Lily Pads

They are looking particularly resplendent this year, even thought the water level in the lake is going down. I have been enamored of lily pads since I was a youngster and first viewed Monet's images of this marvelous plant. One of the things to watch is how birds, reptiles and insects use the pads to traverse acoss the water. Grackles are constantly hoping on the green discs, seeking insects among the green circles. Were I to leave this earth tomorrow, I could do worse that to spend eternity as a creature on a lily pad in the middle of a gorgeous lake.

Something You Will Never See in Central Park

Something You Will Never See in Central Park, originally uploaded by Gatorhank.

We recently went on a trip to New York City and visited Central Park, where this image was captured. When I got home I decided it need a little something extra, so I put a little church (between Hawthorne and Melrose) in the the park.

The Good Fishermen

The Rudds are back on Bream Lake and they're catching bass right and left. Young Ben Rudd pulled a 12 pount bass out of the lake yesterday and his father, Rick, caught 25 on the same day. They throw their catches back as soon as they land them. They are true sportsmen. Unfortunately the Rudds must leave Bream Lake soon and get back to their new home in Virginia. That's the bad news. The good news is that the fish are still there, waiting for the next good fisherman.

Sunrise on Bream

One of the many gorgeous morning occasions that happen at our house on Bream Lake. The cabin faces East and, as a result, we see no sunsets and many varied risings of old Sol. This was a particularly spectacular one in early March. This sight will be familiar to many of the inhabitants of the Four Lakes Community in which we dwell. I'm sure that the people on the East sides of the lakes, looking west, witness just as many wonderful sunsets. In fact, if my 3rd grade teacher taught me correctly, there is a sunset for every sunrise. Be sure to click on this image to see an even larger version on your screen.

Critter on the Move

Upon rising yesterday morning I decided to journey into nearby Hawthorne and grab a few groceries at Hitchcock's. I had just hit the paved part of Ashley approaching Holden Park Road when this little critter starting sauntering across the road. He looked about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long and was taking his time. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and got this snap as he scurried away in the direction of Holden Pond. I would imagine with the Spring weather we might start seeing a few more of our reptillian friends. Let's hope that when this one grows up, he finds plenty of fish to feed on and lays off the two-legged flesh.

Becoming one with nature

The days we spend at Bream are long and languorous. We watch things. We watch birds. We watch fish. We watch insects. We watch clouds. We watch critters. Everything is observed. There is a permanency about the place. It's almost as if we've become one with the surroundings, even though we are not present for the whole week, our hearts are till there. It is almost Thoreauian in nature. I think I am turning into a tree.

Croc on a Dock

Do you believe this? If you do, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Although this is a phoney crocodile in this image of our dock, we've sighted a gator a few times in Bream Lake and in every instance it was swimming in a very remote corner of the lake and away from shore. Fortunately, we are relatively free of nuisance gators in our lake. I have a feeling that if one did happen upon us, he would be so full of the fish that are abundant at Bream that he would not be particularly interested in human meat. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Big Snub

Two birds meet on a dock. One is a sea gull, the other is a black bird. They eye each other and this is the initial result. A short time later, after each bird found out what the other was really like, they became good friends. This happened on our dock at Bream Lake. I think we all can learn a lesson from our fine feathered friends.

On the Deck

Looking more like passengers in deck chairs on the Titanic than Floridians, my wife and daughter are bundled up for a brisk February afternoon on Bream Lake. Although they were feeling a bit chilly, my grandchildren were running around barefoot, cavorting with their Scottish father and absolutely enjoying the break in the temperature.

Reflections

Since, at Bream Lake, we exist on the water's edge or, when recreating in the lake, literally on top of it, we see a myriad of images mirrored in the water, constantly coming back to us , showing us who we are and how we live. The reflections are every where and vary according to the light, angle, and relative calmness of the water. Depending on the amount of light hitting the surface, the lake can appear dark, almost black, blue, green or even brown. If the surface is mirror smooth the reflected images are crystal clear and ultra-realistic. If the water is choppy it offers an impressionistic rendering of our world. It is always fascinating, and yet we tend to ignore these wonderful images, being so familiar and everyday. I was on our dock, sipping a late afternoon libation, my camera at my side, when I looked back at our house on the water's edge and saw this. The version of the image you see here is inverted, adding mystery to the already enchanting act of nature. Click on the image to get a better view.

