All-Purpose All-Encompassing Unapologetic Blog Post Covering the Past 12 Months

Palm Point Park on Newnan's Lake, Gainesville

Friends occasionally ask if I will ever post again which feels like a compliment at first but then the feeling quickly morphs into guilt and finally settles into a list of excuses: parenting has drained all my resources, my camera is nearly non-functional, and oh, who cares? Old Wire Road had an onslaught of nature and bizarre human behavior outside the door (from massive forest fires to mysterious crimes) coupled with a truly inexplicable amount of free time even while working. Life in the Duckpond is more conventional and your duty as the reader is to throw in some interpretations of your own about our daily activities. Fill in the blanks shall we say? I'll break this year-spanning entry into several parts that will touch upon the highlights. There are photos. I recently got a new camera, but most photos were taken with my beat up old camera and lenses or even worse, an iphone, which I find totally unacceptable, but there you have it. Here goes:

Good times at Payne's Prairie

Giles on  La Chua Trail

It was a banner year for bloodthirsty sleeping alligators

Nana and Papa stayed for a generously long time last year: feeding us, watching the boys so we could go on an occasional date, and we were even able to attend a pediatric conference in Sarasota for several days (the Ritz, food, drink, beach). They helped keep us sane, mostly.

Detail of Papa's Radiator Springs Diorama. In the words of everyone that has ever seen this, or anything Papa has ever touched, 'He should do that for a living'

Last year at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead in Cross Creek 

You are doing it wrong if your pediatric conference doesn't look like this

We attended the Baxter Family Reunion in Myrtle Beach with boys late last Summer.  The boys were very pleased with the water park/playground hotel though I felt compelled to write a review of the Sea Mist Hotel titled, "Fetid, Uninhabitable, Dangerous". It was great to see the Baxters en masse. Also, if you are in Myrtle Beach you really should visit Brookgreen Gardens which has an enormous beautiful sculpture garden and experience reorientation to what humanity is capable of especially after witnessing the other possibilities nearby.

Moss riding in a Quasi-Victorian Brookgreen child bucket with spoke wheels  

Ugg, the Native American Canoe experience in Myrtle Beach

Ms. Awesome Hair

Lite Brite at the Myrtle Beach Aquarium 

Sadly, in September Cymande's brother Derrick died unexpectedly. We made a quick trip to the Bay Area. Moss and Giles stayed with Nana and Papa after they made a surprise return to Florida after visiting New England. We stayed with Shannon, Tobias, Kira and Lucas in their lovely home. We were able to see our friends Gio and Dave. We raced into San Francisco for breakfast at Zazie with the family and then an additional night for hallucinations and a general freak out at Audium and finally meeting up with the unstoppable Katie at Wexler's for insane dessert and drink. We fell in love with San Francisco again, but then raced home before we were reminded that it is financially impossible to live there with children. Instead, we just drive around SF on google streetview.

Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland

Reception at Shannon and Tobias' Home

Cookout for Derrick's family and friends the following day

Political Drama Strikes the Duckpond (again): Not since the fabled ducks were unceremoniously evicted from the Duckpond and sent to some pastoral splendor has political drama gripped the neighborhood to this degree. I got dragged in, big time. This drama involved putting a parole office in our neighborhood. The city wanted to change the zoning to accommodate this move and the town then decided to tie this move to a homeless center that everyone wanted. The neighborhood was attacked by the Gainesville Sun and all the most pure liberals in town for our callous disregard of the homeless and the parolees because we didn't want the parole office in our neighborhood. Clearly, those people haven't examined our liberal pedigrees and I won't have some angry co-op member (and I sort of like that place) calling me a variety of inaccurate and unsavory things while chugging a $5 kombucha tea. The do-gooders continued whining while they commuted to feed the homeless from their suburban enclaves and churches. We actually inspired an Occupy group to have a 5 person mind meld on the bank of the Sweetwater Branch (to pray for our agnostic/atheist souls I assume). Considering what the Occupy Movement has contributed to Bo Diddly Plaza, I could only muster the energy to roll my eyes a few dozen times. The parole office didn't move. The homeless center has opened.  On most days, Bo Diddly Park remains a trash covered, unsanitary, open-air drug market where no one will ever bring a child.  Not to worry, it's more important to hold vigil at the foot of the prevailing dogma than to consider alternatives to that mess. Hopefully, the homeless center will start to help people and relieve some of the stress that our public spaces are experiencing downtown.

Moss holding Spanish Moss (which isn't really moss) and an elephant toy, also not really an elephant.

