Monday July 24th 2023

The weather forecast for the day was similar to yesterday. Basically, it was supposed to be cloudy with rain arriving in the early afternoon. That is not what happened. By early afternoon the cloudiness gave way to sunshine with no sign of rain in the immediate area. The rain threat was to the south of Jacksonville. As sunset approached a few threatening clouds appeared on the northwest horizon, but nothing came of the threat. It was a nice day in the normal temperature range for the area.

The geese were back yesterday and today the ducks and heron were back. The Canadian Geese seem to visit the tree beside my RV site most every day. Shortly after the lawn mowing crew got through with this part of the park the geese were foraging under the tree this morning. The ducks didn’t range away from the retention pond, but they were happily swimming around when I took my first walk of the day. The two heron I’ve seen in the past were also back. These birds are not comfortable with people. They always fly away before I get within fifty feet.

This was my day for the birds. While I was visiting one of the boat launch areas along the Nassau River I startled a pair of vultures that were loitering in the shade along one of the paths. They fluttered their wings a bit than just stood there and watched me walk by. I was about twenty feet away.

Sunday July 23rd 2023

The Canadian Geese came to my site this morning. They must of heard that I was expressing concern about their absence in last night’s blog entry. About a third of the flock that hangs out here came to visit. Whereever they were yesterday, they are back today.

Also in yesterday’s blog entry I predicted the early departure of my neighbors after they arrived around darkness last night. I was only half right. They were still here at 8AM, but they were gone by ten. They just had all the rapid traveler vibes. From traveling in a group to late arrival and not completely setting up it just had that air about it.

Today’s weather caught me off guard. I was just ready to leave the park for the day when the line of thunderstorms arrived. It was only about 1:30PM. The sky got much darker than usual and the sky to ground lightening put on a real show. The thunderstorm part of the weather was over in about half an hour, but it continued to rain lightly for the rest of the afternoon. A severe storm warning was issued for the area south of here, but this area just got light rain during that time.

The end result of the weather was I stayed home all day. I cooked a little more elaborate lunch/dinner than I would have if I’d succeeded in going out for the afternoon. My grilled pork chop and rice pilaf was enjoyable as I watched the light show provided by the storms. The resulting dirty dishes and other junk also kept me busy for a while cleaning up. I was still able to get in my second walk of the day after the storms and before sunset.

Saturday July 22nd 2023

Today’s weather returned to a more normal weather pattern for this area in the middle of July. The temperature climbed into the mid nineties before a line of thunderstorms moved into the area. The wind field ahead of the storms was very intense, but the actual storms weren’t very heavy. The rain continued on and off for about three hours, but it served to cool everything down into the seventies from the nineties.

My question for the day is “Where did all the birds go?” On my morning walk done of the Canadian Geese were visible. The ducks that usually hang out near the geese were also missing. Even the occasional egret or heron were missing. On my second walk of the day after the rain they were still missing. They have disappeared for a day or two before during my stay here, but where do they go and why.

The RV park was in weekend mode. Many of the sites used for travelers were filled. People were sitting outside their RVs and others were working on their rigs. The people that are away during the week were here and active. The weekend travel mode continued this evening. Three big fifth wheel trailers obviously traveling together arrived just before dark. They are in the row in front of my site. I wonder if they will be here in the morning when I get up? Often late arrivals mean early departures.

Friday July 21st 2023

The temperature made it into the triple digits at some areas around here today. There was also a stronger breeze out of the west most of the day. The result was a slightly more comfortable day outside even with the higher air temperature. The chance of rain is a little higher, but I doubt it will happen before the middle of the night if at all.

Today was a bit of a traffic frustration day. I am located very close to the Jacksonville International Airport. If I turn left at from the RV park gate I can end up in the airport. This afternoon I decided it would be an interesting tour. The Vice President of the United States had a similar thought. I got into the airport area just before she landed at the airport. There was a police car of one variety or another at every intersection and wide spot in the road. They only had one road actually closed, but traffic was moving at a snails pace. I never saw an actual motorcade. Based on news coverage this evening, I managed to get out of the airport area before her plane actually landed.

From the airport I drove out to Cedar Point to spend a few minutes along the shores of the Nassau River tributaries. The tide level was a little higher than during my last visit, but the fiddler crabs were still active along the shore. Today there was only one Egret in the area looking searching for lunch.

The RV park is filling up a little for the weekend. Most of the afternoon I saw RVs arriving in the park. It didn’t click right away that it was the weekend. On my evening walk I read the weekend activity display board and I realized the weekend was upon us.

Thursday July 20th 2023

The haze is gone, but the heat remains. Today’s temperature peaked well above the normal temperature for this day at ninety eight degrees. It is still less humid than normal which has kept the daily thunderstorms away. Without the storms there is no brief relief from the heat. The overnight temperatures have remained in the eighties.

While I was out today I stopped at another one of the boat launch parks the county maintains. Based on my other stops at similar areas earlier in the week, I expected to find low tide. It was high tide and not very entertaining. One boat was getting put into the river, but there were no birds, fish or other creatures around to get my attention. The rivers and backwaters seem to create a very confusing tidal flow.

