Toast number 2

The flowers and trees of late spring are spectacular here on Longboat Key.  These are Royal Poincianna trees and the flowers are flaming orange.

These dogs are the greatest.  This last week has been very busy for us, we've been trying to spend as much time with the Hollings as we can before they fly away.  Consequently, Lewis and Sasha have taken a back seat and they are so good about it.  A few walks during the day and they're fine here in Beluga, air conditoning blowing and classical radio blaring.  Lewis lets us know when he needs attention...

got time to play mom?

Did you say you had time to play ball?

doin' dad?

I can wait, finish your emails....

will you ever be done?

We took a bottle of champagne and some shrimp to the beach and had our second toast to the boy's  retirement.   This was a much anticipated event, so much so, we decided we needed to do it twice.  Our relationship has been so tied to the beach, this beach, that a toast needed to take place right here.

Later we ordered out, from Harry's, and ate our dinner on the balcony overlooking the Gulf.  Nice.
We'll really miss them, its too bad we live so very far apart.

I really enjoy living in this age of instant communication, especially as we travel and are far away from friends and family.  Being able to "talk" to people and share thoughts as they occur is wonderful.  One dear friend even tells me what she'll order when I mention a restaurant we're going to.  I really feel like she's right across the table from us. I love it!

C'est la Vie

Another alarm morning.  We had an early appointment at a title company in Sarasota to sign the final papers for the sale of one our our units at the Colony Beach and Tennis Club.  A sad day for us, but life changes and we have to make accommodations for those changes.    The situation there is very complicated and very messy and we needed to reduce our exposure, but we still have another and we're going to let this one ride and see where it will go.

A view down Main Street in Sarasota

my reflection in the Cafe's window

After the closing we walked downtown and had a lovely cup and a bun at a small french Cafe on Main St. called C'est la Vie.  Apropos.  Again, we reminisced about our great times in Sarasota and look forward to more in the future.




Across the street is the new store and socialization center for Southeastern Guide Dog School.  We had been wanting to drop in for the last couple of years, but never had the time.  Today we did.  Had a great conversation with a couple of women from the school who were puppy raisers and scratched a few yellow lab ears while we were at it.   We're going back on Wednesday morning (Argh, another alarm morning)
for a guided tour of their new training and breeding facility.   They've come up in the world since they first started, it looks like first class all the way.  We can't wait to see and compare!

Southeastern Guide Dogs new store presence on Main Street

The Van we'll take on our tour of the school

The day was looking up.  Great coffee, pastries and conversation.  Dog kisses and gabbing with real dog people about a subject near and dear to us.  A crystal clear, sunny, warm day.  Why was I sad this morning?

AND, I finally found a Publix that carries my digestives! (No, not stomach medicine, they're english biscuits that I've become addicted to with my morning tea)  I've been without them for weeks and was sure I'd be able to get them down here...Publix always has an "English" section.  I bought the store out (all three packages) and went  home happy.

view from the Publix parking lot!  Does Wegmans have such a view?

This afternoon Richard and Ruth came over with a bottle of champagne to toast the "boys" retirement.
We've been talking about this day for years, sitting on the Colony's beach  hashing over their mutual business' highs and lows, employee problems, taxes, building problems,  government and union issues,  prices of new machines, economy predictions, etc., etc.. Now its here.  Our lives continue to parallel.
After some fine Champagne and smoked salmon in Beluga, we had a good dinner and watched the sunset at the Beach Bistro.

Legacy

 It was still dark when the alarm went off....aren't we supposed to be retired?

I'm not complaining, it was our choice, and we're very glad we decided to play golf with Richard and Ruth again today.  We met them at Legacy Golf Club, another of our favorites from years ago.  Again, memories...

It rained hard all night long and we had to wade through deep puddles to let the dogs "get busy" this morning so we weren't hopeful to get the entire round in.  We decided to go anyway and if it was still raining at least we'd get a good breakfast with good friends.  We were pleasantly surprised, the day was hot and sunny with puffy white clouds overhead.

one of the views from my golf cart across a large water hazard

A great blue heron, a coot and a great heron

 This course has matured so much since we started coming here.  We hardly recognized some of the holes.  I wish I could have recorded the various bird songs, squawks, squeeks, honks, etc .for you to hear.  A couple of Sandhill Cranes were trumpeting so loudly at one point we thought there were elephants in the area!

