Great day.    It’s Tuesday aka Palm Coast bridge day.   I dropped her off and headed for the beach to see what the surf conditions would be.   It’s been cold, rainy, and worst of all windy for the past few days and I had my doubts about the fishing prospects.   Sure enough the waves were large and the water mass was strongly moving south along the coast.  I tried a 4 oz pyramid sinker – just about the largest I can handle with the length of cast required.  It simply couldn’t hold and quickly washed up on the shore a couple hundred feet south.   I tried for about a half hour and finally just gave it up – not  bite.  

 It was too early to convert the afternoon to a brewery day so I drove to the European Village in Palm Coast and decided to hike the path alongside the intracoastal.   I reversed directions from my usual trek and started under the beach bridge and walked south to the Waterfront Park.   It’s 1.5 miles one way, about 40  minutes for me, and I used to routinely make the round trip walk with a stop for a brewski.   Starting at the bridge gave me a 3 mile, non stop hike.   I wasn’t sure I was up to that much walking but decided to give it a shot.   Surprisingly there were quite a few hikers and bikers – way more than I used to encounter last year.  In the past, I could walk the whole path and maybe see 3 or 4 people, hiking or biking.  Now, I encountered people every 50’ or so.  Must be the crowd that used to inhabit shopping centers.   I started running out of gas about half way thru the return trip but pushed thru.  Going to be sore tomorrow.  

Last year at European Village I had a choice between Moonrise Brewery and Farley’s Irish Pub.   The gal behind the bar at Farley’s was my biggest customer for garden greens so I never had to pay for  cold brew there.  Alas – Farley’s was gone.  No doubt a victim of the Covids.   Moonrise was still operating so all was not lost.   I did my customery one beer and headed back to the bridge club to get Nancy.   We decided to stop at a little roadside eatery we’d frequented for years and was from all appearances was nearly ready to collapse.   But somehow over the past year it has become a cult favorite and you have to stand in line 15 minutes to get to order.   They make one of the best fish sandwiches around and we have to struggle to each eat only a half of a sandwich.  I guarantee if you didn’t know about the place, there’s no way you would ever stop there and even if you stopped, it would be tough to bring yourself to eat there.   But the word is out.

So lots of changes in the past year.

Made another incredible salad directly from the garden.  3 different types of lettuce plus swiss chard and turnip greens for the green portion.  Then the roots – radish, turnip, and onion and finally the tomato.   All soaked in Garlic Expressions dressing.   I try to slip in something new each time and see if Nancy spots it.  The turnip greens are the guest ingredient this time.

The bridge game went just fine and Nancy came out in the middle of the pack.   There were 7 or 8 tables so it was a decent size game.  The games are scheduled for  Tuesdays and Wednesdays only at this time as compared to 7 days a week pre-Covid an Nancy has partners now for both days.  She was concerned that nobody would want to partner up with her but that was put to bed quickly.   She used to play on Monday’s and Friday’s and would rather have those days open again but until then…………

While she was playing, I went to the beach to play surf fishing.   I was surprised at how crowded the beach was but it is Spring Break and lots of good fishing areas were full of kids playing in the surf.   I found a spot among several multi-rod fisherman and set up.   The surf was a little heavier than ideal but still very fishable.    No problems with my gear and within a few minutes was laying  out 50-60 yard casts.   I ended up catching 3 small whiting – topping off a great day at the beach.

I had an errand to run at Home Depot which just happens to be across the parking lot from my go-to Houligans.    There I found absolutely no one I knew – staff or customers.  So that was a bummer.   This was a Tuesday and my normal day there was Monday so that probably explains some of it.  My next trip over is next Tuesday and I’ll try my European Village haunts – the Irish pub and Moonrise brewery.   It’ll probably take a few weeks to get all the kinks worked out of our new social schedule.  I’m also thinking that the bridge club will add more days in a few months if these games go well.  

Garden news – starting to pick turnips.   Wish I knew someone who ate the greens.  I’ve never had luck with them before and tried a new variety just for a last attempt.   I’ll start picking them as soon as Nancy schedules them  into a meal.  It’s also looking like a bumper crop of tomatoes starting early April and Bell peppers.   100% of both crops made it thru the colder than usual winter and the bushes are loaded with tiny fruit and blossoms.

Mark and I worked on the pump down at the dock and got it working again.   Pretty sure the problem was the work of mud dobbers/wasps who had crawled upside and froze the impeller blades on the cooling fan.  It had been unused for at least a year and the critters are unrelenting.    After cleaning that out, it started right up.   Didn’t even need priming which meant the stop valve and pressure switch were still working and means I can now clean fish down at the dock and pressure wash the dock.   Nancy’s not wild about me cleaning fish in the house.   

