Touch of Nature

One of my favorite things about our home here is it’s little garden courtyard. It’s an outdoor space open above to the sky, yet enclosed on four sides, adjoining the dining room and a bedroom.

When we first moved in it had a broken slate covered fountain, a couple sad-looking potted plants and lots of rocks.

Adgie had a lot of fun helping me move rocks, fix the fountain and plant lots of tropical greenery.

Almost done, and it looks much better!

While Adgie and I were planting our little garden, we discovered some critters that had made their home there. I suspect that they originally came from a local plant nursery, hiding on past owner’s plant purchases. By their population size, they seem to be thriving in the almost predator-free safety of our courtyard.

To see them, though, you need to look closer.

Much closer.

Now can you see them?

They’re called Greenhouse Frogs, and at least twenty of these teeny tiny frogs live in our little “jungle”. Adgie and I think they’re adorable, but we also love them because they keep the insects in our garden at bay, and during the rainy season, the evening air is filled will their soft calls.

Adgie and I like to sit together looking through the glass, try and find them and watch them jump about. I wonder if they realize that they live in the froggy equivalent of “The Truman Show”?

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”  ~William Shakespeare

Flori-duh

Adgie playing outside of our townhouse in Florida.

At the beginning of the summer, DH was still waiting for an acceptance to medical school and we were beginning to worry. Time was running out and seats were filling fast.

But then, it happened. Just a month before class started, DH was accepted by not one, but two schools!! After contemplating this decision for awhile, we decided that the school in Florida was a better fit for us, so we hurriedly prepared to move our little family across the country.

The first thing I did to prepare for the move was try to secure an apartment in Florida. It was going to a be a little tricky since we neither had the time, or money to fly down to see any apartments in person before we moved. This was further complicated by fact that most of the rental listings were being facilitated by real estate agents instead of landlords, and that a lot of the properties were governed by Home Owner’s Associations with long application processes and strict regulations.

After having more than a few frustrating and fruitless conversations with Floridian real estate agents, I called a friend to vent. Like a good friend, she helped me calm down and have a few laughs. During the conversation she admitted that the first thing that would pop into her head when she thought of Floridians was, that they were… well, a bit dim. She said that this prejudice was primarily fueled by the “hanging chad” controversies of the 2000 presidential election and a scathing Dave Barry article. We both laughed at the absurdity of the notion, we knew there was no way that an entire state was full of idiots.

But over the next while, as I continued to correspond with various Floridian agents, I really began to wonder.

-Several agents couldn’t comprehend how I could possibly sign a lease without being there in person. (Ummmm, I could use a pen on a reeeeally long pole, since faxes and emails are for some reason unfamiliar to you?)

-One agent, knowing I was living in Utah, called me at 5:30 AM, as she was unaware of a time difference. (Making it worse, it was on a morning following an unusually late night, and I was really hoping to sleep in.)

-When we were trying to apply for an apartment we liked, the agent emailed me asking for proof of income/employment. I replied and explained that although neither DH or I would have a job when we got there, that we would have plenty of money available for paying rent with a monthly scholarship/stipend DH was getting and student loans. The agent replied:

“Without a job, it will be difficult for you to be approved. How do you expect your landlord to pay the mortgage, if you don’t have income to pay for the rent?” (You mean the landlord won’t let us live there for free? Also, it’s good to know that the money that comes from scholarships or loans isn’t actual spendable money.)

-During the application process for a different apartment, (with a totally different agent), the application asked for the make and model of our car. I filled in:

Make: honda  Model: civic.

A few days later, after I had faxed our application to the agent, I got the following message on my answering machine:

“Hi Michelle, I received your application yesterday. Everything looks good, except that you forgot to fill in the make and model of your Honda Civic. So if you could call me back ASAP with the make and model of your Honda Civic, that would be great. Thanks!” (Oh, oops, did I forget that? It’s a Honda Civic Cadillac Escalade. Hope that helps!)

The sign that greets people entering the state.

Despite the little bumps in the process, we were eventually approved for a great townhouse. We really like it down here, and now that I’m here, I’m happy to report that Florida is not full of morons.

So far, anyway. We’ll see how the election goes.