Checking the crab-traps

 

Oh boy, three weeks without a post!I better get something going.

The problem is that I really don't have much to write about. 

Let's see if I can come up with something ... maybe the weather, always a good filler.

The days have been rather cool for the time of the year, actually they've been flat-out cold, with temperatures around the high 50's, low 60's, cloudy skies and strong winds. One night was particularly stormy with wind speeds of 25 and gusts of 30!

(This of course is nothing if you compare it to the poor folks north of us, where temperatures have plummeted below zero in some places and snow has been falling non-stop for weeks on end now.)

It's been foggy in the mornings which sometimes makes for nice pictures, so one such morning I braved the elements to get some nice hazy shots of this guy checking his crab traps ..

A flock of pelicans were on his heels, following him from buoy to buoy, trying to snatch up some of the small fish and shells and mussels  that might come up with the traps ..

The storm had moved one of the anchored boats at the dock all the way to the other side. The anchor must still be attached, but I guess it got pulled up and dragged for a bit .

    

I like these 'moody' shots ..

I was happily surprised at the dock one morning by this beautiful Roseate Spoonbill. He really stood out among all the grey of the day.

It's pale pink color identifies him as a youngster ..

James has been working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day, so we don't do much sight-seeing at the moment.

We only went for one 'outing' in these last couple of weeks, besides the weekly grocery-runs of course, and that was to the local flee market.

It's one of the largest ones in Florida, and only a couple of miles from us, so we decided to check it out 'while we were in the neighborhood'.

They were right, it is huge, but  I didn't really like the place. Yes, there is a big variety of things to look at, there is something for everyone, but a lot of it was new, cheap merchandise of the 'made in China-' or Dollar Store-variety or really just junk from someone's attic.
Mixed in between were a variety of stalls selling fudge, pralines and pop-corn, some fruit and veggies that looked a little past their date, and several food stalls that sold the usual junk-food. 
The Greek wraps and Gyros we had for lunch were actually very tasty, so it wasn't all bad. 

 
All in all we weren't too impressed but, as they say, it 'kept us off the street' and filled a couple of hours, just relaxing and not doing anything.

At the moment the weather is a lot better, the temperatures are up in the 70's, and are going to go up even more by the end of the week (which actually makes it too warm for this time of the year).
Flowers are everywhere despite the 'winter' .. this being Florida, of course ..

At first I thought these were buds of a Hibiscus that had not fully opened yet, but they're actually Turk's Caps and will stay that way.

Here's some more from around the neighborhood :

It's winter .. somewhere?

I'm also working on a nightmare of a puzzle! It claims to be the smallest one in the world (of 1000 pieces).
The pieces are less than half the size of 'normal' ones, and the 'cut' is pretty much the same for all of them, so you have to go almost strictly by the image .. for which I keep a pair of magnifying glasses at hand!

This one is going to be very slow in the making!

And finally, last but not least, some good news about the truck! 
It appears that by the end of the week it will be back together and, hopefully, running! Yeah!
The waiting was on a part that was back-ordered (of course), but it has come in and they are working on putting the engine back where it belongs .. in the truck. What a concept ..
Soooo, if all goes as planned (ha!), James will be test driving it this weekend. 
(And I'll be sitting at home waiting anxiously for the call to come and pick him up if anything goes wrong .. as you can imagine, I'm not convinced it will be smooth sailing from now on)

I believe it when I see it! (pretty much my mantra)

Let's bow our heads and cross our fingers ..