Why would I say such a thing? Well, it has rained, and I mean POURED, every afternoon or evening for most of the summer. In trying to imagine a Florida summer afternoon rain shower, I would have you think of torrents, sheets, cats and dogs. We have to drain the pool by an inch or two a couple days each week so it doesn't overflow (and by "We" I mean my husband).
This is the rainy season in Florida. Even though it didn't rain for an entire day, the ground is still squishy. There remain pools of water in low spots, and water rises in every nook and cranny. It is also the hottest time of the year. I am not complaining, not really... I would still rather endure August in Florida than January in New York State. Anyway, it's hot, muggy, and messy here.
In truth, I am in awe of (and in love with) Florida. I respect the harsh beauty. I avoid the sun between 11 am and 3 pm. I battle primeval insects. I photograph alligator, egret, and ibis in the wild. Our back yard includes 4 palm trees despite their lack of shade. I grow canna lilies and banana trees. We have annual passes to Epcot (after 4). My county is blue. Actually it is Orange County, but you know what I mean. I relish the natural and cultural diversity one finds here. I wear hats and slather myself with sunscreen, for crying out loud. This Florida place feels like home.
Oh Lord, I just heard some thunder. Which reminds me, I need to start stocking up on hurricane supplies.
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| This is the kind of damage fire ants can wreak when you don't watch where you step |
Oh no! Those fire ant bites look really painful. Fire ants are the worst, we have lots of them in SC too. Take care of that foot!!
ReplyDeleteThat picture was my first encounter with fire ants in 2015. I only have 5 ant bites on that same foot today. :)
DeleteOUCH! But thanks for the reminder. The river is so high again I'd better check on how much bottled water I have and pick up the next batch of prescriptions on Wednesday. Plus the leaning power pole seems to be leaning even more. Time to get gas for the generator.
ReplyDeleteI'm concerned about that power pole!
DeleteSo am I. Rinky-Dink Electric Coop is not at all worried despite my graphic descriptions of fried tourists. Am getting even by posting updates about the leaning pole on Facebook.
DeleteThey did that day, it's true.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful we don't have fire ants here. That looks so painful. We need more rain. It's dry here. And hot. Too damned hot. Did I mention it was hot?
ReplyDeleteI was beginning to feel hypnotized by your descriptions of your state. Then BOOM! I saw that poor foot. Ow, ow, ow.
ReplyDeleteAnd not only do they itch and look ugly, but fire ant bites last for weeks!
DeleteLordy! Not pretty. Never seen one and hope to never encounter one of those suckers.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen them in Florida...
DeleteOh yuk. Hope you are better. How long does it take?
ReplyDeleteIt's all part of the deal, living in a lush tropical environment and ants - when we lived in paradise, every morning first thing, wrapping our hands in a plastic bag and clearing away the lines of tiny red ants along the window sills and the washing line. Any biting centipedes in Florida?
But rain! Tropical rain has such a wonderful sound and smell.
We need rain badly, everything is brown and brittle here.
It takes about 3 weeks for the bites to go away. Have NOT run into any biting centipedes, thankfully. I will admit that I am enchanted and thrilled by the tropical rain. Just hoping for a break so we can mow our lawn.
DeleteI've roistered too often at Aging Female. It's time for a considered contribution, something middle-class and comforting, a counterbalance to that horrifying foot which must surely be destined for amputation. A piece the Florida Tourist Office would approve of.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is my opinions about The Sunshine State come pre-coloured. There are for instance the novels of Carl Hiaasen, in effect urging me to take a Business Class flight there before the entire state is covered in concrete. To shake hands with a developer and count my fingers afterwards. To chew mangroves (well cooked) and make friends with an alligator. Mind you, when last heard of Carl was still gainfully employed in the state, had not yet moved to Greenwich Village so he could sleep without the sound of an a/c overdosing. Perhaps he knows something about Florida which he fails to mention in the books.
Then there is the invitation extended by David Caruso, preceded by an aerial shot of what I take to be Miami which shows that the concretisation project is well into its stride. Someone said they continued to watch the programme in the expectation that DC would eventually - enigmatically - lift his shades to reveal a set of smaller shades beneath. All that death, all that technology.
More devastating still is a movie back in the dark ages where Edward G. Robinson (no relation) improbably plays Frank Sinatra's brother and comes down from NY to Fla to help Frank out with his little local difficulties. EGR's arrival shows him under-tipping a cabbie and being slagged off for that. Memorably he takes back the coin and says, "Seems you don't need that dime. Well I do." But you'd pooh-pooh that as a bit of ill-directed native colour. More memorable still, EGR sits down in a bar and is served an ice-cube with a hole in it. Wearing it like a ring on his finger he expatiates wryly on Florida's lack of moral fibre.
This comment started out with the best of intentions but you must be aware of how such journeys always end up.
Yes, I do - and I count on it.
DeleteBoth my husband and I enjoy Carl Hiaasen's books. I suspect he gets it right for South Florida. Will be looking for that movie, sounds great. Love the black and white film tough guys.
I love your description of Florida. I had no idea that the rainy season was summer. Our foggy gloomy season here is summer as well. It's not hot or humid, but it is bleak. You do get to see some wonderful wildlife... well except for those fire ants. That does not look like fun at all.
ReplyDeleteI hope I don't come of as complaining. We are very happy here and enjoy the strangeness of it all. When it stops being strange and new, I guess I'll probably stop writing about it.
DeleteLittle bastards, indeed! Can't fight fire with fire in the city limits; however, there is a reasonably good ant spray that takes care of the sand piles they call home.
ReplyDeletelove your blog!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cathee. That means a lot.
DeleteUgh! Fire ants! I know them all TOO well. (Haven't been bitten in a while, though, knock on wood.) Bravo to you for finding all the beauty in Florida. Too many people think it's just Disney World and Miami Beach.
ReplyDeleteIt is so much more than that.
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