BETTY BOOP--
Well sort'a

Sometimes a picture deserves a spot on the blog just because it is nice.  This photo came along during a recent geocaching outing on a cool day along the Stick Marsh north of Fellsmere, FL where we had just enjoyed a visit to their annual frog festival.

That's Betty Maus (aka Betty Boop in geocaching circles) who hails from Tupper Lake in the bumpy part of upstate NY and winters in our mobile home/RV park in Vero Beach.

The massive, fresh-water impoundment to the west of Betty's point of view was featured in our fishing tale Click! from last winter's sub-tropical celebration of winter's passage.

On this day she and I were beating our way through a palmetto wooded peninsula in search of a geocache with a high level of difficulty due to the fact it usually required a wading episode on the way through waters whose ownership usually was claimed by a large population of alligators.

We paid careful attention to our passage but the resident gators likely were enjoying their submerged solitude on this abnormally chilly day.  Nevertheless, we didn't brave the wade and stopped about 350 feet short of the cache's advertised location.

Maybe there will be a warm day and a kayak ride in my near future.

Our geocaching companions, my lady Sue and Ohio square dancing friends, Mike Friedman (Columbus) and Linda Adkins (Marion) chose to wait out our hike in the warm comfort of Mike's spiffy, pick-up truck; our chariot for the day.

Sue's choice was based on her trying to stay comfortable in the arctic-like (her opinion) afternoon temperature of 50 something degrees.  Linda stayed in the vehicle because of her abundant common sense and Mike sat out our adventure because of, well, let's say geriatric considerations.

I like it when Mike is in our daily crowd.

That demotes me from No 1 in the usual pecking order of most annual trips around the sun.

Curious about the resident gator population?  Take a peek here for our blog story about an airboat ride on adjacent Blue Cyprus Lake a year or so ago.

During preparation for the above event I swapped emails with Ohio square dancing and caching friend Nancy Meinzer, who, along with her hubby Mark, introduced Sue and me to geocaching.  Nancy, who would prefer to live trap rather than swat flies, was skeptical about the content of a "frog festival".

I told her the frog festival is like most other festivals but I suspected both she and a bunch of frogs would take exception to the menu.

Ain't life grand.