A Florida Journal

I Made It!

2012-01-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, maybe not perfect, but I'm happy with the bracelet and necklace I made!

Very Random

2012-01-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

These are some very random pictures I downloaded from my phone...

Itty bitty pineapples, taken at Coral Castle.

My son took this picture with his phone and shopped it. I love how she has her foot raised up behind her head.

I took this on my way to Lake Placid last weekend. This section of US27 is nothing but sugarcane fields, and some were being burned. Smells bad, but not nearly as bad as the refinery smells when they're burning cane. It's like baby vomit...and I'm not kidding.

As I sit here in 70 degrees, windows wide open and just enjoying the fact that I can have the AC turned off for a change, this is my home in Pennsylvania. My husband took it a few weeks ago and though the snow there has come and gone a few times, they have a bit more than is in this picture now. He says lots of people are sledding and having fun with it. Wish Aidan and I were there. We miss sledding!

35 years ago this Thursday, it snowed in Miami - really - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

2012-01-18T07:44:00.001-05:00

35 years ago this Thursday, it snowed in Miami - really - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

Does anyone else remember???

Caching in Highlands Hammock State Park

2012-01-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I got to do a little caching with a good friend in Highlands Hammock State Park. My favorite state park...I've been going here since, oh...about 1971? I never get tired of it, especially the boardwalk through the cypress swamp.

I took this picture with my phone, then doctored it up a bit. I like it!

New Years Stuff

2012-01-08T09:01:00.000-05:00

Today will be no day of rest for me. I still have Christmas stuff to box up and put back in the attic, floors to sweep and mop, laundry to do and the STEELERS-Broncos game this afternoon.

Tomorrow is an important day. I am doing something that I've never done before - getting a mammogram. I know, I know...it's horrible that I haven't had one yet. No excuses other than I just keep forgetting to schedule one. I am looking forward to tomorrow...I've heard they can hurt a bit (and no wonder having your boobs squished down like pancakes!), but it is worth it. I have a clean bill of health for everything else (yes, even my MS has remained inactive since I was diagnosed in '06), so what better way to start the new year?

Speaking of New Year, I have made a couple resolutions. I am going to truly try keeping them, too, unlike the decades of previous years' unkept goals.

1. Loose at LEAST 20 lbs. This is so do able it makes me laugh. I just have to get back into my walking routine.
2. Buy one Christmas present a month, put a note on it as to who it's for, and store it away in a box in my closet. NO MORE broke Christmas's. NO MORE last minute shit.
3. Read more!
4. Do one crafty project a month (possible Christmas presents?? 2 birds with one stone??)
5. Get myself and Aidan moved up to Pennsylvania and start that new chapter in my life!!!!

So has anybody ever actually kept ALL of their resolutions? Let me know if you have!

A Case of the Blahs

2012-01-05T20:56:00.000-05:00

Here I am. In Miami. My husband of almost 2 months is in Pittsburgh. We had planned on Aidan and I moving up there on December 27th, but things got in the way. Namely legal issues. I had to file for a "modification of visitation" and get legal permission from my ex to move out of state. Thankfully, we talked and agreed on everything. My lawyer had originally said the whole thing would be between $400 and $500. I've paid her $450. Last week, the day she filed all the paperwork, she informed me that I owe her $711! AND that it will take "several weeks" for the judge to sign off on everything.

I was livid when she told me all this (which was via email). I don't make a lot of money and it will take me a long time to save up that much money. My husband offered to send me some money, but I just don't want to take any from him. I feel like it's my mess and my responsibility to straighten out, eventhough I know it's "our" deal and it's not a "mess". I am going to try to find some stuff to sell on Craigslist. There's not much else I can do. The majority of my paychecks go toward bills and food, with very little left over to save.

So here I am. In Miami indefinitely while a whole new chapter in my life lies waiting to begin over 1200 miles away. Yup, I got a bad case of the blahs.

For some strange reason, this picture is cracking me up right now...

Makes me think of my lawyer and the purdy new machete I got for Christmas...

Coral Castle

2012-01-02T20:26:00.003-05:00

Today we went to Coral Castle to find a geocache. We never did find the cache, but it wasn't a wasted trip. A visit to Coral Castle is always amazing. This is the story behind it all:

From Wikipedia...Edward Leedskalnin was jilted by his 16-year-old fiancée Agnes Scuffs in Latvia, just one day before the wedding. Leaving for America, he came down with allegedly terminal tuberculosis, but spontaneously healed, stating that magnets had some effect on his disease.

Edward spent over 28 years building the Coral Castle, refusing to allow anyone to view him while he worked. A few teenagers claimed to have witnessed his work, reporting that he had caused the blocks of coral to move like hydrogen balloons. The only tool that Leedskalnin spoke of using was a "perpetual motion holder."

Leedskalnin originally built the castle, which he named Rock Gate Park, in Florida City, Florida around 1923. He purchased the land from Ruben Moser whose wife helped assist him when he had a very bad bout with tuberculosis.^[4] Florida City, which borders the Everglades, is the southernmost city in the United States that is not on an island. It was an extremely remote location with very little development at the time. The castle remained in Florida City until about 1936 when Leedskalnin decided to move and take the castle with him. The Coral Castle website states that he chose to move in order to protect his privacy when discussion about developing land in the area of the castle started.^[5] The second commonly held notion was that he wanted to relocate to a more populous locale after being badly beaten one night by hooligans looking to rob him.^[6] He spent three years moving the Coral Castle structures 10 miles (16 km) north from Florida City to its current location in Homestead, Florida.

Leedskalnin continued to work on the castle up until his death in 1951. The coral pieces that are part of the newer castle, not among those transported from the original location, were quarried on the property only a few feet away from the southern wall.

Leedskalnin charged visitors ten cents a head to tour the castle grounds. There are signs carved into rocks at the front gate to "Ring Bell Twice" and a second sign just inside the property that says "Adm. 10c Drop Below". He would come down from his living quarters in the second story of the castle tower close to the gate and conduct the tour. Leedskalnin never told anyone who asked him how he made the castle. He would simply answer "It's not difficult if you know how."

When asked why he had built the castle, Leedskalnin would vaguely answer it was for his "Sweet Sixteen." This is widely believed to be a reference to Agnes Scuffs (whose surname is given by some sources as "Skuvst"). In Leedskalnin's own publication A Book in Every Home he implies his "Sweet Sixteen" was more an ideal than a reality. According to a Latvian account, the woman existed, but her name was actually Hermīne Lūsis.^[7]

When Leedskalnin became ill in December 1951, he put a sign on the door of the front gate "Going to the Hospital" and took the bus to a Miami hospital. The doctors discovered Leedskalnin was suffering from advanced stomach cancer. He died in the hospital three days later.

These lounge chairs are actually kinda comfortable!

Would you enjoy sleeping on this bed?

I like this table...

...and this one in the shape of the state of Florida, complete with Lake Okeechobee!

The main house...er...castle.

It may not look like much, but you have to remember it was built by ONE man, without powerful machinery.

It truly is an amazing place to see, well worth the $. Next time you're on your way to the Keys, stop by and check out the castle that Ed built!

Miami-Dade’s Islandia, a forgotten city, may soon be just a memory - Homestead / South Dade - MiamiHerald.com

2011-12-28T05:48:00.000-05:00

Read this this morning. Made me realize how long it's been since I've been out there to those islands. I have always been jealous of the few who get to live out there.

Miami-Dade’s Islandia, a forgotten city, may soon be just a memory - Homestead / South Dade - MiamiHerald.com

Adventures in Legoland!

2011-12-14T17:54:00.000-05:00

My littlest one had received an annual pass to Legoland for his birthday back in May. Legoland officially opened in October of this year and he has been bugging ever since to go. Last weekend we surprised him by taking him...he had no clue and that made it all the better!

The Lego models below were incredible... really amazing stuff!

Bok Tower!

Miami Beach...looks almost real, doesn't it??

Key West...

There were lots of rides to go on. Thankfully, Buddy gladly went on everything with Aidan.

They got in line for this coaster once and Aidan backed out...but before we left, he decided he wanted to ride it. I was SO proud of him for showing courage and sticking to his guns (No way would I go on that damn thing!...pass the cheese, please!)

