Week of February 23, 2025 – Battens, Beef Fat, a Baby (tree), and a visit to Salt Springs

(Above: A young oak tree sprouting next to a radish in the garden. Un roble joven brotando junto a un rábano en el jardín.)

2/23/2025: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the mid-70s.

2/24/2025: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the high 60s. Drizzly and grey.

2/25/2025: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the low 70s. Mostly cloudy morning. Partly sunny afternoon.

2/26/2025: Today began in the high 40s and warmed into the low 80s. Mostly sunny.

2/27/2025: Today began in the high 40s and warmed into the low 80s. Mostly sunny.

2/28/2025:  Today began in the low 50s and warmed into the high 70s. Mostly sunny.

3/1/2025: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the high 70s. Mostly sunny.

Final Note: Quote from the 1-4 entry for 2/26/2025, concerning my visit to Salt Springs:

"Ritsabittle #2 was a success. I made it to the park, paid, parked in an empty parking lot, and then wandered out with my laptop bag, seltzer water, and coffee to find a good place to sit and write. I did so, and it was glorious. The sun shone through the fern & air-plant inhabited trees, there were a couple curious and uncannily tame squirrels that staring at me for much of the time, and the water I could see was quite calm. 

I wrote for an hour, and then it was time for a swim. I returned to the car, changed, used the restroom, and headed to the spring. There, I stood for a couple minutes listening to a woman attempting to cajole and then threaten her child into hopping in a raft. I think she ended up bodily hefting that child into the raft – would not have been my choice – but I do not know for sure, because I crept past them and got in as quickly as possible. The water was surprisingly comfortable. I thought it would be colder. I swam over the springs, talked to a couple guys monitoring the current – the older one appeared a bit cross with me at first for disturbing their measurements, but his attitude became better when he realized I would cooperate and swim in another part of the spring. I sunk all the way to the sandy bottom of the central spring twice after a some attempts regaining the nerve to do so.

It was pleasant, and after my right index finger started going numb from the cold, it was signal for me to get out. I dried off. The sun felt terrific on the way up to the changing rooms, and after having changed, the hot car felt even better. I wondered to myself why I had taken so long to go back."

Before swimming, I wrote for an hour under some moss-festooned oak trees. It was an hour of tranquility.

Antes de nadar, escribí durante una hora bajo unos robles adornados con musgo. Fue una hora de tranquilidad.

1 thought on “Week of February 23, 2025 – Battens, Beef Fat, a Baby (tree), and a visit to Salt Springs”

  1. Great pictures and the food was beyond compare… wondering how far down the sandy bottom of the spring is. Thanks for sharing.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *