The new chair arrives!

We never much cared for the black recliner that came with the coach. It was not as comfortable as it looked and it did not position you well for working on the computer at the desk . So before we had left Georgia, we had researched chairs. Jill decided that we wanted a Zody from Haworth. Coincidentaly, the Haworth showroom in Atlanta was across Peachtree Street from our old home at Colony Square. It was a little odd driving back there to "test drive" the chair.

Getting it was complicated. The chair needed to be custom made to our specifications. We did not want to wait in Georgia for it to arrive and it took many weeks for the dealer in Atlanta to work things out with the factory and a dealer in Florida. Finally the order was placed, the chair was built and it was shipped to the Haworth dealer in Florida. On Friday, January 23, we drove to Lakeland and picked up the chair.

Here is Jill accepting delivery of the new chair at Boring Business Systems in Lakeland. 

The Hotel Jacaranda

Last night we drove to Avon Park for dinner at the Hotel Jacaranda. The Jacaranda opened in 1926 and has been in continuous operation since. It claims famous guests ranging from Babe Ruth to George Burns and Gracie Allen. During World War II, it housed servicemen who had come to the area for pilot training. In the 1970’s it was home to Jill’s brother-in-law, Mark Henderson.

In 1988 it was purchased by the South Florida Community College Foundation. Renovated, it now serves partially as a dormitory for the college and partially as a hotel open to the public. During the winter season, SFCC culinary students work in the hotel's kitchen preparing and serving buffet lunch and dinner.

Jill proclaimed the fried chicken among the best she has ever eaten and Glenn proclaimed the chocolate pie “world-class.” After dinner we had a ride on the original 1926 elevator and strolled on the veranda overlooking Main Street. 

Hedge Trimming at the SKP Resort

We were awakened this morning by the sound of a large machine. It was biennial hedge trimming day at the SKP Resort. Only they don’t use a Black & Decker.

 

This machine is normally used for trimming and topping orange trees. It does in a few hours what it used to take a crew of people a week to accomplish.

Glenn gets his ham radio license

Glenn finally got around to getting his amateur radio, or ham license, something he has wanted for a very long time. After studying nearly every waking moment for two weeks using HamTestOnline™, he took all three exams on December 23. His license was issued today by the Federal Communications Commission. His call sign is:

The “A” indicates a USA call sign. “W” and “K” may be more familiar to you, but “A” and “N” prefixes are also used for USA radio call signs. The zero (hams like to put a slash through it so it is not mistaken for the letter “O”) indicates that the license was issued to someone in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska or South Dakota. “NM” was just the next letter in the sequence from which the license was issued. The format of the call sign, two letters, number, two letters, indicates that the licensee is an “Amateur Extra,” the highest privileged license issued to someone who passed all three exams.

In the International Phonetic Alphabet this comes out as “Alpha Charlie Zero November Mike.”

 

The Hardee County Animal Refuge

Not far from the SKP resort in Wachula is the Hardee County Animal Refuge in Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs, Florida. Not a zoo, all the animals are “non-releasable” for some reason or another. The animals are in “natural habitats” and the people walk over and around them on an elevated walkway. It is a very nice little facility and we spent a very enjoyable afternoon there today.

You can clearly see the walkway in this aerial photo from
Google Maps

Jill and this ostrich seemed to both enjoy their time together. An ostrich is a very large bird!

Isn’t there an expression about letting “sleeping lions lie?” This is one is a  cougar, also known as a puma or a mountain lion.

 

The swallows may return to Capistrano, but large black vultures return to Zolfa Springs each winter. A lot of them. They are rather a nuisance, but the staff puts up with them and the animals seem to ignore them. 

 

Of all the animals, the raccoons seemed the most interested in the people. This guy was putting on quite a show: the walkway was 20 feet above the ground at this point, but he didn’t seem to mind in the least.

A solid-white peacock.

Abandoned and feral cats hang out at the refuge. The staff feeds them, gets them spayed or neutered and tries to get as many adopted as they can. This guy seemed especially friendly.