Smarties Bar & Grill #76

And of course you have to have the signs warning people who don't have a clue that this is Florida and that there are alligators present and that you should not feed them or harass them as attacks on humans do occasionally happen.

If you can read the sign at the bottom it says to immediately report alligator sightings in the swimming area to a ranger. Well I walked all the way to the end of that trail and there was not one single swimming area.

If I would have had a sharpie marker I might have been inclined to write on the bottom of that sign......" They lie, if you're going to walk to the end of this trail looking for the swimming area, don't waste your time." Lol

It was hot as hell too and I was looking rather forward to this mythical swimming area... I might as well have asked Bigfoot for directions.

 

Terrain could not be more different than the landscape I live in (altho' there are claims a gator inhabits the Rio, allegedly escaped for a private zoo. )

 

It is hot as hell this year and our heat has a ton of humidity to go along with it.

I did eventually find that very large lake with a public swimming area yesterday.

A guy told me that the equipment on his boat said that the water was 93° and it felt like it

 

over a hundred and ten everyday.. for weeks.. BUT very low humidity and entirely tolerable in the shade. I call 120 degrees, and over, "death rays"

 

Definitely. After your description, how could I not want to see some of these?

 

Here is an enlarged view:



If you were to put a tiny clock face at dead center of your original picture, the face would be at a little bit past 7:00, below it.

 

I'm going to post some in your painting thread.

Montegriffo posted some but the pictures disappeared for some reason

 

Montegriffo's pictures are still there.

 

I might live awhile longer anyway … after almost 2 years dealing with MDS, I tested with no abnormal red blood cells this week … I can breathe again and plan on putting on some weight so I can go hiking again …

after massive amounts of chemo and a marrow transplant, I thought I was good but the bad cells came back … I would not have survived another round of chemo band just kinda gave up but the docs put me on a chemo pill called Vidaza and weekly transfusions…

it could come back but for now, I am in the clear …

having some Popeyes chicken with biscuits, Cajun rice and a few beers tonight … hopefully some booty too …

 

I’m glad your bloodwork came back clean! I have a friend who’s currently MRD negative with multiple myeloma. These bone marrow diseases are the pits. But modern medicine has come a long ways and is advancing every day. Hang in there and enjoy your evening and good news!

 

thanks brother…

 

Great that you are doing well, MDS is hard to manage and you are extremely lucky. Hope you continue to stay rid of the disease. It is so encouraging to know that treatments are available to cure.I think I remember you saying you went to the Mayo Clinic is that correct?

 

Yesterday we got a minor reprieve from the heat, we got rain. I checked the gauge this morning it had 2 1/2 inches. The temperature at the highest was 104, after the rain we were cooling off with 80 degree weather..

 

yes, the first round treatment and the marrow transplant was at the Mayo in Scottsdale … I lived there in quarantine for about 6 months thanks to our good friend Covid which I desperately had to avoid … things went well for awhile after but the bad cells reappeared 5 months ago so I went to the best at Duke University and they have it under control and now I maintain a regimen at a local oncologist… feels good to breathe normally again …

 

Here lately I've been keeping my thermostat in the house at 80°.

Even still the AC works pretty much all day from about 10:00 a.m. and to the late afternoon without turning off. At the hottest part of the day the house is at 82°, but believe it or not 82° that is air conditioned feels just fine

A lot of people don't seem to understand that setting the thermostat lower is not going to make the house colder in this type of heat. I just means you're not giving the system a chance to shut off even at night.

There is something called the 20° rule that is a good rule of thumb..... Don't set your thermostat any lower than 20° lower than the outside temperature.

 

Good advice for sure. Thank you.

 

Yeah, we are also doing 80 right now. It really does feel nice. My husband is nervous about the Atlantic. It’s ridiculously hot right now. We shall see.

 

Could be a major hurricane season.

 

Yes. Could be. Nerd is not happy with the current trend.

 

I think Nerd has a reason to be unhappy. On July 26th water in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park was recorded at 101.1 degrees. Something to watch for sure.

 

A flower found in the wildflower garden.

 

Looks like a sunflower to me.

 

It was a Rudbeckia, the stem was flat and over an inch wide. It was unusual, the other flowers on the plant were normal size.

 

Cool.

 

The brown center disk on the flower was shaped like a big curved C with petals forming around the center.