I think this guy was my favorite Lego statue...his colors were so pretty.

A left over from Cypress Gardens...the Coastersaurus!

It's a fez! Though it's not The Doctor :(

Legoland is where the old Cypress Gardens amusement park/gardens was for years and years. In fact, we had gone there just a few years ago and had a blast. They had a water park, lazy river, and lots of ways to cool off. Legoland has none of that and I think it's a shame. But some of the Gardens remain and they still do a token water ski show, though it lacked the 3 story pyramid of brave skiiers. It was still fun.

If you have a kid who loves Legos, this IS the place to go! It's expensive - $75 per person and $12 to park, but for a once a year adventure I highly recommend it!

Only in Miami...

2011-12-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

From the Miami Herald this morning:

North Miami Beach officer fired for Santeria birdseed plot - North Miami / NMB - MiamiHerald.com

Can you believe this crap?

Phone Pix

2011-12-06T10:38:00.004-05:00

Thought I might start posting pics now and then that I took with my phone...an HTC Inspire.
This is a mahogany seed pod I found at work this morning. Thought it was pretty!

Today in Florida history...

2011-12-06T09:18:00.001-05:00

64 years ago today, December 6, 1947, President Harry Truman dedicated Everglades National Park.

I'd hate to think what South Florida would be like without our Everglades. Imagine solid strip malls, condos and cookie-cutter houses from Miami clear to the west coast...skipping over the Rez, of course. Homestead and Florida City (which are quickly losing their historically agricultural status as is) would probably look just like west Kendall... Gawd Awful!!!

If you drive to the main entrance of ENP today, you may be amazed to see that farming literally is knocking on the borders of the park. Farming down here is on it's way out and I'd say within 20 years, there will be McMansions a block away from ENP. It makes me sick.

Anyway, here's to President Truman, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, and countless others who helped to save and protect our precious 'Glades! Let's just pray that she stays protected...

Strike one off the Bucket List!

2011-11-29T14:42:00.001-05:00

Sunday, my friends LJ & OB asked if I wanted to hike Snake Bight Trail with them. Of course I said YES!!! Making it to the end of that trail had been on my list for years. You see, it is the nastiest, ugliest and one of the most mosquito infested places on Earth. I'd tried several times to hike it only to get as far as .20 down the trail and come running back to the car.

Well this time I prepared: pants, long sleeves, Thermacell, hat and scarf. They were in shorts and tshirts. Insane, but they made it, albeit coated in Deet! The view at the end was ok. Low tide made it unspectacular, but at least there were some spoonbills in the distance to see.

No great pics - I only brought my phone.

One down, and a few more to go!

"New"?...not really...

2011-10-23T08:55:00.001-04:00

From the St. Petersburg Times...

One of the longest and most controversial debates down here. I am in the middle. I don't hunt, however my family does and I have friends that do. They don't hunt in the Big C, though. In South Florida, the places where you can ride an ATV or drive a swamp buggy are getting fewer and fewer...for the same reasons our panthers are getting fewer and fewer. There are too many people and too much concrete added down here every day. It's a tough call...I can see both sides.

New feud erupts over Big Cypress Preserve

By Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, October 22, 2011

IN THE BIG CYPRESS SWAMP — The only thing they all agree on is that they love the swamp.

But the coalition of hunters and environmentalists that worked together to save this soggy paradise in the 1970s has now fractured and is battling over its future. The fight is over whether the Big Cypress National Preserve will become an inviolate wilderness to protect the Florida panther, or remain a place where hunters can roar through some areas on off-road vehicles in search of deer, turkey and hogs.

According to the hunters, the hard feelings are hampering efforts to establish a 150,000-acre federal wildlife refuge in the Everglades' headwaters in Central Florida. They say the hunters and ranchers who might otherwise be interested in helping are instead suspicious of the motives of the people pushing the idea.

"People are saying, 'You can't trust the feds or the enviros,' '' said Franklin Adams, a former Florida Wildlife Federation president who helped save Big Cypress from a proposed jetport in the early 1970s.

Sparking the uproar is a lawsuit filed this month by the National Parks Conservation Association, which since 1919 has regarded itself as a supporter and watchdog over what the National Park Service does on federal lands. The NPCA sued the park service to block a plan that would allow hunters to use 130 miles of off-road vehicle trails in a section of the preserve called the Addition Lands.

The suit accuses the management of the 729,000-acre Big Cypress preserve of manipulating science, ignoring federal law and skewing an advisory panel so it would side with hunters. NPCA's South Florida representative, John Adornato, says his group has nothing against hunters but points out that federal park rules say preservation is more important than recreation, so you can't go skateboarding through the Lincoln Memorial.

In this case, he said, "The park service chose recreation over conservation."

That issue has dogged Big Cypress' management for decades. Hunters have been using swamp buggies, airboats and other off-road vehicles to traverse the swampy terrain since before the federal government owned the property.

In the early 1970s, when Miami officials proposed building the world's largest jetport in the middle of Big Cypress, hunters were among those alarmed.

"People became galvanized," Adams recalled.

They joined forces with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians to stop it. One young Audubon Society activist, Joe Browder, even recruited gator poachers to help.

Ultimately the jetport's funding was shot down by President Richard Nixon, and the unlikely coalition began pushing for the state or federal government to buy the land. But the only way to get political support for that was to ensure Big Cypress would not become a national park, where no hunting is allowed. Instead, it was declared a "preserve," which allows hunters access.

But the off-road vehicles tore up the preserve, sometimes knocking over cypress trees and frequently leaving ruts that interrupted the flow of water through the preserve adjacent to Everglades National Park.

Lawsuits and lobbying by environmental groups finally prompted preserve officials to scale back the areas where hunters could zoom around from 25,000 linear miles of trails to 500 miles, Big Cypress Superintendent Pedro Ramos said.

However, in February, Big Cypress' management released a plan for nearly 147,000 acres known as the Addition Lands, so called because they were added to the preserve in 1988.

Previously, the Addition Lands had been off-limits to off-road vehicles, but the plan called for building 130 more miles of trails and issuing about 600 new permits for off-road vehicles, to be confined to 40,000 acres.

Hunters grumbled that the 130 miles seemed minimal. NPCA complained that it was too much. It was, Ramos acknowledged, a compromise between extremes.

Hunters groups talked about suing, but NPCA went to court first. Its suit contended hunters on off-road vehicles would scare Florida panthers and their prey, as well as disrupt the flow of water in Big Cypress and in adjacent Everglades National Park.

"NPS should throw the current plan out and start over," said Adornato.

The suit has not made Adornato's group popular, even with other environmentalists. No other group has joined in the suit.

One of Florida's most prominent Everglades activists, nature photographer Clyde Butcher, stopped in the middle of giving a tour of Big Cypress to journalists Thursday to say he was appalled by NPCA's challenge to Ramos' management.

"I don't know why those environmental groups are getting upset," Butcher announced, standing knee deep in the cool, dark water, a battered cowboy hat shading his white-bearded face. "Big Cypress is doing a great job of protecting this place."

Later Butcher posed for a photo hugging one side of a large cypress tree, grasping the hands of Ramos, who was hugging the tree from the other side.

On the bus ride back to Miami, Browder and Adornato got into a heated debate about the lawsuit. When it was his turn, Ramos, his voice cracking, lamented how two groups that once worked together now can't say anything nice about each other.

"When I hear the rhetoric, and the lack of will to respect the people who nearly gave their lives to make this place what it is today, that breaks my heart," he said.

Craig Pittman can be reached at craig@sptimes.com.

Florida Before Cars, Crowds and the Mouse

2011-08-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

An amazing little powerpoint my sister sent me. I'd never seen these images before. Beautiful stuff...makes me start daydreaming of what it must've been like back then. I think I'd have loved it (except for those gawdawful dresses the women wore!)

Early florida 2

View more presentations from swampangel65.

I have no idea who created the powerpoint, but they did a great job.

The 'Glades in June

2011-08-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

This is just a random picture from back in June when we went camping at Long Pine. This picture fails to show the whole scene...add about a billion blood thirsty mozzies, then it would be complete.

Note: NEVER camp in the 'Glades in the summer. Ever.

