Let's Talk About Teddy

     About a year ago I began to notice a cat wandering around the property.  It was in the fall and all I could think was, "He'll never make it through the winter!" Well lo and behold that cat did make it! All last spring and summer I saw him in and out of the barn, always on the hunt. Occasionally the cat would creep onto the back porch and have a stare down through the screen with my other cats, Beejay and Scamper. I would chase him away!

     I did notice that my chipmunk problem had disappeared which was good. I'm sure the mouse population was down also.  But sadly I began to notice some bird casualties.  This annoyed me and my opinion of the cat sunk further. My brother came to visit and when he spotted the feline I explained about him. Rich said I ought to call the cat "Teddy" as he was always "hugging" all the animals he could.

     The name stuck and I continued to see Teddy everywhere.  He always skedaddled though whenever I approached. Slowly over the summer we began to build some trust and he no longer took flight when I approached calling his name....or was it her name?

     One day we pulled in the driveway only to see Teddy wrestling a squirrel on our front porch! Go get him Teddy! I began to enjoy seeing him and decided to try to make friends with him. It was slow going until later in the fall. I began to leave him a dish of food on the back porch as it got colder. He seemed to appreciate it and soon was waiting by the back door each morning for his breakfast.

     We became great friends and soon I could pet Teddy and rub his flanks at will. He began to follow me around when I was outside doing chores and we had some nice talks in the barn. I think you can see where al of this was heading. I trapped him and took him to the vet for shots and a checkup.

     The lady at vet office reception said, "My that is a large cat.  Is she pregnant?" I was taken aback by this as I hadn't thought about this cat being female. Theodora? I was quite relieved when the vet informed me that it was indeed a male, in fact already neutered! That explained why I couldn't see his junk! Back to being Teddy!

     Since we were only weeks away from this trip, I needed to put domestication on the front burner!  Would he get along with the girls? I was wary!

     Fast forward to today.  What a wonderful cat!  Such a lover! And has never once even looked at going outside. Teddy knows a good deal after being out in the real world all that time! So now we are three cats learning to get along just fine. I am glad Teddy is aboard but no more on this little bus!

    I sit here with Teddy on my lap licking my hand and I wonder how he went all that time on his own without a friend and a good home. Just a great cat!!!

Getting a Routine

It's our first full day here in Stuart and I am establishing my routine. Remember, I am on vacation!

I am up at 7am most mornings and my first duty is to feed the cats. They each get a small portion of tasty wet cat food to start their day. Sheesh! You would think that Beejay was going to spill a litter of cats out onto the floor the way she carries on while I spoon it out. All 3 of them make a lot of noise and then settle in.

Next it is time for a cup of coffee. Steve Young, cub coffee drinker only started to imbibe about 3 years ago. I still drink it on the weak side but it is getting stronger all the time.  I have to drink decaf or else spend a few hours peeing. One of the joys of aging is wondering how many times I will have to empty my bladder before things settle down.

And so I slide into my big comfy chair and switch on the morning news while I sip my brew. I usually watch CBS This Morning with Charlie, Gail, and Outfits (Nora) as they seem to be the least biased of the morning media. Today however, I tuned in the Today Show with its cast of "infotainment celebrities".  I wanted to to get a glimpse of Cornflakes ,who is doing a guest gig this week. (I call Katy Couric "cornflakes" because she is only good in the morning.)

TV goes off after I am caught up with the news and have had a good breakfast.  I almost always eat a hardy breakfast but have cut back a little in the new year so I don't send the bathroom scale to tilt mode.

Next I headed to the YMCA to sign up for a month of daily workouts.  I have a nice little routine there which ends with a shower and shave. I am not ready for any swimsuit competition but I am feeling pretty good.

 I stopped by the Ford Dealer and bought a new antenna for the Fusion on the way home from the Y.  It seems that the old one mysteriously got broken when I went canoeing the other day.  Hint: Canoe and car top carrier. Simply unscrewing the little antenna and stowing it would have saved me 25 bucks!

Now the rest of the day is mine to choose what I will do, as long as Joanna isn't trying to trap me into a project or two. (Only one of those today).This afternoon I decided to chill out and read a book about British fighter pilots in WW2. It's a good read and I am feeling rested as I type this.

Oh! I met my neighbor, Paul, this morning who is camping with his three boys.  How refreshing that a dad would take the time to go camping with his sons! And they were reading books around a morning campfire! Wonderful!

Two and Three

Here are two more shots from our Tarpon Springs visit. Lisa with grand nephew, Trey, after he just got up.  Such a happy little guy! The other picture is with my nephew, Rich. We canoed the Anclote through Tarpon Springs on a beautiful day. Lots of sponges and wonderful Greek food smells!

Phipps park

We enjoyed our visit with family, but today it was time to move on. We drove to the east coast from the Tarpon Springs area on a warm sunny day. Took about 3 1/2 hours to get to Stuart and our home base for the next month and a half:Phipps Park. We discovered Phipps last year and decided to come back. We really like this quiet and roomy county park that overlooks the Okeechobee waterway, and we enjoy the Stuart area for its laid back lifestyle. We can see the water from our campsite and watch boats go by!!!:-)
Dinner at the Galaxy Diner with the old folks early bird specials.  A way of life down here.

Above is our waterway view and below is our site.

Teddy and Trey

We spent our first day in Tarpon Springs and it was a beauty! Mid-70's and sun. My brother, Rich, and Robin stopped by to visit with my new cat, Teddy.  I guess you could say they hit it off! The funny thing is that until a month ago, Teddy was totally wild.  He has spent the past year prowling my property and hunting everything from squirrels to birds.  Who knew what a sweet little guy he would be as an "indoor cat".  Life was hard.  Now it is easy!

We also spent time with my nephew, Richie, and my grand nephew Trey.  Trey is a cutie!

We had a terrific lunch at Johnny Grits, then fun at the playground! More fun tomorrow!!!!

Water water everywhere!

But none in the faucet! We just arrived in Florida last night on the motorhome and settled in. I am getting too old for 10 hour stints at the wheel but we wanted to arrive last night. No water though as "somebody" improperly winterized the water system and the water purifying cartridge cracked. Plenty of water in the storage compartment but none in the pipes! That same "somebody" will drive over to Camping World this morning and try to get a replacement.  Hope they have one! Otherwise, no shower for Joanna and me.  After 4 days on the road, bathing is needed all around. 

We spent 3 nights at truck stops. Just a big parking lot with lots of noisy diesels pumping out fumes.  But heck, it’s free!  We call it anchoring out in honor of our boating days. Now we are at a real RV park in preparation to visit with Rich and my nephew here in Tarpon Springs!! Should be a good weekend once I sort out the water problem!

Day 1- 12/27/16
We shoved off from home base in Upstate NY on December 27th. We managed to get 250 miles done before stopping in central PA at Pine Grove.

Day #2 - 12/28/16
Pine Grove to Mt. Airy, NC. 430 miles in one day. I am getting too old to do such a long day! 2nd night at a truck stop with a dinner buffet and a hot shower!

Day#3 - 12/29/16
312 miles today under bright sunshine.  We are near Atlanta and hoping to enter the "human drain" tomorrow. (That is retiree talk for Florida) We have managed this trip without driving a mile on I-95!
I-81 to I-77 to I-20. I-75 tomorrow. A pleasant journey overall. Today we drove on the Carl Sanders Highway. I never knew the Colonel's first name was Carl!!!:-)