I understand it's nothing for my northern friends to cope with a high of 53 degrees under cloudy skies -- but we Floridians are (as my mom would say, with disapproval) s-p-o-i-l-e-d by regularly warm temperatures under sunny skies.
This is totally true:
Of course, it was 80 just a few days ago, so we haven't had a chance to harden off.
I took advantage of a lazy Sunday to get some things done around the house (inside, of course) but then I was a bit stir crazy so I decided to drive out to the local you-pick farm for the season's first orange juice. Fresh, local orange juice is one of the great pleasures of winter, and today seemed like the perfect day for it.
The growing season is backwards here, so the farm's crops are gearing up. I picked some green beans and cut the world's most beautiful head of leaf lettuce. There was kale, and lots of sage and thyme, and flowers for cutting, but I saved those for another day. Everything smelled wonderful and green, and the chill was invigorating.
The farmer seemed happy to see me, although he said he'd had lots of customers -- rather unexpectedly, given the weather.
Five beautiful sandhill cranes were supervising the operation from a grassy spot near the tomato house.
Next time I'll take pictures!
It makes me so happy to know that there really are still oranges in Florida. It seems so many farms have been developed into housing places. We visited Tom's mother there in 1999, and she took a picture of an orange tree. The next year, she said the place was gone.
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