Another big project nominally completed this past week was cleaning off the mildew/fungus/grunge that has been growing profusely (for 15+ years) on all three of out sheds.   It was a much bigger job than I had anticipated and requiring hand scrubbing each square inch with bleach.   I could do about an hour’s worth each day before my arms gave out.  The first time I wasn’t wearing rubber gloves and suffered burns for a week afterwards.   By the time I was done, one pair of pants and a heavy duty flannel pull over shirt were (from my Utah days) converted to future work clothes.   

Cleaned out a row in the garden that was pretty much played out and replanted with green bean seeds.   I put in 3 x 10’ rows.   The seed was less than a year old so should germinate just fine.  As soon as these germinate and put on a set of real leaves, I’ll plant another patch about the same size.  Also started picking turnips.   In the past I’ve never had luck but this crop seems perfect.  I don’t know anybody that eats turnip greens and hate to just toss them in the compost pile but…………

Next job checked off the list is power washing the dock.   It’s been a couple of years and one section was really nasty.   There’s no down spout from the roof gutter so every time it rains, that piece of the dock gets wet.  We’re (Mark) is going to add the downspout so I decided to kick off the project with a thorough cleaning.   Lots of electrical problems between the water pump and power washer but finally got it done with only a few breaker pops.  It took a few hours but it looks pretty good. 

And the really big event – they decided to restart the Palm Coast bridge game and we’re on our way.   Maybe a resumption of the good life.   She’ll play bridge to her hearts content and I’ll go surf fishing for a few hours.  Then we’ll hit the local brewery on the way home for a finisher.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that the whole thing comes off flawlessly.  She’s a little nervous that her playing will have suffered during the break but I’m fairly confident that she’ll do just fine. 

Mark and I worked on the pump down at the dock and got it working again.   Pretty sure the problem was the work of mud dobbers/wasps who had crawled upside and froze the impeller blades on the cooling fan.  It had been unused for at least a year and the critters are unrelenting.    After cleaning that out, it started right up.   Didn’t even need priming which meant the stop valve and pressure switch were still working and means I can now clean fish down at the dock and pressure wash the dock.   Nancy’s not wild about me cleaning fish in the house.   

Another big project nominally completed this past week was cleaning off the mildew/fungus/grunge that has been growing profusely (for 15+ years) on all three of out sheds.   It was a much bigger job than I had anticipated and requiring hand scrubbing each square inch with bleach.   I could do about an hour’s worth each day before my arms gave out.  The first time I wasn’t wearing rubber gloves and suffered burns for a week afterwards.   By the time I was done, one pair of pants and a heavy duty flannel pull over shirt were (from my Utah days) converted to future work clothes.   

Cleaned out a row in the garden that was pretty much played out and replanted with green bean seeds.   I put in 3 x 10’ rows.   The seed was less than a year old so should germinate just fine.  As soon as these germinate and put on a set of real leaves, I’ll plant another patch about the same size.  Also started picking turnips.   In the past I’ve never had luck but this crop seems perfect.  I don’t know anybody that eats turnip greens and hate to just toss them in the compost pile but…………

Next job checked off the list is power washing the dock.   It’s been a couple of years and one section was really nasty.   There’s no down spout from the roof gutter so every time it rains, that piece of the dock gets wet.  We’re (Mark) is going to add the downspout so I decided to kick off the project with a thorough cleaning.   Lots of electrical problems between the water pump and power washer but finally got it done with only a few breaker pops.  It took a few hours but it looks pretty good. 

And the really big event – they decided to restart the Palm Coast bridge game and we’re on our way.   Maybe a resumption of the good life.   She’ll play bridge to her hearts content and I’ll go surf fishing for a few hours.  Then we’ll hit the local brewery on the way home for a finisher.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that the whole thing comes off flawlessly.  She’s a little nervous that her playing will have suffered during the break but I’m fairly confident that she’ll do just fine. 

This was a busy week.   Had Stanley Steemer come in and do the floors – tile and carpet.   Also the Oriental rug and the tile in the showers.  They cleaned and resealed the grout on the floors.  What a difference.  It’s only been 20 years since it all was first installed so I guess over the years it had gradually “aged”.    

While we were at it, we had noticed a gurgling sound in the kitchen sink when the bath tub was draining so I got concerned that the septic tank was signaling that it needed service.   We never had a backup but also had never had the tank serviced since installation – 20 years ago.   I know that we opted for an oversized tank when it was originally installed, don’t have a garbage disposal unit – classically a problem with epic tanks – and that Nancy has been semi religious about adding a monthly dose of yeast  but since the recommended service period for a clean-out is 3-5 years, my gut told me we needed to brace ourselves and get it done.   Tom and I messed around with a clean-out snake but didn’t come across any blockage and had no impact on the slow draining.  

