The snowbirds are leaving
The snow birds are leaving!
It is May and all the northern climates who winter in Florida are back home, where they will enjoy cool breezes, refreshing lakes and lazy afternoons on your decks. My mood turned bleaker when, one by one, our neighborhood friends stopped to say goodbye before leaving Florida for the summer. I wanted to go with them. So we decided to take the kayaks out for the first time in a long period.
Thanks to my husband, we were in the water at 8:15 am (I’m not an early riser) and paddling our kayaks in calm waters, a silence broken only by the music of birdsong. We follow a water trail through mangroves and across the sturdy legs of a long bridge, its crisscross pattern duplicated in the water. My depression was overcome. We made a promise to do this at least once a week at an even earlier time to miss out on the Florida summer heat. I’ll raise the alarm!
Until last year, we belonged to the flock of snowbirds. We had a lovely summer home on a small lake not far from Rochester, New York. For 15 years, we spent summers watching the world go by from our terrace overlooking the lake. Every now and then we would go off the deck to go fishing in our small boat, swim in the lake or mow the lawn, pull weeds from the garden, wash bugs from the windows, plant flowers and vegetables, repair whatever it had broken during the winter. and buy tools to make repairs. Obviously our time on deck was a bit limited. But, for the most part, it was nice work.
However, getting to the lake house was another matter. First, I hate long car trips. If you don’t believe me, ask my poor, long-suffering husband who, for 13 years, had to put up with me complaining and whining for almost three days as we drove north. The boredom of sitting hour after hour, watching the scenery pass by our windows was definitely not something I enjoyed. And then there was the cat!
Our cat, a tortoise shell named Spooky, dislikes long car rides even more than I do. In addition, it has a tendency to bite if you stroke it in inappropriate places, such as the back or the stomach. Spending three days in a car with a cat that not only bites, but really doesn’t want to be there in the first place, wasn’t at the top of my list.
Despite this, I tried to make her feel comfortable. I cleverly arranged the carrier between the two front seats, put a soft, cozy pillow in that space between the driver and the passenger, and allowed him to get in and out of the carrier as the spirit moved it. Sometimes I was afraid for my life, but, an animal lover that I am, it didn’t occur to me to simply lock her in the cage until the third day of travel. It was then that his mood went from bad to vicious.
Despite our grumpy cat, we made it to both places safely for all those years. And that part was great! The fresh air was inspiring, the cabin lovely as always, and the lake beautiful. We unpack, check the yard, and settle in for the summer. A big bonus was seeing our old friends in Rochester. Summers seemed to rush by and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and take the trip in reverse.
When we left Florida, our tasks included cleaning the refrigerator, turning off the water, packing the clothes we carried (I always had to send at least three boxes in the mail), canceling newspapers, and putting the thermostat on the vacation setting. Leaving the lake for the winter was something else. We cleaned the refrigerator and unplugged it, turned off the water, emptied the tank, turned off all electricity and internet, brought the boat in for storage, arranged for the dock to come out and the grass cut, covered all the furniture with sheets, cleaned the pots and put them in the basement for the winter, etc. etc. etc. Usually it took a week to pack. When we finally hit the road we were so exhausted we couldn’t open our mouths for at least 100 miles.
Eventually the journey became too much. Additionally, the shallow lake developed bluish-green algae that appeared earlier and earlier each summer. So we sold the cabin and made plans to spend our summers in Florida with some additional trips. Last summer was his first, and in July he was depressed and in mourning for the cabin. We have wonderful friends who are here all summer and that is a huge bonus. But it’s still hard to see the houses in our neighborhood go quiet. A friend called them “dead houses.” Another said she sometimes feels like the poor cousin who has to stay in Florida for the summer.
However, there are also many positives about spending summers in Florida. First of all, traffic on the roads is minimal; it takes half the time to drive anywhere. In the winter, we plan an hour for a trip from our home near Anna Maria Island to Sarasota. Now that trip is 30 minutes, 40 to be sure. Theaters need customers and tickets are often reduced. Stores advertise half of sales, and discount clothing shelves double the amount. Restaurants are also begging for our business and prices are dropping.
During the season, we avoid the beach that generally does not have open parking spaces and is covered with blankets, umbrellas and bathers. Last summer, we started visiting the beach around 6:00 pm and encountered a sprinkling of people, delightfully warm bay water, and very few menacing waves. We took walks along the water’s edge, swam, and then settled into our folding chairs to watch the sunset.
Summer in Florida is also a great time for interior projects. If you are from the northern states, you used the freezing winter weather for this purpose, but once you have managed to change your mindset to summer, there are many things you can do. The garage is always in need of cleaning, the linen closet is a mess, the freezer is out of space, and the kitchen cabinets are cluttered. Of course, I can always find something else to distract me from the actual work, like reading a book.
And that’s what happened last summer. He was depressed, he missed the cabin and the voices of the neighbors who had left for the summer. I had stopped writing and knew I needed a jolt to get my creativity going again. So I decided to start writing essays like I used to for a newspaper and also work on a rewrite of a mystery I had written a few years ago. My mind was constantly racing, playing with new ideas for the next rehearsal and my fingers. they were busy playing it on the keyboard. And then I was able to let the cabin disappear into the past.