Myakka Elephant Sanctuary

 

Yesterday I had a thrill of a lifetime, we went to the Myakka Elephant Sanctuary about 80 minutes from our house.  I had planned to visit during spring break but they were booked for all of March and well into April.  It was so worth the drive and the wait.

Little Buddy had a rough afternoon Friday and a rough morning yesterday, something I am not used to anymore as his behavior has been really wonderful for several months.  He is a growing boy with lots of hormones so that is not helping.  I was worried the day was going to be ruined by his attitude but a long car ride seemed to help sooth out his grumpy wrinkles and he ended up having a really good time.  

We opted for the Q & A encounter, it was more in my budget range but you can have bathing and food encounters where you get to take care of the elephants, wash them, learn about their needs, fix their food and help feed them.  We learned all about the three elephants they have on site, two ladies in their 30's and the beautiful Asian elephant with the freckles is 52.  We learned about how much they eat a day, their weight, different kinds of elephants and about their distinct personalities.  The African elephant in the middle loves to grab everyone's hay and cause a bit of mischief, she's the one in the photo of both of us.  They are all in the 7,000 pound weight range with the lovely African elephant in the bottom photo weight 7,900 pounds.  They eat 300 pounds of food a day, 50 of grain, 50 of fruits/veggies and 200 pounds of straw! 

I adore elephants and to be this close and learn was so wonderful especially as they are in a beautiful place where they are loved and cherished.  To be able to be this close, touch their beautiful trunks and heads was so incredible.  I even had one wrap her trunk around my leg and pinch me a bit on my ankle! I think Little Buddy liked the facts and as usual while we were there he wasn't that thrilled but perked up when we talked about the experience at dinnertime. 

If you are ever in Florida I would highly recommend this adventure, it is a beautiful place taking such brilliant care of these beautiful ladies.

Hope you all have a wonderful week.  

Spring is here............

 

Just a quick pop in to say hello and tell you all I have been thinking about you.  

We took a walk out on the Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park today, not all the way to the eagles nest but to the osprey nest that was closer to the parking lot.  We got to see this amazing nest with a baby poking it's head up.  We also saw four great horned owls, this is a parent who was off about 50 feet from the babies, and I am assuming Mom was closer to the babies on look out.  Mom and the babies were in areas of the trees I could not get photos of.  Last time we were here those babies were still in the nest, now they are almost full grown and were sitting on a limb tucked close together. 

Little Buddy did not complain as much today and managed about 1 1/2 miles with a brief rest when we made it to the nesting area.  It was so beautiful outside we just had to go.  We saw the new Minecraft Movie yesterday, he loved it and I thought it was way, way over the top.  He paid attention the entire movie which is a big deal for him. We had Little Buddy's best friend from school over on Friday.  She is going to another school next year so his heart is breaking a bit.  There is so much change with the administration, teachers and kids leaving the school I am not sure what to think, but it really is the only school he can go to at the moment so I am trying to take a deep breath and let things play out. These changes are in addition to the many changes he has living in two seperate homes, sometimes he tells me he can't handle any more changes and I completely understand how he feels.

Grand dog Luna is here for the weekend while her parents went to a wedding.  She is looking movie star ready in her new collar. Hank and Bear were so excited to see her.  Bear looks ready for a belly rub and Hank looks ever so concerned about life as he usually does have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I had Covid two weeks ago and I am still recovering, it knocked me out for a few days.  So being outside today for a leisurely stroll with my Buddy was the perfect medicine I needed.  It has been a long few weeks with lots going on as is usual for me and my situation.  The poor father I talked about in my last post passed away the following day after my post.  His celebration of life ceremony was last weekend and was just heartbreaking, gone at 53 with complications from Flu A, it's such a waste.  

Stay safe my friends, take care of your health and mental well being during these extremely chaotic times. 

Is it Spring already?

Hi everyone?  How can it be late March already?  It is Spring Break here for Little Buddy, he has been living the life of leisure this week.  I, on the other hand have been working until today, I took the day off to be with this guy.  The later pictures in this post are from today, an unexpected cool day out but so beautiful, I dared to get Little Buddy out and about on a walk by Lake Tarpon.  He grouched so much I had to threaten him with screen time deductions if he kept it up.  Last weekend we made it to my Honeymoon Island to walk on a two mile trail to see the eagles nest.  I took this photo of the eagles a few days before when I went to check out the walk to see if it was Little Buddy accessible.  It was but it was still a bit long for him, there are sandy parts that make it a little bit more tiring for him and boy was he tired at the end.  I heard about it all the way home!

