Thinking About Warm Places

http://www.turtleinn.com/

Francis Ford Coppola apparently loves Belize. The Turtle and Blancaneaux Inns in Belize were two of the nicest warm places to stay we have ever visited.

However, there is always the eastern U.S.A. to think about in the winter. Here is my front yard yesterday:

The ice storm of last week has left a solid sheet of ice on top of the lawn. The sheet was formed by the weather front in layers; first the quick snow and melting which froze before it could run off, then the snow which lazily fell on top of the frozen foundation, then the sleet which struck during the night, intermingling with the snow and forming a treacherous frappe of slippery terrain which could not be traversed by foot or plow. A couple of days of sub-20 degree weather passed during which high winds polished the surface of the icy crust. The winds reached gusts of 40 miles per hour on Wednesday and sent the eldest cat, who lives on the porch, clawing on the storm door to get inside. We brought him in as the winds snapped at the glass door and sent particles of ice like flying needles at our exposed skin. It was really cold..... We built a fire in the fire place and became toasty warm, as my son in L.A. likes to say when I tell him how cold it is back east. There was only one problem. The first load burns rapidly and someone had to go out to the wood pile to get more wood.



We took turns.


On Wednesday night, I was dozing off to sleep. My wife awakened and exclaimed, "what's that?" I responded with a dutiful, "What's what?" She said in hushed voice, as if afraid to wake up the cat, "That dripping sound....." That got my attention and my senses awakened. Yes, there was a dripping sound. Coming from where? "Oh, no. Not the ceiling!" "Yes, the ceiling!" I reached over and found the light, touched it, (clap clap on switch) and looked up towards the ceiling and the sound of the dripping water. A dark patch had formed on the wall board ceiling just above my bookcase filled with prized and sometimes rare volumes by Cornwell, Crais, McBain, McGarrity, Lehane, Chandler, Hugo, Vollman and other idols of word. I watched as the dark patch gathered into a single drop. I ran for a bucket and a screw driver. I punched a small hole in the center of the dark patch ....... a few drops emerged. My wife had calmly avoided my anxious reaction (she really doesn't care for Mr. Vollman) and gone to the controls of the water for the whole house and turned it off. The plumber came out on Friday and for only $ 600 for a half hour fixed the leaking pipe. Apparently the original plumbing contractor who installed the piping put the clamps in too tight. Over time every one will develop a pin hole leak............. My copy of Butterfly Stories is safe........


Elsewhere, however, things were not going well. A dear friend fell and broke her hip. We went to see her today and she is doing OK. On the way home we saw several deer in the woods....running quickly. Why? A storm was about to arrive unannounced. Here is the back yard this Sunday afternoon......... I wonder, "Is there still some MaiTai mix left at Turtle Inn? Sphere: Related Content