Gator Country? (Clermont, FL)

When I think of central Florida, I think of Disney World and talking mice.  Not this time.  No, instead I find myself thinking and watching out for alligators and snakes.  

We are staying in a campground in Clermont, FL.  About 20 minutes away from Disney World. So far, I have not seen a single alligator in the campground's lake.  Although, we did hear a story about a woman finding one near her rig's doorstep one day.  Imagine stepping on that by mistake in the dark!

The only bad thing I have seen has been one big black snake high-tailing it for cover away from Dusty while I was shooing all the cats away from the bushes.  I gave them all a lecture to stay out of the woods and away from snakes.  Did they listen to me?...of course not, but I'm happy to say I have not seen another snake since then....well, not near our site anyway.

We see the Sandhill Cranes almost twice a day during our walks.  These two are smaller than I remember from our last visit.  They are about 3 feet tall.  They are not shy of humans and often walk right by us if we stand still.

It is starting to get very hot as we move into Hurricane Season.  I am starting to see the old pattern of a hot sunny mornings, dark threatening clouds by noon and sometimes a dump of big, not to mention, very cold rain drops.  By evening, the clouds have cleared for a cool evening.

We re-arranged our schedules to walk early in the morning and again late in the evening for cooler walks.  This is when I look for alligators, but they are staying well hidden.  Probably a good thing that they stay away from people, right?

On The Cutting Board

I usually like to spend my evenings sewing.  Now I am trying to get my sewing done in the afternoons.  I thought this would work out quite well for me.  For once I can sew without Max in my lap complaining about fabric and thread tickling him.  Ha!  He caught on real fast and started showing up in my chair by the third day.  There's no fooling him.

Begging puppy

 I finished all of the mug rugs.  Now, I just need to photograph, edit, and list them all.  That's a chore that I do not cherish, but I will be happy to have done.

Hello Friend!

 And Hooray!...I am finally listing the pictured mug rugs on Etsy.  But wait!  There's more!  Santas and Snowmen will soon be available!  :)

Wind-blown hair

Amazing!  I actually finished three Uncle Sams in time for the 4th of July this time.

and....3 Uncle Sams!

I'm making progress on my Hawaiian turtle block.  Batik is great for applique because it is so forgiving.  When I put a crease in and I can iron it right back out when I make a mistake.   So I was quite surprised that I find it is very hard to hand quilt through two layers of batik fabric plus muslin and batting.  I hope to finish it before we leave this area which is about 6+ weeks from now.

Time for some sewing....shhh, Max is in the back....if I am real quiet I might get in an hour before he realizes that he is missing out.....

Happy Quilting!