November 15 - 20, 2015 in the boat yard for maintenance

bird identification correction this is a Ibis, not Limpkin

Ibis again, not Limpkin

downtown LaBelle had a Wharf Walk evening, nicely decorated tables

Joe's supper

my Swamp Cabbage Gumbo, it is a certain kind of Palm Tree

live music .. loved the stage .. looks like a sailboat

some of the people we met, Miss Patty is in the green top, she loans bicycles and wagons to cruisers to go into town and buy groceries etc.  … she is for sure a good ambassador for LaBelle

Joe wearing his Life is Better on the Bay t-shirt, bought at Trophies Two in Owen Sound

the lead singer singing to Joe …

the oak trees covered with Spanish Moss …

Bird of Paradise flower

mailbox in Rudder Street, Turkey Creek

there is lots of beautiful palms in Turkey Creek

Modaki has moved about 5 miles up the river to Glades Marina for haul out

waiting our turn … the neighbourhood alligator did his rounds checking out a new boat

the bottom had a thin layer of black

power washing got most of it off

they positioned us close to the office and washrooms, which we like

checking the keel bolts

making sure that they are still tight

next came cleaning and rebuilding the Stuffing Box .. new clamps as the other ones where pretty rusted

changing the anode on the shaft, the old one was only on for 4 months

scraping the companionway boards, Joe now has 2 coats of varnish on them and the handrails on the cabin top

guess who we found on our boat yard, Brian Mundle from our club back home …

…. Brian came by car and us by boat

the next job was to replace the boat anodes .. the 2 lighter coloured ones where in for 4 months,(and they came out easy), and the darker colour one was in for 12 months … it took us 2 days of hard work to get this one out, and $85 dollars of new tools .. the silver coloured one is brand new …

the temperature here is 85 plus F. and humidity is 89-90 F.  so we get lots of small showers,

all day long

Joe calling US Customs to report our travel plans .. this is the third time we have called and

still can't get to talk to a officer

Joe scraping the bottom, getting ready for the anti fouling

a thunderstorm coming this time

I've been working on cleaning and waxing the hull … we now have 2 coats of wax on

Keith and Bella

Bella doing tricks

Bella was not too sure about me

finally ….

Brian and Joe enjoying supper on Modaki

we are launching on Tuesday, November 24

November 11-14, 2015 … more lessons to learn

a Limpkin strutting his stroll on Mikes lawn

I was working on the deck and I got a shiver ..., in 90 degree F. temp  .. I looked beside me and the resident crocodile was making his rounds .

Joe made us this cockpit table, maple and cherry wood .. thanks Jody for the stainless parts to mount it

our Canadian flag is up and now the U.S. flag .. I guess we are just about legal to transit 

the Limpkin on Mikes boat …

our shade cloths that I made at home …  they just about look professional 

okay the house battery issue .. we already two days ago replaced our 6 year old starter battery  .. the house batteries, which are only one year old, where not holding a charge  … here we are installing 4 new house batteries .. what happened was that over the summer with the solar charging the batteries, it over charged them and the fluid evaporated out of the batteries .. with no one to check them for 6 months it fried our new batteries .. another lesson learnt 

we are staying on a canal called Schooner Lane

Moses in the Bulrushes flowers around a tree .. these are house plants back home

my birthday gift from Joe .. hand carved Pelican, made from Florida swamp Cyprus 

we attended a pot luck at Turkey Creek Yacht Club, guest of Mike and Sharon

November 7-10, 2015 learning a lot of lessons , these days

mold on our inflatable life jackets .. we still don't know what we did SO wrong

vinegar and water got most of it off

both sails are now on .. and they came out of the boat with no mold

Happy Birthday to me … we went to an authentic Mexican home grown restaurant for supper

later that night Mike and Sharon took us to a local bar, which is on the canal system, for a few drinks

a regular at the bar

Joe re drilling holes to hold the new Rocna 15 anchor 

small lines to not buy for the sunny south

2nd Birthday visit to the bar, by pontoon boat this time .. so cool

our hosts …Mike Ashmore and Sharon Ramage

and another close up of someone wanting supper served NOW

our transportation

it sure is a lively place every night of the week

this is what happens if you don't return to your boat

we where given a papua , to our amazement it is a star when you open it up to eat .. locally grown

it was a bit over ripe, our mistake, but very good

of course the red/fire ants knew I was coming and the 2nd day I got bit twice .. good for me there was no reaction and inflammation 

and to my scare and terror, I encounter 2 invasive tree frogs in the boat … Joe is not any where within shouting distance and I had to capture (not easy) and remove  … Wonder Woman would be proud of me .. ha ha

more food is loaded, this year I'm organizing a bit different .. all meat in one container, same for canned veggies and canned fruit … some are kept out for use in the next month 

last year we heard on the radio, amongst Christmas Carols a message saying " Don't be a victim, buy a gun " .. which we are for sure shocked at … this is another statement

Joe is helping Mike Ashmore, put on his sails …

maybe I didn't mention this before, but Modaki is on a private dock in the middle of Florida.. our friend Mike Ashmore which has a home in Meaford, Ontario, and his partner Sharon Ramage, Owen Sound, let us leave our boat here for the summer … lucky for us they also have a home across the canal, that we are staying at while we prep the boat for departure … therefore we still have a bed that we can walk around .. lol

in Florida, even in November you get up at sunrise and start to work .. by 10 am, it is too hot to do anything … trust me, I know

okay we are having battery issues, more on that later

installing a new fuel line from the new tank (6 months ago), to engine

the humidity is rusting everything 

it is now 11am and too hot to work, so we have a cold shower and hop in an air conditioned car to head to Labelle, 30 min away to do errands … rain coming down north of us