Some Florida Sunshine!

Welcome to Florida! This post is part of the Blog Around the World series ...I actually feel a little more qualified to post about Maryland, where I lived for about 13 years or PA, where I lived for close to 30, but I'll give it a go! We moved here a few months ago and even though I've already posted this blessing, now that I have a Florida summer under my belt, I thought I'd leave a few thoughts along with it!

~ Florida Blessing~

Bless this house, oh Lord, we cry.

Please keep it cool in mid-July.

July I can handle! August and September are definitely the HOTTEST months in Florida! I have to say that living on the Gulf side of the state does provide a nice breeze most days which makes it a little more bearable!

Bless the walls where termites dine

While ants and roaches march in time.

Almost everyone down here has a "bug guy" who comes and sprays every few weeks. We even have some kind of weird pipe system in our walls to keep us bug free...and I have to say that inside the house, I really haven't seen any bugs...outside is a different story!

Bless our yard where spiders pass

Fire ant castles in the grass.

See Exhibit A and this post

and Exhibit B

Jonah got bitten the very first week of school and Evan not long after that. Most homeowner yards are treated, it's the open areas and grassy areas that you have to worry about! The mounds aren't usually as obvious as this, so it's best to just stick to walking on concrete. Once you're bitten, apparently the ants send out some kind of signal that says "DINNER TIME!" and they swarm!

Bless the garage, home to please

Carpenter beetles, tics and fleas

Fortunately the only thing I find in my garage are nosey geckos...and I'm sure even

they don't survive too long because it's about 500 degrees hotter in my garage!

Bless the love bugs, two by two,

The gnats and mosquitoes that feed on you.

AHH yes...the love bugs. They come twice a year for about two weeks and require an explanation to young children about WHY two bugs are stuck together! They usually only appear for about two weeks, twice a year so it gives me time to expand my explanation! Gnats and mosquitoes aren't so bad, as long as you aren't outside at dusk or later and you have several cans of Off!

Millions of creatures that fly or crawl,

In FLORIDA , Lord, you've put them all!

notice the miniature gecko on her shirt? they're usually ten times that size!

But this is home, and here we'll stay,

So thank you Lord, for insect spray.

We've lived here almost five months now and it IS starting to feel like home! We've always wanted to live in a warmer climate and to be near the beach, so when our four oldest children went off to college, we packed up the three youngest left at home and headed south baby...and never looked back! Being a native Northerner, Florida seems to get a bad rap! It's really not all hot weather and bugs! We're about 20 minutes from the gulf coastline, which has some of the most beautiful beaches I've seen and rival the crystal clear blue green of the Caribbean! The sand is soft and white and the abundance of sea life is always intersting! After the kids get on the bus, I'm always up for a day at the beach!

We live very near the Tropicana Orange Juice plant and if you drive a little north and roll down your windows on a cool evening, you can smell the sweet scent of oranges in the air! It amazes me that even with the abundance of orange groves here, they still sell CA oranges at the supermarket!

We're about halfway between Sarasota and the Tampa/St. Pete area, which are cities where there is always something going on! One of the biggest reasons we moved here was the weather and even though the last month has been pretty brutal, I'm sure we'll be getting calls from our friends up north looking for a winter getaway! Please! Give us a call! You're always welcome!