HERE’S WHAT PARADISE LOOKS LIKE TODAY

Home : Blogs : Nancy McClary : HERE’S WHAT PARADISE LOOKS LIKE TODAY

TGIF - May 15, 2009

HEY - Look at us! It's raining!!!!!! So far this month, we have a total of .90" in our rain gauge. That's not a lot, especially when compared to other parts of the country that just got 6" in one day, followed by another 2" the next! BUT, we're all very excited that our "rainy season" appears to have begun. At 8:30 this morning, our weather station shows a temperature of 75 degrees with 85% humidity and a gentle breeze of 2 miles an hour out of the northeast.

This is what our typical days will be from now until September or October - We will awake to clear, azure blue skies, a soft breeze out of the southeast will be just enough to stir the palm fronds - and the sun will shine for all but about 1 hour of the day. The breeze will continue to grow and slides around to the south and then to the southwest - off the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the state will continue to have an easterly breeze and when the easterly breeze and our southwesterly meet, enormous pure white Cumulus clouds will build, their bottoms going from snow white to gray and finally to a dark bluish gray - an almost certain sign that we will have rain - but not everywhere. Unlike other parts of the country, our rain discriminates. Where you live, it rains all day or at least a good part of the day and then it dries up for several days. Here, the rain falls quickly, at times heavily enough it seems like a blizzard, and then it's gone. Yesterday it poured buckets at my office in downtown Punta Gorda, but at our home about 5 miles away we had a brief shower with the sun breaking through at times. Once the rain passes, it's gone for another day; the sun comes back out and heads to the west to set. And, yes, we have glorious rainbows and unbelievably beautiful sunsets. Boring - never! Beautiful - always! Paradise is different and awaits your arrival.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Nancy McClary, Broker Associate, ePro Certified Professional

Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Inc.

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 05/15/2009 08:09 AM

Comments (0)

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Looking at the weather everywhere else, frost in New England, severe storms in the Midwest and a real blow coming on shore on the West Coast, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to get a sunny weather forecast daily – so here we go. And, here’s the good news from Paradise -----

At 8 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 79 degrees with 73% relative humidity and no wind at all. Yesterday the temperature reached 96 - broke lots of records, but there was a nice breeze most of the day, so it was very pleasant.

Today all eyes will be on the northeast sky at 2 PM as we personally witness what most people only can see on TV - the flight of one of our space shuttles. While it is not nearly as exciting as being at the Kennedy Space Center - feeling the ground shake and watching as the shuttle inches its way off the pad so slowly you think it will never make it, it remains a thrill for most people here as they walk outside their homes or offices and watch the beautiful white contrail of Atlantis as it blasts its way toward Hubbell, 350 miles above Earth. If we are lucky, we may see the break in the contrail as the external rockets separate from the shuttle and fall into the ocean below. Atlantis will carry 7 astronauts on an 11 day mission to the 19-year-old Space telescope to install new batteries, gyroscopes, cameras and other equipment to keep the incredible Hubbell producing mind-boggling pictures of outer space - pictures so amazing it is impossible for most people to wrap their minds around an image that started billions of light years ago. SO - please turn on your televisions and watch in awe as America's technology, once more, gives us a vision of which we can be truly proud.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Nancy McClary, Broker Associate, ePro Certified Professional

Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Inc.

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 05/11/2009 08:42 AM

Comments (0)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

At 11 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 87 degrees with 51% relative humidity and no breeze from the Northeast - and, of course, no rain!

There is nothing more to say today except love and cherish your Mom! There is no greater love than that of a Mother for her children.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Nancy McClary, Broker Associate, ePro Certified Professional

Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Inc.

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 05/10/2009 10:26 AM

Comments (0)

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Looking at the weather everywhere else, particularly along the East Coast and into New England, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to get a sunny weather forecast daily – so here we go. And, here’s the good news from Paradise -----

At 9 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 78 degrees with 77% relative humidity and a 1 mph breeze out of the south southwest.

SNIPPETS for today - Despite what youundoubtedly have read, this part of Paradise is beginning to recognize a move upward. Sure a large part is due to sold foreclosures and short sales, but other areas are starting to show positive signs. For instance - Charlotte County announced that within the county, 41 construction permits were issued in the past month - this is twice the number we've seen for the past few months. For me - customers I haven't heard from in several years, are calling to see if I think we've reached "the bottom". My answer is - YES! In my opinion, there will be a short time before the "world" figures this out. SO, if you are interested in property here, I think now's the time. There is still a large inventory of single family houses, condominiums (villas, flats, etc.) and land. Some wonderful bargains showing up daily.

The Punta Gorda City Council is actively engaged in securing a mooring field offshore of Laishley Park and Marina. The City is talking with the Best Western Hotel, which wants to develop a commercial marina just water side of the hotel. The City's public mooring field would hold 80 boats. When we sailed Long Island Sound, we would often pick up a "public" mooring and they all held beautifully. The waterfront area of Punta Gorda will soon be a place to behold - and to boat to - with many restaurants, delightful walking paths along the harbor, excellent medical facilities and art galleries that offer something for everyone.

