Near our home

One morning this week on our walk, I decided to take the camera. It might be surprising that living in our retirement community, we do have some farm life around us. We have long-horned cows right behind our fence, an occasional buzzard looking for something (hopefully not me), orange trees and grapefruit trees hanging heavy with fruit. I love the early mornings, because you hear roosters crowing and trains from tracks nearby. Because of our frost last week, all of our neighbors lost lots of flowering shrubs. They'll come back quickly though, because this is the tropics and we can plant anytime to replace.

In my childhood home, I lived near train tracks, and I remember the soothing sound the train made as it passed by all hours of the day and night. Like a Grandfather clock in the house, soon you do not even hear it because it is so routine. Sometimes we need to silence the clock in our home when we have guests because it is too loud for them. At Christmas time, I told our grandsons how to tell the time if they wake up in the night (as if young boys wake up) because our clock chimes at each quarter hour and then on the hour. (Yes, those are mice on each side on the top of the clock ;)

We are also near Tampa and the big Super Bowl weekend. Yesterday while on the 15th hole of the golf course, we looked up and saw a cargo plane flying low with a Arizona Cardinals emblem right over us. We will not be there, but at our neighbors watching on TV like most of the states.

This is our home and I am very comfortable here. I have met wonderful neighbors and made lots of friendships. Having lived in many places since our marriage, this feels comfortable and like home to me.