John M. Hoffman & Associates CPAs

John's Personal Life.....

Home away from home...Savannah, Georgia

• So now the house is finished with just a few minor punch list items to complete. The area is beautiful and we sit on the deck and listen to the sounds and take in the sights of nature. The changing tide combined with the changing seasons seems to make each day different than the day before. 

  

  Here are a few pictures of the house. The number of trees we have surrounding the house make it difficult to get a picture of the whole house.

  

   

  The front steps with the decorative iron gate was inspired by the old buildings in the historic squares of Savannah.

  

  Because none of the living space is at the ground level (and we are not getting younger), a small elevator was included in the construction

  

  Weather – Everyone asks about the weather. We are pleasantly surprised that the summer heat was not as bad as we feared. We are told it was a very hot summer but we found it reasonable. Getting in the shade, wearing loose fitting light clothing and drinking plenty of fluids helps. The difference is that it does not cool down as much at night (the air conditioning comes on during the night) and when you wake up it might be 75 and humid at 7:00 in the morning. The other difference is that the number of days that it is hot is much greater. The tradeoff is no snow, no potholes, no snow tires, no frost on the windshield. We spend lots of time outside.

   

  Because we are more west and south than Boston, sunrise is later in the morning. However, it stays darker much later into the day. Even in early September it does not get dark until 8:00 PM.

  Seasons – We still get a nice change of seasons. Christmas feels like Christmas, spring has bright new colors and flowers, summer is hot and there are frequent afternoon or evening thunder and lightening storms. We don’t get the beautiful fall foliage. Some leaves sort of turn brown and fall, but most of the trees keep foliage year round. Sweaters, gloves and even jackets are needed on cold winter days. Golfing is year round – perhaps a little brisk in January but still golf. We have a lemon tree outside our front steps and will harvest lemons for cooking.

  Wildlife is all around us with deer eating at our newly planted azaleas, and raccoon, armadillo, and possums roaming at night. Lots of birds, big small, red, white, blue and everything in between. Yes there are alligators but the island manages them (large ones are removed). Lagoons, streams, and tidal waters have many fish. Bugs – oh yes, they seem to grow many varieties and they grow them big. Spiders like to come at night and do leave a web to show us in the morning. Co-existing with nature is part of the culture on the island, and we love it!

  

 Thanks for your support and interest...

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