A series of blog posts about life in Ocala Florida.

Punxsutawney Phil 2022

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I always found it fascinating and fun to see my favorite little ground hog on the television.  The whole affair of predicting the weather without radar, Doppler and satellites is amusing.  Seeing Punxsutawney’s handlers all dressed up with their suits and top hats has always brought a smile to my face.  I mean, who wants another 6 weeks of winter, right?  All that cold, windy, snowy stuff to deal with is not fun.  Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning so there is 6 more weeks of winter for folks in other parts of the country.  The good news (and don’t ruin it for the little ones) is he is only 40% accurate.  I heard he took the first flight to Florida he could today to get out of the cold!

We don’t really worry about 6 more weeks of winter in Central Florida.  We had a freeze for a couple of nights last week and they tell us one of those nights was the coldest in 4 years. It was pretty cold!  However, as it always happens in Florida it warms back up again.  Tomorrow we are going to experience 80 degrees and sunshine!  I have a lunch date with a colleague tomorrow.  I am going to head over in my golf cart because I can.  Talk to you soon!

 

Christmas Is Over!

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Christmas in Florida

Christmas is Over!

I have a confession to make.  I knew when we booked our cruise for the end of November 2021 that it was going to cut into the Christmas season and therefore, I made an agreement with my husband that there would be no need to decorate our home – much to his relief!  However, when we got on our cruise on the day after Thanksgiving, the ship was not decorated for the holidays – not until the cruise after ours (what the what?).  We had a great time in our suite and on ship for 7 days.  What was not to like about having lots of room, a double balcony and even a bathtub in our cabin? We arrived home and I felt a little sad about not having decorations to enjoy.

I have been busy with Real Estate, my husband has been busy with being an over the road truck driver – but I ached for Christmas in our home!  So, as wonderful husbands do, George got all the stuff out of storage to decorate our house:  The 9 ft tree, the Thomas Kincade Santa ornaments, the nick knacks, all of it.  Friends told me, “Don’t worry about it!  Decorations can stay up until January 6th!”  I liked this way of thinking, buying more time and all!  Now, fast forward a little and we accepted the opportunity to go to Destin for a long weekend right after the New Year.  No problem, I was able to work from the car, the time share or from anywhere at any time – and I did!  The problem is when we got back it was January 10th and my tree was still up!  Dang it!!  I will have it put away this week, but I really love the holidays here in Florida – when the weather is 80+ degrees and sunny!  There is so much to do like golf carting, walking, biking, pickle balling, golfing, quilting, railroad making, Veteran fellowshipping, swimming, working out, taking classes and/or field trips and so much more – nothing but a smile and a kind heart is required (and maybe a nice pair of shorts).  So here is the picture I wish to remember during this past holiday season.  I had waited so long to get poinsettias that all I could find were these little ones but that is OK because on this January 10th, they still look good after a little water.  I am going to give them to some friends and neighbors starting with my next-door neighbor.  The wonderful thing about living in a great 55+ community is helping others to smile…  Are you ready to enjoy people again?  Give me a call.

Ocala Florida weather report March 2021

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This winter has been the coldest one since I moved to Ocala in 2004. According the the tv weather man it was the coldest in Florida in 20 years. By cold I mean several frosts and a couple of light freezes. Day time temperatures in the high 50’s is freezing here. The grass which often stays green all winter is brown and dormant. Plants that generally survive in this zone look pretty much toasted.

The last week of February warmed up. We had several days in the 80’s. March is spring. The day time temps will be in the 80’s and nights in the 60’s. There will be little or no humidity until May. Spring which is a lot like summer up north is great here in Ocala.

Ocala Florida Weather Report February 2021

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The winter of 2020-21 is the coldest I’ve seen since moving to Ocala in 2004. I’ve seen colder nights and a few really hard freezes but never so many cold days and nights. By cold I mean days in the low 60’s and nights in the 30’s. Typically the weather should begin to warm up in mid to late February. March is a full blown spring month. I can’t wait.

Ocala Florida weather for January 2021

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I’ll start as usual with a look back at the previous month. December was very odd. We had 3 or 4 hard frosts. There some years we don’t get a frost at all. The grass is brown and dormant and quite a few plants that were borderline hardy here were killed. New Years day was 80 and I had to turn on my AC.

January like the rest of our winter here revolves around cold fronts. A front will come though and cool the day time temperatures down to the 60’s or even high 50’s and then the temperatures will go back to the low 70’s until the next front. There is no humidity and we can go for a week or 2 with no rain.

Ocala Florida Weather Report December 2020

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So far December has been much cooler than normal. Today is December 8th and we have had two cold fronts and a frost already this winter. Normally high temperatures should be in the mid 70’s during the day and the 50’s or 60’s at night. The past several days have been in the 60’s and even a couple of 50’s during the day. That’s cold for Ocala. The winteer is my favorite time of year. Warm and dry.

Ocala Florida weather report November 2020

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October was an unusually warm month. Normally it begins to cool down mid month. It did that in October but it heated back up through the first week of November. It was also more humid than normal.

November should be cool and dry with temperatures in the mid 70’s. I hope it cools down soon. According to the weatherman on TV it should cool down this coming week.

Tropical storm Eta passed just north of Ocala. It was a non event. A little rain and some 30 mph wind.

Ocala #6 in Best Places to Retire

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Ocala sign for historic downtown square

US News and World Reports published a list of the Best Places to retire in 2020-21 and Ocala came in at # 6 out of 150 major metropolitan areas. You will notice out of the top 20 Ocala has the highest housing affordability score.

Link to article    https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-retire?sort=overall&high_to_low=true

Ocala weather report for October 2020

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October in Ocala is the beginning of our fall. It’s also the beginning of the dry season. You can almost divide our year into 2 seasons. From late May until October we have the wet season. During the wet season we have high humidity every day with afternoon thunderstorms several times a week. The dry season is from October until May. It’s warm but not hot. Not a lot of rain and little or no humidity. October is one of my favorite months. Temperatures in the 80’s but dry and sunny.

Ocala Florida weather report September 2020

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Since I didn’t do my August weather report I’ll begin by recapping the month. August was hot and humid every day. Days were all in the low 90’s. Nights were in the high 70’s often even 80 at 6 am when I get up. Every day was very humid. We had afternoon thunderstorms several times a week.

September will be a lot like August. September is not the beginning of fall here it is a full blown summer month. Things do not begin to cool down until late October. Mid September is the peak of hurricane season. This year huge sand storms coming off of North Africa have been hindering hurricanes forming in the Atlantic.

The hot humid summers are a small price to pay for no winter and no more snow ever.