A lot going on here, everything from more intense and longer thunderstorms than our usual rainy season* to Susie & Mike house-hunting. All collated into a gallery lengthy enough to take up the whole blog. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for everyone.
*Thursday, August 6, was supposed to be less rainy. We ended up with back-to-back deluges (most with thunder & lightning), for four-plus hours. I am so glad I live at the top of a Florida "hill" (barely visible rise in the land)!
RANDOM GALLERY
Firstly, Susie used AI on a three-year-old photo of me and created a new face for my Facbook photo. Behold . . .
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| Yes, those are genuine malachite beads. |
Retro to the World Cup - at The Capital Room Bar . . .
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| Riley, Susie, Mike, Lionel, Hailey - Friend Teddy in front |
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| Kylo, the Reale family dog, enjoying his new companion |
There are many posts with Shakespeare quotes. I consider this one of the best.
A time of sadness and nostalgia for those of us living in the Orlando area. There have been swans at Lake Eola (the center of downtown) for as long as most people can remember. But earlier this year, quite a few died of Bird Flu, enough so that it was decided the swans should be moved to a safer location. Nothing left now but people-pedaled swan boats. Sigh. A tragedy in more ways than one.
On to Venice, FL. Having lived in Venice for 25 years, I know the lightning pictured below is out over the Gulf. (The Venice Golf Course is sandwiched between the airport and the beach.)
While only two or three miles north in Nokomis . . .
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| A lifeguard shack damaged by lightning |
Other golf courses in Florida can also be dangerous . . .
And then there are all those idyllic spots in Florida . . .
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| Blue Springs State Park w/manatee |
Blue Springs is such a scenic and fascinating place I used to drive the grandgirls here all the way from East Orlando. (Much shorter drive after we moved to Seminole County.) Every winter a horde of manatees shelter here from the cold. In addition to the springs, the manatees (in season), and the scenery, there's a boat trip available on the St. John's River. You can even see mistletoe growing high up in the tree tops. Highly recommended.
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| Sunset, Sorrento Springs Golf Course, 8/5/26 |
I did not save the above for last just because it's a traditional Sunset-ending to this edition of the Gallery. It's a harbinger of Big Changes to come. Susie, Riley, and I were exploring a delightfully spread-out golf course community in Sorrento, FL, while Mike wrote down a myriad notes about a house the Reales are considering buying (much closer to where Susie works). Susie stopped the car, ran up the golf path to the top of a Florida hill, and captured this photo of the sunset). And yes, they're serious. After eleven years, it may be bye-bye, Seminole County (which did such a great job educating the girls - why we all moved here in 2015). But now . . .
I should add that Lake County is very much "the country," as opposed to Orange and Seminole counties. The road from Sanford/Longwood to Sorrento is almost entirely framed by a State Preserve. Pine forest, oaks dripping Spanish moss, wildlife, etc. (Marked by miles of tall fence with barbed wire at the top. I saw on the TV news that a broad wildlife "pass" was built under the recently opened 429.)
Just past the preserve, at least two upscale housing developments in country settings with a modest Publix shopping center nearby. That's it. There must be an actual "Main Street" somewhere. We did not see it. (Sorrento is c. 9 miles east of Mt Dora.) I presume this "country" atmosphere is one of the reasons Susie has sold out the KB homes at her first location and is about to move to another KB site close by. My reaction? No wonder discerning home owners want to live there!
If you live in the greater Orlando area and are looking for a great Sunday afternoon drive, try the old Rte. 46 or the recently opened Superhighway, Rte. 429. (Both a beeline beginning just west of I-4 in Sanford.) (I hated the newly installed roundabouts on Rte. 46. We came home on the 429!)
Addendum for Real Estate Lovers:
On the way out of Sorrento Springs, we thought we'd check out the development directly across the street and hidden behind a wall of trees. We expected to be stopped by a gatehouse any moment. Except we drove straight in, our jaws dropping as we saw the size of the homes on huge lots, each with a canopy of towering Florida pines. Zillow revealed what we instantly recognized - all adults in the car were either realtors or ex-realtors. The cheapest recent sale: over $900,000. We slowly drove around, up and down—necks craning, eyes popping—until I suggested if we kept that up someone might call the police thinking we were "casing" the place. So, we headed for home, our brains spinning with our peek into the whole new world of Sorrento FL, but a half-hour's drive from home.
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Book of the Week
Author's Note: The Mists of Moorhead Manor is a Gothic novel in
the tradition of Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and Blair
Bancroft's previous Regency-set Gothic, Brides of Falconfell.
Penelope Ruth Ballantyne has lived at the tail of the army all her
life, experiencing the rigors of life in India, followed by five years
of war in Portugal and Spain. Not surprisingly, now that she is
orphaned, she accepts the most challenging position available, companion
to an invalid who lives on the edge of Exmoor in northern Devonshire.
After years of constant travel, Penny longs to settle under one roof,
find a true home. Instead, she encounters hysteria, mysterious deaths, a
nasty rival, and the constant fear of dismissal as she attracts the
attention of more than one young gentleman in the household. Though the
only one she truly sees is Robert, Lord Exmere, heir to Moorhead Manor.
Together, they face a startling dilemma worthy of the judgment of
Solomon.
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