The beach restoration project for the north beach is done, it is so beautiful, I can't believe what a difference it made.  However, now there is no way to really get this guy on the beach.  The areas that are accessible are far too rocky.  I will have to figure this out because I think it is important for him to be able to go the the beach.  I live by many beaches but Honeymoon Island is a state park so there are no big buildings and for the most part it is family friendly.  It has been too chilly to go and sit at the beach but it won't be for long so I better get a solution going quick.

It has been a bit too depressing to write for many reasons if I am to be honest.  The state of our country gets measurably worse each and everyday.  It is beyond comprehension the devastation going on.  I can't watch the news but get blurbs of information from reputable news sites and its just devastating.  I fear for all of us.  I fear for our kids and grandchildren growing up in a country that will be unrecognizable in a very short time. I fear for Little Buddy with his complex medical, physical, emotional and educational needs, I can't sleep at night thinking of how I can't financially support him if his services are cut, but let's not go there.  Deep breaths, right? He has also had some emotional situations at school with one child that I finally had to step in and put my Occupational Therapist hat on and explain the issue between the two children.  I don't think the school thinks about children with conflicting sensory systems and how that impacts their interactions and ability to learn.  Keep in mind it is a school for children who learn differently. Well they do now after about ten emails because suddenly Little Buddy is no longer getting ridiculous lunch detentions for his response to a child who is not being kind but is actually bullying him.  There are always conflicts with Little Buddy's other parent and the sheer ludicrous things that happen when Little Buddy is away from me.  I am constantly debriefing him and trying to fix it all and tell him what is right and all that, frankly I am exhausted.  And  the saddest thing is it is never going to end so I have to find a way to be less exhausted by the constant bombardment heading my way.

Many of the children I work with have been so ill this year.  I have had four in the hospital at once for extended stays.  It starts with the flu and moves into pneumonia, one child was in for three weeks, came home and went in for another five weeks.  And a very sad situation has happened to one of the families I work with, the very healthy 53 year old father came down with the flu and one week later was in the ICU sedated and on a respirator, he has been like this for 7 weeks and he is declining, a healthy father and grandfather, hard working and loved by his family is not going to make it. I know you have all suffered loses that seem completely horrific and so completely senseless, they change the trajectory of your lives forever, I think you know who you are when I mention this.  I am sending you love as I send this family love, because what else can you really do at times like these?

Stay as strong as you can during these perilous times my friends.  Somehow we will get through all of it, I'm not quite sure how but we will. I am sending you all love as well..

Rebuild, restore, reconstruct............

 

Today I took Little Buddy out to my favorite Honeymoon Island State Park to see the huge restoration project going on.  The whole island got devastated by Hurricanes' Helene and Milton. It was covered in over 7 feet of water and much of the island was just washed away.  I have been enjoying walks on the portion that is open on my child free weekends, even when it is cold and gray out I love to go.  However, I have not taken Little Buddy out to see how they are trying to fix it until today.  He was not thrilled but I felt it was an amazing feat to witness.  That big barge, far out on the water drills deep into the ocean floor and pumps sand via huge pipes up onto the beach.  The sand erupts into a giant sand fountain and it just keeps pumping until they turn it off to catch up.  The huge bulldozers flatten it all out and move it down the beach, Layer after layer gets put down. As I understand it the crews are working 24/7 and the whole restoration will take 8 weeks to rebuild 4 miles of sandy beach.  I asked if the restoration affects the sea life on the ocean floor and I was assured they drill deep enough that very little sand on the bottom is disrupted so sea life is pretty safe.  Still all that noise and vibrations can't make anything living in the Gulf very happy.  Yes, the Gulf of Mexico, not America.  The island is constantly changing with the help of Mother Nature and now once again with the help of man/womankind.  It will be all up and running by Spring and it will be beautiful.  I will miss my cold walks on rocks and broken shells on the main beach, but that too is up for restoration in the near future.

