Thursday, 28 May 2015 - On the way to the Palmetto Public Library, I rode my bike down the street past a beautiful historic home that was ordered from the Sears-Roebuck catalog and delivered via rail and barge to Palmetto in 1913. It has 22 major rooms and 4 fireplaces, ten foot ceilings and extensive handcrafted woodwork. One of the most luxurious available through the catalog at the time. Amazing! See the photos for more details.
                  I also understand that in the early days, one of the cheapest ways to make long distance moves across the country was to mail your whole household, beds, dressers, tables, couches, everything, via the USPS. Wow! Try that now! How could the postal service do that then, but not today. Technologically, it should be easier now than it was then. Can you remember when mail was delivered to your home TWICE a day? If you're my age, it was happening during your lifetime. Of course, they weren't delivering all the junk mail at super-discounted rates back then. Your letters cost 49 cents to mail, but I received a piece of junk mail a while back that was delivered for 5.1 cents. The post office loses money on each piece individually, but they seem to be convinced they make up for it with the volume.

Friday, 29 May - A terribly exciting day. I filled my propane tank, bought groceries, then headed back over to the library to complete some more of the Florida boater's safety online course, which is not difficult, but very time consuming.

Saturday, 30 May - Back to the library. Hey, I guess I'm not doing too bad on the safety course. There are 7 sections, and out of the first six sections, I've only missed two questions. Later...well, I got 95 percent of the total...about 140 questions. I hope I can live with that. If nothing else, it'll lower my insurance rates.

Sunday, 31 May - Did a little (very little> maintenance on the motor home, then moved outside to do a little reading. While outside, I notice a couple of large woodpeckers nearby, so I got my binoculars to get a closer look. I believe they were Pileated woodpeckers. I would have liked to have gotten a closer look, but they flew off before I could. Later, I heard a woodpecker, so I grabbed my binoculars and went out to see if I could spot them again. No luck there, but I did discover what I assume is a mother owl and four chicks about six inches tall very close to my motorhome. I spotted the young ones first, then, while trying to get a different view, I happened to spot the slightly larger one in the next tree over. I could see about half of it in profile or I would have never seen it. Again, I wanted a different view, so I moved about 90° and looked and looked. It was the best camouflage I've ever observed. I was so close I could barely focus my 10X binoculars on it, but, since it was on a limb of an oak tree, it's feathers blended in perfectly and it was also looking out from behind a thin veil of Spanish moss that was right up against it. At first, even though I knew I was looking right at it, I couldn't see it. I looked and looked. It was in slight shade, so contrast was low, then, as the sun moved a little, the bird became highlighted in what seemed almost like a spotlight. I STILL couldn't make it out. Then...it opened it's eyes and I knew for certain that I had been looking right at it. It closed its eyes again and totally disappeared. I looked and looked, but couldn't see it until it opened its eyes again. I wist I'd had a camera with a long lens to catch the scene. The camouflage was absolutely astounding.

Tuesday, 2 June - I'm spending most of today educating myself about marine surveys, talking to and making a selection of which surveyor to hire for the inspection onboard, on the water, and out of the water inspections of "Island Time" next Wednesday, 10 June. For the moment, I'm waiting for a return call from the broker, so I can ask him some questions about the procedures of that day.
                  It just started raining here, so it is interesting watching the dry leaves of the forest floor jump as the raindrops hit them. This will soon cease as the leaves soak up water, soften and get weighted down by the water, but, for the moment, it looks as if there are jumping beans under each leaf. The rain is nice. It takes away the guilty feelings that I should be outside getting something accomplished.

Wednesday Morning, 3 June - Ahha! I think I've found just the right marine surveyor. He worked for the CSY Corporation as their quality control manager, so he has extensive knowledge of all aspects of these vessels. That's fantastic. We're all set up for the inspection next Wednesday morning at 8:30am. Yahoo!

            Until next time,
                        Don't dream your life...live your dream!