Ah, another Florida season is on the books and we are heading home to the Mitten state. In the midst of the truck-loading and house-closing crazy, I like to look back at the last 6 months of pictures to remind me of the bees and people and places we saw. Because I'm getting old. And time flies. But mostly the first one.
(1. New arrivals in the sunset; 2. Jon and his giant hat tending friends' hives; 3. Orange blossom!)
As you can tell from the title of this post, the 2018-19 season has been, er, interesting. It's all a blur, but that probably has something to do with the 11 visits from 28 of our friends and family members fleeing the Michigan winter. No joke, people. We even hosted a stray dog who stopped by for a couple weeks before being found a new home! The notes and thank-you's left behind prompted us to name our languishing (albeit spacious) house the "Nobel Hobo Hotel". I even bought a guest book.
Since Jon had to be out in the field (or grove, in this case) it was on me to show these people a good time. It was difficult. My arm was twisted. I was dragged kicking and screaming to the beach, the mall, Universal Studios, Disney's Magic Kingdom and Bok Tower Gardens. *SIGH* The things we do in the name of hospitality! All kidding aside, I've had WAY too much fun for one season. It was wonderful to see familiar faces!
(1. Bok Tower/Winter Haven, FL; 2. Giant elephant ear and yours truly; 3; Sharky's Pier, Venice, FL)
Then there's the puppy. I didn't realize traveling with a 5-month old pup would take so much off my lifespan. Turns out, travel makes her anxious. Which makes her puke a lot. Then we learned she could take Dramamine, so we kept it on hand with some ginger chews and she made the trips like a champ. Wheew!
(1. Stray puppy play date; 2. Forced time-out; 3. Her 3768th stick)
Most of Charley Brown's days have been spent running, or chewing/eating everything. Which led to more puking and - incidentally - a new vinyl floor. She loves sneaking up on egrets picking in the back yard, so she can give chase when they fly away. Jon taught her to retrieve golf balls, though he's still working on the part where she gives them back. Especially when she 'retrieves' off the tee in the middle of his backswing. Most recently, she's taken up trying to catch lizards through the glass window. Someday....
My proudest part of the season, though, is the transformation of our front porch! The mosquitos render our outdoor swing useless after December, and I needed a bug-less outdoor space to read and drink coffee in. So I went all Fixer-Upper on it and it turned out pretty great! I even made a video of the before and after pictures. Check it out!
So anyway, that about covers the Florida Season review. The bees did great, and we're grateful for the Orange Blossom harvest! We're also grateful for the dandelions reportedly waiting for them upon their return to their summer home in Michigan. =)
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