Gaskin's Ghost

2011-08-17T19:16:00.001-04:00

Back in May, we stopped at Tom Gaskin's Cypress Knee Museum ("Lady, if he won't stop, hit him over the head with a shoe").

When I was little, we would pass this place all the time on our way to Lake Placid. There were letters nailed up high in the branches of dead trees once you got past Moore Haven, heading to Palmdale, that had sayings on them (like the one above). I would always look for those signs.

I remember actually stopping once. The name of the place tells exactly what is was - a museum of different, odd shaped cypress knees. There was a boardwalk across the street that took you through a cypress swamp so you could see the knees alive and still attached to their mother tree.

The place is deserted now...just a ghost of a roadside Americana that's quickly disappearing.

The only sign of life we saw was a gopher hiding in this burrow.

Though some people do still make a point of stopping there...to find the geocache that's hidden there!

There are no "No Trespassing" signs or warnings to stay out. So we explored a little.

It's a creepy-cool place. Graffiti painted throughout, but other than that, pretty clean...no signs of any squatters taking up residence or heavy partying teens. Just an eerie silence that is occasionally broken by passing semi's on 27.

I'm sure this was made post-closing...I don't really understand it.

Here are a few links I found that give you more info about the place in case you've never heard of it...

http://kozmicdreams.com/tomgaskins.htm
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2061
http://www.lostparks.com/knees.html
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-11-03/travel/8503160042_1_cypress-knees-gaskins-cypress-knee-museum

School Starting Blues

2011-08-16T19:54:00.000-04:00

Am I the only Mom that dreads the start of school? I love the summer and having my little guy free to do things whenever we get the whim...no homework, no having to go to bed early, no scurrying to make sure he has clean uniforms... I think I am more bummed about summer ending than he is!

And P.S. To a certain LURKER in Tennessee... POST SOMETHING ONCE IN A WHILE! Don't just look and leave!

My Dad's Plane

2011-08-04T10:55:00.003-04:00

My Dad's old 1946 Taylorcraft...thanks to the hard work of my sister and her husband, it'll be flying again soon!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Thalatta Estate

2011-07-31T16:47:00.003-04:00

Today's mini adventure was to check out the Thalatta Estate.

It's a 1925 Mediterranean-Revival house on a long piece of land that ends in Biscayne Bay. The Deering Estate is it's neighbor to the north.

The place is set up as a venue for weddings and large parties. No playgrounds here! Odds are I'll never go back there again, but I am glad we finally stopped in to check it out. The fact that there's a cache there didn't hurt, either ;) Though the house there is pretty cool, I just couldn't get any decent picture of it.

What was more fascinating to me was the house immediately next to Thalatta...That place is HUGE! I remember Hurricane Andrew pretty much tore it to shreds and I'm glad that it's been fixed up...but for all the times I've seen it, I have yet to see any signs of life there. There is a running fountain up the front steps, and what appears to be an awesome pool out back...but no cars, no people, no nuttin'.

Right across that canal is where we put our kayak in to go over to Chicken Key. This area is known as Snowden's by the local oldtimers and I was happy to see a bunch of teenagers jumping off the bridge there today. It's tradition - you jump and jump and jump until the cops come and run you off.

Overall, I'd say Thalatta would be a nice place for a wedding. It has a killer view of the Bay, but it is severely lacking in shade and I HATE the fact that there is no mention of the home's history or anything anywhere that I saw. But I give the Village of Palmetto Bay 2 thumbs up for preserving it. Much nicer than a bunch of cookie cutter homes or condos, that's for sure.

The End of a Fantastic Era

2011-07-22T02:09:00.010-04:00

From NASA...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:18:04 -0500

At 5:57 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis landed for the final time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 200 orbits around Earth and a journey of 5,284,862 miles on STS-135.It was the 25th night landing, the 78th landing at Kennedy and the133rd landing in shuttle history.Atlantis’ main gear touched down at 5:57:00 a.m. followed by the nose gear at 5:57:20 and wheels stop at 5:57:54 a.m. At wheels stop, the mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes and 50 seconds.The STS-135 crew consisted of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. They delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, spare equipment and other supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module - including 2,677 pounds of food - that will sustain space station operations for the next year. The 21-foot long, 15-foot diameter Raffaello brought back nearly 5,700 pounds of unneeded materials from the station.A post-landing news conference at Kennedy is planned for 10 a.m. on NASA TV and http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. The participants will be Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, Bob Cabana, Kennedy center director, Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager, and Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director.Since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981, 355 individuals from 16 countries flew 852 times aboard the shuttle. The five shuttles traveled more than 542 million miles and hosted more than 2,000 experiments in the fields of Earth, astronomy, biological and materials sciences. The shuttles docked with two space stations, the Russian Mir and the International Space Station. Shuttles deployed 180 payloads, including satellites, returned 52 from space and retrieved, repaired and redeployed seven spacecraft.STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles.A welcome home ceremony for the astronauts will be held Friday, July 22, in Houston. The public is invited to attend the 4 p.m. CDT event at NASA's Hangar 990 at Ellington Field. Gates to Ellington Field will open at 3:30 p.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

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List of Must Do's

2011-07-21T08:54:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a Bucket List of sorts...places I want to see in Florida before I move to Pennsylvania. Of course I'll be back to the Sunshine State often, but I just feel like I need to do some of these before I officially leave.

-Visit the ancient monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church. The oldest building in Florida, and even the U.S., I believe.
- Float in a tube down the Ichetucknee.
- Go to St. Augustine again. It's been years!
- Explore Hatchbend again. I'm literally related to probably the whole town. Good to go there and get back in touch with my Southern roots before I head north!
- See Thomas Edison's house in Ft. Myers.
- Visit KSC again. Have to.
- and YES, do the whole Disney thing! I can count on one hand the number of times I've been there, so it still holds magic for me!
- Stop by the Billie Swamp Safari and Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

That's it for now, but it is a list in progress. Any ideas or thoughts on other places to see or things to do?

Thank SophieMae...Cross Creek and Morikami Gardens, too!

Let's Visit The Deering Estate

2011-07-17T05:16:00.069-04:00

Saturday was a free admission day to the old Charles Deering Estate. I hadn't been there in years so we decided to check it out.

Charles Deering's brother, James, built the magnificent Vizcaya further north on Biscayne Bay. This place is not nearly as ornate and extravagant as Vizcaya, but certainly has it's own charm.

Looking out the back door of the house, this is what you see...it sure must've been nice to wake up to that each day!

The house is not really furnished completely like Vizcaya is. It was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, so I imagine a lot of things were lost. Besides, I believe the place was still owned by the Deering family at that time, so who knows really what original things were still in the house.

Below is the dining room. I love the bookshelves!

This was the only painting hanging on the wall that I knew who the artist was.

The doors look like wood in the picture, but they are copper.

Right next door to the "Stone House" is the "Richmond Cottage". It appears to be used mainly as a place for the "resident artists" to hang their works. No furnishing inside, but it is still cute. I could definitely see myself living in that place!

My favorite room in the cottage.

The grounds of the estate are have yielded some very important archaeological artifacts. The Tequesta used to live there and many tools and fossils have been unearthed there.

Out back is the old carriage house.

All in all, I'd say we had a good day, but it would've been more interesting if we had gotten in on one of the guided tours. If you're ever in Miami and want to see something more than the beach, I recommend taking a drive down Old Cutler Road to the Deering Estate...it's just fun to imagine what it must have been like to live there a hundred years ago.

Geowoodstock IX

2011-07-16T11:08:00.001-04:00

July 2nd was the 9th annual Geowoodstock. This year it was in Warren, PA, so I knew we HAD to go! Because of a last minute flight cancellation back in January, AirTran had given me 2 free roundtrip tickets which I decided to use for Sam and myself to fly up to Pittsburgh. Sam hadn't been up there in 2 years, so he was overdue for a trip.

The first night there, George took us on a nighttime tour of downtown. We rode an incline down to the city, which was lots of fun. The picture below is really bad, but I think you can get the idea of how beautiful it is at night.

On our way to Warren, we stopped at a park that had a small lake in it. We all had to go into the water up to our knees. Doesn't sound like much, right? But let me tell you, that water was FREEZING! And there were BABIES in it!!!

