tim and lisa cocking

It has been wet and windy and probably will be for another day with the way this storm is tracking. But apart from losing power for a couple of minutes it’s been pretty much a non-event. It has made these guys appear in the streets.

Our friend counted 27 of them in the sub while jogging this morning.

This is from the channel 13 news:

The walking catfish uses its pectoral fin to shuffle up the street and can breathe out of water as long as it stays moist.

Dianna Fernandez maintains the lawns in the area and drove up on the incredible sight.

“I was, like, ‘No way, there’s fish in the street.’ And I kept going further and further, seeing fish everywhere. In driveways. I’ve never seen anything like it,”

Paul Shafland, a scientist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said walking catfish can travel short distances on land as long as they stay moist.

“Scientists say these walking catfish are pretty tough. They actually live in storm drains, and when it rains a lot they come up with the water and start walking around the streets….”

It has been raining a lot! Apparently they are quite edible. Dinner tonight?

Not quite sure what to think about this. We’re not too nervous, but we’ve battened down the hatches as best we can. We still have a day or so to watch and see where she goes.

This video was from another mountain hike, though this one was more of a climb, and a climb for which we were woefully unprepared! The mountain in the opening shots is the one we are climbing. It’s pretty vertical for many stretches and has warnings at the bottom trying to keep anyone off that doesn’t have the right equipment and preparation.

Equipment would be little things like hiking boots in place of my tennis shoes which are basically slicks. Or enough water. Preparation would be things like adjusting to high altitude. Like I said we were woefully unprepared.

Three hours up I got sick. Quite sick. I had to leave the group to find a place to get sick. Then I didn’t know if the group was above me or had descended past me. I waited, still sick and now without any water. Oh, and I discovered that stinging nettles can cling to the rock face of mountains. I won’t tell you how I made that discovery, though it was very uncomfortable for the next couple of days. I decided, very foolishly I knew even at the time, that I had to get down off the mountain. So I descended slowly to a little waterfall that had a horizontal spot to rest. (That was when I took the video of the waterfall you’ll see) I had a little drink from the stream and waited then noticed the black clouds rolling over the summit above me and felt a couple drops. And then, basically, I panicked. I knew I’d never make it down in my slick shoes if it was wet. So I went down the rest of the way myself. I was really dehydrated and it took about two hours. They caught up to me right when I reached the bottom.

I didn’t get much video of the climb because it was just too technical to have the camera out. This guy made a good video that shows the climb
Some other dude’s video

WARNING - He’s says one bad word in it!

Anyway - I felt a bit better after getting down and we decided to take the cable car to the top. I was assured that they had ‘facilities’ at the top. And we were told that it was a 15 min wait at the top to come down (it was over an hour wait to go up).

So we got to the top and the altitude (surprise, surprise) got me again (or maybe it was the bear, deer and wild boar I ate the night before). No facilities. Mob scene at the cable car to get down. Took over three hours to get back off the mountain.

I have not had a day where I’ve felt that bad for so long in a long time!

So here’s the video. I shot so little footage that I decided to use slo-mo as an effect to fit the music, but mostly just because I didn’t have much to work with.

If you click the video, pause it and click the picture again you will see it in higher quality.

The music for the video is Song For Waiting by The OaKs

We went to meet the girls’ new teachers at school yesterday. Ellie and Micah are going to be in kindergarten, Bethany in 2nd grade. They’re attending our neighborhood public school, Moss Park Elementary. MPE is a great school, open just a year. It was a relief school for this area, to help with overcrowding at another elementary school.

I grew up in a fairly large suburban/rural school district. I was in a graduating class of about 400. My elementary school had what I think was a typical population for the time. From what I remember, there were usually about 3 classes for each grade (K-6), probably 20-25 kids in each class. So a total of about 21 classes, and a student population of maybe 525.

My kids’ school is very different. First of all, it’s K-5 like most elementary schools are now–one fewer grade than where I went to school. But instead of 3 classes for each grade, there are 7 or 8 classes per grade–a total of 45 classes if I’ve counted correctly. Even though the school has only been open a year, they added four portable classrooms this year. From what I’ve heard, the enrollment is around 900. Amazing. Another thing I found really interesting when the school opened is that they don’t have a gymnasium. There is a covered outdoor pavilion (attached to the building) where they have PE classes.

The other big difference compared to my childhood is the number of parents who drive their kids to school. I rode the bus to school from K-12, just like most students did (I lived in a very spread-out district). Florida state law says that schools have to bus children if they live more than two miles from the school. So those of us who live 1.999 miles from the school are out of luck. Last year we carpooled and joined the ranks of the “car loop”; this year, we’re hoping to have the girls ride their bikes in (escorted by us). It remains to be seen how well this will work!

While I’m waiting for the copier to warm up so I can print this month’s newsletter I thought I’d share some pictures from Moscow. It was VERY cold (high of 13 or 14C (55-57F)each day - that’s really cold for a Floridian!) and it rained most of the time. It wasn’t good picture taking weather!

St. Basil’s self portrait - You can’t go to Moscow without a picture here!

The Red Wings have been popular in Russia since the days of the Sergei and Igor and the rest.

It really was that cold. You could see your breath all day long.

More to come later….