Did I Ever Mention That I Love My Deck???

Of course I have mentioned that I love my deck! The deck is really what sold us on this place. After we had decided to buy a trailer here in Periwinkle Park, Mr. Snowbird came back from a bike ride one day and said he found a place we might like to look at. So, we both hopped on our bikes and rode back to the place. When we got there, there was no For Sale sign in the window. He was pretty sure that this was the place but no sign. A lady came out and said she had just taken the sign out of the window because the phone number was wrong. We said that we would like to look at the place. She asked us to come back in an hour so they could clean a bit.


When we returned, we found out that the people who lived here had been here for about 13 years. The lady's husband had died last year and even though she hated to, she was selling the trailer. We entered the front door into the Florida Room which looked very homey. She said, "Let's go out back first." So out the backdoor onto the deck. My exact words were, "You are on the water." And that totally sold it to me. I didn't have to see another thing--although I went through the motions of looking in the trailer. The place came fully and completely furnished except for a microwave and a couple of pictures. Pots, pans, dishes, silverware, appliances, towels, sheets, blankets, furniture etc etc etc. Just as soon as we left, I told Mr. Snowbird that I wanted that place. I didn't need to look at any other places--and we didn't. This was the only place we looked at. We went back to our motorhome, talked it over, then went back and told the lady that we would buy it. This was probably the quickest sale in the history of Periwinkle Park! And all because of the deck.


The deck has been redone-thanks to Hurricane Charley. When we moved it, there were lots and lots of Australian Pines on the land across the creek from us. It is city land apparently. When Charley hit Sanibel, most of the Australian Pines were the first things to come down. One came down through the roof of our neighbor's house and another came down on our deck and back corner of the Florida Room. Thanks to insurance, we got a new deck. It is no longer allowed to build decks so close to the water but since we were "grandfathered" we were able to rebuild. We even made it wider since the old railing leaned outwards. We just made the deck as wide as the top railing was on the old one, giving us another foot or so of floorspace. Instead of wood, we chose to use the plastic composite stuff. And it was from this new deck that we viewed the city removing the rest of the Pines from across the creek. So we won't ever have that problem again.


The first thing I do when I come down in the fall is to go to Lowes or Home Depot and get some plants. Last year, I left a lot of the plants on the deck and even though they were in bad shape, many of them survived. I'm slowly nursing them back to health. I did go out and get some mums and a couple of gorgeous potted hibiscus. Plants are soooo cheap down here. I want to get some geraniums but it is too hot for them so they aren't in the nurserys yet. I'll get some in a couple of weeks or so. And at Christmas I always get a bunch of poinsettias. When they are only $2-$3 apiece, I can get a LOT! I also have lots of orchids which take practically no work at all. And they are pretty cheap too.


Anyway, I love sitting on my deck, enjoying the seclusion, looking at the water, watching the anoles scamper around the deck, watching the birds in the trees across the creek, listening to the Ospreys, listening to my windchimes, having an adult beverage and just enjoying our Itty Bitty Piece of Paradise.