1. Palm trees do not bend in severe winds. With the storm that went through early this morning bringing copious amounts of rain and wind only to clear around noon and have huge gusts of wind, it is noted that the 30 foot palm tree in the back yard doesn't bend an inch. Or lose a leaf. Not one. That's strength.
2. Everyone in the neighbourhood as all their windows, doors and even garage doors open during the big winds. Hmmm. Living with airconditioning 80% of the time down here it's absolutely blissfull to open all the windows and doors and let the breeze through. Okay, so a number of my newspaper crossword puzzles when flying through the house after I opened everything up it's super nice to have fresh air wafting (like that word??) through the abode.
3. Wind whistling through the lanai sounds like the snow storm wind you hear in a movie. Right, we all know it. Movie screen filled with a white, blizzardy scene. Sound effect is that whistling wind that just makes you cold hearing it. Well, here in Florida, inside the lanai (yeah, like I didn't know that word either until I became a Snowbird), the wind really sounds like that movie sound effect. HEY! I wonder if that's where they got the sound from? No blizzard here. It's 25C out today.
4. Humidity is a killer for asthmatics here in southwest Florida. For those that know me know that sometimes the old girl just don't breathe as well as she oughta certain days. Buggy things for my lungs: change in altitude, dramatic change in temperature, certain chemicals and yes, humidity, high humidity. Well, yesterday it was a not a happy breathing day. Maybe it was the storm coming through, maybe the tail end of a head cold I've had or maybe it was just the little airbags being tired of being in the humidity but it was a "stay in the airconditioning" day. No worries, lungies fine and my tan hasn't faded from being inside for a day.
5. Rookies arriving everyday around here. Yup, I guess this is what you call the busy season. Nearly all of the houses in the neighbourhood have cars out front and people wandering around. You can tell the rookies. They have yet to change from their pasty whiteness to that auburn colour of us seasoned Snowbirds.
6. Rain makes everything come out of it's shell. The flowers are going berserk, the grass has grown 2 inches (I swear it has) since yesterday and everything is GREEN. What a transformation!
7. Snowbirds watch/listen to the local news and weather. There are interesting things to heed in these broadcasts. Such as the rip tide warning issued today for Venice Beach and all the gulf beaches. Due to the severe winds we've had for the past 12 hours the undertows, sneaker waves (didn't I see these somewhere before??? Hmmm California!) and riptides at these beaches are severe as well. This is all tempered by the fact that they let you know that tomorrow afternoon and Tuesday will be some of the best "shelling" days on the beaches. What this means is that the storms bring up some of the really good shells to the beaches to be picked up. Some folks get to the shores before dawn. Right, that's dedication. Hmmm I'm not doing anything....so.....we'll see.
8. Grapefruit league baseball dominates the sports reports down here. Being only a few miles from the Charlotte Sports Park where the Tampa Bay Rays have their training camp it's only natural that the local news is all about who is playing and who's back and what the "atmosphere in the clubhouse" is like. Snowbirds and locals (yeah, there are a few of them) REALLY go nuts over spring training. Okay, we do the same with hockey so I guess it's only natural. Gonna try and get to a game since the park is so close. Hmmm sunny day, brewski and a ball game. Sweet!
9. Condos STILL for sale. Over the time The Man was here we heard on the radio every weekend a remote broadcast from Bal Harbor condos. "2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom condo, never lived in, for only $129,900. Original price $325,000. Complex foreclosure. Only a few units left." Well, there are still only a few units left and now they're advertising on the TV as well. They never announce how many are left to sell but for two months they've had units available. This is indicative of the real estate down here. I wish them luck.
10. Snowbirds don't go out for ice cream. I have seen one Dairy Queen (yes, MW I will go for a Blizzard when our fellow Nutty Buddie pal comes down in a week or so, we have to research what different flavours they have!) and one other ice cream place. That's it. Guess it's not a big thing down here. I figure with all the Snowbird grandkids arriving it would be the place to go! Hmmm interesting.
I think that's all of my Snowbird observations for now. I did find ten for you!
I'll be out and about in the coming days to seek out more information for you all.
Hey, I think "Let the wind blow" is a song title? The Man will have to confirm....
I impress me!!
No comments:
Post a Comment