All the Lemurs!

I have met lemurs and my life will never be the same! Many moons ago, one of my best friends lived in Madagascar and I asked that she please bring me a lemur back - but she told me that they could be very aggressive - so I'd have to ask for something else. So my dreams of meeting a lemur were not realized.

So imagine my joy when my mother-in-law mentioned on the way to Florida that she knew of an animal sanctuary near her home in Central Florida and as she understood it - you could interact with lemurs! She asked if that would be something I was interested in and I immediately told her YES!

Chase Sanctuary is located in Webster, Florida and is home to a multitude of animals that have been rescued from the exotic pet trade and are re-homed and introduced to a troop (family) that they can make their own! The Sanctuary has lemurs, monkeys, tamarind, birds, cavies, tortoise, anteaters, deer, rabbits and even a stray cat or two wandering around, ha-ha! 

We joined an approximately 2.5 hour tour and we were able to learn so much and interact with so many different animals along the way! It was truly an amazing experience! And I promise the cat pictured below wasn't as angry as he looks... ha-ha!

 

We started our tour in the Lemur Barn - where the moms and babies were being kept! It was so exciting to get to see babies and while we watched the introduction video, Pendleton the Lemur (above on the first picture and below, sucking his thumb) hopped around right in front of me and I was able to pet his soft, fluffy fur! We had a large tour group, so once the video was done - we headed out with Ellie - with the promise that we would return to the Lemur Barn to spend more time with the Ringtails and their babies!

We were introduced to teeny tamarinds that would fit in the palm of your hand and a tortoise so large, the tour guide noted she couldn't flip him right side up on her own! The tortoise chased after my MIL - and when we asked why - it was because her hot pink sneakers made him think of hibiscus, one of his favorite snacks! We gave him a carrot instead and watched how he used his claws to remove stuck bites from his beak (who knew tortoise had beaks...)... and then the cavies escaped, ha-ha!

The cavies were in our next enclosure visit - and these little rat/dog/rabbit hybrids had dug our of the enclosure, left their baby behind and were trying to make a run for it! They were restored (safely and gently) to their enclosure and while they were returned, we got to meet a lovely deer and rabbit friend! The deer and rabbit were both rescues and enjoyed some carrot and watermelon treats - the rabbit even "fought" the deer for a bite of watermelon and won! Who knew rabbits could be so fierce?

I don't have pictures - but we learned about Vervet monkeys - and unfortunately a whole group of them were brought over from South Africa and I confess, I don't remember what happened but what I do remember is they now live at the Park and Ride in the Jacksonville Florida area, in and around an abandoned car, where they are frequently hit by cars and fed things like Taco Bell and Burger King by tourists. *sigh* They cannot be returned to South Africa (red tape) and unfortunately must be left there to fend for themselves - because they can't be taken in, because they would have to be euthanized. It was absolutely a cautionary tale about the horrors of the illegal exotic pet trade that occurs daily. 

After meeting some brown lemurs and taking a quick stroll through the butterfly garden - it was time to return to the Lemur Barn and have more time with the ringtail lemurs (and their babies). We were given bananas to share with the little guys and I cannot even tell you how amazing it was to hold out a banana and have a little lemur scamper up to you, reach out their teeny (soft) hands and take the banana! Theses little creatures have so much personality and it was so fascinating to watch them hop around, make gigantic leaps and just generally be adorable!

The adorable babies seemed to get a sugar high off the bananas because after a few minutes of banana treats, they went a little bit wild! They were leaping and flying and scampering around the barn and it was pretty hilarious! While I didn't ever coax one to hop onto my shoulder or have one use me as a leap pad for their bounding about the barn, it was one of the most incredible experiences to feed them bananas, be tapped by their little hands and just be able to pet their soft fur! It was the most amazing thing and I still can't believe that I can say I've hung out with lemurs!

After a quick stop to visit to the anteater and the sloth (which I have no picture of because they were too far back in the enclosure - being sloth-like) we went into our final enclosure, where the ruffled lemurs were! We got into the enclosure in the nick of time, as a big ol' Florida thunderstorm rolled in and so we hung out under the shelter with the ruffled lemurs for the next twenty minutes or so... and these little guys were incredible too! None of these guys climbed on me either (one did use my MIL as a spring pad) but one incredible little one did sit next to me at the picnic bench over and over again - and that was a complete joy!

Once the rain passed, we said our final farewells to the ruffled lemurs and made our way into the gift shop to peruse and wash our hands (lemur germs... I guess...). I cannot tell you how much this lemur experience meant - it was so incredible to experience these little guys and I am trying to convince my husband that he needs to experience this when we go back to Florida for Christmas - he loves all animals and he would absolutely be overjoyed! It was - I know I've said this a million times - the most amazing experience and is now a cherished memory!

There is nothing quite like having a baby lemur hold your hand - and I can't believe I was lucky enough to get to experience that! 

Everything but Lemurs...

I know what you're thinking - what about the lemurs? But this post is about everything but lemurs, so you'll have to wonder what that means for at least another day or so, ha-ha! But trust me - there will be lemurs! 

The six day adventure with my mother-in-law began with an almost fourteen hour drive beginning in Virginia and taking us through North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia before finally depositing us in Central Florida! The adventure was not without road bumps - we realized when we were approximately an hour from my MIL's house that she'd left her purse at a Culver's in Savannah, GA! 

Blessedly - the manager was kind enough to ship it to her house, so all's well that ends well there! We arrived in Central Florida around 9:15 (13 minutes ahead of schedule) and after a quick Wal-Mart run, it was into bed! All day car rides can be tiring...