My primary goal away from my RV home today was to get groceries. The secondary part of that goal was to spend some time in air conditioning set at a a cool level. Both missions were achieved. Since it has been almost two weeks since my last grocery stock up, I had a lot to buy. Taking my time and not being terrible efficient walking the aisles I took more than an hour to complete my shopping.

At the RV park, I only got in one walk today. It was an evening walk when the sun had reached a lower angle. I didn’t get moving fast enough this morning for a walk before the sun was at its peak. There has been some change in the occupancy of the park. A few long term residents have departed and others seem to be slowly getting ready to move on. It isn’t anything specific, but you just get the idea that they are starting to organize things for a change. A couple of new trailers have also arrived without occupants. The units are brought in by a transport company and setup. The occupants arrive later.

Wednesday July 19th 2023

Today was another higher than average temperature day in the mid nineties. The heat index was calculated in the low 100s. There wasn’t a lot of wind, but there remained high level forest fire smoke haze in the sky. Outdoor activity was a sweaty affair.

This wasn’t a very blog worthy day for activities. I made one stop at a boat launch along the Nassau River while I was out, but I found nothing going on or worthy of a photograph. Most of my day was focused on chores around my RV home.

Tuesday July 18th 2023

The smoke from the northern forest fires drifted a little further south today. It was over the Jacksonville FL area as a high altitude haze. The overall impact was minimal. The haze may have saved a degree or two on the thermometer, but it was still hot. Amazingly, there were no thunderstorms this afternoon.

This afternoon I drove to the Cedar Point area on the southern part of the Nassau River tributaries. It was low tide. The Egrets were taking advantage of the lower water level to catch some yummy food. As I walked along the exposed sand, I saw some of their intended lunch. There were lots of little inch or smaller crabs running from hole to hole. Every foot fall I made scattered a few more.

It was a nice breeze in the open marsh area. A few people were out fishing in boats and one guy was using a cast net. I don’t know much about that form of fishing, but it looked pretty futile in that location to me. I spent about an hour wandering around and watching the nature. On the way back I stopped at another area, but I didn’t have bug spray. Before I got ten feet away from the car I was surrounded by bugs. I retreated to the inside of the car only to find that a good handful followed me home. Luckily, they didn’t seem very interested in biting. There are a few additional bug born diseases flying around this summer. A few cases of malaria have been reported in Florida. It has been many years since that last happened. I noticed that this RV park is spraying regularly, so there shouldn’t be any problems around my RV home.

Monday July 17th 2023

The heat dome that the TV weather talkers have been talking about for the last week or so is now here. This week record high temperatures are possible in the Jacksonville area. Today it was in the mid nineties until the afternoon thunderstorms arrived around 4:30PM. I’ll definitely have to run the AC all night. I prefer the quit of no AC when possible.

I made it north to St Mary’s Georgia today. Gas was about fifteen cents a gallon cheaper and the walk along the river was enjoyable. There was a little more breeze along the river so the heat didn’t feel as bad. All of the mooring balls I could see in the river were filled with big sailboats and it looked like there were several on anchor lines at the edge of the mooring area. Some of the boats were impressive. The temporary landing area was filled with dinghies. The restaurants and shops looked busy.

It was between boats to the Cumberland Island National Seashore so there weren’t to many people roaming around the park lot for the National Seashore wasn’t full. I image most people would rather explore the island in during cooler temperatures. A few other people were wandering along the river shore like me and a few people were sitting in the shade watching the world go by or the kids play in the playground. Overall I didn’t see anything earth shatteringly new, but I had a good visit.

When I got back to the RV park the landscapers still hadn’t finished the weekly mowing. The lawn mower that was left under the tree behind my RV site three hours before was still there. It was another hour or so when rain was threatening that some came and retrieved it. I don’t think they had more to do than basic mowing today so they took their time.

Sunday July 16th 2023

The weather and I were not in sync today. I missed the TV weather this morning, so I had to depend on the internet hour by hour forecast. When I first checked the page it called for a one percent chance of rain in the early afternoon with a high probability for remainder of the day. I checked again later in the morning only to find that rain was out of the forecast for this area. That set my plans for the day.

I planned to drive up to St. Mary’s Georgia to visit the river community and more importantly get gas in the car. Fuel is a few cents cheaper in Georgia. Today’s dance with the weather continued. A severe thunderstorm warning for that area of Georgia was announced shortly after noon. Checking the weather app again showed that rain was once again predicted for my area. The bottom line is I stayed at home all day.

The weather didn’t keep me from resuming my twice daily walks around the RV park. My first walk was in the morning, but the second had to wait until the potentially sever line of storms passed through this area. The rain was very loud on the roof for close to an hour. The geese had a new friend this morning. An Egret was proudly standing in the middle of their flock. On my second walk after the rain the geese and egret were gone, but the pair of ducks remained.

Saturday July 15th 2023

I didn’t sleep well last night. Whatever I had woke me up every hour or so for a visit to the bathroom, a drink or just a repositioning. This morning I didn’t feel bad, just tired.

To be safe I’ve stayed inside all day letting the air conditioning keep me comfortable. I also took a couple of naps and have been drinking plenty of fluids. I think whatever was ailing me is in the rear view mirror, but tonight should tell the story. I’ll probably take it easy and drink plenty of fluids again tomorrow.