I did a little restoration in my house as well.  Christmas morning was lovely but there is just not enough places to sit.  I have two antique rocking chairs and two sitting chairs in my living room and that is it.  No one uses it except me unless we are all in it for Christmas morning, still it just needed more.  I bought this incredible loveseat and ottoman and I think it works.  It is lower to the ground than I'd like but with the added pillows it  makes the backs a little taller. I am not a short woman, so the shorter back sort of freaked me out at first.  I bought another loveseat for the office/bedroom my oldest uses when he works from my house a couple days a week.  He just got a new job and I felt he needed an update from the 21 year old futon that was the current sitting option in that room.  With the new furniture I can bring in the ottoman from the living room into the office if we need a little place to sleep, which we do during storms.  And I will be getting a twin blow up mattress for Little Buddy to use as we both don't fit on a full size mattress anymore, he is way too big for that.  The furniture is all foam, less items used to construct it, less carbon footprint.  Each piece comes in a box and you open it and release it from its shrunken plastic wrapped state and it pops up and sort of inflates all on its own.  It prevented me having to take time off for a delivery service which was very nice and I could bring it all in and set it up all by myself..

It has been chilly here, I know don't laugh as all of you are in frigid temps with horrible storms, or are dealing with fire damage and smoke.  Mornings have been in the 30's which is cold for here.  My house has great windows so I don't often turn on the heat but these past few weeks I have been so cold I have given myself headaches trying to stay warm, ridiculous I know.  Even the boys have been cold and have enjoyed a few minutes here and there being covered up all snug and cozy.

I don't do a word for the year anymore, frankly what word would even work in these very dark and perilous times? But I am concentrating on rebuilding my life, restoring my sanity if that is even possible and reconstructing things both physically in my home, and emotionally in my heart.  In this crazy world of parenting a very special boy with a very special heart and brain, with a self centered and self serving co-parent it is hard to keep my mind and body moving forward and not getting caught up in the constant day to day ridiculousness.  I feel that is the only way I am going to be able to move forward with  my thoughts and beliefs on the political spectrum as well.  Rebuild myself, restore my faith in myself and mankind however I can, and reconstruct after all the devastation that is currently happening to so many and will only get worse.  You can't give in but you can pick your fights, you can defend your opinion and you can remind those that this is what they asked for and they are going to get far worse. A nurse I occasionally work with was gleeful that there are now according to her only two sexes and the Gulf of America now exists,  I laughed at her and shook my head at her ridiculous beliefs and said that is a horrible way to think and I hope she can do better.  I will be quiet when needed, speak out when I can, take time to restore myself through exercise, walks on the beach, meditation and prayer, and reconstruct and rebuild when the opportunity arises, just like my beloved Island.

Hope you can rebuild, restore and reconstruct when you need to.

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating this year and to all those celebrating other traditions and holidays.  Hope the magic of this season has come fully into your heart and your home.  Even if it is in very small ways, I hope we all notice the many gifts we have that have nothing to do with presents under a tree. Wishing you all the very best.

Thankful........

Hello everyone, I know it has been a while.  We weathered the last hurricane much better than most.  I had my boys and their significant others here for Milton and it was very nice.  Before the storm I put up all the hurricane protection guards on the windows all by myself, I had one son working and one out of town so it was up to me, and thankfully I could do it.  It was interesting getting them down from the very small attic in my garage but once they were down they were easy to install.  Everyone arrived in time for the storm and we had a good time, playing UNO, eating and maneuvering around each other in this small house.  We never lost power like so many, nor did we have major damage, a tree down in my backyard that was quickly cut up by a neighbor, a small leak in a skylight that was fixed a few weeks after, I had lots of small branches down and a broken light with a sensor that resides on the side of my house but nothing else.  It was nice to see neighbors out helping neighbors and my oldest son's and their partners out helping pick up debris for others as well. I had friends out of power for days, friends with big trees uprooted but for us we were just fine.  It was pretty scary watching Milton swirl out in the Gulf heading towards us, but a late turn south of us really saved this area.  We were blessed when so many weren't, I am grateful and also sad for those still battling to get their homes fixed.

This past month has been about trying to get back to work when I can, I missed 10 days because of Helene and Milton, Little Buddy missed 13 days of school! His school had the gym roof peel back which allowed so much water and wind damage inside.  They opened a week after the public schools in this area.  Still they got his school up and running and they were back in their regular routine which makes all of these neurodiverse children happy, their parent, too!

My favorite place to walk on the beach just opened with limited spaces available yesterday.  As I could not walk at the island I walked on the causeway to the island several times.  This big sailboat blew up in the storm and was just sitting on the sand near the street.  There must have been powerful waves to get this boat stuck way up on shore. My dear Honeymoon Island had devastating destruction, most of the barrier islands did so I am so happy it is partially open now and hope to pay a visit there next weekend.