Our governor, Crist, has just signed a new seatbelt law into effect. Now police can stop a motorist for failing to wear a seatbelt. Prior to this enactment, a driver could be fined only if he/she was picked up for a different offense and was found not to be wearing a seatbelt. I'm all for personal responsibility, but have you noticed that so many people are killed because they don't use the seatbelt.

And, finally, to no surprise to real estate professsionals who walk around with a cellphone glued to our ear, a recent CDC survey shows that 20% of the households in the USA now use a cellphone exclusively! "Do you hear me now?????????

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Nancy McClary, Broker Associate, ePro Certified Professional

Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Inc.

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 05/07/2009 01:32 PM

Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 6th 2009

It's raining, it's pouring everywhere but here and looking at the weather everywhere else, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to get a sunny weather forecast daily – so here we go. And, here’s the good news from Paradise -----

At 8 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 76 degrees with 76% relative humidity and with just a zephre of a breeze out of the southeast. Two nights ago, unexpectedly, we got .02" of rain - the total for May, so far.

I have talked about my love of fishing, so this past weekend's Redfish Cup events were very exciting. 3 full days of fishing just for the elusive Redfish offers $146,000 in total prizes with a $40,000 payout to the team that comes in first. The Cup has very strict rules and all fish MUST be brought in alive and released alive! Whoever catches the heaviest fish(es) wins. The tournament will be replayed July 4th at 8:30 AM on ESPN2. In the third year for the tournament in Punta Gorda, the Cup brings to us most of the major anglers that you see on television, as well as lots of local teams. You may remember it as the Oberto Redfish Tournament. It is a wonderful source of pride for the community and a great source of income. We have some of the world's best fishing grounds in Charlotte Harbor, a pristine estuary that empties into the Gulf of Mexico through Boca Grande Pass, one of Florida's deepest natural channels. Fortunately, the Harbor shallows up pretty nicely (about 15') so commercial marine traffic is precluded from mucking up the waters. Sure, we have shrimpers, tour boats, etc. - but those heavy barges and tankers must go elsewhere. Since Mother's Day is approaching, thought I would bring you up to date on the mother Dove in our front yard - She is sitting very patiently and any day now should see two little "dovies" arrive. BUT she has competition - now in one of my orchid pots in the back yard, another mother Dove has established a nest. This one is at eye level, so we know there are two eggs in her nest and once the babies are born, we'll be able to watch their daily growth more easily. Nature is beyond amazing - two mother Doves nesting among the commotion of this house and two Shih Tzus running around with abandon.

Hope your home is as happy. Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Nancy McClary, Broker Associate, ePro Certified Professional

Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Inc.

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 05/06/2009 01:14 PM

Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 29th

We see encouraging news about how we feel nationally about the economy; we see that home sales are up; we learn sale prices are down and we fear the onset of Swine Flu. So here is a little SNIPPET FROM PARADISE that is cheerful to start your day.............

At 9 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 71 degrees with 81% relative humidity and a 5 mph breeze out of the east northeast.

At the end of West Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda Isles, there is a charming small park complete with a beach, playground, wildlife rescue center and a lovely boardwalk through the mangroves with small signs indicating the flora, fauna and insects you might see. In addition to all of that, there is major public boat launching facility and one of the best fishing piers in all of Charlotte County. Getting there takes one down a little spit of a road, known for years as the end of West Marion Avenue. This area is believed to be where Ponce de Leon landed in 1513 AD and again 9 years later and so the park was named Ponce de Leon Park, or Ponce Park to most of us. A group of charity-minded men, many years ago, formed the Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors. Among their good deeds, and after many years, they finally prevailed upon the City of Punta Gorda to rename this portion of West Marion to Ponce de Leon Parkway. A parkway is an appropriate name, since it is the way to the park, but any other similarity to a parkway, as most of us know them, is absurd. Ponce de Leon Parkway rambles approximately 1/4 of a mile through the middle of mangroves, has a sidewalk for pedestrians and bikers alike and is teeming with birds, wildlife and other unspeakables (e.g. snakes) found in untouched mangroves. Sailing through the channel that empties from Punta Gorda Isles through Ponce Park is a total joy - especially at sunset, under sail alone, listening and watching fabulous exotic birds come home to roost. No sound at all - just the wind in the sail and birds calling it a day. Such is life in Paradise............day after day after day.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

NancyMcClary.com

Posted by Nancy McClary on 04/29/2009 08:45 AM

Comments (0)

Monday, April 27th

With so much terrible news filling the airwaves, I hope you will find this personal weather and local activity snippet fun and help you realize there is always good news somewhere…….

At 10 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 76 degrees with 60% relative humidity and a 8 mph breeze out of the east northeast.

