Thursday

Mangoes are in season.

We started buying fresh baked bread from the Publix bakery. We've had whole wheat, sour dough, and Italian whole grain. Fresh bread sure does perk up a sandwich.

We rode down to Jensen's Seafood Market after lunch to pick up some fresh fish. We selected this fish that was caught in the gulf, locally, this morning. John cooked it in the crock pot while I baked sweet potato fries and squash in the oven.

Quite a meal!

 

Friday

I rode to Coachman Park along the waterfront in downtown Clearwater this morning.

It was my first trip since they renovated the waterfront. Before, it was just a grassy knoll and the marina.

Now they have an outdoor stage, called "The Sound." The structure looks like a giant stingray from the water side.

Covered seating with more seating on the lawn.

Clearwater marina with the causeway bridge overhead leading to Clearwater Beach.

Lots of overlooks and water features.

The lake is one of the most attractive features of the park.

Lots of concrete

Several pools that spilled out into each other down the 40-foot bluff overlooking the sound. The angle of the sun made it difficult to get a good picture.

The multiple venues were interesting. It reminded me of a sunny Duke Gardens, but without the people and all of the small details that make Duke Gardens so intricate and interesting. This development is large scale.

Concrete plaza, not sure what the purpose is.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but I found it a bit disappointing. Parts of it were interesting, but not particularly beautiful. It didn't feel cohesive. I think the biggest problem is that there was no one there, maybe seven people the entire time I was there. And they were all workers except for two.

It was a nice 15-mile round trip bicycle ride.

Coming back through Downtown Dunedin, there was such a contrast: people everywhere. A small scale quaint place full of people vs. massive scale, concrete, empty place.

I think it's the people that make a place feel alive. Downtown Clearwater was desolate, lots of empty store fronts. It's got to be one of the saddest stories in the state: a one-of-a-kind strategic location on a 40-foot bluff overlooking the sound and the Gulf of Mexico beyond. There's no other place like it in Florida. But it's also home to a religious cult that is notoriously difficult to deal with and likes to buy up downtown properties and leave them vacant.

New plantings along one of the ponds at Stirling Park 

Thursday

 

Early morning Toby walk in the neighborhood. Our frangi pani tree is blooming. We depend on this tree to shade our one westward facing widow from the intense sun.

I rode my bike out to Honeymoon Island to walk on the beach this morning. I left the house about 7:45 and got home about 10:15. John stayed behind and ran 2.5 miles in the neighborhood. 

That's Clearwater Beach on the next island down the coast. It's full of high-rise condominiums while Honeymoon Island has only three restrooms and two small cafes. Quite a contrast.

The trees are holding onto the beach as best they can.

Not many people out on a Thursday morning.

Wildlife

When you gotta go, you gotta go! I didn't realize that I got this picture while the bird was pooping until I got home.

I did not poop on the beach.

I walked in the water and felt the soft sand between my toes and on the bottom of my feet.

Wednesday

 

77 degrees on our morning walk on the causeway

We rode our bikes and made it to the causeway by 8:45, about 30 minutes earlier than usual.

The sprinklers on the new putting green made a rainbow on our morning Toby walk.

I took Toby outside after lunch and he just plopped down in the grass.

Our stag horn fern seems to like it better on the ground than hanging in the tree. Hydrangeas are blooming behind.

Monday Tuesday

 

I took it easy today. John jogged two miles to Sterling Park and back this morning. I watched a movie on Amazon Prime: Firebird. It was based on a true story of two soldiers in the Soviet Union, stationed in occupied Estonia. One was a private and one was a decorated fighter pilot. It was a great love story. The pilot said: "To think and to do; and to love and to live are not the same," meaning that the lovers could not be lovers when the law forbid it. The private said something similar when he said that he and his lover could only exist out of time and place. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, laws against homosexuals were repealed (in 1993), but that recently (2013), Russia re-criminalized homosexuality.

We rode our bikes downtown to Jensen's Seafood to get a pound of fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner tonight. We baked some fries, regular and sweet potato and added some steamed Kale.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot.

Yesterday, we took it easy and drove the golf cart downtown to get Toby some ice cream.

He knew as soon as we crossed Cedar Creek in Hammock Park that we were headed downtown. And that means to him there's a possibility of getting ice cream. 

He was a good boy and enjoyed every lick of his peanut butter ice cream. 

It made us both happy to see him so happy.

Saturday

 

Toby taking a break on his evening walk at Stirling Park

We stuck close to home on Saturday. John jogged to the Pinellas Trail and back while I rested. I’m slowly getting my energy back.

Friday

 

Seeking a change from our morning neighborhood walk, we put Toby in the car and headed for the causeway. We knew with him in tow that the walk would be slow-paced and short as we walked between the bridges.

He got lots of practice walking by other dogs, without incident.

The morning was overcast, perfect for all of us.

Clouds always give the water a nice color of blue.

Just as we touched the door handle concluding our walk, the rain came. We saw it approaching over the water.

We spent another low-key day at home. I took a nap after our morning walk and a cup of green tea. My energy level seems to be improving gradually. I'm going to take it easy over the weekend.