We decided to stay in Ludlow which is less that 20 miles from Warren...this is where we stayed:

The Olmsted Manor was built in 1917. It is a beautiful place, full of fine, old furnishings and gorgeous landscaping. We had the place to ourselves, too! There was a Steinway in the living room, fireplaces in every room (too hot to start 'em, though!), stained glass windows, a grand oak stairway, oriental rugs everywhere...kinda creepy, but very cool. I think my favorite room was the kitchen. It was bright an cheery. Modern yet had the most wonderful old stove! I've decided I want one. Bad.

Entrance to the driveway (sorry for stupid blogger not uploading the picture right).

Here is a little tour. First, the Dining Room.

(Blogger is making me MAD. These pictures were oriented right side up, but when I uploaded them here, they got laid down and I can't seem to fix them. SORRY!)

This is that stove. Isn't it great?

The entrance.

The main staircase. Let's go up!

This was our room...

Our room had the neatest little sun porch with a bed on it. After the kitchen, this was my favorite room! I could imagine spending hours sitting there reading.

This was Sam's room...

The bathroom is Sam's room was beautiful...the colors and layout of the tiles, the half circle shower...very nice.

This was a creepy little "servant's room" down the hall from us. For whatever reason, there was an old teddy bear propped up in a chair. It was creepy. Trust me.

Now this is where the trule creepiness begins. When we first got there, I went through all the rooms in the house taking pictures. The one below was of the bedroom next to ours. Not a good picture as I've blown it up. See, that bed is made perfectly, right?

The morning we left, I again went through all the rooms. I noticed in the room above, that in the bathroom, there were 2 towels on the floor. Had they been there before? I couldn't remember. I picked them up and they were dry, as was the shower. Strange, but whatever. Then George calls me to come look at something...

He asked if I'd messed up the bed. No. Maybe Sam did, to mess with us. No. I though that maybe it was possible to have not noticed it before. I didn't realize at the time that I had taken a picture of it a couple days before. You can imagine how we all reacted when I looked through my camera later and saw that I DID have a picture of that bed and that it WASN'T MESSED UP!

NOTE: WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE STAYING IN THAT HOUSE THAT WEEKEND. NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE - NO STAFF OR ANYTHING!

Hmmmm.....George had stayed there before, and although nothing had ever happened to him, he had heard other people talk about strange things...being pushed, blankets being pulled off them, etc. I wonder if all the incidents happened in THAT bedroom?

Just some random shots of the grounds around the house, "Olmsted Manor".

A labyrinth across the street. It's nice, but George can make them much better than that.

GEOWOODSTOCK!!! Trust me, this doesn't even come close to showing how many people were there. Last I heard, it was over 5,000!

Ana made this her 5000th find. I would've burned if I hadn't told her to look at her sign.

Off in search of caches!

Saw this street and had to get a picture of it for my friend, Heather, who's caching name is "Blueye"!

Fresh bear print...YIKES! Can you see it?

Back in the Manor...there is a bowling alley up in the attic. Very cool and very old!

Off to Niagara Falls! we made a pitstop at Kinzua Dam...amazing with awesome views.

Niagara Falls! The view from the Canadian side is better, but without passports, Sam and I couldn't go across the bridge. Still a pretty amazing view.

Hello, Canada!

That's the top edge of one of the Falls...I'd hate to go over that in a barrel!

My guys!

(again, not a great picture, but I like it)

I have a few other picture that are still on my phone. I'll try to post a couple of them later. Now it's time to get off the computer and start cleaning the house! After that, we're planning on going to the Deering Estate. They are offering free admission today. Hopefully it won't be too crowded and I'll be able to get some pictures for here and my "Remembering Old Miami" blog.

Forever in Our Hearts

2011-06-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Good and Sad

2011-06-26T15:32:00.000-04:00

I did it. I started another blog. This one is all about restoring an old Shasta trailer that George just bought.

Our Shasta Trailer Blog

In other news, late last night, our lab, Indiana, passed away. She was 15 and had been through so much...cancer, amputation, pharengial paralysis (I know I spelled that wrong), seizures, parvo, etc... so last night, with Sam and myself by her side, she passed on. It was hard, but I know she is much happier now. No arthritis, no doggie alzheimers, no more uncontrollable pooping. She's good now. She has cousins up in heaven to swim with and my dad to play fetch with.

I know she'll be with us again one day.

I'll have to find a picture of her to post.

Testing

2011-06-10T14:47:00.001-04:00

Just trying this out...publishing via my cellphone.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.1

The 9th Circle of Hell...Chuck E. Cheese

2011-05-18T08:25:00.000-04:00

My little guy turned 7 yesterday, but his aunt wanted to give him a surprise party Sunday at Chuck E. Cheese. I don't do parties, so I told her if she wanted to do it, then go for it!

So Sunday morning, I told Aidan I had to go shopping...we checked out Michael's, then he said he was hungry. What to eat...hmmm...how about let's go to Chuck E. Cheese? I told him he'd been good so we could go eat there and he could play around for a while.

We walked in and were immediately overwhelmed by the noise and crowd. We walked to the back and he saw his aunt...then some friends...and suddenly he just broke down, and not in a good way.

He wanted to go home...

His friends tried to get him to go play with them, but all he did was sit there and cry.

Even seeing his Spongebob cake didn't make him stop.

But finally...finally...he stopped and started having fun. Lots of his classmates showed up and he got lots of presents.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, including Aidan.

Though there were a few moments that he looked kind of lost.

Overall, it ended up being a fun time.

Even Sam had an ok time, though he did manage to cut out early. Truth be told, I hate that place...I do not want to go into another crowded restaurant or anything again for a long, long time...I've had my fill! My friend, Heather, got it right when she called that place the 9th circle of hell. I'm sure that 99% of the staff developed a drinking problem after working their first weekend in that place. BUT, the kids DO love it and that's what counts.

So Happy Birthday, Aidan! You're growing like a weed...my Sugar Berry Peanut!

A little caching around The Gables

2011-05-15T07:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we did a little caching around Coral Gables. We didn't cache too long as Lois's "3 DNF" rule was in effect. Anyway, the following are just a few shots I took while we were out messing around. Not much...

No, I didn't find this in a cache...*sigh*...I just have to take a picture of it every now and then...

Unexpected Surprises

2011-05-06T13:48:00.001-04:00

For "Administrative Professionals" Day (just say Secretary!) my boss got me a bouquet of unusual flowers, the bulk of which had been somehow dyed neon pink. I took a picture of the natural ones...

When I got home, I noticed my Voodoo Lillies, which had just died out a few weeks ago, are sprouting again!

It's such a strange, unusual plant, but I love it! The yellow flower is just a shrimp plant...nothing too out of the ordinary.

A couple days ago, I walked over to the meeting room at work and saw this guy! Strange place to do the whole cocoon thing, but hey, it worked for him (or her)!

Uneventful trip into the swamp

2011-04-09T22:39:00.000-04:00

YAWNNNNNNN......

Drove out to the Fakahatchee today. Saw a couple turtles, a kite, 4 deer and only about 15 gators. No snakes. No bears. No panthers. The water levels are WAY down...kind of a boring trip, but still better than a day cleaning house!

Spring Color

2011-04-07T15:47:00.000-04:00

Just a few shots of some flowers I've seen the past few days...nice to see colors popping out again!

Squirrel Surprise

2011-04-01T10:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a very windy day. A co-worker was walking to the office when all of a sudden something big fell out of a tree right in front of him...a squirrel's nest! As soon as it hit the ground, a squirrel ran out of it, so he stopped and picked up the nest and leaned it against a tree by the office. He called me to come out and see it, so I went out and joined the rest of our guys who were standing around looking at it, checking it out. There was a smaller squirrel still in it! So we all backed off and as we did, we saw the mama squirrel making her way back to the nest. We watched her as she jumped on top of it, then disappeared (all but her tail!) inside. She backed out and had the little one in her mouth...she turned and ran off. One of our guys watched where she was going and she immediately ran up another tree and put the baby in another nest!