In Florida the smell of rotting flesh usually clues you into the presence of a columned Stinkhorn or plain old rotting flesh.  We found this one in the front yard. The stinkhorns seem to be following us.

Moss and Giles started at their new school in December. It's about 2 minutes away and the oldest house in Gainesville.   Their lead levels are remarkably low!

I'm a bad parent because I didn't start balance bikes at birth

The in-law suite renovation.  We spent almost a decade renovating a decrepit old farmhouse and promised that we would leave that work behind us, sort of. Then we decided it would be fun to surprise my parents with an update of the 1981 design/decor of the in-law suite.  I had approximately 4 months to complete the job.  If I worked every evening after putting the boys down to sleep I would be able to finish in time for their arrival.  Friends helped us with the deconstruction, but the reconstruction was mostly a solo project. Cymande risked her life on occasion helping me hang drywall on the ceiling. I finished the night before they arrived and yes, they were surprised.

There are points when you ask yourself, 'What have I done this time?'

Moss and Giles negotiating something

 The finished in-law suite bathroom

With my parents gone the in-law suite is now available to homeless nannies

Engraved on the enormous trophy that all fathers receive when their child graduates from high school (and is accepted at Princeton) are several entries listed numerically. So far, mine looks like this:

1. Endured IVF process to conceive
2. Battled sleep deprivation for over 3 years
3. Lost concept of self, replaced it with something similar but less intelligent and lively, but looser around the knee, friendlier.
4. Coached t-ball team (see 3)

Yes, I 'coached' a t-ball team. This is something countless fathers before me have done and it sounds easy enough. What coaching meant to me: wearing the coach jersey, showing up, being enthusiastic, memorizing names, herding, and most importantly, delegating coaching responsibilities to better qualified parents. I was really their manager, but that job position wasn't available. Moss enthusiastically talked about t-ball.  He mostly couldn't be bothered with the fielding or the waiting to bat or the glove or the cap. He liked the idea of T-ball, but mostly he seemed to prefer the ants in the outfield. They were pretty nice ants. If given the opportunity I would have been out there with the ants too. It was not to be though, I was Coach Gregg. Please note the tense of that last sentence. We are taking a break for nature this Summer.

This brings us full circle to Nana and Papa's annual visit.  Upon arrival, Giles immediately physically and mentally attached himself to Nana.  All four of them discovered Frozen together and while I know the story and the songs I have yet to actually see the movie.  Giles acquired a sword which he uses to painstakingly re-enact Hans' moment of treachery (the foot positioning needs to be precise or great unhappiness ensues). My parents landscaped, cleaned the house, picked up the boys after school and prepared us dinner while Cymande and I drank wine. They made it all appear effortless.

Nana and the boys at Echo Island

Giles and Nana

Touch-A-Truck

Giles seemed to genuinely enjoy his ballet class. Executing things correctly (see Hans' foot positioning) is important to him and the structure of dance allowed him to indulge. He performed awesomely during his recital winding up the music box girls and presenting them to the mostly full Phillips Center. He clearly loved his tux too. Moss was very excited to watch his brother perform and waited patiently for an hour before he came on. "That's Giles!" he kept whispering.

Giles winding up the music box girls

When life gives you a rather large amount of bricks you build a fountain, or something like that. 

Moss and Giles had their 4th birthday party.  We kept it small and brief.  When the day arrived Giles wasn't sure a birthday party was actually a good idea and approached it with a good measure of melancholy. Moss seemed happy enough with everything. They were really excited to have their friends over and talked about it excitedly for weeks. Thanks to everyone that attended.

Cupcakes melting in the scorching June heat. 

The day after their birthday we spent the morning at Poe Springs

Moss had a lot of information to communicate regarding the wildlife on the Santa Fe River

On my birthday we went on a camping trip to Salt Springs. This is my rendition of Monet's hay bales in melted crayon.

Salt Spring, early morning

We beat the onslaught of people and had Salt Spring to ourselves on Sunday morning. Note to the people in power boats just outside the park: your taste in music is horrendous and your desire to share it with everyone within 2 nautical miles is obnoxious. Yes, everyone is looking at you, but they are glaring.  Floridians do have a certain approach to nature.  On a tip from our campground neighbor we all headed over the Silver Glen Springs further into the Ocala National Forest. Best spring ever: shade, shallow water in areas, otters, and fish. My father and the boys had a thing for the tame vultures. Moss looked into a deep spring that was full of large mullet and said, 'I want to look at those fish forever'.

Papa and Moss in Silver Glen Spring