Icicles and Sinkholes

The weather remains a “hot” topic here in Florida.  Rest assured  that’s the only thing that’s been hot though. 

We are still experiencing freezing temperatures and some parts of Florida even saw snow flurries over the weekend, although we didn’t.   The weatherman promises warmer weather is on its way in the next day or two.  Thursday should be a beautiful 70 degrees.  Thank goodness! 

We continue to be  amazed and mesmerized by all of the icicles we have seen  everywhere around the house in Hooterville.   These photos were taken yesterday.

   

 

The unusually cold weather is taking its toll on our wildlife (fish, turtles, iguanas) and of course our crops like oranges, strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers.  I mentioned in my last post that the growers have been sprinkling their crops almost non-stop to insulate the plants and fruits when the temperature drops below freezing.  

Unfortunately, all that water usage by the growers is having a serious side effect…

Sinkholes.

In some nearby towns, several families have sadly lost their homes after they were  swallowed up by very large sinkholes.

At the end of this dirt road…way in the background of this photo…is the entrance to the house in Hooterville.  This morning a sinkhole opened up at the side of the road, toppling a tree and taking down power lines.  By this afternoon cracks in the earth were starting to stretch across the road. 

 

Fortunately, our property is not threatened by this sinkhole but the road  is our only access to the house and property because we have orange groves and strawberry fields on the west, south and east borders of our property.

The power company came out, cleared the tree from blocking the road and repaired the power lines.  However,  the road is apparently privately owned (but we don’t know by whom) so hubby will be making some phone calls tomorrow to find out who is responsible for determining whether the road is safe and drivable, and what needs to be done to make sure the sinkhole doesn’t get larger.

Meanwhile,  a little more progress is being made on the house and property every day.  The new barn has started going up (but all of our lush green grass is now  brown and crunchy from all the frost).

And by this time next week, I hope to be able to show you more pictures from  inside the house, including the laundry room, which has a pretty new paint color and will have new flooring in a couple days.  :)