We thought the nest was empty, but still didn't mess with it. To our surprise, not more than a minute after depositing her baby, she was back at the old nest...and...pulled out another baby! We were all shocked because we didn't see anything else in it! We watched her run up the other tree and drop the baby in the nest and were all just in awe of the whole thing.

Here's the weird part - she kept going back to the old nest...over and over again. We're not sure if she was taking pieces of it up to her "new" home or what, but when I came into work this morning, the nest was unrecognizable as a nest. She had tore it completely to pieces.

A couple things amazed me about that mama squirrel...she didn't spend any time at all looking for a new place for her kids - she IMMEDIATELY took them to an old nest, so squirrels must know where all the nests in the area are and if they're occupied or not (there were 3 nests much closer that she didn't go to). And she had no hesitation, no fear of us at all, either time she came for her babies. We gave her space, but there were 4 of us no more than 10 feet away. She didn't care. She had a mission.

For Those Interested

2011-03-30T17:40:00.000-04:00

...I started a new blog that's all about the wedding...questions, ideas, info, etc.

If y'all care, you can CLICK HERE.

I didn't want to start clogging this blog up with all that stuff.

I never knew...

2011-03-28T12:19:00.000-04:00

...that preparing for a wedding involved so much thought! Sounds weird, I know, coming from someone who's already been married twice, but both of those weddings were small and quick - a JP in Humble, Texas and a wedding on a dock in Islamorada.

My honey wants what he calls a "real" wedding...in a church with music and flowers and all that stuff. And invitations (though I do NOT expect the majority of folks to make the trip). So I've been looking for cheap ways to do things as we have a budget of, oh...about $1.38. I found some cute do-it-yourself wedding invitations at Office Depot. 50 for $33.99, but I haven't bought them yet. I ordered a dress off of eBay (don't laugh!) for only $35. I like it fine, but everyone else seems to have issues with the sleeves. They go all the way to the floor. SO, I just ordered another dress for under $100 that I think will satisfy all, including myself.

The church has been reserved and the music director there is "very excited" to do our wedding. I think I'm a little nervous about that...I mean, I've heard the old guy sing and he's not bad, he just belts it out at a decibel just below ear drum piercing. Not being Methodist and the ceremony being in a Methodist church, I have no clue what to expect. What songs will he sing? I'm sure we have a choice, right? Guess that's what rehearsals are for!

I think I am going to have both my kids "give me away". My BFF is going to be my one and only bride's maid. That leaves my mom and sister sitting in the pews...like I said, I totally expect it to be very small. It'd be great if more friends can show up, but I'm really not counting on it. I wonder if I still have to do the whole "walking down the aisle" thing or if I can just pop in from the side?

Flowers? All I need is a bouquet in my hands, right? Wish it could be orange blossoms and tickseed and goldenrod, but I think those would be hard to find in PA. Can't I just pick some wildflowers???

Reception? OMG...can't we just BBQ at the house and keep it simple? We really do NOT have to dance...trust me!

I'd love to make the reception/BBQ also a geoevent as it was all because of geocaching that we met and most of my friends are cachers. Maybe dual receptions - one here and one there! That'd work...

Oh, so many questions and so much to think about. I see why people elope and why I've never done all this before. But he is special and if this is what he wants, well, then...he'll have it!

Please fell free to chime in with any and all advice you may have. I could sure use it!

So You Think You Know Florida?

2011-03-28T11:54:00.001-04:00

What building, built in 1141, was purchased by William Randolph Hearst in Spain, dismantled and shipped to South Florida?

Answer to the last question:

The leasing of convicts to private contractors. Congrats to Sophie for getting it right!

Orchid Recovery Program Video

2011-03-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

My friends, Chris and Misti, have been studying the Ghost Orchid for a long time now...The Illinois Orchid Society contacted Chris and used part of his video of the Giant Sphinx Moth pollinating a Ghost in this video:

Orchid Recovery Program Video

It mush be pretty neat to see some of your hard work "pay off" in a way! Keep up the good work, SeaAggies!

Odd and Ends

2011-03-20T09:31:00.002-04:00

My sapodilla tree is FINALLY producing fruit! They are very slow to mature and ripen, so haven't gotten to eat any yet. I'm excited about it!

Went caching a couple weeks ago with my friend, Blackfish Orca. I'd gotten the cache here on this old bean sprayer, but she hadn't, so I took the opportunity to play with my new PNS camera. I really like black and white photos.

This tree is in my fiance's yard (can I call it "my" yard, too???) I thought it looked pretty with the light snow all over it's bare branches.

My fiance "procured" this sign left over from a construction project that was finished over a year ago and never picked up. He thought it looks fun on his driveway.

Walking in the woods around my future PA home, I stumbled upon this guy hanging out...

One of the more creative caches we found that weekend. I've seen different variations of this, but lliked the way this one was done so I snapped a pic of it for future reference.

These are slag piles in the woods very near his house. Left overs from the coal mining days, these hills are really high up and kind of tricky to walk on. I think we're going to place a cache up here if we can figure out a good way to hide it. In this picture, if you were to turn your head to the right, you'd see the graveyard where Andy Warhol is buried. I'm not a big fan, but his works were influential.

This is a potential spot for a small vegetable garden. The biggest problem is going to be keeping the deer and ground hogs out of it! Sure don't have that problem in Miami!

Just a view out the dining room window,,,

Back at work, my boss had a hissy fit that the guys threw out this huge bundle of air plants. At first I thought they were dying, but looking closer I saw that what I thought were dead ends were actually little baby bromeliads! Very cool!

This is Booger. My Facebook friends know about Booger. He stole my cell phone, a coffee mug and a co-worker's lunch. Now when anything is missing or just can't be found, we blame him for it.

A little out of order here, but this is kind of a cool picture I got in the yard up in PA. We were burning some stuff, so the haze at the bottom is smoke. My son thinks it's creepy, but I like it.

So You Think You Know Florida?

2011-03-20T08:34:00.000-04:00

What practice of the state prison was abolished in 1919?

Answer to the last trivia question is:
End's Rattlesnake Cannery and Reptilorium.

So You Think You Know Florida?

2011-03-05T07:37:00.000-05:00

I have LOTS of books on Florida...nature, critters, history, photography, etc...looking through some of them the other day, I've decided to put them to use and try to start a weekly trivia/odd fact post. Yes, I know it's been done before (SophieMae!), but ya know...one can never learn too much about this truly awesome state we live in.

*drumroll, please*

So without further ado, may I present to you the first trivia question on a Florida Journal!

*cricket.....cricket....*

Uncomfortable silence fills the room

Yeah...well....ok, so it's not that big of a deal, but here it is:

What odd cannery in Arcadia was established in 1931 and moved near Port Tampa City in 1937?

I am such a slacker

2011-03-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

Wow...guess it's been a while since I've posted anything here, so let me fill y'all in..

As of February 20th, I am officially engaged! No date has been set yet, but I know that the wedding will take place in PA and I know who the groom is and who the officiating pastor will be. Other than that, I know nothing.

I got a nice income tax refund and bought a new PnS camera that I will be excited to play around with hopefully get some new pictures on here.

I've been caching regularly.

I'm still working at the same old place and can't wait to leave.

My kids are both doing good.

My MS hasn't flared up...no news is good news there!

In short, my life has been pretty boring and yet truly wonderful lately. I guess love does that...makes the boring stuff special and the special stuff spectacular!

Break Time

2010-12-21T06:03:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I've been taking a break (and still am). The holidays with all their wonderful hecticness and mild insanity have forced this tiny portion of my life onto the far back burner.

Enjoy the season and remember the reason!

See ya soonly!

Wordless Wednesday- The Color of Corn

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Corn Snake, aka Red Rat Snake - Big Cypress

2010-11-29T12:47:00.001-05:00

Holiday Weekend Caching

2010-11-28T22:01:00.000-05:00

Every holiday, we manage to run out and grab at least one cache. Well, this long weekend, we managed to get a few, including 3 puzzle caches - one of which was out 1,700th find! The black thing that Aidan is holding is a magnetic keyholder. One of the most hated, and yet overused cache containers out there. BUT, urban caching can be limited as to places for hiding an ammo can, so we put up with the key holders. At least this one required some thought put into solving the puzzle (and thanks to Lj for bringing it all into place!).

