3.23.12 Lungun Island (G3) to Silver Glen Springs, FL ( 3.24.12)

It was still daylight when we got to Lungun Island. There were several boats on the river side. This is a popular swimming spot, with a rope to swing out over the water suspended from a big tree limb.

Most of the boats left as the sun went down.

This is Lungun Island, or Shell Island as some of the locals call it, in the early morning sun. The river runs on the far side. We  are anchored on the E side.

It’s a popular spot for camping…or just hanging out with a camp fire. It’s not unusual to see a pontoon boat beached on this side. We dingy over and take Raisin for a walk. It’s a beautiful spot with huge old oak trees and spanish moss.

It was such a beautiful morning, we just swung on the anchor and enjoyed it.

As we headed down river towards Lake George, we spotted this gator. Most of them seem long and lean…this thing was fat.

Just look how wide it is. There is a lot of gator out of the water…and almost no tail…definitely a big one. Look how wide it is. The bumps on it’s back are pieces of bone covered by skin. They absorb the heat. That is how they stay warm.

Here’s a cutie…only 5 or 6 ft long. There is a definite difference in the size of the bumps on this one. Don’t know what they are called….my sister and her husband called them “skoots.”

Turtles sunning…

The “springs” already had a fair number of boats anchored and everyone was having fun in the water.

No one even noticed this little guy hiding in the bushes.

Jim and I like to anchor closer to the lake…out of the designated anchorage for the springs…on the run. It is much quieter  and last year we had a Manatee come up to our boat….there used to be a nice 9’ gator in the same area, but we were told they had it removed.

I do get in the water here…for a quick dip to cool off….but not far from the ladder. If we really want to swim or snorkel we dingy into the springs. We really aren’t that far…that is us on the L. You can see we are one of the smaller boats…ours is much closer to the camera, too.

This little guy looks like it’s smiling at us. look at those pearly whites…I read that gators lose worn or broken teeth (they crunch bones and turtle shells) and can have as many as 3000 teeth in a lifetime.

We spent two nights at the springs….Fri and Sat night.  We decided to leave on Sunday and this was the traffic coming in.

Looking back towards the springs…

in front of us…..the way in is very shallow so most people follow the same line in. You can’t tell it here….but we could see boats and jet skiis in a line back to the gates at the S end of the lake.

We decided to anchor on the Old Oklawaha River for the night….going to rename it “no see’um heaven”….(maybe heaven isn’t the right word?)

Jim tried his hand at fishing…even got his casting down to landing within a quarter mile of where he aimed.  At least he took the big sinker off and added a bobber. I could just see  that sinker coming through the window. We didn’t have fish for supper…..the “no see’ums” were so bad he gave up and we hauled anchor and headed to the mouth of the river….

We anchored on the St Johns River… near marker R 52, between the entrance of The Old Oklawaha River and Bear Creek. Nice spot…not too deep. That is important, since our only way of raising the anchor is either Jim or Me.

3.22.12 Red 32 to Lungun Island, FL G 3

We saw so many birds on our second day out, I decided to do it in 2 posts.
As we were pulling into the anchorage at R 32 on the St Johns River, we spotted a pair of Swallow-Tailed Kites. The Kite is a big bird, with a wingspan of over 4 ft. A beautiful contrast of black and white, with a forked tail….hence the name…Swallow-Tailed. When they soar they use it like a rudder to control their flight. Beautiful to watch. We see them over-head at home.
I didn't get any stills, so I took this out of the video.

They drink by skimming the water and filling their beaks. That is what it must have been doing as we cruised in….then went to soaring with it’s mate.

I’ve been 2 days trying to post this with the video…It just doesn’t install. So…if it’s not there…go to  www.youtube.com and put  CmyBirds2 in the search …all the video posted on my blogs are there.

They feed on small mammals, snakes and lizards.
I’ve never seen a nest, though they must nest in the woodlands near us.
One year we had 9 roosting in a tree in our drive. They must have been gathering for migration to South America. They were gone the next day and we didn’t see them again until the next year.
Here is a link where you can report sightings. www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/swallowtail-kite.php

This gator cruised by us…sat for a picture then continued around his territory.

Another good bird sighting. The Limpkin. These birds are hard to spot because they blend into the woodlands so well.

On one of our side creek cruises we almost missed this gator. All we saw was the tail and didn’t see the rest until I downloaded the photo. Keep following it to the L and you’ll see it’s eye.

 

Our anchorage for the night will be Lungun Island at marker G 3

 

3.22.12 ( part 1) G 69 Blue Springs to R 32

Jim was up early and had coffee going when I got up. After coffee, Jim put the dingy in the water and we went for a ride. I had been watching the Blue Herons build nests in the tree tops. It still amazes me to see birds that big nesting so high.

 

I guess it’s because the branches look so flimsy.

I saw several Herons fly in with sticks.

 

Many of the nests are in the tops of the tallest trees behind the boat.

We got as close to the nesting Herons as we could, and Jim held the dingy in place with the oars while I took pictures and this short video.

After our tour, Jim loaded the dingy and we headed towards Hontoon Island.

