2.27.09

Jim picked up the injectors this afternoon. They cleaned and tested them.. then replaced the tips. It seems they were squirting fuel but not atomizing it….or something like that.

Once he had them installed we hooked up the hose to the intake and started the engine. Ran pretty good. But…of course we wont know how much difference it makes until we launch in a couple of weeks.

I took this our last night out…long after dark. Jim lit the boat up with the QBeam. The reflection of the water made an interesting pattern. A dedicated fisherman….lots of poles and very relaxed.

2.26.09 repairs

Jim took the injectors to Orlando to be cleaned and flow tested.  Should have the results tomorrow.

Look what showed up in the front yard at the birdbath. and along with them came a few Cedar Waxwings… Beautiful little birds…Jim liked this picture because of the cocky attitude on it’s face. My friend and neighbor, Debbie, kept my feeders full so the Painted Buntings would stick around and they did. We have 4 pair of Painted Buntings and 1 pair of Indigo Buntings. That’s along with the Cardinals, Catbirds, Titmice and a nice flock of Doves.There are a few I’m not sure of..possibly female Redwing Blackbirds and a couple of small grey birds.They all come to the feeders just outside my computer room window.

My yards look like minefields…thanks to the Armadillos. The Racoons had the lid off the turkey feeder…and ...that was empty. What the Racoons dont carry off the Rabbits get. It’s actually a deer feeder but we’ve not had any deer yet. Used to have a flock of 10 wild turkeys. Now only a few come thru. The “automatic” part  doesnt work so the squirrels and coon climb up …hang upside down and dig the corn out.

2.22.09

We spent the night at Hontoon Island.  Larry spotted a fellow nimble owner and docked next to him. It is a Nimble 20 sailboat. Brent is singlehanding right now, but his girlfriend joins him aboard, when she can. It sounds like he will be traveling the river for awhile so we may see him again.

Next to us is a Sting Ray. They are from Jacksonville and can make it down here in a couple of hours. Top end around 60.

Its a sleek looking  little boat without the canopy on it. Good weekender. Small stove, propane grill, sink and portajohn…it closes up with room enough for sleeping.

The 41 ft DeFerver docked just beyond us at the end of the dock is owned by full time liveaboards. She has 4 or 5 flower boxes on the rear deck for her herb garden. And they have a parrot.

After an easy, relaxing morning of good conversation we headed S. Lots of boats out today.

Or you can unpack the jetski and enjoy lunch on the beach.

The St Johns River has something for everyone. You can go fast ..go slow…paddle with someone, or alone..camp..fish..bird watch or look for gators and Manatees. We saw 8 near the entrance to Blue Springs…so if you are boating in that area ..watch carefully for them. I saw 2 that looked like they had fresh scars from props.

Swimming any place other than Silver Glen Springs or Salt River Springs is definately not  on my list. I was a bit nervous watching these dogs playing in the water. You may not see the gators….but they are in there. Our anchorage for the night, near G109 had 14 boats in it at one time today. Normally we are there alone. We were still able to spot 9 or 10 gators….most were small (4-5 ft) but there were a couple of large ones…and one was comfortable enough to cruise among the boats.

Even the turtles enjoyed the warm sunny afternoon. This will be our last night on the water for a few weeks. We are hauling out tomorrow. It will also be the end of boating with River Nomad and Larry and Diane. They will be heading W in a few days. Perhaps we will be able to meet them on the Arkansas River or the Tenn-Tom sometime late summer. It has been a fun winter with them for company. It will seem strange not to look back and see this little green boat following us….and missed even more when we cant send her ahead in a shallow creek..to see if we can make it also.

We’ve traveled almost 1500 miles together this winter….

Till the next adventure, friends….stay in God’s care.

2.21.09 foggy frosty morning at Silver Glen Springs, FL

31 degrees this morning…definately not a swim day.  The boat was covered with ice. There was a fine fog lifting off the water all night and it froze on the boat. This is what it looked like from the dingy. Once the sun broke through it really started warming up inside. I made a snow/ice ball from what was left at 8:30.We decided to head for Hontoon Island for the night. Lumpy ride across Lake George. It’s almost 6pm and the temperature is down to 70…not bad for the start of the day.

2.20.09 Silver Glen Springs, Fl

We had a late visitor last night. Jim and I were lying in our bunks reading..Jim had just turned out his light when I saw something fly thru and to his side…I turned the light on..but found nothing…I was starting to think I was going batty.  So I went back to reading…it flew thru again..and again to Jim’s side. This time when I looked..I found a small brown bat clinging to the ceiling (it’s carpeted). I took a hand towel..gathered him up and put him back outside.  I should have gotten the camera first!!!

It was 44 last night. No swimsuit this morning. The wind had a bite to it. So it was just coffee and a hike on the beach with Raisin.

Nice clear sky…warm sunshine. By 10 am it was up to 50. A good day for a hike in the Springs.

With your “golden” senior card you can get into the Springs for 1/2 price…being a “Senior” does have it’s perks. We hiked out to the “sand boils” …nice trail and boardwalk.

On the trail out we had a deer jump in front of us…but I had the video camera going and didnt get a still picture. The “boils” are small springs that arnt strong enough to keep the sand out of them. The fish above are only 3 or 4 inches long..gives you an idea how small the boils are…but interesting.

