Having finally cast-off from the cozy harbor of Karen and Bill's house, we are now beginning a tour of homes of other friends. This is starting with Katie and David's wonderful house by a lake in the Florida sandhills near Melrose, just east of Gainesville. Their beautiful property has oak woodland that slopes down to a grass-bordered lake. There are plenty of wild-birds including the occasional sandhill crane, downy woodpeckers, and bluebirds. Rather to our surprise, while watching a red-bellied woodpecker on a bird-feeder, there was a sudden rush of feathers and we peered out of the window to see to see a Cooper's hawk standing in the ferns just below the windowsill. A moment later it took off; carrying the red-bellied woodpecker in its strong talons. Wow!



Downy woodpecker on a feeder

Part of the reason for moving to a bigger house was because we were lucky enough to be joined for a long weekend by our youngest daughter, Shevaun, and her husband, Matt. Their flight from Duluth, Minnesota, was rather delayed but once they stepped out into the comfortable nighttime air of North Florida in March, they were very happy. On Sunday (March 13th), we thoroughly enjoyed a very relaxed morning by the lake and walking around the local roads. Despite some showers in the afternoon, we drove around Gainesville and Matt was greatly intrigued to hear all about Shev's undergraduate days at the University of Florida. We looked at all of the places where she lived (including our rented-out house) and scurried around the Psychology Building, Student Union, and other notable landmarks. The day was concluded with Karen and Bill joining us for hearty helpings of garlic rolls and pizza-by-the-slice from Leonardo's, one of Shev's favorite near-campus restaurants.