Friday, my love and I paddled the yak out to Chicken Key so he could get the cache that's hidden there. It's only about 3.5 miles roundtrip, but throw in currents and winds across an open Bay and it can seem much further.

The water was too cold for me to swim in. Couldn't make it in past my crotch!

The water was so clear, but it's not the pretty blue you see in the Keys. And no sandy beaches, either!

And let's see...the day before that was Thanksgiving and we had dinner with good friends at Texas de Brazil on Miami Beach. Not bad, but not the usual turkey dinner! Afterwards, we were all pretty stuffed so we walked to go find a cache nearby. It's pretty strange that Miami Beach doesn't have more caches than it does...odd.

So that was my weekend. The Christmas stuff is down from the attic, but we've yet to start decorating. I do NOT do Black Friday and have no shopping done yet. As much as I swear "Next year, I'll be done by Halloween", it never happens. I fully plan on scurrying around like a chicken with her head cut off all the way up to Christmas Eve, buying presents. Unless I do like I've done before and just try to make my presents.

Meh, why worry about it now? We have, what...25 days before Christmas...plenty of time....yeah...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-23T22:58:00.000-05:00

Arbuckle Creek

2010-11-21T08:53:00.001-05:00

2010-11-18T22:09:00.001-05:00

2010-11-17T21:46:00.001-05:00

2010-11-16T17:32:00.001-05:00

e, too.

Bear Island

2010-11-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

We were supposed to spend two nights out in Big Cypress at the Bear Island campground last weekend, but plans got screwed up (as usual) and it ended up being only one night. My youngest boy hadn't been camping in a couple years, so he was VERY excited to be going.

General gun season opened that weekend, so spots were hard to find, but we finally got one...tucked way in the back, off the road. In fact, if I didn't have a 4WD truck, we couldn't have gotten to it at all. There were two big mud ditches that we had to get through, but my truck did it just fine...whew!

I really like our spot...a big cypress stand was right behind us...

As we were setting up the tent, two park rangers came through on foot with a radio tracking device. They were out looking for a female panther in the area. About an hour or so later, they came out of the woods behind out tent - no panther, she had moved further north. Still a little exciting to think there was one close to where we were!

We did some caching (of course) and this guy was eyeing us as we tried to locate a cache across the canal from him.

The best part was building campfire...throwing wood pieces I had brought from work, pine cones and palm fronds...nothing beats a good blaze!

It was alot of doing for just one night, but it was worth it...I was awakened at 1am by a Barred Owl calling and flying big circles in the area...soft country music from our closest neighbors...it was peaceful and just so nice to get away from the city for a bit.

Continuing the writing exercise mentioned in my last post....

Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.

Honestly...I don't love that much about myself. I guess I'm empathetic, which is good...but I have too many negatives. Ok, ok...there has to be something...Ok. I llike that I am not hung up on "keeping up with the Joneses". Totally NOT me! I do not fall into the latest, greatest things. I am anti-"i" anything (ie. iPods, iPhones, etc.). Pandoras? What a waste of money! Things are not important to me. People are.

Well, not much of a post for that exercise, but all I can think of tonight.

2010-11-12T20:58:00.002-05:00

Surprise Orchid

2010-10-21T08:47:00.001-04:00

This little orchid popped up at work today. No one here planted it, so we have no idea where it came from, if it's native or even what kind of orchid it is! I've tried googling and have come up empty-handed.

Any ideas?

To Adopt or Not?

2010-10-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine found a parrot in her yard last week. It's wings were clipped, so it couldn't really fly. She called the two major bird places and the only local bird vet and left her name, phone number and description of the bird, hoping someone would call reporting one missing. Well, a few days passed and no phone call. She threatened to trun it loose if no one claimed it by Sunday. I refused to let her do that and said I'd take the bird and find someone who wants it.

I believe it's a Blue-fronted or Blue-faced Amazon. Sex unknown. Age unknown. Personality - known! I don't think she's crazy about men (yes, I've decided to make her a "she"), she abhors "parrot biscuits" but loves baby carrots and pizza crust. She likes it calm and let's it be known when it is too noisy for her liking. She whistles that whistle that most birds learn to do and she imitates an alarm. No talking yet.

I have her in a very large metal dog kennel that she seems to like just fine, but did acquire through Freecycle, a large, but rusty parrot cage. I think it'll be pretty nice if I can get it cleaned up a bit....it would look nice in my office at work...I'm thinking my office needs a parrot, don't you?

Her name is now "Sookie". Yes, we're all attached to her already. Looks like we'll probably be keeping her for now.

Any parrot advice out there? I've never owned one before so am willing to listen to anything anyone has to tell me!

Google Earth Challenge # 30

2010-10-11T15:15:00.000-04:00

I think this is a pretty tough one....bet no one gets it without a hint.

Naked Carpet Guy

2010-09-30T12:08:00.000-04:00

This advertisement has been up for over 30 years....I just noticed it a few weeks ago on I-95 and had to do a little investigating.

It was a take-off of a Burt Reynolds photo...

Don Bailey now:

Gotta give the guy a thumbs up for having a sense of humor! I hope that billboard stays up for another 30 years. It's priceless!

Gotta Love It!

2010-09-17T12:12:00.002-04:00

One of the BEST themes ever written...

Hope the new show is good and worth all the hype.

Ahhh....Daniel Dae Kim...I'll watch anything with him in it!

Google Earth Challenge # 29

2010-09-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

Not too hard, but here's Challenge # 29

UPDATE: Mystery Animal

2010-09-16T08:17:00.000-04:00

Damn. Just a pack of dogs.

We had the camera set up where we saw a different set of prints. After doing a little research, I had a feeling those prints were canine, but the prints I showed you in my last post are not canine (IMHO at least), so we'll move the camera to that area next week. This weekend, I'm going to set the camera up in the hardwood hammock for shits and grins to see what creatures lurk in there in the night.

So...the investigation continues.......

Mystery Animal

2010-09-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

So my boss found these prints today out on the trail at work. They don't match up with Bobcat prints. There are no claw/nail marks, so most likely not a dog. Besides, they're actually pretty big...4" long and 3 1/2" across on the biggest print. My sister and brother-in-law both say it's a panther. They hunt ALOT, so I trust them, but...seriously? A panther? Where I work? Hmmm.... so what do y'all think about it? Any thoughts or ideas?

If anyone wants to see more pictures, let me know...I took a bunch of them.

(I'm thinking Chupacabra...)

Bored at Work

2010-09-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

When I get bored at work, I like to grab my dinky POS camera and take some pictures. I got bored early today and took these before 9:00am. I may try to go later and take the exact same pictures again when the sun is at a different angle to see how they compare.

I kinda like the Fakahatchee seeds.

I need to look this "weed" up...It's really prettier than it looks here.

Yes, another picture of a Liguus tree snail.

Colors in my yard and I Wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner

2010-08-29T13:12:00.002-04:00

Blackberry Lily

The normal Beautyberry...love it's purple berries!

But I really love my white Beautyberry!

Voodoo Lily

Liriope

Beach Sunflowers

Crepe Mrytle

OMG!!!!

I couldn't believe our luck! Every kid should get the chance to see this up close.

Interior shot...Aidan even got a free whistle. Cool...

A Packed Weekend

2010-08-21T16:55:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, my sweetie flew in from Pennsylvania. As always, I asked him what he wanted to do that weekend and he wanted to go to the Keys...fishing, swimming and kayaking. So we did!

First we had to find a place to stay...the Conch on Inn was just a little too scary for us, so we settled on the Seafarer on southern Key Largo. No bad - not great- but not bad. Lot's of ambiance! I'd stay there again.

Ok, so my honey wanted to fish for tarpon from the kayak. It's a do able thing, just not in a tandem kayak! So I took him to Robbie's so he could see some up close. Some of them were in the 5' range...pretty cool!

We wanted to go to John Pennekamp State Park, but they were turning people away saying they were too full. Well...thankfully I knew of a place we could dump the yak and still paddle into Pennekamp and that is exactly what we did. We had a nice paddle through the mangroves and came out not far from the boat ramp in the park. We pulled out next to the first swimming hole and jumped in. The water was bath temperature, but still felt great! After a while, we got back in the yak and headed back to my "secret" put in spot. Thankfully my truck was still there...