This great blue heron was standing quietly next to the only clump of grass at the waters edge.  Waiting for a snack?

white ibis

common Moorhen

Mom and new baby Sandhill Crane

This is just a sampling of the birds we saw and heard today.

The golf shots ran the gamut from brilliance to.....oh well, never mind.

A dangerous position at Legacy, because.....

you get used to looking for just two eyes and a nose in the water

I interrupted this little guy as he was having lunch, crunch crunch...

later 'gater

Before the day was over we had seen many more, but I decided not to push my luck and make them angry angling for a good shot.

Old Salty Dog - .memories there..

Katie and Ruth

.Richard, Ruth, Dave and I met Katie Klauber Moulton at the Old Salty Dog for lunch.  It was so good to see her again and spend a bit of time catching up on her life.    This part of the trip takes us back in time at every turn.   Our conversation was non-stop and touched on so many subjects, but the Colony (its problems and its wonderful stories) dominated.  Lunch was over in a blink, where did the time go?

After Katie left, Ruth and I decided to stroll around St.Armands Circle and  Dave and Richard  went  to the beach at the Longboat Key Club.

Ruth and I were good girls and didn't buy a single thing, well, maybe a little ice cream.  Yep, another Kilwin's but this time there were no cameras.  

It has been overcast today, with rain threatening but we managed to enjoy the day without getting wet.  About 6:30 though, the skies opened and its been raining hard since.  People around here are dancing in the streets about it.  I guess they've really needed some water, and we haven't seen a drop of rain the whole time we've been gone.

threatening skies over the water

very private fishing charters, and does he share his catch?

I took this picture of Dave multi-tasking, something that exasperates him when I do it.....He has an infection brewing on his finger so he's soaking it in epsom salts while using the ipad....

YIKES, our weather radio just sounded a warning for a Tornado.....in our county.  I'll sign off now.


I'm back, all is well.  The weather moved a tiny bit north of us, so we're not in the warning area anymore.  Dave raced out in the pelting rain and pulled in the awnings and put our chairs and tables away.  Soaked to the skin, but fine.

Tomorrow we have another golf game with the Hollings, at Legacy this time, another early morning.

University Park

part of an orchid wall outside Pattigeorge's restaurant

We met Richard and Ruth for drinks and dinner at Pattigeorge's on Longboat Key, drinks courtesy of Murf Klauber,  then walked next door with him to listen in on the Colony Owner's meeting being held via conference call.   Suffice it to say the meeting was same old, same old and we left about 9:30 with nothing resolved, or even moving in a clear direction.  Enough said.

Today Dave, Richard and Ruth and I played 18 holes at a beautiful, mature Country Club called University Park. (as usual, I drove the trolley instead of playing)  It was like old times.  Eons ago, when we all were able to spend lots of time at the Colony, University Park, Legacy and Forest Lakes were a big part of our time there.  Richard, Ruth, Cindy and Norm, Jesse, Stephen, Melanie, Dave and I  have made wonderful memories on those courses - in the heat, in the rain, in the cold, in the fog....but always laughing.

It was a beautiful day, overcast for the first 9 holes, sunny and oh so humid for the last.  The course is beautiful, teeming with wildlife and a joy to experience.  Afterward the four of us had a lovely lunch at the Grille and headed home, exhausted from the day.

discussing the shot

whose ball is this?

A good son,  keeping his promise to talk with dad in the UK

Ah, finally out of the sand....

keep moving buddy

Sand Hill Crane chick disobeying mom and following Dave

Dave and Ruth had just retrieved one of their balls from a pond when this fellow went gliding by, oh boy...

The squirrels were very "friendly".  You couldn't leave your cart unattended for long without one checking it out thoroughly for anything good to eat.  This guy, below, was very large and strange looking.  He (and I do mean HE) almost looked like a cross between in squirrel and a racoon...

A beautiful day

Yikes!

Its 11 p.m. and we're just getting in from another useless Colony Meeting.  More of the same, nothing decided, except that CHV has pulled out of the game and we're back at square one.

At any rate, its too late to write anything tonight and tomorrow's an early morning.  We've golf with the Hollings at University Park Country Club.   Always a fun day but it will start pretty early, so I'm off to bed.

Nightie Night.