FISHING AND APPRECIATING NATURE
We're still enjoying our safe haven in Homosassa with Eleanor.  We've been enjoying the outdoors; most days have been sunny in the 80s, but we do have an occasional day of rain.  We found a nice dog park for Licorice and Taffy.  It's 10 acres fully fenced and has mature oak trees that provide cooling shade for all of us.  It even has a cement pond with fresh water for the dogs to cool off in.  There's a minimal monthly fee for access to the park, but it's well worth it.  There are not many people there, so it is easy to practice social distancing.  We walk the perimeter of the park a few times, so we get our steps in and the dogs run off a lot of energy.  On the way home, we saw a Sandhill crane strolling around one of the neighborhoods.  It's amazing how tall these birds are!

  

George tried his luck fishing off Eleanor's deck and caught a fish.  I'm not exactly sure of the species.  It looked like a bluegill, but it had teeth.  This was a "catch and release" fishing experience. 

We continue to be awed by the flowers and creatures of Florida.  Below is a gorgeous bloom and the largest grasshopper I have ever seen:

We will be staying in Florida until mid-June, and then we'll be making the 930 mile trip back to our property in Arkansas.  We wanted to wait to see how the "re-opening" of facilities goes, to make sure it's safe before we venture out again.  We will be required to self-quarantine in Arkansas for 14 days once we get there, because we are traveling from Florida, which is considered a coronavirus "hot spot" as compared to the Arkansas area.  I investigated the prevalence of coronavirus in Arkansas.  To date, Marion county (where our property is) only has 1 case of coronavirus and 0 deaths; Baxter country (where we do our shopping) has only 1 case and 0 deaths.  We are currently in Citrus county, Florida, and to date there are 95 cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths here.  Overall, Florida has 35,463 cases with 1,364 deaths.  So, when the rheumatologist in Springfield, Missouri (whom I was scheduled to see June 2) found out I was coming from Florida, they refused to see me.  Thus I will be staying here to get my infusion for my RA June 11th.  I have to say that the BayCare health system in Florida is way more accommodating than Mercy Health System in Missouri.  

Hope everyone stays safe as we begin to re-open our states and our lives!  💗💗