Too much time sitting around

Judging from my absence of blog postings last month you could say I sat that one out. Yes, I have been lazy I have to admit, soaking up energy for things to come. There was really nothing worth writing about although if you have me going on about world happenings I would have lots to say and please don’t start talking about the gasoline price these day’s. Look at the pictures below. 

 

What a difference in gas prices from our trip of Jan. 2015 compared to now

With the ups and downs in the weather here in Florida we adjusted accordingly. Some days it was just too darn hot (35 C/95 F) outside to sit under the awning, which is black and intensifies the heat even more, or it was too windy, or it rained. However, there were some beautiful days in-between where I was totally content to sit next to our travel trailer reading a book or just being busy with my iPad while enjoying the sunshine. 

 

The dogs got their regular exercise around the park, but the playtime on the huge grassy areas here in our park we had to skip because the fleas are now out in masses and they especially bother “Reggy”. 

 

When we do our grocery runs I always admire the many horses and ponies we see left and right from the car. They are so beautiful to look at but they are very uninterested in me when approached from the fence. I guess I have to bring a gift in the form of an apple to make some friends here.

 

Did you know that Ocala/Marion County was officially named the “Horse Capital of the World” in 2007 and is home to the largest number of horses and ponies, more than any other county in the United States? We are reminded of it by the signs placed throughout the town.

 

I don’t know about you, but I find switching to “DST” summer daylight saving time in the spring very difficult to get used to but I do enjoy the extra hour of daylight in the afternoon. I’m glad we are retired and don’t have any commitments in the morning so I can ease into the time change. Here is a little personal tale about it.

 

When we first arrived from Germany to Canada in October 1972 (yep, 50 years ago) Benno and I didn’t know about DST, or that Canada used it. A few days after our arrival we were invited at a friend’s house for an afternoon tea the day of the time change and embarrassingly, we showed up an hour ahead of time to our grinning hostess who had anticipated that. (5 years later Germany also started using DST)

 

Here is a bit of history about DST: Apparently it was invented in Germany in April of 1916 at the height of World War I, but discontinued by 1919 and reinitiated in 1977.

The info on a website I found about the DST origin are quite interesting:

On April 13, 1916, at the height of World War I, clocks in the German Empire were set forward by one hour to start the world's first countrywide DST period.

Although the small town of Port Arthur in Ontario, Canada had experimented with seasonal clock changes as early as 1908, it was Germany's implementation that sparked a trend that soon spread across Europe. Within weeks, several countries had started using DST—among them the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, and even Australia. The first DST clock change in the United States was in 1918.

However, the initial enthusiasm was short-lived in most countries. Germany stopped using DST in 1919 and Austria in 1921, while the United Kingdom, Ireland, and cities like Paris in France continued to set their clocks back and forth.

 

During the Second World War, the practice of changing clocks again spread from Germany to many European countries. In fact, Hitler’s commanders imposed the measure on many of the countries they occupied—such as Denmark and Poland.

In the Netherlands, the Germans advanced local time by 1 hour and 40 minutes, effectively changing its time zone from “Dutch Time,” which was an approximation of solar time in Amsterdam, to Central European Summer Time (CEST). The Netherlands remained on year-round DST until 1942. From 1942 to 1945, Dutch clocks followed Germany's schedule of DST switches. After the country's liberation, DST was abolished, and there were no clock changes until 1977.

The French initially resisted DST, but by 1941, the country was officially changing its clocks. Some French patriots, however, stuck to the old French time, two hours behind the Berlin-based DST.

So now you know the DST story, although it is still a bit annoying for me. As an example, the DST in Europe is not starting until the 27^thof this Month, which confuses even more.

 

There will be more empty spaces soon

Our campground is slowly clearing out now and many empty spaces appear again every week as people are migrating north or heading home. We have not set a date yet and hope to be spending a few more nice days here in tranquility. 

A little bribe for me to sit down to write the blog

Thanks for not giving up on me, I will try to do better ;-)