the end of summer on pine street, here in my kitchen, florida

"Watch out for mosquitoes!" my means-well neighbor yells across the narrow street that separates our lawns.

The grass is green & satisfied after a week of rain.

"There are 17 cases of West Nile in Jacksonville already," he volunteers with such excitement I think I must have misunderstood.

More than a few feet separate our lifestyles, my neighbor and me.

He is from Up North Somewhere and feels comfortable asking me the price of everything I buy as if it is his right to do so.

"How much did you pay for that _____?"' he will ask about everything he sees me carrying into my house.

"Bum-bemleyg..." I will mumble, moving on.

I am a Southern Girl and Southern Girls would rather throw up in public than ask you questions about money.

If someone is handing out Free Money, a Southern Girl might talk a gentleman into getting her share of the Free Money for her...

"Say, honey, will you go get me some of that Free Money they are handing out over there? I am busy here making some garlic mashed potatoes," a Southern Girl might drawl.

Then the kind, polite gentleman would go get the Free Money, dreaming all the while of garlic mashed potatoes.

"Here, take mine, too!" he might add if there was some dark gravy seriously involved with the garlic mashed potaotes.

Anyway, at least that is what I would do.

My neighbor always yells out the bad news with alarming regularity.

"The Weather Channel says the tropical storm will turn into a hurricane before tomorrow night!" he announces to the world so loudly I turn and look way on down the street to see if someone else is coming around the corner, maybe riding wild horses or something equally as noisy.

Maybe he thinks I am deaf from all the times I have ignored his questions about the price of things.

Inside the back kitchen door my pine table is a Museum to Honor the Current Florida Season. The collection starts out simple enough and then sort of piles on up...

Think young child with many deep pockets...

In truth we only have 2 seasons in Florida:  The hot season and the cold season.

We have the hot muggy, rainy, hurricane, wildfire season when the grasshoppers grow large and the golden orb spiders swing wide. When the mosquitoes pool around, kiss each other and then spread West Nile all over the country side.

This season lasts almost from Easter until Christmas.

For about 30 minutes sometime in November or December the weather will suddenly shock one with delight from the unexpected coolness.

Many folks are confused by this turn of events. Many suspect nefariousness.

"What was that?" we have been known to ask after the cool pleasantness has quickly passed on by.

Then northeast Florida will have dreary, damp and cold weather until about the end on March.

Seemingly dead poison-ivy will start to green up again and well-rested, hopefully friendly snakes will start to show themselves boldly by the front door.

Then it starts all over again.
I love my Florida!

Today I am saying so long to my little summer-time treats here on Pine Street. My Museum to Summer Time Florida.

Good-by to the whelk egg strand. Bonjour to the hollow conch shell.

Time to clean out the candy jars for some yummy, pure-sugar candy corn. Time to hunt down some long-needle pine-cones and, maybe, buy some harvesty smelling, calorie-free candles.  Autumn fragrancey Pumpkin*Pie or Cinnamon*Apple so I can forget the temperature is still a melty 89 degrees outside.

Being wise to the life expectancy of mosquitoes and all, I will be staying indoors for the next few days, then I will go buy vast amounts of sugary yellow and orange candy.

"Hey, there, dear neighbor!" I will shout politely across the road on my return. "Look at all the free candy I got in trade for some of my garlic mashed potatoes!"

Comments

[rebecca]

you have a way of filling me right to the brim with your whimsy and charm.
you had me with the first seashell and slayed me with the garlic potatoes!

looks like postcards from paradise to me!

[Sue Fox]

Oh you disappoint me! Florida's not all it's cracked up to be then?

Me in my cold English climate dreaming of the 'Sunshine State'!

Still your neighbour sounds my kinda man, being a 'Northern Lassie', we like a good old conversation comparing the lowest supermarket prices!

Anyway variety is the spice of life so they say - enjoy your candy ;~>

Love the story and pics.

Sue x

[grrlandog]

I love your candy jars...

keep on the sunny side - despite neighbors..

[susanna]

Oh, spf, you crack me up! What a terrific sense of humour you have. "Southern Girls would rather throw up in public rather than ask you questions about money" - Hah!

I'm glad that you love where you live. I have been to Florida twice in my life - both times in Miami, both times for work, both times during the winter - and I thought the warm weather was like a welcomed hug. I remember sitting on a soft sandy beach one night, watching the cruise ships out in the water. They looked like giant floating birthday cakes with hundreds of candles lit up. And then about six white swans flew by over the water...soft white against the blue black night...and thought, this place is magical!

[Carlyn]

Hi Some Pink Flowers! I have been reading your blog and keeping up with you for awhile but never commented before. I live down the road from you a bit near what they used to call "Mosquito Inlet".

I too am a Southern Girl and a 5th generation Floridian. I'm sorry to tell the people that moved here from "up home", but living here for 5 or 10 years does not make you a Floridian!

Anyway some Pink Flowers, did you hear the news? Fall is coming on Saturday! Low in the 60s and high of only 80! I can't wait. It's time to plant snapdragons and pansies to enjoy all "winter" long.

I am hoping and praying we don't have winter like the last 2 years. I'm holding out for running the AC on Christmas day and having my yard full of red hibiscus and poinsettias to help me celebrate.

[parisbreakfast]

"How

much

did

you

pay

for

that

_____?"'

$

$

$

Too,

too

much.