Hitchcocks

This is a tee-shirt we purchased at Hitchcock's in Hawthorne. In Gainesville we shop at Mother Publix. In Hawthorne it's Hitchcock's. The moment we enter the store we are greeted by a female voice (via the P.A. system) saying "Welcome to Hitchcocks's. We are proud to say we have spareribs on sale for...." All in a wonderfully mellifluous southern twang that could only have been comitted to tape by a Hawthorne woman. We visit Hitchcock's at least two or three times during our usual four day visits to Bream Lake and we are never dissapointed. I think you can find the cheapest meat on the planet there: stomachs at $2.50 per pound. The only problem is we haven't had the stomach to try them.

Bess

One of the three ducks that regularly inhabit our little section of Bream Lake. It's name is Bess (I'm using "it" because it could be a male). Bess is named for Harry Truman's wife. The three ducks are named Harry, Bess and Margaret (Margaret, of course, for Harry's singer/novelist daughter). If you've been to Key West you will recognize the name from the Magaret Truman Laundrette (because it's located at the intersection of Margaret and Truman streets). The ducks are fed a ration of whole kernel corn each day we are at the lake and they seem to expect it to be there at the right time.

At Last!

This may not look very interesting to you, but the sight is heavenly for those citizens of the Four Lakes Community of which Bream Lake is a constituent. They have finally begun work on that tortuously bumpy strip of road extending from the Alachua County line into Putnam County, winding through the lakes area, and eventually emerging onto Gordon Chapel Road. This is something that has long been anticipated by most of the community and will certainly be appreciated by our poor automobiles and trucks, which have previously been lead to early retirements by the damage inflicted by this washtub thoughfare.

Camp Conner-Byres

Not much happens at Bream Lake that the rest of the world would find exciting. We ventured out to the lake house today to check on things: make sure the plants were watered, feed the ducks and shiners, and hang our new L.L. Bean Lake House sign. The only other event that is occurring is the beginning of the paving of the dirt road that leads to our lake house. In a previous blog I described the travails of traversing this thoroughfare. A journey down this catastrophy of a road will jolt your fillings and push the family car significantly closer to the "previously owned dealer". They , the county road people, are beginning to make signs like they are serious about smoothing our journey to Bream Lake. Let us pray. More on this later.

Moo looks

My wife and I make frequent trips to a farm near Bream Lake where we know we are welcome and we visit the various denizens inhabiting the several hundred acres. Among them are a miniature horse named Neigh, two full sized horses, two dingo-like dogs and many head of cattle. We feed the horses carrots and the dogs get dog biscuits. Alas, we do not feed the cattle. The reason is two fold: there are too many of them and, besides, they are already provided with plenty of grass and hay. We do feel enormous pangs of guilt, though, because the cattle always rush to the fence when we come and persist to give us the most baleful looks I have ever seen.

Full Moon over Bream

A full moon is particularly nice at Bream Lake. Our house is on the western shore and looking across at the eastern horizon at the moon rising is very nice.

Look to the Skies

I strolled out to the dock this morning and saw this in the sky. If you've been to London and seen The Eye, it should be familiar to you. It's come a long way!

Buzzards

They have returned: the buzzards, or, perhaps more properly, the vultures. Here they are, perching on the end of our dock at Bream Lake, trying their best to look like little wrens so we won't notice them and shoo them away. I have mixed feelings about these creatures: on the one hand I appreciate the job they do for us. They are nature's sanitation department. They scavenge for dead creatures , eat them, and clean up the countryside. This is good. They also congregate in large numbers and roost in trees near ones property, creating, as a group, the most God-awful stench imaginable. I guess they're like a jail house: necessary- but "not in my back yard". I think the plusses outweigh the minusses.

Eat your heart out Architectural Digest !

Our clothes dryer at the Lake Bream house went on the fritz and we purchased a new one. I think the old one looks rather nice on the porch. My wife has another opinion. What do you think?

October Days

The days are long, lazy and beautiful at Bream as we head towards Halloween. The hurricanes are not happening this season and, as a result, the heavy rains have not come. For the past several weeks it seems that no moisture has come and the lake is receding back towards the level it was when we first came to Bream. Our good neighbors for the last several years, the Rudds, have gone to live in Virginia, so we are awaiting new neighbors who expect to build a house next door. In the image you see here, Jerre is watching the shiners and minnows gather around her feet and vie with Ogden the turtle for the catfist pellets she throws into the water.We experienced a little excitement two days ago when we heard 4 gunshots being fired a few houses down. Nothing unusual in this pistol packin' community. Ah, well...