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.