Florida is Its Own Country...

If it is Florida in late July it is hot!!  It is the kind of hot where by 8 a.m. I am soaking wet from sweat. There is no point in applying any makeup or trying to style my hair. This is as good as it is going to get! As the day progresses the hair goes in a pony tail of sorts and out comes the baseball cap!  It is all high temperatures and humidity...and I can live with this fact. I also will spend most of my day in the air conditioned home of Lisa, my daughter. However, inquisitive person that I am;  I cannot stay inside for any length of time. Florida is alive with an exotic beauty I am not used to seeing; and once again I am afraid if I stay inside I will miss something I may never see again.  We only get one chance at life...make the most of it.  I have learned to pick my times of day to wander around. Early in the morning is the best time for me. A cup of coffee, my camera and I am set for close to an hour. That is about the length of time it takes for the 'no see'ums' to arrive with a vengeance. If I make it to Heaven, the first thing I am asking God is, "Sir about mosquitoes, ticks and no-see'ums...you were just messing with us right???  They really had no reason to live??"

Alligators...at least three...have claimed the canal behind Lisa and Lisle's home as part of their territory. It also has leather back turtles, tarpon, and probably a mixture of other creatures I do not want to know anything about, but would love to see just once...except for the snakes. I can live without ever seeing another snake! This feeling applies to any snake, any state!  I am an equal opportunity 'snake hater'.

                                             

In the profile photo above,  I am standing under a bamboo trellis Lisle built. The beautiful trellis has become the home of largest Philodendron plant I have ever seen.  It is coiled, tangled and spiraling around the trellis, the fence and the roof. Some of the leaves are eighteen inches or longer.  Playing hide and seek in the midst of this mini jungle of air plants, hanging moss and a banana tree, are geckos of every size. 


There are bromeliads that grow wild here.

This one grows freely in a compost pile close to the canal.  I paid five dollars for the same plant in Missouri.  I buy one every year because they remind me of the Alien that punched its way out of Sigourney Weaver's stomach in the last 'Alien' movie. Go figure...It adds a touch of humor to my sun room.

I seldom hear English spoken in Naples. That fact reminds me of when Tommy and I lived in Yuma. We were the minority in that border section of Arizona...according to the news we still are. There are some beautiful people here. I enjoy the mixture of cultures.  Just don't try to buy a pimento cheese sandwich at night...I do not think pimento cheese has made it to Florida yet.

 Nearly everyone in our community has a screened in lanai attached to their home. Some people have swimming pools, others have pool tables, bars and patio furniture.  People sit outside at night protected from the flying insects and talk to family members or play music. Sometimes it is a night of Latin music. When one elderly lady plays the piano everyone stops to listen. The kid with the pool table has a party as soon as his parents go to work. Last night it was down home country music.  It was humorous hearing the doors slam as the old woman and the Latino's went inside. I have to admit the kid did have it cranked. Halfway through Hank Williams, Jr. rendition of "Why Do You Drink and Why do  You Blow Smoke,?"  I heard a loud splash and then silence. I don't know if the neighbors threw the kid in the canal or he threw his empty bottle away.  Whatever it was, it was time for me to go back inside.

That goofy bug, 'no see'um' may have a story behind that name.