A Day at the Beach in Fort de Soto, Florida
It’s been cold here in Ohio this winter. We usually have warm days mixed with cold days, but it seems like it’s just been cold for weeks on end and we’ve had snow on the ground for about a month. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the snow and I don’t mind the cold, but every now and I then I just want to be warm.
I’m not much of a beach person, don’t like salt water or sand; but every 5 years or so Mr Chiots and I end up at the beach during a vacation, or on a work trip, or while visiting friends. So since many of us are sitting in the cold snowy weather here in the north I thought we could all use a virtual trip to the beach to warm us up. So take off your shoes and join us on a trip to the beach.
Two years ago around this time we found ourselves in Florida for a convention. We have some family that lives down there so we made a short vacation of it. While there, we visited Fort de Soto park, which is a beach and a historical trip all in one. Fort de Soto was described as a, “spectacular combination of soft white sand, calm, clear water and a laid-back atmosphere”. We enjoyed a short walk on the beach and then we visited the fort and took a tour of all of the old buildling and learned all about the history of the area, it was fascinating.
It’s nice to take off your sandals and take a walk on the beach looking for shells. I don’t mind a short walk on the beach, it’s the sitting in the sun that I can’t take. My dermatologist would fire me as a patient if I did that.
Of course no trip is complete without the obligatory self portrait (does anyone else do that?).
Are you a beach person? What do you like or dislike about the beach?
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Chiot’s Nose
I realized I haven’t posted very many photos of the garden’s namesake. Lucy spends all her days in the summer laying outside on the front porch or the back driveway. She follows me around while I’m working in the flowerbeds. Here’s one I snapped while we were out gardening one day this summer.
Lucy likes the winter as well. She loves snow and gets all excited the first snow she sees in the fall. She also loves sunny winter days, she lays in the sun by the front door and even wants to go outside to sit on the porch.
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Winner Winner Burt’s Bees Lip Balm
Originally I was going to have Lucy pick the winner of the Burt’s Bees Lip Balm contest. I was going to hide numbered dog treats around the house and whichever one she found first was going to be the winner. But since she’s laid up and can’t roam around the house I had to come up with another plan. She was very disappointed she couldn’t help out.
I tried to think of a way to have the cats pick, but they’re cats. You can’t get them to do anything you want them to. So I reverted to the old, write numbers of pieces of paper, fold them up, put them in a hat and choose a winner.
I did put the numbers in my gardening hat at least, perfect for a gardening blog. And the winner is:
The winner is Carol from The Country Mouse.
This is what Carol says about herself: “I’m a mostly stay-at-home wife and mom living in rural Ohio with my wonderful husband and the sweetest baby boy in the world. I like to read, cook, eat (unfortunately), knit, and sing. I spend way too much time doing all of those things instead of mopping the floor.”
The funny thing is that I’ve known Carol since high school. She helped set my sister up with her cousin (who my sister married and is now my brother-in-law). Paul and Carol have the cutest little boy named Levi. Head on over to Carol’s blog and check out what’s going on at The Country Mouse.
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So Long Ago: Tulips in Bloom
It seems like so long ago that the tulips were blooming. I guess soon enough they’ll be back up again, how exciting!
Every year in the fall I say, “I’m not buying any bulbs next year to plant”. But then I’m taken by the photos in the catalogues & on the boxes in the store and I end up buying more than I can plant. Then each spring when they’re in bloom I think, oh I guess it was worth the $75 and the hours of work.
I’m really fond of Negrita, Queen of the Night and Shirley Tulips and anything in the cream through purple range, but I have a few other kinds as well including some Mickey Mouse tulips they’re one of the few red flowers I have in the gardens.
I do have trouble with the deer eating my tulips. The ones close to the house usually are left alone, but the ones on my front hillside are fair game to them. By looks of my lack of blooms out front they must be super tasty treats! I suppose I should just plant a few extra for them.
I also have trouble with the chipmunks. The first year we moved in here I planed 400 crocus bulbs and I only had one bloom the following spring because the chipmunks dug up every single bulb. I now coat the bulbs with garlic powder and that seems to keep the chipmunks away.
Here in Ohio tulips don’t always come back each year. Those big yellow and red ones often do and my Mickey Mouse ones do, but most of the other ones die off after a couple years.
Anyone else have a favorite tulip? Or a great tip to keep the deer from munching on them?
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Taking a Day Off
I’m taking the day off today. Too tired to write with all that’s been going on around here, see yesterday’s post for details.
