Before we get to the subject of this post…a bit of history…Bill bought this Florida property (4+ acres) when he retired. It had a little ramshackle house. His thought (as told to me) was to spend a little to make it a livable base to come back to between RV trips. A LOT of $$$ later he had gutted the entire thing, bumped it out here and there and ended up with a light-filled, modern-equipped and comfortable 3 bedroom, 2 bath home.

The “bump” was for a spacious master suite which includes a master bath with enough floor space to host a small ballroom dance. Both the bedroom and the bath have large skylights - with canister lights - i.e. they are bright during the day and if the full moon is in the right place - moonlit and sometimes starlit at night. The lights in the skylights along with some other lights on dimmers allow for lighting the space to suit the mood…. enter the “star” of the suite!!!! - THE TUB!

While I am not really a “bath” person, this tub and all that surrounds it, has converted me! Look to the fore-right and you’ll see a sprayer thing. So….it IS possible to not only wash one’s hair, but also to rinse the entire person of soapy, dirty, bathwater should that be the end of things - my previous major objection to the bath scenario. But, the truth is, I remain a “morning shower girl” so that the use of this thing in the evening becomes purely and entirely a decadent, sensory indulgence! A bit of smell good salts, dimmed lights and a candle or 2 … heaven! The thing also has jets so if you have a sore spot - oh my…

Anyway…the other night, I was sitting in bed - which looks into the bath…at the tub…which has mirrored walls at either end…and I noticed that “infinity” effect. I had never noticed that before…had to “play” a little bit…

fun - huh?

This is the “end” of an evening enjoyed…

after the soccer game…

But the start - the start of the evening was another spectacular, “color the sky like fire” North Florida sunset evening…

From sunset to dusk to dark - brilliant color like fire…we played soccer and then sat and let night fall - with crickets, frogs and ??? singing in the background - a pleasant evening.

Not the usual “front porch” scenery… These guys roar overhead with some regularity. On rare occasions we can actually see them practicing - usually finding them in the sky is near impossible. And by the time you hear the roar, they are somewhere else. But yesterday morning, the clouds were high and they were right above long enough for me to find them and try a photo.

One day, with a tremendous roar and boom that shook the house, one flew by seemingly just over the treetops paralleling the road. Maybe there were 2 because I looked out the window on hearing the sound and saw one go past - micro-seconds of view - barely enough time for my mind to register what it was. There is something dramatic and throat catching about their speed, sound and capability - it is all so far above “normal”. Despite the fact that the noise is sometimes distracting, I’m grateful for these guys and all who serve.

We are both still alive…I feel a lot better but won’t be running a marathon soon, actually never…point being I’m not feeling 100% yet and it is annoying. Bill is apparently feeling better than yesterday, at least that’s what he mumbled during the 10 seconds he was awake so far this morning. But we did have a quiet night which is saying a LOT!

Due to the conditions (healthwise…), I had the computer in the front room this morning instead of the front porch or the back deck. I was sitting enjoying the quiet and Oswald Chambers’ words and random thoughts and prayers when I noticed the warm glow of the morning sun and its pattern on the wall.

Then, I looked out the windows - the morning light and blue sky grabbed my attention - while not the “front porch” there was still that feeling of quiet, serene morning that I love to start my day with.

When I downloaded the photos from the front room I was surprised at several other photos on the camera. Sunday afternoon when I was first feeling unwell and lying in bed…it was a beautiful, sunny, just the right temperature day - and I had planned to sit on the back porch after my house cleaning fit and enjoy. Now, here I was in bed feeling a bit miserable. But, earlier, I had opened all the blinds - not closing them when I went to lie down. I had forgotten, until I saw today’s photos, that I had fetched my camera and played with the idea of “what could I capture through the window”…

I was out this morning enjoying the sunshine and cool (40 something) morning - looking at the sky and clouds and marveling as always that it never seems to look the same…and then taking a close look at this tree as I was thinking and wondering - when do trees leaf out in North Florida. At the same instant, it reminded me that when I arrived here in early November, the trees had most of their leaves - and they were green or at least greenish with just a tinge of the promise of fall color. Gradually, they did turn but the leaves did not drop off immediately as they do in the north.

Some of the area trees turned red in December and even in the yard some red.

Coming clean about the above photo - this was the day when the sun rose in a red panorama so the overall light when I took this was reddish - ramping up the red glow even on the ground. See the post More Sky Photos .

Later in December.

Until February when the trees were bare.

And much as I love the budding of spring, and the green glow as trees and plants respond to more light and warmth…the bare bones of these trees make for beautiful foreground to the ever changing sky and clouds…

The thing is, the trees will leaf out in their own time - in the right time - for them and for this place where they are.

To everything there is a season…even in Florida.