I slept until about 8:30 and then woke up and had coffee on the lanai - my favorite spot at my MIL's house! With the cushy outdoor furniture, ceiling fans and screened in porch overlooking the nature preserve - it's the perfect spot! If I had to guess, I spent most of my time in Florida either on that lanai or asleep in the bedroom, ha-ha (I mean - you do sleep something like eight hours a night). 

After a lazy morning of coffee, breakfast and chatting - we headed to get my visitor's pass and on to one of the 100+ swimming pools that there are to choose from! We took the golf cart, because that's how everyone gets around at The Villages! There are whole roadways dedicated to golf carts and people soup them/pull out all the stops to have the fanciest golf cart(s) - I mean, look at the one that looks like an old school surf buggy! 

 

 

We had a late lunch of BBQ after sunning for a few hours in the lovely swimming pool... and then headed back to the house, where I read on the lanai and later in the evening, watched my MIL work on the sweet corn she'd brought back from Lancaster, PA - she husked the corn, then cooked the corn, then cooled the corn and then used a tool her mother used to use to remove the kernels from the stalk! She bagged eight to ten bags of sweet corn for use in Chicken Corn Soup later in the year! 

We also had some animal visitors - including the Sandhill Crane family that she's been daily feeding a little corn - and video that was completely unexpected of a black bear scaling her neighbor's back wall! Y'all, I didn't even know black bears were a thing in Central Florida - I thought I'd left those things far behind in Virginia! This trip was filled with animals - and a lot of them were right outside my MIL's back door, ha-ha!

I'll share about Saturday in a separate post (lemurs y'all - lemurs). Sunday I attended church with my MIL and Doc and then we met up with family for lunch at the Metro Diner (my husband's uncle, aunt & cousin). After a delicious lunch and wonderful conversation with family, my MIL and I returned to Doc's for the afternoon and evening for a water sports filled Sunday afternoon! 

 

We poked around in Little Lake Weir, went kayaking on Little Lake Weir, rode Doc's pontoon boat from Little Lake Weir along the canal to Lake Weir and back. We sat on chairs in the lake and let the waves created from passing boats wash over us and they even encouraged Maggie to try out the kayaks and she rode on one for a little swirl around the edge of the lake in front of Doc's! 

 

After all our water sporting - the sun was beginning to set and so we warmed up all our leftover foods from Saturday night dinner, sat on the screened in porch to eat and then it was time to head back to the MIL's house! Y'all - please take a peek at Maggie sitting on top of the AC vent in the house, cooling off after an afternoon in the Florida heat! 

We slept in on Monday and had breakfast, and then I was lucky enough to be treated to a wonderful massage at the Hand & Stone in the Villages! The massage was wonderful and was followed up with a shower, time spent wandering around Brownwood (one of the villages squares) looking in the shops and having late lunch at the Mexican restaurant on the square! I spent the afternoon reading on the lanai while it rained - it was heaven! My MIL had a hair appointment and I told her that I was more than thrilled to hang out on the lanai and read... and that's exactly what I did! 

We closed out our Monday with Klondike Bars and went to Brownwood to hear a band play and dance around in the square! And then, after a couple card games - it was time to crash again for the final night in Florida! 

I finally saw a gator on Tuesday morning - and you can see it in the above picture, but all you'll see is the tip tip of his head, ha-ha! I think that's enough of a gator for me! I joined my MIL to watch her pickleball game and then it was time to head for the Orlando airport - with a stop along the way at Bobbalu's Bodacious BBQ for lunch! All too soon I was boarding my flight, where I discovered that my window seat didn't actually have a window... whatever! The flight was smooth and uneventful and I was beyond thrilled to see my husband again - goodness I missed him so much while I was gone!

It was the most wonderful and relaxing few days in Florida - and y'all get ready, because I've got another post for you and it involves - yep - lemurs! 

Mid-Week Wanderings (Wonderings)

I figured I'd pop in and share a little post before I'm out of town for the next week - I am taking a much needed vacation but I figured I'd share a couple things here before I'm potentially MIA for a while (again).

House for Sale - That's right! We are selling our house! We have been discussing this for the last couple months, praying and discussing our options and we decided; after discussing with our realtor, about a week and a half ago to move forward with the sale. We have been packing up and storing away our things for the last week.

We've been given the opportunity to take the next year to pay off the small bit of debt we have - and selling our home will allow us to do this. We are working toward our goal of being debt free before we are 39.5 (well 38.5 for Ryan) and look forward to the possibilities that accomplishing this will give us!

Happy Birthday America - We had a wonderful Fourth of July this year! Ryan and my Dad participated in the Middletown Fourth of July parade; they were recently guardian with the Honor Flight program, and so they participated in the parade as guardians again! It was a toasty day - the first time I remember the Fourth being quite so toasty!

After the parade, we headed over to my parents and grilled burgers and sausage with chips, potato salad and fresh fruit - a divine Fourth of July meal! After filling our bellies, we headed to our home town to watch the fireworks and found a perfect spot to watch them light up the sky for almost twenty minutes!

Florida Bound - I'm headed down South with my mother-in-law for the next six days! We will be in central Florida and I don't know if I'm ready for the heat! Yesterday it was 92 with a heat index of 103 - direct me to the swimming pools, please and thank you! 

I haven't been to Florida in almost two years - the last time I was in the sunshine state, I was also visiting my mother-in-law! Granted, she was only my mother-in-law to be at that time, ha-ha! I am looking forward to some sunshine, swimming pools and just having the opportunity to sleep in and relax for a few days! 

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I'll see you all on the other side of the Sunshine State - be well and enjoy early July!

Happy Birthday America!

 

I hope your day is warm - your company is excellent - your spread is tasty and your fireworks are bright and beautiful! Happy Birthday to America!