Summer moves along

Usually by about mid January I am sick and tired of cold weather and winter in general...the Spring is always slow to arrive in Ohio, and once it does, it is usually windy with rain and the continued cold. By the time things improve in the middle of May...I am glad to see some sunshine and warmer weather. However in Ohio, you never know how long the Spring conditions last before the heat and humidity make one long for Fall.

Last year, the Summer remained cool with low humidity throughout the duration...this year? Not so lucky...it got hot, humid, and stayed wet through June, and with the exception of a day or two respite...it has been pretty miserable to be outside, at least during the daylight hours. Here it is heading into the middle of July, and I am looking forward to Autumn.

Growing up in the heat and humidity of South Florida, along the Gulf Coast in the small town(at that time) of Venice, I can understand why folks move south to get away from the brutal winters of the North and Northeast, I never could understand why one would live there from May through September, or even want to. Rain, humidity, and oppressive heat indexes are the rule of order, and I would never live there for that stretch of time...Hell Ohio Summer's are bad enough, but the deep south, along the Gulf Coast? No Thanks!

So here we are, less than a full month into Summer, and I'm sick of it already...knowing we have at least 2 full months to go....unless, like last year, we have a couple of months of less humid conditions, but with the universal Global Warming Threat(sarcasm insert), that cannot happen 2 Summers in a row...can it?

No games for me today....one college summer game at Ohio Northern University tomorrow evening, then some late season tournament action in both ACME and area Pony League stuff and I am finished with baseball until next March...football beckons, and that is usually pretty warm and humid to start, and then finishes on the cooler side. I'll settle for a season of 70 degrees and sunshine with humidity in the 20% range. What are the chances of that happening for an entire season? Hummmm...that would be ZERO! But we will take what we get, and be glad to still be up and around, running up and down the diamonds, fields, and courts at the age of 61.

I did get out and check out the flowers around the fence this morning, photos included...the Radar says rain is on the way....a good shower would be welcome, if, if, if, the humidity would be lowered...but I see 90-95 will be the temps with humidity to match for the next couple of days...O' Well! You take what nature throws at you.

enjoy your day.....back later>>>

Photos-The lone Sunflower that has bloomed along with some of the fence flowers that are surviving the Summer's Heat....and me in the Summer of 1956 with a Red Snapper that I caught off the Manasota Bridge, near Englewood, Florida. South Florida was a great place to grow up in the 1950s, it was a wild and wonderful place back then....not so today, that Venice and other areas have been destroyed by over development, and it has become an overcrowded expressway to Hell, teaming with traffic, Condos on the Beach, perverts, and illegals. Plus the hot, wet, summers still suck. But hey, I got some photos and the memories of when it was pretty nice. A town of 1500 compared to today's 50,000 souls crowded against the dying Gulf.

September/October

12 Noon

Working the Thursday/Friday thing at Greenville, rather than the usual Monday/Tuesday....have a Jr High football game out of town this afternoon...not much else going on, will mow the back yard, check on Jack the Airedale...he's hanging in there, but the outlook is grim for the old guy, still wags, but eating less and less, but will wait a day or two to see if any improvement is forthcoming.

September is always one of those love-hate things...weather wise September and October are always my favorite times, but with the knowledge that winter(which I hate more and more each year, as I grow older) is just around the corner....HOORAY FOR GLOBAL WARMING......working in Environmental Health for 20 years, I can tell you that so-called Global Warming is a joke....is the earth getting warmer? Who knows? But it's being used as a political tool by the media and the nut job lefty loons.....Ok enough blatant POLITICAL COMMENT....time enough for that in the coming segment.

Loop Road and the coming Environmental Disaster

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Just a joke, after working in Environmental Health(Government Bureau-rat) for 20 years, I can tell you without thinking twice, environmental scare tactics are just that...should we be cleaning up the environment, reducing toxins, YES! Should we be yelling out like Chicken Little? Hell NO!

Loop Road is a perfect example of how far off the radical scare em' the sky is falling crowd is. Loop Road is located in the Florida Everglades and "loops" off the Tamiami Trail(US 41), south of Naples and west of Miami...if you visit Loop Road, take along bug spray, preferably use a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and carry your camera.

The "endangered" Alligator is a prime example of how many hardy beasts can out do man when it comes to survival....the White Tailed Deer is another....my last trip to Loop Road(easy to find on a map) the Gators were out in force...the largest one(pictured) was in a pond area, not 50 feet off US 41....my guess he was at least 14 feet....large by any standards.

No, the Alligator is no longer endangered... thousands of other species in south Florida are....OVER DEVELOPMENT is the cause, not global warming. Growing up in south Florida back in the 50s, when it was wild and undeveloped(for the most part)....I could not foresee what it would become today. I almost considered moving back a few years ago, had a Environmental Health offer in Punta Gorda, but turned it down, later I thought about moving back in the winter months...but the traffic and crowds are no longer for me. So I am content to visit the family members who reside there when I deliver RVs down that way(5 or 6 times per year).

The "Old" Florida is gone forever, the Gator is alive and well...reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

[photos...the biggest gator I have seen in my life, and I had them as "pets" in the 1950s..and the famous Loop Road, just off Highway 41]

prh