Tuesday

We took Toby in the go cart to Stirling Park in the late afternoon. John got these great pictures of a great white egret taking off from one of the ponds.

We’ve been working with Toby more than usual.

We’re playing a long game, not looking for instant results.

What a beautiful afternoon! The high temperature today was 79 degrees after a morning low of 63. After lunch, I rode my bike south on the Pinellas Trail through downtown and on to Stevenson Creek. But first, I cut through Highlander and Hammock Parks. The shell path and baseball fields are above.

Shell path looking east 

From the shell path looking into Hammock Park 

Pinellas Trail at Stevenson Creek looking west

Pinellas Trail looking north

Pinellas Trail looking east

We arrived this morning at the causeway after riding our bikes in 67 degree weather. The fog reduced visibility considerably.

There were very few boats out, but I wouldn’t have seen them if they were. This intrepid kayaker was giving it a go.

The winds were calm, not a ripple in sight.

Nothing 

(That’s usually the Clearwater skyline in the distance.)

John took this excellent fog picture. I have no idea what lurks in the fog.

That’s me, doing the old man shuffle.

John took this picture on the way back to the mainland. This picture is from the tidal bridge looking east.

A little spooky 

(Caladesi Island is in the fog.)

The Gulf of Mexico beyond the island channel is shrouded in fog.

On the way back to our bicycles, the sun had warmed the air to the mid 70s and burned off some of the fog, although some lingered on the horizon above the water.

The HOPE Spot Festival is this weekend at Edgewater Park. This eco-friendly event celebrates our coastal community’s selection of a HOPE Spot, an effort to preserve ecologically sensitive areas on the Gulf coast. There will be food and drinks, animals, eco-vendors, and even a costume contest where all the outfits are made from trash retrieved from the water and shores in the surrounding area.

Today’s bike routes to the causeway and Stevenson Creek via Hammock Park 

Miles walked: 10

Miles biked: 16.53

Monday

We took Toby on a late afternoon go cart ride to Highlander Park to walk. 

The temperature got up to 81 degrees, so we were looking for some shade. We walked around the entire block, about 2.5 miles. We have stepped up our at home training of Toby. It’s so easy to get lazy because he’s pretty good at home.

John had his annual physical this morning so we skipped our usual morning walk on the causeway. His doctor recommended an Apple Watch for monitoring his heart instead of wearing a heart monitor for 48 hours. She showed him hers and how it calculates all sorts of heart information 24/7, and even sends alerts if it detects an issue. Everything else checked out fine. 

We stuck around the house until lunch; then we ran errands on the golf cart with Toby. First we went to the golf cart office to renew our license. We used our printer/scanner to assemble all the necessary documents: drivers license, bill of sale, proof of insurance. With a $10 fee, we got our 2023 sticker in under two minutes.

Next, we headed to Ace Hardware where Toby is welcome in the store. We looked at house plants, but John couldn’t find what he wanted. Then we roamed the aisles. I got touch up paint for inside the house, a new plug for an old lamp, A/C filters, and paper bags for excess yard waste. Toby got a huge treat at the checkout, which made him very happy.

I rode home in the back holding onto all our loot.

We’ve learned all the back streets to get to Ace.

The crossing guard for the elementary school asked if she could come over and give Toby a treat. So nice.

I then headed to the gym on my bike to exercise. It wasn’t too crowded. My new friend who used to teach philosophy but now works in cybersecurity, was there. He told me about his gruesome bike accident eight months ago. He no longer rides in the street if he can avoid it.

The safest place to ride is on a Pinellas Trail.

Miles walked: 6.3

Miles biked: 5.77

Sunday

 

After lunch, I rode my bike out to the beach and enjoyed the 82 degree warmth. I stopped at Bathhouse #1 and walked to the end of dog beach.

A lot of sand has collected at the southern tip of the island, no doubt drifting down from the sand replenishment project from a few years back.

This is the southern most tip of Honeymoon Island. The channel is to the right and the condos are off to the left. The tidal bridge is straight ahead, looking east.

After the cold spell we had, there were lots of people wanting to get to the beach. Sunday is typically the most popular day to come, it seems.

The Pinellas Trail was busy. 

Both directions.

We rode our bikes out to the causeway this morning to walk for the first time in several days. The temperature was 67-70 during our walk.