When the service truck arrived, it was a bit taller than the trees hanging over the driveway would permit.  Bad start.   The service guy was prepared for such an event and had a battery powered saw to cut away brush in the way.   Battery was dead so I broke out my chain saw and cut off the offensive branches.   I’m thinking this is not going smoothly but let’s get on with it.     He found the tank and pulled the lid with zero problem and pronounced the tank didn’t look too bad.   It was nearly full of solid material but he said he had encountered much worse.   Within about 20 minutes he had totally drained the tank, flushed it out using all our water sources in the house – flushed the toilets, ran the sinks etc and found no internal blockages at all.  Mission accomplished.  I asked the serviceman about using yeast or Riddex and he recommended the yeast as actually better for the tank than Riddex and much cheaper.   I think the 3-5 year maintenance cycle would really apply to house with a large population – two old citizens just don’t tax the system.   I also suspect Nancy’s diligent use of yeast was a big plus.  She changes the A/C filter and the yeast at the same time, once a month.

We capped the week off with a trip to Nancy’s oncologist/surgeon to get the low down on her melanoma (which seems to be of the mildest variety), a stop at her hair dresser’s for a quick do, and then lunch at the half wall with a glass of blueberry wheat brew.  The melanoma was found by the dermatologist at a routine, six month checkup a couple of weeks ago.  They had a genetic test performed on the biopsy  which rated it as the weakest, least likely to spread type.  But it still should be surgically removed.  The oncologist was quite certain that minor surgery would remove the affected area with near zero chance of any spread.  We’ll schedule to get it done sometime in the next few weeks.

Time to restart posting to the blog.    There’s been nothing of interest going on since the feared and dreaded Covid’s attacked.   But with the introduction of the vaccine, things seem to be brightening quickly in Florida.  We got the second shot two weeks ago so we’re good to go!

My signal that things are almost back on track is that both Nancy’s bridge games, the one in Crescent City and the one’s in Palm Coast are restarting on a limited basis.   That means a restart of our social life – my surf fishing and brewery inspections and Nancy’s fun and games.  Last week our March calendar was empty but now it’s brimming over with events and we’re starting to run into scheduling conflicts.   Many of the events are still doctor visits but even so – the juggling has begun.

A couple of big news events since this time last year.   Simon and Amy are expecting – meaning we could become great grandparents.   Aaron and Kayla are likewise expecting, I think within a month of Amy.    That will make us great great Aunt and Uncle again.   Olivia is blasting thru PA school in Knoxville TN in top of the class fashion.   We even call her now and again for medical consults.  Chris and Vic bought a home in Chester NJ.   It’s surprisingly rural on a big piece of property including a pond.  They have a steady stream of deer visiting so you know it’s out there.  I’m guessing wild ducks will be visiting the pond when it thaws.  

On the potentially negative side, Barbara next door has put her place up for sale.  Since my garden is on her property, that could signal the end of the garden for me.   I took a chance that it wouldn’t sell quickly and went ahead with planting a fall – winter garden but not sure if it makes sense to move forward with a summer garden.  She says she tells all prospective buyers that it’s a package deal – comes with a share cropper neighbor – but…….   I personally think she has it priced too high to sell and she says she’s not lowering it so…………  I’ll have to make up my mind by the end of next month whether to plant a summer garden or just forget it.   Another low risk option is to plant the whole garden in corn.  I’ve not had much luck with corn before but if I do the whole garden in that crop, it will require very little attention and give me a little leverage dealing with a new neighbor.  

Be that as it may, I still spend a good deal of time with the garden.   We’ve had a fairly cold winter (so much for global warming) and had to completely  cover the garden 5 times.   Normally I have to do that once or twice.   Most times before a cold front moves in, it rains and gets windy so covering the 1200 SF garden in a gale is tricky going.   But I managed it and actually experienced not too much loss.   So entering March we’re harvesting a bonus crop.  The greens are doing exceptionally well.  That would include swiss chard, kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and collards.   Plenty of lettuce, carrots, radishes and, this year, turnips.  This should continue thru April.   Normally I give away more than half of the crop to Nancy’s bridge ladies or her crochet group.   Since they’ve been shut down and my other customer at the Irish Pub in Palm coast closed also – I have an excess that can be overwhelming.   So we’ve tried many new recipes to deal with the surplus.   Two pasta recipes are great because they use a load of greens and are delicious – a cabbage pasta and a swiss chard pasta.   On the surface that may not sound that great but trust me, they’re incredible.    

Another plus during this boring period has been the quality of the spec fishing in the lake.   It’s been consistent enough that if Nancy wants fish for supper, I can go out and fill the order – usually in less than an hour.  March is usually a switch month where the fishing focus switches from spec’s to bass.   I’m ready.  I’m also ready to hit the surf again.  This is the start of bluefish season on Flagler Beach.

The last good thing from all this lockdown – we’ve had more communication with our kids than before.   We have almost daily conversations with all three.   Tom and Joey usually come up to the lake on the weekend to help around the house and take Nancy shopping.   I just can’t get my arms around shopping trips!!