5/2/09 (Saturday): There's not a whole lot of news from us. We're still here in Florida. I'm about half way through my chemo treatments and feeling pretty good. We're taking advantage of being back in familiar territory with lots of visits with friends and family. We've also made a lot of routine doctor and business appointments. In between all that kind of stuff, we've made a couple of visits to the beach and hiked some local trails. Wiley will be having another deep brain stimulator surgery on 7/29. The first surgery took care of the tremor on the right side of his body and this surgery will manage the left side.

We've gotten a lot of pleasure from our bird feeders. Earlier this spring, the goldfinches visited in huge flocks--we had as many as 35 at one time.




















The spring wildflowers have also been quite pretty. This one is called blue eyed grass (the "eye" is yellow--go figure!).













I've seen a couple of flowers I can't identify. This yellow one with a green center was beside a trail in the woods. Can anyone identify it?




















This is another one I can't identify. The leaves have pretty pink veins and the flower is a pinkish white. It's quite large and is usually flopped over and lying on the ground. It also grows beside the woodland trails in the sand. Any of you plant folks out there--I'd love to know what it is!










This is a little cowpea. Very bright and cheerful, isn't it?




















We managed to call up a couple of scrub jays on a ride through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They're restoring the scrub in the area. I sure hope Florida manages to rescue these beautiful, bold birds from the developers.










Another area we've really enjoyed is the Canaveral National Seashore. On the south end, there's a ghost town called Eldora. Only one building remains standing, the "State House." It's been turned into a museum. There's also a pier where Wiley has enjoyed fishing and crabbing.











There's a short nature trail, too. This is wild coffee. It grows all over the wooded areas.




















There's some lantana planted near the State House and it was just alive with these white butterflies. I looked them up in my identification book, and I believe they're called "Florida Whites."











There's not much left of the town--a few foundations and this structure (maybe an ice house?). The town was one of many Florida towns that depended on the rivers for transportation. It dates back to around 1877 and died out when it was bypassed by the railroad. Check out this website for more information. Eldora


We've visited this area a couple of times. Last time we went with our friend, Troy. He must have brought us luck, because we were treated to a great show by a pod of dolphins swimming right beside the pier. They were so close that we could hear them breathing! Every now and then, they'd leap out of the water with a great splash that sounded like a person doing a belly flop. We surmise that they were catching their breakfast. The show went on for about an hour. Great fun!



Another spot we really like to visit is Sanford's waterfront. There's a nice walkway along Lake Monroe. Our friend, Troy, took this shot.

I hope you've enjoyed catching up with our great adventure. We're hoping for some travels to more distant shores this autumn--maybe even as far as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Stay tuned!