We hadnt realized there was another spring head (or boil)…this one looked to be about 7 or 8 ft across…we couldnt tell how deep it went. It is fenced off so I didnt try snorkling over to see if you can dive in it..you can see part of the inside wall, if you look closely. You might have to enlarge the photo. The pretty blue is the main boil…all the round white spots are fish “nests” hollowed out in the sand.  You can see a few guarding them. From underwater it is a unique site..you can get pretty close to them. They are good sized fish. This is looking across the main boil to our anchorage. if you look closely in the foreground of the picture you can see hundreds of fish swimming in a large circle around the boil. …another great site from underwater. It’s amazing how many there are.

We were treated to the knock knocking of “Woody the Woodpecker”…a Pileated woodpecker that inspired the famous cartoon.This is one of the other trails.  All in all…it was a great day for a hike.

2.19.09 Silver Glen Springs, FL

The outside temperature was 53 deg last night. I was up early..in my swimsuit…coffee in hand..dog in the dingy and headed for shore. While Raisin did her thing I took a swim and did a quick shampoo. Chilly but not bad…water warm…air chilly. After a change into dry clothes..I left Raisin aboard and went for a row around the springs looking for things to photograph…cloudy and cool and not much out..but did get this nice Bald Eagle. An Ahinga We were drifting up close and I think he was trying to show us how big and scary he was. 

and a Blue Heron sitting in a live oak tree.

We didnt see any gators..very few turtles..It was just too cold for them without any sunshine.  Maybe tomorrow.

2.18.09

We enjoyed another good shrimp dinner, last night,  with friends…Larry & Diane of River Nomad, Ed & Carole of Southern Cross and Red and Kathy ..land cruising from Oklahoma.

After another trip to the restaurant, this morning, for breakfast (seems like all we did was eat out this week)..we headed for Silver Glen Springs.

The wind had kicked up Lake George a bit but it wasnt an uncomfortable ride. Nearer the entrance to the springs we spotted this craft. We had only seen one other boat this morning so were surprised to see a small open boat with 3 gentlemen..having a great time.

Then we spotted another one. They were tacking to the entrance and dropped their sails. We decided to go back out into the lake for more photos of the first boat but were a bit late…They were headed in also.

Although the boats are similar they had a different sail configuration. Once in the springs…it was …toss out the anchors and everybody overboard…then a quiet lunch. River Nomad made a pretty picture while Larry was setting his bimini.

I enjoyed a short swim while setting the anchors. The wind has settled down..it’s very quiet now.  I am going to row Raisin ashore shortly. 7:30…it’s already dark..no street lights around here. The only sounds have been the call of the Blue Herons when they’ve been disturbed.

2.17.09 Palatka city dock to Welaka city dock

It got down to 43 last night. With the heater running and the hotwater bottle (defective thermos) under the covers of the birdcage…we were snug.

Treated to a nice sunrise.

The sun was a big orb thru the fog rising off the water…it’s a shame it didnt show in the photo. This is the end of the new city dock that they have been working on for the past few months. Several tie-ups…electricity..and there will be a pumpout. I dont think it was working yet. It’s a shame more places dont work with the boaters like this. We come ashore and spend money. But the most important thing…easily available pumpouts will help keep the river clean.

We left the dock by 8am…went over to the one by a fancy restaurant…It is a short hike to the grocery store from there.

We are restocked and ready for the rest of the week.

This is the railroad bridge at Buffalo Bluff..it’s only an 8’ clearance so most boats have to request an opening.

When we pulled up to the dock at Welaka there were 2 ladies fishing and a friend waiting for a handout. He gets the little ones.

2.16.09

We tied up to the Palatka city dock just in time to see him pull this nice catfish out.  Looks like supper to me!! We’ll be spending the night here…might be a good idea..supposed to be chilly and we can plug into the electric.

2.16.09

It was cool last night but no need for heat. I was up early..coffee on..dog walked and then we headed up to the restaurant for breakfast. Carole & Ed were going to meet us there. After breakfast they took Larry and Diane over to get some pictures of Southern Cross.

When they got back..we spent another few hours telling tales. They are going cruising in March..we’ve had an invite to join them…if things work out…we’ll be seeing Southern Cross in motion.

2.15.09 Welaka city Dock

We had a good run across Lake George. Smooth as glass the first half and started to get lumpy the rest of the way. We were off the lake before it got bad…if it did.

Arrived at the Waleka city dock around noon. We called Carole and Ed, of Southern Cross. (an Albin 25) They are down from Maine. They picked us up and took us to see their boat. What a beauty!!! Then a trip to “Shrimp R Us” for a late lunch/early dinner. Great grilled shrimp. Spent several hours visiting then they headed back to Southern Cross.

A good way to spend the day…… with new friends and old friends.

2.14.09

Lots of boats on the water today, but the most interesting were these “sculling”??  boats. We came upon them in a “no wake” zone and couldnt catch them.

I think it would have been a wasted effort even trying.  They pulled away from us pretty fast.

This big ole boy was enjoying the sunshine. Here is a closeup of his L hind foot and leg. Check out the muscles and the claws. They are webbed also. We are anchored  near Morrison Island..near R28. (St Johns River) We will be heading for the Welaka City Dock tomorrow. Hope to be there by afternoon.