Next up? Fishing! We settled for fishing off a bridge and for a couple hours had some fun in the sun...my honey catching all the fish (yeah, I am still a little pissed about that!)...Spanish Mackeral, a jack and a small Mangrove Snapper.

Down some side street...gotta love the colors!

What weekend would be complete without going for a couple caches? There was one located near this place, but some guys were hanging out, so we bypassed it. That hotel has the Conch on Inn beat on the creepiness scale, though!

And just down the road is Jules Undersea Lodge... an actual "hotel" that you have to dive to get to. Google it! Kinda cool...

Leaving the Keys,we made a quick stop at the Botanical Site off Card Sound Road. These flowers were out front, Scorpiontails. I think they're kinda cool!

Still a few hours of daylight left as we headed back to Miami so I suggested a quick run into the Everglades National Park. Of course....we had to stop for a cache along the way! As my honey went bushwhacking to find "Frog Pond" (one of my caches), I stayed and took a couple pics of the storm moving in.

On the way to Royal Palm in ENP, we stopped to check out this little water snake in the middle of the road. Snakes can be so dumb sometimes!

Anhinga Trail

Pretty, huh?

Monday before making the drive back to Ft. Lauderdale Airport, we went to Key Biscayne and checked out Cape Florida at Bill Baggs State Park.

What's left of Stiltsville out in Biscayne Bay.

Well, a couple days later, I decided to go on up to Lake Placid to cut the grass and just chill out for a couple days. This big lady was there to greet me right above the front door. I left her in peace...she didn't mind me and I didn't mind her.

After cutting the grass, thunder started booming and the winds picked up. I sat on the tailgate of my truck drinking some Gatorade marvelling at the gorgeous sunset in front of me...my stupid camera does NOT do it justice. The colors were flaming and intense.

As the first rain drops started to fall, I watched a Black Racer duck into my shed.

That was a smart snake!

And there you have a synopsis of my last week!

Panther and Ridley Did It!!!!

2010-08-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

My friends Chris and Misti (aka the SeaAggies for any cachers out there...aka Panther and Ridley-their AT names) completed hiking the Appalachian Trail yesterday. Over two thousand miles....they did it! I am so very happy and excited for them. Most people only dream of doing something like that, but they DID IT!

Congratulations, guys!

(sorry guys, but I had to copy this pic of the two of you...don't be mad!)

Please check out Misti's blog OCEANIC WILDERNESS and read about their adventure and see some awesome pictures, too.

Google Earth Challenge # 28

2010-08-06T04:53:00.006-04:00

# 28:

Hint: in South Florida.

A Bottle Full of Babies

2010-08-05T09:31:00.000-04:00

Of the two brown widows I have sitting on my desk at work, only one so far - Charlotte - has had babies hatch out of one of her egg sacs.

At least 50 itty-bitty spiders...

Getting food into the bottle is a bit of a challenge since they like to gravitate to the top where the opening is. I have to kind of knock them all down before I can open it to drop insects in.

I feel like such a homewrecker when I do that.

Of Soup and Soap

2010-07-31T09:10:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I was bitten by some kind of strange, foreign insect...the Domestication Bug. I cooked an entire meal from scratch, well...we only had soup, but dammit I made it! and it was good!!! And very easy. I will mos definitely make it again.

First was sauteeing some onions in a little olive oil

Then I added one potato and two finely chopped garlic cloves

Next, the only thing I had to use that was store-bought was 3 cups of vegetable broth. FYI, I found this recipe on a blog I follow - 101 Cookbooks
So many recipes there that I want to try out!

While the potato and onions were cooking a few minutes, I chopped up a head of broccoli.

Then, added it to the broth mixture and let it all cook for a few minutes

While this cooked, I got Number One Son to shred some fresh sharp cheddar cheese

The broth mixture was then poured into the blender along with the shredded cheddar, a couple tablespoons of creme fraise and some ground mustard. I poured them into individual bowls and garnished with more cheese and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.

Not Bad...Not bad at all if I do say so myself.....

After dinner, we scoped out a potential kayak launching site in Coral Gables, then came home and I started making a batch of laundry soap.

I had read about the soap and it sounded super easy so I thought, what the heck! Bought a bar of Fels Naptha soap, 1 box of borax and 1 box of Arm & Hammer washing soda. Shredded the bar of soap (with it's own shredder, NOT the cheese shredder!), added 1 cup of washing soda, mixed it up, then added 1 cup of borax and mixed it all up again. Simple! Only use 2 tablespoons for a large load a 1 for a small.

I did laundry last night and I swear my whites ARE whiter and everything looks a bit cleaner than normal. I think I may never buy Tide again!

CAUTION: When that domestication bug bites, it bites kind of hard, but the effects aren't too long lasting. Be prepared to do unusual household activities and astound your family and neighbors with smells of cooking food floating around your house, laundry being done and other miscellaneous things getting accomplished all within 2 hours of each other! WARNING: You WILL sleep in late the next morning.

Anne's Beach

2010-07-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Anne's Beach in the Keys

Google Earth Challenge # 27

2010-07-30T04:50:00.004-04:00

Here's this week's picture...Good Luck!

Hint: This one IS in Florida!

Big Problem - No Solution

2010-07-27T11:24:00.001-04:00

I've talked about this issue before and see that none of the problems have been solved. As I've said before, I have no sympathy for these people. They are scum. But people need shelter. I'll be watching and waiting to see what can be done to resolve this...

From the Miami Herald:
---------------------------------------------------_

For Miami-Dade sex offenders, wandering awaits

BY ROBERT SAMUELS

rsamuels@MiamiHerald.com
STEVE JOHNSON / THE MIAMI HERALD

Homer Barkley, a sex offender who was moved from the Julia Tuttle Causeway into an apartment in February, holds a letter in his doorway informing him that his lease will be revoked on Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Months after Miami-Dade County cleared out a camp of sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway, some of the former squatters are once again homeless, and many of the others are on the verge of being out on the streets again.

Most are unemployed and unable to continue to pay the rent once the money that officials kicked in so they could find housing runs out.

The inevitable result, some say, is that a sex-offender camp could emerge in a new location any day now.

``If they can't afford rent, we may be back to square one,'' said Jill Levenson, a professor at Lynn University in Boca Raton who is studying the impact of residency restrictions. ``The problem with this solution it was only temporary, a band-aid.''

The old bridge dwellers are now crammed into a few neighborhoods because of residency restrictions designed to keep them 2,500 feet away from where children gather.

When the Tuttle camp was torn down, officials promised to find housing for the 92 men and women and to pay six months' rent -- a $1 million project. Now that time's almost up.

A handful of the former causeway residents who were under state supervision on Jan. 1 already have no stable address. On Sunday, another 17 will see their leases end. By November, leases will end for all the rest.

``It feels like moving us from that bridge was just a publicity stunt,'' said Homer Barkley, 44, who served time after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. His six-month lease will expire Sunday. `How do they expect me to find a place to live? I'm not a millionaire.''

With corrections data estimating an additional 100 sex offenders who were arrested in Miami-Dade will be released each year, the plight of the former Tuttle residents is a microcosm of a problem no one knows how to fix.

Lost in a labyrinth of local residency restrictions, the offenders established a plywood-and-tent city under and around the causeway. The site became an international embarrassment, leading to lawsuits and political finger-pointing.

After three years, officials put up ``No Trespassing'' signs under the Tuttle and tore down rickety wooden shanties. They gave studios to men like Barkley, who had spent three years living under the bridge.

NEW HOME

At $590 a month, the small studio in Shorecrest isn't much. The fridge and the cabinets were empty and he used bedsheets for curtains. He's still looking for a job.

Levenson, the professor, noted there are great risks in keeping sex offenders in squalor. Research has identified which factors might compel a criminal, such as a sex offender, to reoffend. The three biggest are lack of social support, unemployment and housing instability.

For years, Levenson argued with Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book that the residency restrictions only aggravate those factors. It was Book, after all, who successfully lobbied to extend the 1,000-foot state law to 2,500 feet in Miami-Dade.