There were several large trawlers tied to the docks and the ferry was already bringing people to the island.

A ways down the river, I spotted what I though was just a couple of  Wood Storks landing in a tree…..but it turned out to be several nesting birds…I guess it would be called a “rookery”.

This is another long legged wading bird, high in the tree tops. I was surprised to see how close they nest to each other.

 

Getting it just right.

Looks like 5 or 6 nests in this small area….and the nests don’t look very large.

Jim circled around so I could take this video…taken aboard a moving boat..lots of wind and boats cruising past. Funny, we were the only ones who stopped to take a good look at them.

At R 32 we pulled off the river and anchored. On our way in I spotted a pair of Swallowtailed Kites soaring and diving in the water, but I’ll post that tomorrow.….”Twins”…a nice big trawler was also anchored there….a bit later a sailboat came in. We watched the gators cruise us for awhile, then took a nap….late afternoon it started to get hot….and we decided to go cruising again.

We’ll anchor at G 3 Lungun Island.

 

3/21/12 Launch on St Johns River

Cool this morning. Didn’t really need a fire in the woodstove…but started one anyways. Probably wont have many more this year.

After coffee, we finished loading the boat, went to town to get the mail and a few bottles of butane for our  stove. I do most of my cooking on the alcohol stove, but the coffee maker works best with the little butane camp stove.

Once on the water, I put in 4 of the vinyl curtains. 2 in each stern corner. That leaves one screen panel in the center rear and one big screen panel on each side. That will keep the wind off the birds cage and help if we get a hard rain. We did have a few sprinkles as we were leaving the dock, but they quit almost immediately.

Normally we get launched, then head to G109, Butcher’s Bend and anchor for the night…but it is such a nice day we decided to head on down the river.

I started ribs in the slow cooker last night, so supper was a quick fix.

Over cast and breezy. Didn’t expect to see many gators today….and we were right.

We continued past Blue Springs to G 69 and anchored off the river. This is a good winter anchorage….the sun hits the boat fairly early in the morning.

This is the first time this year that we have been able to leave the screens in at night. I love to hear all the night sounds.

It is so good to be back on the water.

1.5.12

We pulled the boat out on the 30th. It was a great trip, but never long enough nor far enough.

The day was spent unloading the boat and getting things working around the house again. The “new” replacement refrigerator (Nov) still wasn’t working right so I made a call to their service department….they’d be here on Thursday.

We had enough supplies so we didn’t have to go into town until Tuesday. That way we could vote, check the mail and pick up groceries.

Jim spent a couple of days installing the propane drop in countertop burners and the heater. This is my kitchen area. The whole kitchen unit is from the old camper, with a cupboard added above it, and one to the R. They were extra doors from that camper.

The Catalytic heater should be all we’ll need. Jim doesn’t plan on spending time in the North when it’s cold. The roof air also has a heat strip, but that would require being plugged in at a campground. I don’t know if the 1000 watt generator would keep the batteries up for very long with that running.

Once the propane job was done,  he started filling in all the holes and dents in the trailer. They were all sanded and refilled if necessary and resanded. The greenish places are where old decals were removed. He spent days getting the adhesive off.

When you see the finished pictures, you’ll notice we painted the framework around this door. It lets the shape blend in easier. The front door is square.

Jim figured there were about 1000 bolt or screw heads in it. Every one had some rust on it. He did each one with a wire brush on his drill, then put Osflow and primer on them.

We then made a trip to the paint store.

Sat, the 4th, looked like a perfect day to paint. Rain is forecast for Sunday and possible Monday. We plan to leave for Carl’s on Thurs so we started hustling. Jim showed me how to mask anything that wasn’t supposed to be painted. Once I got started it was fun. I was surprised at how long it takes. Every time we thought we had everything covered…Jim would find something else.

It was afternoon before he got started painting and then the paint gun acted up. Nothing he did seemed to make a difference. By the time the trailer was half done he thought of something that could be the problem….cleaned it out and started painting again. By that time, the sun had gone down. I had set up 2 spot lights and he finished with them. I continually moved the lights as needed, so Jim could concentrate on painting. We have a few sags and bugs stuck in the paint…but they just add character. It looks really good.

Jim could hardly wait to get the masking off. He said that is the best part of painting something. It really doesn’t look like much in the picture above…and I thought we sure had a lot of white.

But once we started….everything took on a new look.

When I pulled the paper off this window, there was a green tree frog on it.

These windows are the ones that were in the old camper. (It is now a small flat bed trailer). This window is at the head of the bed. The full bed folds up against the front of the trailer. That is why there is no window there.

The finished product….

It has an inverter, 4 batteries and 2 30lb propane tanks.  They allow us to “dry” camp. (no electric hookups when we go camping in Brookfield NY and I go horseback riding with Tom and Regina, or an occasional Wal-Mart parking lot, truck stop, rest area etc.).

2 roof vents, 5 windows that open and can be left open in the rain. They crank out instead of sliding sideways. The back door has a screen door and there is a walk thru door between the camper part and the car hauler part. I am working on a screen for the front door.

