Friday December 25th 2020
Merry Christmas
The overnight rain broke to a partly cloudy day that was more than twenty degrees cooler than Thursday. The high temperature for the day didn’t get out of the fifties. It was the coldest Christmas in Florida this century. The last time the temperatures were this cold was last January. Tomorrow is forecast to be even colder.
To celebrate the holiday I prepared a more elaborate meal than normal. I dug out the slow cooker and loaded it up with a pot roast, onions and carrots. A few hours later I pealed and cooked some real potatoes to go with the pot roast. Today wasn’t an instant potato kind of day. It was a good change of pace meal and I have leftovers for another couple of meals.
While the pot roast was cooking in the slow cooker, I took one of my routine exploration walks around the state park. The park was very busy with tourists at the alligator viewing areas near the roads. I even found people at some of the areas deeper in the woods that are usually good for some solitude. Judging by the license plates, most of these folks have driven from all over the country. They do not fit the mold for snowbirds. Most likely these are people taking advantage of time off work and school to vacation. Perhaps they have relatives that live in the area.
The cooler daytime temperature had a negative impact on the wildlife viewing. Most of the alligators in the river at the bridge where everybody congregates to view the reptiles were underwater. A few heads were visible as the gators came up to breath and observe the humans. The visible wading birds were all busy looking for food. A few white spots were visible in the tall grass and trees along the banks indicating other birds taking refuge from the weather. The birds with long necks manage to twist up and huddle down nicely.
Rob's Rambling Road Trip 