Author: tophatpat

E.G. Simmons Regional Park, Ruskin, Fl.

Today we visited the Manatee Viewing Center once again; it’s a special place! But today was a very low tide and the manatees had stirred up the bottom making them hard to see, except when the water was too shallow to completely submerge.

The manatee cannot tolerate water below 68F, so in cold weather they swarm around the discharge pipes to stay warm. It has been down to freezing lately!

We had the time to explore the large park built by the power company; lots of walking and climbing! They have done a great PR job here, many learning experiences for kids and adults. A huge investment into solar right next door. And nearly pure white smoke billowing from the stacks. But, it is fossil fuel and the CO2 is trapping our heat. We need to leave it in the ground and quickly shift to renewable resources such as wind and solar!

 

 

 

 

 

 

E.G. Simmons Regional Park, Ruskin, Fl.

Tonight we drove south to Sarasota to meet Dan who drove north from Punta Gorda to meet us at the Blue Rooster for dinner and a show by the Two Divas, one of whom is a good friend of Dan’s.

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E.G. Simmons Regional Park, Ruskin, Fl., 77 mile jump

It was time to move on, we had completed all of the necessary projects. Time to let the four of them settle in. We  headed to the south end of Tampa Bay to Simmons Park where we have stayed the previous two years. Lots of wildlife and room to hike and bike.

They are of first come first serve park meaning if there is room in overflow, you can wait for campers to leave then take their spot. They had tweaked the rules a bit and rented only by the 14 day and 28 day cycle. Having 21 days until our next reserved campground, we were unable to find sites that met that window.

I suggested that John and Joel get the extra cabinets so badly needed to organize the two family kitchen so we could install them during that week. They jumped on the opportunity!

We headed for the Cockroach Mountain, an amazing wildlife refuge we have visited often.

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

The grassless area was over grown and shaded. I figure about 720 sq ft were reclaimed.

Penny transplanted elephant ear plants into some bare spots to hopefully screen the view of the neighbors once they get established.

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

Projects:

 

 

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

Huge piles of tree slash lay in the yard. This took a lot of pruning; it was badly overgrown. We planned to rent a chipper to get rid of the debris. Then we found a man who would haul it all away in his truck for the same money as renting the chipper. That freed us up to do other tasks.

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

Penny and I took some time out to remedy our awning issues. The top 12″ are exposed to the sun and abrasions; the wear is noticeable. New fabric is quite expensive and dealer installation is outrageous! We knew the Schindlers have an upholstery grade sewing machine with which to mend their sails.

So, we watched a number of YouTube videos and chose the technique we liked best. That involved disconnecting the spring loaded roller from the angled rafter arms and carefully unwinding the spring. We could then let the awning  hang from the track attached to the top of the camper wall and slide the roller off of the bottom track. Removing one of the rafter arms, we slid the top of the awning out of the track. We cut off the top 12″, then hemmed the welt in place sewing the 14′ of fabric back and forth. This took about 2.5 hours.

Inserting the welt into the upper track, we reversed the procedure, rewound the spring and had it back together in about an hour!

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

The inaugural fire in the fireplace on New Year’s Eve was a big hit, but nobody made it to midnight!

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

Pat and Joel were digging stumps and clearing the east property line of invasive shrubbery while Dan and Penny went to the beach!

Even Shirley was working on her garden!

The vegetation behind her is encroaching into the property. I plan to prune it back in the next few days; it will add 6′-8′ of yard space the full length of the 120′ property line.

 

Schindler Commune, Port Charlotte, Fl.

Joel and Lindy’s has been the traditional gathering place for family feasts. The spacious kitchen, dining and living rooms are undivided. There is plenty of room to set up extra tables.

They will be moving out of this house they’ve lived in for many years and into the house they’ll be sharing with John and Shirley. Here are views of the neighborhood they will be leaving:

John and Shirley’s former residence is up this canal about 300 yards. Their son, Dan is moving in there so he can care for the sailboat!