Hi Everyone,

We have been enjoying hiking trails around Titusville to do birding in the morning. Trying to put in 5 miles a day. We have seen some wild pigs, cattle, dead snakes and deer along with seeing what birds we can.

My plans are made and Diana will be flying to LA on the 22^nd to visit with Zach for a few days. He will drive her up to Petaluma spending a couple of days then return to LA. We are in luck that our cousin Mara is free on Friday when we plan to drive up, so we will meet up with her in San Francisco or Berkley to have some fun together. Diana’s sister’s surgery is on the 30^th so she will stay until Feb 5^th then returning to FL to get the boat ready to move shortly after her return.

David has signed up for the continuing education conference in Orlando so he’ll start driving back and forth Saturday for classes that continue until next Wed. He has been in touch with an old college roommate. Russ will be there to so they hope to get together one evening and catch up. After the Veterinary conference ends the birding festival starts in Titusville so David will be busy with that. 

Diana had to hoist David back up to the top of the mast this week. You will be thankful that we didn’t take a picture of the boat after an osprey landed up there and had his lunch. The boat decking was covered with fish parts and blood. Not a pretty sight. Since we have all in instruments off of the top it’s a nice flat high spot where osprey like to dine. We decided instead of putting the instruments back on then have to take them off to get under bridges when we leave here, a trip to the hardware store was in order.  We picked up bird spikes that you put on a roof to keep birds off. So up David went to cable tie the rows of spikes down. So far so good, the osprey landed with a big fish but had nowhere to put the fish down to rip it apart. We banged on the spreaders to scare it off and it hasn’t been back.

Yesterday in getting things ready for Abe’s arrival David by accident washed the inside of the bunkroom when he went to fill the water tanks. The ports were open and when he turned the hose on full blast it went wild stopping right by the open port and spraying inside. Today the mattress are dry and I’m putting things back into place.

This morning we joined up with a Florida Trail Association for an 8-mile hike along the Florida Trail over by Christmas FL. It was a beautiful walk across a field then into the woods for most of the 8 miles. 

Endangered Florida Scrub Jay

Spoonbill.egret, wood stork and friends

Flicker

Turkey Vulture

Three Manatee drinking

View of Buck Lake part if the St Johns watershed

Abe joined us for a hike

here's looking at you.An eye ball found on deck this morning

Plan B.

My sister has to have some surgery in CA. We are waiting to hear when it is going to be booked and I will fly to LA to see Zach then have him drive me up to Petaluma to be with Maggie and her family.

David in the mean time has booked to go to the Veterinary Conference in Orlando for his continuing education he needs for his license. So it’s a good spot for us to hang for another month. There is also a birding festival in Titusville that will be fun to attend.

As I said to my sister “We are semi retired so we can do whatever we want” when she was concerned about changing our plans.

So all is still great here. NO SNOW! Ha.

Jan. 8^th

We have been busy getting all the jobs done on the boat that need to be done. We even became sewing machine repair workers when my machine seized up. Once things were apart I called my great sewing machine repairman Tony in Biddiford ME. He didn’t want to talk to me since I was in sunny FL. He said the other morning it was 11 below. Breathing outside hurt! After some trouble shooting with him, David and I got the machine back in working order. Another job we can do if ever the need presents itself. The awning I was making came out great for the back deck.

The other day I got David to the top of the mast to take off the light, antenna and wind instrument. We will have a number of bridges to go under and don’t want to loose anything. This time he remembered his camera. Check out the bird’s eye view of the marina and surrounding area!

We are cleaning the boat, doing laundry, went to the store for fresh food, got a flue shot, filling the tanks with water and as long as it doesn’t blow like stink and I can get off the dock without breaking anything we will be on our way tomorrow.

Over the next week we will be making our way down the ICW to where Abe lives in Boynton Beach. Just a few miles north of him is an anchorage we can hang out in and visit with Abe for a few days. Looking forward to seeing him one last time before heading south to Miami.

Hope all is well with everyone and the New Year is a good one for all.

Diana & David

View toward Town from top of mast

Other boats in the Marina

Looking out to the Indian River

Reflections, A Willet

Looking down on to the foredeck where Diana is sitting(yellow spot)

Loggerhead Shrike AKA The Butcher Bird

Juvenile Purple Gallinule

Great Blue Heron

American Kestrel

Osprey enjoying lunch

Eastern Meadow Lark

Ruddy Turnstone

Red Should ed Hawk