Urbanna, Va.— It’s good to hear spring has arrived in Urbanna, that the winter season has been mild this year and the flowers are beginning to bloom. I am winding up a winter spent in Florida and a good long (and much needed) rest. Frankly, I had been burned out with the passions of politics in America today.
Thanks to Katie and Amber Daughtry and Debbie Longest, who watched over the house, “Dandy,” stray cats, birds, raccoons and other critters in my absence, I was able to escape the constant drum beat of political zeal for a few months. What joyous relief!
I’ve had a love-hate relationship to Florida in past years. This year I chose a spot in Naples far away from yesteryear’s residence of airplanes landing and taking off seemingly right over my head, heavy traffic as only Florida can deliver in winter months—police, fire and rescue squad sirens blaring all night long and delivery trucks with their incessant idling diesel engines right below my condo.
Such are the noises of our modern world of hurry scurry, and I want in Naples the very same quiet I enjoy in Urbanna, the reason people come to live in Urbanna, simply, an innate hunger for not the sounds of humanity but the sounds of nature.
Like birdsong in the morning, one of the great joys of life!
I was located this winter just off the Gulf of Mexico, well secluded on a piece of tropical paradise far away from the maddening crowds and overlooking a very pretty lake, beyond that the long green stretch on the 17th hole of a golf course and beyond that a thick mangrove forest being the only separation to the blue and beautiful Gulf. Here I sat for three months on my lanai contemplating the beauty of the world and thinking of subjects I wanted to write about when I once again picked up my pen.
The days were mostly hot but the nights were heavenly because they offered spectacular sunsets when my lanai was flooded with pinks, reds and corals and the lake reflected the same from the sky with every palm tree’s shadow in perfect replication on simmering pastel water.
I didn’t even mind the first time I saw an alligator slithering along the shore right in front of my third floor condo. Although I was very happy to see him return to the depths of the lake where he lay half submerged peering up at me with two evil eyes as if daring me to come in for an evening dip.
It was here that I watched the song birds, ducks, coots, herons and egrets—along the shore through gusty cold January to a warmer February and finally the mating and nesting month of March when the birdsong was even louder as each species called for his mate.
I love birds! I especially admire that those dear feathered friends mate for life. They know no such thing as divorce, and the male defends and cares for his mate as she sits on her eggs and later his entire brood. A bird’s tenacity in defense of his family is a beautiful reminder to humans what steadfast loyalty really is.
It was here that I watched the occasional golfer pass by, struggling to sink his ball into a hole. How entertaining it was! I might wonder why the human being spends so much time and money on such a silly endeavor, but who am I to ask? I spend hours and hours in front of a computer penning words, words, words . . . and for what reason except the pure enjoyment of pursuing what I love to do. Or as the Declaration of Independence states, “the pursuit of happiness.”
I soon became aware of the hard-working crews that came each morning at dawn with their mowers, rollers, tractors and rakes to ready the green for another day for others to enjoy their game of golf. This loyal army, most appeared to be Hispanic, toiled long and hard each day in heat and humidity or rain and wind to keep this piece of paradise neat and beautiful and in perfect condition. I realized how lucky Americans are to have such industrious people who provide the elderly and retired a chance to pursue their happiness.
Much to think about in Florida this winter and much to be thankful for on return to Urbanna. Especially for my own sense of well-being . . . for don’t we all have to find what we love to do in life, whether it is golf or composing words into sentences? I am happy to be back on my computer again, connected to my readers and writing once more.(Notes from Florida continues next week.)
©2020