Carrying forward the happy tone of this snippet, here's one of the endearing activities that occurred this past weekend. This week is National Crime Victims Rights Week and to welcome it in, approximately 50 people spent Sunday afternoon at the Port Charlotte Beach Complex flying homemade kites. The hope of the participants was to bring about a nicer world, a violence-free society, where bullying and violent relationships would cease. What a wonderful goal! Prizes will be awarded for the kite that best used the event's theme to the most unique. The weather couldn't have been better - although it was pretty windy, temperatures were about 85 degrees with puffy white clouds dotting the azure blue sky. Let's all use this week to be more cognizant of how we say things. Sometimes even when we don't mean to, we say things that hurt those we love. If we concentrate on what we say before we say it, we can add immeasurably to making the world a nicer place - and wouldn't that just be wonderful.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 04/27/2009 09:18 AM

Comments (0)

HERE’S WHAT PARADISE LOOKS LIKE TODAY - TGIF 24 April 2009

Well - we've done it again - reached the end of a normal work week - at least it would be for those folks who haven't chosen the real estate profession. But then - most of us LOVE what we do.

At 8 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 68 degrees with 82% relative humidity and no wind but out of the east southeast. And, of course, the sun is out in its full blazing glory and the sky is a beautiful Robin's egg blue!!! Such is life in Paradise.

Most of you have heard that this area has suffered more foreclosures and short sales than most other regions. And the naysayers have predicted that it will be well into 2010 before we make the turn around - hit bottom, if you will. Well - I'm here to tell you I think they are wrong. My research indicated back in October, 2008, that we had reached the bottom. That indicator is about 6 months ahead of the curve, and I didn't trust it until some years ago, when, while we were screaming ahead at breakneck speed, it indicated we were about to turn sharply in the other direction. Sure enough 6 months later, the plummet began! There are many reasons why I think we've bottomed out - we are seeing more interested buyers now; investors/speculators are back; and the foreclosure and short sale houses are being sold, many with multiple offers and some even above the asking price. I've been telling my customers that now is the time - especially since this is traditionally the slowest time of year for sales in this area, as people have gone "home" for weddings, graduations, etc. and don't think about us again until summer or late fall. Our inventory is substantial and diverse; mortgage rates are near all-time lows and there is money to lend, if your credit is good. Plus if you are a first time homeowner, or haven't owned a home in some time, you may be eligible for the new tax benefits.

No matter the type of market we have here - and like other areas, it is always cyclical - the basic components of Charlotte County are as wonderful as they have ever been - some of the world's best fishing, clean, lovely Charlotte Harbor, year-round golfing, great weather nearly every day - and a great, casual lifestyle. Sure we have hurricanes - from which you get away (and most homes now have hurricane protection) - unlike tornadoes, blizzards, dust storms, etc. that come with such fury there is no where to run.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 04/24/2009 09:27 AM

Comments (0)

HERE’S WHAT PARADISE LOOKS LIKE TODAY - Wednesday, April 22, 2009

At 9 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 72 degrees with 70% relative humidity and a 6 mph breeze out of the west northwest.

HAPPY EARTH DAY - What amazing things we are learning not only about this planet, but all the others around us. You have probably seen the incredible images from the Hubble Telescope that show the Sombrero Galaxy - some 28 million light years from Earth and 50,000 light years across! Of the Core Nebula, 2.5 light years tall - the equivalent of 23 million miles to our Moon and back. If you would like the email of these remarkable images, just let me know and I'll pass them along. In the meantime, happy spring and HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!

DAY 2 of Dove Watching - Mom is sitting her nest, while the father comes to relieve her on a regular basis. It will be about 2 weeks before anything exciting starts to happen.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

Nancy

Creating Happiness In Paradise -

One Home At A Time

Serving all of Charlotte County, Florida

Especially the deed-restricted salt waterfront communities

of Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles, as well as Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, Harbor Heights

Posted by Nancy McClary on 04/22/2009 08:44 AM

Comments (0)

HERE’S WHAT PARADISE LOOKS LIKE TODAY - Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I am very grateful for the positive reponse I've received but obviously something is missing - where I live! 15 years ago, from our dining room table in the northwest corner of Connecticut, my husband (in a moment of total desperation) found in SAIL magazine a place called Punta Gorda. After a few toll-free calls, we received lots of information and shortly thereafter we flew down to see what it was all about. It was love at first sight! In coming days, I will give you more information about this wonderful area - but to begin with - Punta Gorda is about half way between Sarasota and Fort Myers! BUT we are the quiet part of the west coast. Very residential, very quiet and generally very safe - a haven from the east coast traffic and towering condos; we have building height levels.

At 8 AM this morning, the weather station on our dock in Punta Gorda showed it was 67 degrees with 78% relative humidity and a 4 mph breeze out of the northwest bringing in lovely, clear air. And, now at 8:30 PM after walking our two Shih Tzus with a fleece jacket to ward off the "breeze" at 70 degrees, this truly is Paradise. In New England this would have been a lovely summer night. It truly is a lovely night.

Whatever you do today, I hope you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime. See you tomorrow!

PS - Our mother Mourning Dove is back on the nest. I'll keep you posted on the activity - although I doubt there will be much for a couple of weeks.

Nancy

Posted by Nancy McClary on 04/21/2009 07:27 PM

Comments (0)

Previous Next