Back in Leesburg, fl

When I heard my brother-in-law, Donald Larson, had fallen and was in the hospital I turned Halcyon II south and headed back to Florida.  My journey north is on hold for now.
The trip was pretty fast but two storms (remnants of the tropical storm) with very high winds made me 'duck and cover'.  Then when I entered northern Florida the detours started and I am now very familiar with all the small country roads between Jacksonville and Leesburg.  Flood waters came right up to the road in lots of low areas.  And in one spot I saw a whole house full of furniture sitting on the top of a dry knoll along with a small mobile home while the occupants were gathered outside, at a table next to it, dining. 

You may remember Don from my postings last January-March.  He is the dapper gentleman with the hydroponic garden.  

I thought I would replay these pictures rather than show him in his latest garb--the very chic hospital gown with the air-conditioned backside.  He is doing quite well in rehab getting his strength back.  He broke his clavicle in the fall but otherwise he is in great shape.  His doctor informed me, "we should all wish for his blood pressure numbers!"

I parked Halcyon II at Lake Port Apartments and moved Sigh Me and me into Don's apartment for the present.  Sigh Me went immediately to her favorite spot where no one can see her.  However, don't sit on that strange lump on the bed. 



And if you recall--this was the state of the hydroponic garden last winter....

And this is the present garden.  He has harvested several crops of lettuce and given some away to the neighbors.  The vines going up the sides are morning glories.  One of the things he asked me as soon as I arrived was to be sure and check his garden.  Somewhere in that high-powered executive's mind lies the farm boy of years ago.

Last week, while in the hospital, Don celebrated his 90th birthday.  These are the flowers that his sister sent to him and the arrangement created quite a stir in the hospital.  Designed to look like a cake the bouquet constantly made my mouth water and people kept stopping into the room to see what kind of cake it was.

Now that things are starting to settle down here, and Don continues to get better each day, I will get back to the blog.  There are a number of places that have been omitted because of this mad dash back to Florida but I will post them soon.  So don't give up checking on the blog--I may be slow but I am still here.

And the plans are to stay here for the next few months before heading west again where I expect to winter--somewhere.  But, we know, plans can change on a dime.