Gnats

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 99 degrees, partly cloudy skies

99 degrees today! I'm tired of this hot weather!

Florida is famous for the bugs that live here. Mosquitoes (which we've not seen much of), roaches, palmetto bugs, horse flies, deer flies, yellow flies, regular old flies, red bugs (some folks call them chiggers), and many others. The most obnoxious to me are the little gnats that circle around your face in hot weather like this, trying to get into your eyes, nose, and mouth. When I'm outside, I'm continually waving a hand in front of my face to keep the little buggers away. If I didn't, a cloud of gnats would descend on me. I can imagine being tied up with the gnats as bad as they are now. It would be maddening.

Now that I've set the tone for this post of the blog, let's move on.

We didn't have anything in particular to do today, so we decided to take another drive over to the Dunnellon area. The last time we were over there, it was crowded with people taking advantage of the cool water from Rainbow Springs and the Rainbow River. Today, the roads were just as crowded, but the springs and river were not nearly as busy. It was a great day for cooling off in the water, but we didn't go prepared to take advantage of it.

Whenever we're out and about, we try to do a little sightseeing to see how much the area has changed. It appears to us that the Dunnellon area is on the verge of really taking off with growth when the recession is over. Dunnellon is a nice little town with a lot of natural beauty. And they have a Super WalMart, so all the shopping they need is right there.

It was the middle of the afternoon before we got home, so both of us were a little tired. By the time some meditation was completed, I was ready to take care of a few little chores.

About the time that I started wondering what Carolyn was fixing for supper, she started making noises about not having anything to cook. It didn't help that I pointed out some choices, because that wasn't what she wanted to hear. Suddenly, a light went off in my brain: she wants to eat out!

After asking a few questions, I finally figured out that I was supposed to cook at Cracker Barrel tonight. Well, that was a surprise to me. But, I am swift on the uptake - sometimes. I asked if she wanted to go to Cracker Barrel, and she said whatever I wanted to do. That's code for "Yes". It's amazing what you can learn about someone when you live with the as long as I have lived with Carolyn. Believe me, you have to be able to pick up those little signals that say so much.

So it was Cracker Barrel for supper, and it wasn't too bad. I think they probably make more money on the country store because that stuff is some kind of high priced. Carolyn usually makes a pass through the store to ooh and ahh over the stuff, but she seldom buys anything because she knows the rule about something having to go to make room for anything that's new.

By the time we got back home, I was ready to snuggle in for the night in the cool RV. Sure would be nice to see some cooler weather.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Bandon, Oregon: Cranberry Capital Of Oregon

Not all who wander are lost.