The awning is from the old camper. Unfortunately it doesn’t cover either door. There wasn’t room enough to put it above the front door and the back door was an after-thought, but we’ll think of something.

Jim put new axles, brakes and tires on it before we left. Looks like we are good to go…..

The sheets have been washed and are on the clothes line. We are already packing…and it is only Sunday. May take time off to watch the Super Bowl…but maybe not…GO PATRIOTS.   I have to root for them…I spent a couple years in Foxboro Mass at the racetrack, right by the stadium.

1.30.12

Our last day on the water…..and it will be a short one. We anchored only an hour or so from Astor, FL, where we will be hauling out.

Larry and A Dollar More cruising off into the sunrise.

It was cool last night. The mist rising off the water makes for a nice picture.

I won’t be taking many more pictures of A Dollar More. She is headed back to OK. 

The Astor boat launch has 2 ramps. We take a little longer to load then most boats, though not as long as you would think, so Larry tied to the dock while Jim and I anchored. Jim put our dingy in the water and motored over to the launch ramp. He and Larry walked up to the Marina where the trucks and trailers were stored.

By the time they got back, I had all the vinyl side curtains down and stored. I will put the screens up when at home. Better air flow and less mold. If I left it open, it would fill with leaves, bird nests and mud dauber nests.

Larry has a long cable for loading A Dollar More. He has done so much single handing that his systems are all in place. Once the trailer is in the water, he walks back with the cable and attaches it to the bow eye, walks back and starts winching. He used this same system to load his Nimble Nomad. Works very well when working alone.

Once she’s on the trailer….all he has to do is haul’er out.  There she goes…..

I’m not partial to seeing Slow Motion on the trailer. Much rather she be in the water….but….when not in use it’s nice to have her in the yard. I usually climb the ladder at least twice a day, to open and close the sleeper and V berth for airing out, spray for ants and spiders if needed and generally enjoy being aboard. I’ve even been known to bird watch from there.

I never get the “hauling out” part in pictures….I usually back the truck in while Jim lines the boat up and drives it on the trailer. We made a rope and bungee cord set up that connects to the guide posts. It keeps the boat centered. Jim usually stands on the ladder at the front of the trailer and cranks it into position as I slowly pull it out. This time his cranking was off a bit and it was about 4” too far to the rear so I backed it back down the ramp into the water, so it could reposition and Jim cranked it up a little more. This time it was perfect.

A Dollar More loaded a little to the rear also, but when Jim built Larry’s trailer he used a lot of rollers..so if you want to move it a few inches….just drive forward and hit the brakes….Jim drove and Larry cranked. Worked like a charm.

Once home and the boat backed into place, I noticed a large flock of Robins taking turns at the bird bath. I leave a hose on a slow drip whenever I’m going to be away for awhile.

Winter is our dry season. I have a bird bath in the back yard and one sitting on the ground under the Tangelo Tree in the front yard. The raccoons, armadillos and other critters can get water too.

When we got back from NY we found a grey cat had taken up residence on our back porch. We weren’t going to feed her but she looked like she was going to have kittens or had just had some….so we started feeding her. A few weeks later she showed up with 3 kittens. We knew we’d be on the boat a month or more, so the neighbors said they’d feed them. Cindy wanted a kitten and I was hoping she’d tame one of these.

Here they are. No longer little kittens.

Cute little fellas. Don’t know if male or female. Need to gentle them and catch them up and get them fixed. Or we will be even more over run with cats. The hammock is a favorite place for dumping unwanted dogs and cats.

Is this a cutie or what? Looks like it has a butterfly stuck under it’s nose.

and this one?

This one is not as prettily marked…but seems to want to be friendly. I was able to pet it while eating. It’s a start.

What really surprised me was the number of birds still coming to the feeders. I’ve seen 2 male Painted Buntings, 6 green (either female or juveniles), Cardinals, Titmice and 2 Catbirds that bath in this same birdbath, and don’t forget the flock of Robins.

The kitten above, is sitting on the squirrel feeder and the squirrel came in later.

The cats hadn’t cleaned up their dry food last night and when I went to get the bowl, a Raccoon was finishing it up for them. I’ll have to get it sooner. I would rather not have the Raccoon coming onto the back porch. Though…it was a cute little fella.

I keep a blog about the critters and insects that frequent our back yard.   www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com   I’ve even posted some video of Monarch Butterflies emerging from their Chrysalis and the caterpillars pupating. When home I post there. Check it out.

Larry called yesterday to let us know that he and Diane had made it home safely with A Dollar More.

If you have a blog about your boating travels, please post a link in the comment section. I “boat” when at home by following others aboard their boats. Hira Reed has exciting travels aboard her Albin 25, Shatoosh  http://shatooshandpashmina.blogspot.com/   She’s another single hander. Though she does have a twin sister, and friends who travel with her at times. You will enjoy seeing some of the places she visits.

I just went to a blog from her site, people she met who live aboard http://mvvikingstar.blogspot.com/  I was surprised to see snow! So now I have other travelers to follow.

Fair winds to all you boaters. We’ll “see” you out there.