We’re in the FOREST!
See Previous Florida Blogs for Salt Springs! Per usual, we are officially “hunting” for bears! According to the latest National Forest
Magazine, black bears are more widespread than their larger brown cousins. The Ocala is home to Florida’s largest
population of black bears; a 2016 statewide estimate noted that the area around
the Ocala supports roughly 1,200 bears with the highest density in the Forest
itself - - more than a quarter of the state’s bear population! Then why haven’t we seen any???
What we have seen is rain!
MORE RAIN! Last week it started
during the evening on Thursday and rained for more than 24 hours straight. Ocala registered 8 inches! Now it’s Thursday again and it’s
RAINING! I KNEW I should have bought
that rain gauge when we were at the flea market last week! Luckily for us – the warnings and several
small tornados passed south of us. They
were aiming for Orlando and not us. We
did end up with about 4 inches on this second batch of precipitation!
Before the rain hit last week, we heard the piercing squawk
of what sounded like a very large parrot coming from the next row over. The parrot and his people moved in right
next to us and his
screened room shelter was placed right between the two
trailers! OH NO!! Thankfully he settled down and with all the
rain, he was kept inside alot. I
finally got to meet ZEUS who is 17 years old and has been with his folks since
he was 5 months old. He can do tricks
and talks! He loves having his head scratched!
Isn’t he beautiful?!
Salt Springs Campground has changed over the years since
we’ve been camping here. It used to
have a big old barn for socializing. It
used to have sites where you could stay for months at a time. This year the
limit of stay is 2 weeks on all sites - just like all the other National Forest
Campgrounds! Instead of being almost
full at Christmas time – only about a third of the sites have campers. Zeus and his folks have moved on and we’ve
met the fun folks who have moved into that site! Two sites down are a couple we
met back when we stayed at EG Simmons County Park! I was showing her my “wares” and she said she had bought some
from a lady years ago but she was sure it wasn’t me. IT WAS! It was at EG
Simmons! Our friends that we met here
last year just arrived and this weekend our other favorite friends from here
are due in! And Bob from Illinois is
back at the resort across the road – he is
still swimming in the springs
whenever he can! On one of our rare
sunny days we rode our little bikes over to visit him and H ended up with a
flat tire. HA – he fixed it without
removing the tire from the bike!
The truck is fixed!
Ford has had a recall out on the power brake vacuum pump but our local
dealer at home would not replace it until it acted up. It has begun to act up! If anyone is near Palatka or the Forest and
need auto assistance – call BECK Ford (or Chevy, or Nissan, or Chrysler!). We drove up on Saturday and the part was
emergency ordered out of Atlanta.
Monday was frustrating but after contacting Mark, the service manager,
nerves were settled and after the call from him again on Tuesday morning – we
were there within the hour! And within
the next hour – Jeff had the brake vacuum pump replaced and also the throttle body
assembly! Jeff and H even swapped
several stories about their respective FORDS!
He was very knowledgeable and easy to chat with! On Wednesday, all was fine – on Thursday –
after all the rain – there were NO power brakes when the truck was started. Friday was another phone call and another
20-mile drive up to Palatka. We are so
tired of all this truck drama! But at
least on this trip to the dealership, our Good Lord provided us with a
beautiful rainbow to let us know all would be ok. When the pump was installed on Tuesday the clamp on the vacuum
hose was not tightened sufficiently and when H started it on Thursday – it blew
it right off! Simple fix!
Corky Bells Seafood Restaurant has been checked off our list
of “must do’s! Their Shrimp and Scallop plate was great as usual but they only
serve Shrimp and Grits on Mondays so on our second trip I ordered their shrimp
and their cheesy grits as a side dish.
I put the dozen broiled shrimp in the good-sized bowl of grits. It was good but not as great as Safe
Harbor’s!!
And H got to go shoot skeet at the Palatka Trap and Skeet
Club again! While I knitted and chatted
on my cell phone he was out
shooting a PERFECT score!! Way to go H!! You smoked it!
Christmas is coming! We’re moving closer to Ocala for the holiday, which will be
spent with D&S before we really head south to (hopefully) the warmer parts
of Florida.
Saturday was the Christmas potluck and thankfully there was
no rain. No warm weather either but the
sun was shining brightly and we were almost warm enough! My Sweet & Sour Green Beans were
devoured – just a few were left aimlessly floating in a puddle of its tangy
liquid!