Today's bike routes to the causeway bridge and later to Honeymoon Island

Tomorrow's projects: John has his annual checkup, we need to renew our golf cart sticker, and we need to make a trip to Ace Hardware. Ace is dog friendly, so Toby will get to go, too.

Miles walked: 11.5

Miles biked: 15.29

Saturday

It was 67 degrees and cloudy this afternoon. The forecast was calling for rain, so I drove to Weaver Park to exercise. After about 45 minutes, it started to sprinkle, but that was enough time for my second workout of the week, pretty good considering the weather and house projects. Since it was Saturday, the little kids outnumbered me 6:1.

Today’s house project was to move the stick vac hanger from the bedroom wall into the closet, where it should have been installed all along but the closet was too full and I wasn’t thinking.

It used to hang here. I was able to route the cord discreetly under the closet door. I had some white cable clamps that hold the wire in place. I was going to touch up the wall repair but our paint had dried up in storage. I’ll need to get a quart on our next Ace trip.

We muddled through pet training this morning. The worst dog in the class was absent (skin issues), so we took over that role indisputably. The other two dogs are taking the advanced class for the first time; it’s our third. Those dogs were able to stay down at the front of the store with lots of distractions for 2 minutes. Toby popped up several times. He may have made it 20 seconds. In this level of training, we have to do all the commands without treats. Toby waits after every command to see if he’s going to get a treat. Sometimes he’ll go along; sometimes he’ll just stare off into space. It’s hard not to compare your dog to the other dogs. Every dog is different. Our trainer keeps telling us her dog was a super slow learner.

We did the hated “come/STOP” command which Toby, John, and I find confusing, but the trainer is adamant about us learning. It’s used to call your dog and then stop him in his tracks, like if he’s crossing a street with oncoming traffic that you didn’t see when you first called him. Whatever. We always find a way to mess this one up: too loud, too soft, too late, too much body movement, not enough body movement, body movement in the wrong direction . . .

Our trainer said that dogs pick up the energy of their owner. If the owners are crazy, the dog’s going to be crazy. She illustrated the point with a story about a dog she boarded for the weekend in her home. It was a hyper doodle that was bonkers in training and at home, according to the owner. Our trainer sent her dog away for the weekend so that she could manage the crazy dog without it messing up her dog. The trainer said the dog was great all weekend: calm, obedient, and sweet. That story made us feel a little hopeless. Some crazy we just can’t help. But we have both suspected that our energy and attention might be too much. We’re going to work on being calm and talking to him less. The trainer says dogs tune out their owners when they talk all the time because they don’t understand the words. Then, when we give a command, they’re used to tuning us out.

We’re looking forward to warmer weather the next six days, with highs in the upper 70s.

Miles walked: 7.3

Friday

 

I’ve emptied this entire closet and sorted through every box. What you see are the things we decided to keep, mostly photos and sentimental keepsakes.

Just five boxes that no one will care about when we’re gone, artwork, A/C filters, paper towels, and an extra set of cushions for our new sunroom furniture—sent to us by mistake.

In another 15 years, if we live that long, we’ll sort through them again. At some point, you have to say who cares about yearbooks and old photos? I think about people who lose everything in natural disasters. They find a way to move on without any of their belongings. I think we attach undue significance to things that don’t matter.

It was time consuming to sort through everything, and a bit emotionally draining. Many photos were fun to see again. Old diaries and letters were funny and sad. I kept getting sidetracked. John and I kept pausing to look at things and reflect on our childhoods, which were remarkably similar.

Some things were easy to part with: Microsoft Office on CD from 2008, old music CDs, pictures saved to CDs, movie CDs.

I hung a few more pictures and stored others for another day.

The garage, on the other hand, is now filled with stuff. We’re using it as our staging area for the yard sale and selling on Next Door or getting a friend to sell on EBay.

We took a break to walk Toby and fetch dinner. We went to Stirling Park while the sun was setting, hence the red tint on our faces. I could not get a good shot of the three of us. Toby kept making goofy faces.

The temperature got up to 62 degrees, but it still felt cold. I think next year I’m going to count any day under 70 degrees as a winter day. I’m guessing that there are about 30 day's worth each winter. I like what my gym friend said about our weather: “Water freezes at 70 degrees in Florida.”

Miles walked: 6