This week as we celebrated Thanksgiving here in the States, I tried, as I do everyday, to focus on all I am grateful for.  I start every morning with a gratitude practice and end my day with one as well.  I was working on a little 4 1/2 month old baby on Monday and as I helped him fall asleep and began working to shift his skull where it was misshaped due to preference to sleeping with his head to the right, I looked at that sweet sleeping face and was just so grateful I get to do the work I do, so grateful I have my house, family, friends and job of course. Even with the darkness I felt so strongly after the election, I felt grateful for the community I have created that is so supportive of my Little Buddy and his very special and complex needs.  I am not sure those needs will be met in the future with Medicaid reductions and his schooling/scholarship in jeopardy, his educational needs are supported by the Department of Education, the government agency that ensures all children with special needs receive the education they deserve just like their peers.  At this point there is not a lot I can do about it but pray that he and all the children like him are safe with their medical and educational needs.  I often think wouldn't it be nice to not have to pray for these things not to change but to know they are a right that these kids deserve and a right that won't be taken from them.  In the last four years it never occured to me that they would be taken away, but the world we now will be living in will be vastly different from where we have been, and it won't be better in any sense.

I am also grateful that my family was with me yesterday for Thanksgiving.  This is the first time in the last four Thanksgiving's they have been with me.  Thanksgiving has good memories for me as a child but not so good as an adult with the stress it entailed while living with my thankfully ex-husband.  Yesterday was easy and peaceful, the day unfolded with only one behavior issue with Little Buddy and lots of food and conversation later in the day when my older boys came with their significant others, I even quickly spoke to a couple of friends and my sister.  And I am thankful for Zombie masks that help with very bad acne!

I am truly blessed, really and truly blessed and I hope you know I am very thankful for all of you who still visit me here in this space when I can drop in.  Wishing you a wonderful day.  Today we are finishing up decorating for Christmas and going to see Moana 2 at the movie theater, my choice not Little Buddy's, but he is still going along!

Storms and casts...............

 

Hello everyone!  We are in the middle of hurricane and cast season here, both of which stink.  Hurricane Helene came in with catastrophic flooding to my area in Florida and all over the south as you have all seen.  As of now 15 people have died in my county, three on a street I work on.  So many are devastated, it is so sad.  We are fine, sailed through another one with no flooding or loss of power but just a mile away they lost power for 5 days.  It seems minor compared to the devastation in this area and north of us.  And hooray we have a rain system on the way ready to drop 4-7 inches into already water logged areas starting Sunday.  This system or the one after it will be a tropical storm or hurricane by the time it hits us as we are directly in the path of its expected arrival.  There are apparently at least two out there that will affect us. I am not worried for us, but those who have lost everything and are just cleaning up are going to be affected again.  Of course the loss of life and destruction in Georgia, North and South Carolina and Western Virginia is just horrific, but it is pretty rough here as well.  My beautiful Honeymoon Island is decimated, all the beaches on the barrier islands are simply gone, the buildings at these parks are ruined, the electrical systems and roads are gone.  Some homes near the water but on the mainland had 10-12 feet of water in them and people did not have time to get away because the forecast was for a storm surge but nothing of this capacity.  It is just so sad all around. 

Little Buddy is currently completing week two of casting with another new casting day on Monday.  This will be a 6-8 week process.  He is already showing signs of improvement which is better than we had hoped for at this point.  It is a big deal for him to get around, taking him longer to get places and really making him tired by the end of the day.  I have to remind myself to be really patient with him because fatigue might be the issue rather than difficult behavior by the afternoon. The casts must be soaked daily for 3-5 minutes so that is a lot of fun.  You do not want to picture me getting him in the tub to soak, up on his shower chair to take a shower, or help him navigate getting his clothes over the casts.  I am thankful he is who he is and doesn't get embarrassed that his Mom is helping him at the age of 13.

I am forcing myself to crochet.  Literally making myself do it on the weekends.  I hope to make Ariana by Berroco if the plans work out.  I had all the yarn minus the red which I purchased last week. I have lost my creative mojo for far too long.  It was such a big part of who I thought I was but now realize I created or had yarn in my hands much of the time to self soothe throughout much of my marriage.  Things will never settle down as long as I have this special needs child that we share so I think it is time to try and get back in the saddle and create, I don't want to lose that part of myself as well.

Please stay safe out there my friends. From all of us here including my granddog Luna, who is here for the weekend and another week of storms, stay safe. 

Updated:  Looks like Milton will be a category 2 hurricane heading our way.