everything growing, plus the birds. Latin and common names for the plants. But Marie is not with us anymore and I had to simply call them lily pads.
In the lily pads were Moorhen, Blue-winged teal, a Great Egret, a Tricolor Heron, a Little Blue heron, some ducks that looked like Mallards, but could be Mottled Ducks here. Also some Black Duck looking ducks. I remembered my binos, but left my bird book back at the Condo.
I drove back along the pond. As I approached the end of the "pond," probably as long as a football field I heard and Skip heard a crunching sound under the tires. "What was that," Skip asked. "Something plastic," I responded. I parked. Got out of the car to look at a pied-billed grebe. Suddenly a large brown bird flew into the marsh grass. "A Limpkin", I shouted. A bird I like to see once a year. A very Southern sighting.
It was shortly after the Limpkin landed when I looked down at the tarmac to see what sort of plastic I had driven over. Lo and Behold (don't use that phrase very often) there were my Bolle sunglasses in pieces. Those were the sunglasses I couldn't believe I spent $100 for many years ago. I "had" to have them when I was playing Paddle Tennis. A member of the Paddle Team just had to have these glasses because the green lenses highlighted the bright yellow ball and did make it easier to see. After trying someone else's glasses I did see the advantage of wearing them, although paying the price for them nearly killed me.
The glasses have lasted me over ten years. They have two sets of lenses, green and brown. I was wearing the brown set of lenses last Summer while I pushed the gas lawnmower under the Spruce trees between the Katama Roadhouse and the American Legion. I was mowing the poison ivy that I noticed growing in abundance. As I pushed the mower under a large bough - I had to really push and once I started pushing I couldn't really stop my forward movement- I spotted one of the brown lenses on the ground in front of the mower. That mower chewed up the brown plastic lens into tiny pieces. So I've been slowly loosing these glasses for a while now.
Amazingly, I picked up what was left of the sunglasses I had driven over with both sets of wheels and found both green lenses intact, but out of the frame-something they are made to do, detatch from the frame. The frame was broken in one spot, not in the front, but one of the side pieces that rests over my ear was broken. With a lot of super glue I think I can put them back together. Maybe I can really get my money's worth out of them after all.
There was some discussion between Skip and me over whether the two birds I spotted were really Limpkins. Skip thought they might be glossy ibis, a natural and possible call. However, I convinced Skip, once we got ahold of the Nat Geo Bird Book back at the condo that the bird we were looking at did not have webbed feet, had a fairly straight if slightly decurved bill, was mottled with white and a lot of other things that made it not a Glossy Ibis, not an immature White Ibis, but a Limpkin. Not one, but two.
One took off flying, but another was hanging around in the bushes. Quite a nice find in the middle of Palmer Ranch gated communities, the shopping mall and the Y down the street. We often have to drive a few miles to see some of these birds.
Skip survived the Gastroenterologist. He was/is a great doctor. Not something I am accustomed to saying about the doctors Skip sees. However, this guy seemed to really know his stuff. He took a lot of time explaining things, with visual aids. He was pleasant, ordered the correct blood work, I thought. The staff in his office were very nice, helpful, friendly. The whole place was great. Hopefully Skip will get a clean bill of health and he'll have a GI guy in Sarasota if he ever needs one. What could be better?
An interesting note. In some of these other posts I have mentioned various brands of cars. This doctor suggested if we were thinking of spending more time in Florida we ought to have a GP. Skip asked him to recommend someone. Dr. Ferrari and his wife, Dr. Somethingorother Ferrari was his suggestion. It won't be difficult to remember their names. They have an office in Siesta Key village so that would be easy if we needed to see a doctor.
Only one Elvis sighting. He walked by me as I sat in a chair in the sun some days ago. The wind was blowing. Our neighbor had returned to her condo for her leather, fleece-lined gloves and her black ear muffs. Elvis, really Paul, walked by in his very large tennis-like shoes, blue warm=up pants with a white stripe down the pant leg and I can't remember what else, a light jacket I think. He said, "Are you really warm?" "Yes, I am" I replied as he walked over to his Bright Red Corvette, got in, started it into it's rumbling motor sound and drove off without looking my way. It may be difficult to find out much about this guy, unless his sister comes to visit. She is someone who likes to stop and talk awhile in between taking nature photographs, but I haven't seen her around the complex yet.
Maybe I'll have a chance to tell you all about the Tennis Round Robins so far this year in another Post. I have not tried to locate Raj to take a tennis lesson. I'm going into this tournament without the benefit of coaching or instruction. Brooke has had a couple of lessons, but she was not too happy with her play on Sunday, so maybe I've made the Right decision. Of course, she knows a different Pro. Raj is terrific. He lives in Sarasota, but works in St. Petersburg this time of year. In the Summer he is the Pro at the East Chop Tennis Club. He played tennis some years ago for Trinidad in the Davis Cup. A great guy, great player and always helpful.
Gotta Go. Kay has arrived from Columbus. Actually she arrived with her daughter, Jan, yesterday, and the social whirl has begun. We're off to the next door pub to get a beer and eat Grouper fish sandwiches.
She has to get back to her condo to see the Ohio State Basketball game tonight, so we have to make it snappy. I'll probably pass on the Ohio state game. I wait until the finals, but Kay takes Ohio state very seriously in all sports. Football first, Basketball second. March madness begins, I guess.
High 70's promised for next Monday. Too bad. I kinda like the 60's. FAN.
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