It has been four years since my last post and a lot of things have happened since then. You already know I moved to Sarasota, Florida and bought a house there. I gardened, grew bananas, mangoes, key limes, oranges, lemons, pineapples, Persian limes, plumeria, black bamboo, brugmansia, orchids, all the exotic plants and fruits that grow in the tropics. I love learning new things and gardening in Florida was quite a change from gardening in Montana at high elevation.
Seven years seems to be my breaking point. I get the seven year itch and then I need something new to conquer. So, it seemed appropriate, that when I reached my seventh year in Sarasota, I knew I was ready for a change. I had moved back east to be near family and my elderly mother. She passed away in November 2013, so there was that. I no longer felt I needed to hang close enough to get there if needed. Maggie the Wonder Dog, best dog ever, passed away at the age of 15-¾ in October so there was even less reason to stay put. After two very long, dogless months, I got Ruby, another border collie. My fourth full bred border collie. She is a tri color, my first tri color. She's a beautiful dog and is proving to be a good companion. She's smart as can be and sweet as honey. She loves everyone and is a real herder!
Seven years seems to be my breaking point. I get the seven year itch and then I need something new to conquer. So, it seemed appropriate, that when I reached my seventh year in Sarasota, I knew I was ready for a change. I had moved back east to be near family and my elderly mother. She passed away in November 2013, so there was that. I no longer felt I needed to hang close enough to get there if needed. Maggie the Wonder Dog, best dog ever, passed away at the age of 15-¾ in October so there was even less reason to stay put. After two very long, dogless months, I got Ruby, another border collie. My fourth full bred border collie. She is a tri color, my first tri color. She's a beautiful dog and is proving to be a good companion. She's smart as can be and sweet as honey. She loves everyone and is a real herder!
Maddy the kitty is still with me and is going to be fourteen in August.
So, to wrap this up, I've been to New Zealand a few times, photographed lots of mushrooms, fished, went to Honduras and photographed over 100 birds and sold my house in Sarasota. So what is next you ask and where am I going to live? Well, I've bought a brand spanking new Airstream 2018 27' FB Flying Cloud. Ruby, Maddy and I are going to live in it, and travel around the country, photographing, picking mushrooms and fishing. I will continue to handle trips for my loyal repeat clients for the time being and am semi retired. The nice thing is, I can do my work from anywhere as long as I have phone and internet. Life is so much less complicated when you don't have lawn to mow and so many bills to pay. We are about to embark on a brand new lifestyle and we're bringing you all along on the adventure. Here we are waiting for the weather to clear for take off. Join us, won't you?
