Spring at Rock Springs

Hello there.

Spring has sprung here in Florida and that means it's time for tubing down the springs once again. On Thursday the LIFE gang and the girls and I went to Rock Springs, our local spring that's in the "tubing" variety of springs. We rented a tube from the little dive bar on the corner before you get to the springs (Note to self: avoid that next time, $5 bucks for a one shot deal and money could be save just by blowing up the tube in the garage) and paid the $3 to get into the park.

The water right now is clear as clear can be and (bonus) the flowers and grasses are still in Spring shape so the run is wide and easy to maneuver. Nothing has become overgrown yet so to speak.

Right now it seems to be just the most perfect time to go. There's tree shade for sun avoidance so staying cool is easy, and yet sitting in the sun is necessary to warm up before going into the 72 degree water. Ah, balance....not to mention the hordes of people have yet to arrive.

Here's a bit of what we saw and experienced while we were there on Thursday.

• an otter playing in the cow lilies right off of the bank of the run near where our blankets and chairs were
• Speaking of cow lilies (or spatterdock), we saw them, and spider lilies, and pickerel weed, to mention a few.
• snail eggs everywhere, on the plants and on the wall by the sharks teeth digging area
• lots of turtles sunning themselves everywhere
• lots of tattoos - ha! There're always sitings of lots of tattoos at Rock Springs.
• When I first got in the run there was a barred owl doing his "who cooks for you" in the woods around us.
• a huge skink, the largest I ever saw, probably about 8 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide in the torso...No kidding.

I'm so often aware of the powerful beauty here in Florida. All this just from going to the park for a cool water play day. It was sublime.

Gratitude.

Learning About Wildflowers

I currently am working on wildflowers. I am learning names and habitat and edibility (is that word?!) and those that know me would know what a slow process this is going to be. No matter, life is life, slower is better than no-er, so onward....

Spiderwort - seen this March on the Lake County Water Authority hike at the sinkhole off of Robie Ave in Mount Dora, currently seen blooming all over including in Sue's yard. I might go dig some up!

Innocence - This little white groundcover was just delightful on my hike with the LCWA in March

Wood Sorrell - Lyn and I ate some of this delicious lemony plant right off of the Oklawaha River outside of the Ocala National Forest in March during our weekend workshop.

Cupids Shaving Brush - Lake County Water Authority hike March 2008

Phlox - Shows up all over, fields full of the stuff.

Film Festival 2008 - Eat It Up

Well, it's already time for the Film Festival again. This year Jordan and Sadie volunteered a bit. It wasn't that exciting (read: it was boring) but I think with these types of things it really matters what exactly you sign up for. The girls ripped tickets at the Enzian for a hamburger documentary. Yep, two girls who either are, or recently have been, vegetarians ripping tickets for a documentary on hamburgers. Jordan also volunteered at the table outside of the Regal Cinema, also boring (she says). I think the feedback Jordan would give regarding volunteering is that she felt under utilized. She was there willing to work but there seemed to not be enough work, or maybe the work wasn't being delegated very well.

I still feel inclined to make the effort to volunteer next year. I spent $30 on the three movies I saw, two of which were on a day I drove Jordan down to volunteer. She got in free to two of those three movies....so, you see where I'm going with this. This year I chickened out a bit with signing up for the volunteering, just because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fit in seeing movies and also volunteering. I prioritized seeing over doing both. Not next year though.

So, onto the movies I saw. The first was a selection of shorts called Shorts#1-Hustle. Three of the filmmakers were there for a short Q&A afterwards: William Slichter of Flourtown, Rajeev Dassani of A Day's Work, and Gregg Brown who did Shrinks. All the films were quirky and good in that "short film" sort of way. I liked sharing that with Jordan, she and I both have an enjoyment of short films. Makenna does as well, it's just so hard to tell what these guys are rated, which makes it a bit more of a wildcard for her.

On Friday I drove Jordan up for her shift outside of the Enzian and had the wonderful pleasure of having lunch with good friends Sue D, Lisa B, and Lyn M. We went to Ethos, a vegan restaurant owned by the daughter of our friend Shirley from Simple Living Institute. It was delish and one of the many benefits of eating there (besides my friends and the treat of time away) was eating good, delicious, healthy, wholesome food prepared by someone else! Ah ha. That's so wonderful. After lunch the girls and I headed over to the Regal to catch Lili and the BoabubTree. Cynthia and Sadie joined us there for the film

The movie was in French and Pulaar (african) with English subtitles. From the Enzian website: This compelling, picturesque story reveals a woman finding herself and the world in an emotional journey of discovery worth making. Freelance photographer Lili (Romane Bohringer in a superb performance) is assigned to document Agnam, Senegal, the sister city of her hometown of Cherbourg. There she is warmly welcomed by the community, and she experiences its rich life. She connects to a quietly independent and unmarried woman, Aminata (Aminata Zaaria), not unlike herself, although they share no common language. Economic migration, post-colonialism, and cultural divides are all issues here, but the film avoids the traps of proselytizing and cultural tourism. Instead, it offers a slice of life lived, with Lili seeing the Normandy coast differently upon her return, and also showing the contradictions of the communal lifestyle she leaves behind but does not forget. The strength of both women and Lili’s life-affirming connection with the world under a Senegalese baobab tree gives hope in a film of uncommon depth, intelligence, and beauty.

It was the perfect film to see with a group of friends. Fascinating and heart expanding, lovely.

After the film, I met Jordan and Torin outside in the hallway, made a quick break for the loo, ran next door to grab a bite of pizza and Pepsi, then back into the Enzian for the International Narrative Shorts. So, exchange 4 women friends for 2 teenagers and I'm off. These shorts are always favorites of mine simply because I adore hearing the accents, seeing the different names on the marque, and reading subtitles. I know, I know....I'm a bit much at times. But, alas, that is me. Loved these shorts with the grand finale of Spider at the end. It's all fun and games until someone loses and eye. Side note: Gregg Brown of Shrinks sat a couple of seats over from me, in the front of the row, so I got to chat a tiny bit with him. That was cool.

So that was this years 17th Annual Florida Film Festival. Check out last year's blog for past experiences. I can't wait for next year already!

It Must Be Spring

Hello Spring!

On the 22nd of March Makenna informed me that the pitcher on the back of our hose reel again has what looks to be a nest being built in it. I had seen a little bird activity around that area just that morning and was wondering if it was our House Wrens from last year, or just a little bird caught away from the brush. I'm so happy it's The Wrens, our wrens, Mr. and Mrs Wren from last year.

Today, the 3rd of April, Makenna told me that she saw 4 little eggs in the nest. So, not only did the nest get built but Mrs. chose it as her nest. You never know with these things, Daddy Wrens can build a couple to four nests and Momma gets to choose her favorite. I'm so glad she chose us. Last year I just couldn't believe she would choose that nest, it just doesn't seem to be the safest or least stressful nest. But once they raised a brood of babies I was hopeful we'd see them again this year. And here they are.


This is a great shot of last years wren and the nest, I have still yet to get one of them this year.

Welcome Back!


****SAD UPDATE ON WRENS: due to lots of rain this year, the pitcher nest wasn't such a good idea. No drainage made a situation the eggs couldn't survive and this clutch didn't progress. We pitched the whole pitcher, it was a mess.