Yet for all their disagreements, Book and Levenson agree on what the future looks like for the group.
``I have deep concerns that these people, who have somehow assumed we are a welfare agency and that we have deep pockets, are going to end up back somewhere on the streets,'' Book said. ``We just don't know where.''

Book is against any more assistance for the group, adamant that their dilemma has less to do with residency restrictions than with their inability to find jobs so they can pay their bills.

``As far as we're concerned, our help for people under the bridge is done,'' Book said.

A year ago, as many as 140 people lived under the bridge, including a number of homeless men and women who weren't sexual offenders. Lawsuits flew, and as the cases wore on, Homeless Trust Executive Director David Raymond decided to take action. Part of the trust's mission is to clear up homeless encampments.

In October, the trust awarded an $818,800 contract to Tampa-based Lutheran Services of Florida, which identified available housing, offered employment assistance and agreed to pay rent and utilities. The staff paid landlords directly, so the Tuttle residents never touched the money.

By March 2010, the entrance to the old camp was sealed off and the nonprofit located housing for 92.

Within a month, more than 20 were thrown out of their new place.

One of the offenders -- Yat Wan Chang -- was arrested on new charges of lewd and lascivious conduct on a minor. The incident allegedly happened at a shopping center blocks away from the Homestead hotel where he and at least 20 more sex offenders lived. Evictions soon followed.

Incensed, Book said he didn't want sex offenders clumped together. But that proved impossible. A Miami Herald review of state records shows the effort to relocate them created at least two small clusters.

Thirteen offenders were moved to the River Park Trailer Court in Allapattah, a collection of mobile homes and unpaved streets overrun by dogs. Another 13 were moved into a secluded part of Shorecrest, an Upper East Side neighborhood residents call ``our little paradise.''
In Shorecrest, some moms and dads told their kids couldn't play outside anymore. One resident installed cameras.
``Everyone's a lot more alert about what's happening around them,'' said teacher Rachel Hamm, 48. ``I haven't seen anything suspicious, but I'm still worried because I have two teenagers.''

When more than 100 Shorecrest residents demanded a meeting with Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, their county commissioner and the Homeless Trust, they learned there was little that could be done.
``I wish I had a magic wand and could make them go away, but I don't,'' Book said. ``I don't see a resolution to this.''
Compared to life under the bridge, Homer Barkley's small studio in Shorecrest does seem like paradise. He now has an actual mattress, indoor plumbing and a roof.

He gets along with his neighbors: Five former Tuttle residents live a five-minute walk away. Two more occupy an apartment down the street. Another two live a block west.

In Barkley's two-story building, overrun by shrubs and feral cats, there are eight studios. Old Tuttle residents live in apartments 1, 2, 4 and 5.

When Barkley received a 30-day notice in July that he had to start paying his own rent, it renewed fears of the life he left.

His family has cut him off, so he can't get help there. He'd consider moving in with his current girlfriend, but the 2,500-foot restriction puts her neighborhood off limits.

THE PROCESS

When their leases expire, the sex offenders are expected to go through the county's existing process to aid homeless people. In Miami-Dade, those services are offered through the Homeless Trust, the same agency that gave the Tuttle dwellers the leases.

But more help is unlikely. To get trust help, a person must move to a local homeless shelter. That's impossible for a sex offender because all the shelters are in restricted neighborhoods, trust director Raymond said.

Ideally, the trust wants to set up a database of homeless sex offenders that the agency and the state Department of Corrections can use to track them and maybe help them find housing. But corrections officials think setting up such a database is too costly and bureaucratic.

Typically, release officers meet with convicts six months before they leave prison. Contact people who love you, they tell the convicts. Ask if they can find you housing.

Sex offenders are harder, though, because they're often cut off by family or friends, Florida DOC spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said. So the state gives them $100 and a bus ticket to the county where the convict was arrested. The release officer also shows them a map of places they are allowed to sleep.

``If it's a parking lot or a street corner or a wooded area, we have to make sure they stay there,'' Plessinger said.

A man who calls himself Rashid Wali chose a street corner in Shorecrest. Of all the neighborhoods, this seemed the nicest. It is also steps away from another bridge to Miami Beach, the John F. Kennedy Causeway.
Late one recent night, he settled with a beer outside a closed auto-repair shop and plugged his cellphone into an exterior outlet.

``Still couldn't find a job today,'' he sighed, ``because I don't have an ID. The DMV won't give me a license that says transient.''

``We're damned,'' interjected Patrick Weise, a shirtless 49-year-old grasping a Miller High Life. Weise was one of the first sex offenders to move under the causeway. At the Tuttle, he was in charge of collecting money for the generator that gave everyone electricity.
After the expulsion, Weise spent days in the Homestead hotel. After he was evicted from there, he spent a month living in a field. Now, he also sleeps on the corner.
At a little past 10 p.m., the state curfew for registered sex offenders, another sex offender joined them. That night, the three slept on the sidewalk.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2010 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.miamiherald.com

Hemingway Days in Key West

2010-07-26T00:19:00.001-04:00

From the Miami Herald:

The Associated Press

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A white-bearded 64-year-old Florida man won this year's Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest, an event in Key West's annual Hemingway Days festival that ended Sunday.
Charles Bicht, of Vero Beach, triumphed over 123 other entrants in the late Saturday night competition, a highlight of the annual celebration that honors the literary giant who lived and wrote in Key West throughout the 1930s.
"I've been looking forward to this for 12 years," said Bicht, who credited his win to perseverance after 11 unsuccessful attempts. "Nothing can compare to it."
Look-alike hopefuls in sportsman's and fisherman's garb reminiscent of Hemingway competed onstage at Sloppy Joe's Bar, favored by the author during his Key West years.
After preliminary rounds Thursday and Friday, a judging panel of former contest winners chose Bicht from 25 finalists during Saturday night's final round.
The retired construction project manager said he shared several traits with Hemingway.
"I enjoy women, I fish and I drink, but I don't write," Bicht said.
Bicht also has a tie to Hemingway's former Key West home, now a museum in Key West's historic Old Town. His daughter, who cheered him in the contest during all 12 attempts, was married on the home's grounds during the 2009 Hemingway Days celebration.
Other events included a short story competition directed by Lorian Hemingway, the author's granddaughter, a wacky "Running of the Bulls" and a one-man play chronicling Ernest Hemingway's life and adventures.
The festival's Drambuie Key West Marlin Tournament was won by a Panama City attorney who came to Key West because of the Transocean/BP oil spill.
"They closed my fishing down," said Clayton Syfrett of closures off the northern Gulf coast caused by oil slicks that fouled waters for months. "Normally, I'd be fishing around the oil rigs for yellowfin tuna."
The 450-mile voyage to Key West paid big dividends for Syfrett's angling team when Timothy Trase Travers, of Titusville, caught and released a blue marlin, estimated to weigh 400 pounds, to claim the top $25,000 cash prize.
Besides offshore sport fishing and imbibing at Sloppy Joe's, Hemingway wrote some of his best known works while living in the Spanish colonial home on Whitehead Street. They include "To Have and Have Not," "Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

The saga of Brisket the bull on Animal Planet!

2010-07-26T00:08:00.000-04:00

If you remember a while back, I talked about a stray bull that was loose in the park I work. Well, I finally saw the episode on Animal Cops Miami that showed the adventure of catching "Brisket"! Animal Cops Miami - Miami Menagerie is the episode and it's on again this Thursday, July 29th, at 1:00pm.

I caught a brief glimpse of myself and co-worker, Lily, as well as my boss, Pam, who was taped quite a few times.

So if you get a chance, set your DVR and watch it! I wonder what ever happened to Brisket the bull...he gave us quite a bit to talk about for a while!

Riding the Rail

2010-07-25T16:16:00.001-04:00

Today we decided to take a trip on the Metrorail - riding it from beginning to end and back again. Number 2 son had never ridden on it before, so it was quite the adventure for him.

We started at the Dadeland South station. Looking out the window I had a direct view of Shorty's BBQ. That place has been around for God-Knows-How-Long, I think before I was even born.

This old DQ has been in my blog before...

One of the stations is at the Museum of Science (which is across from Vizcaya).

See the short building to the left of the high rises? The one with a red triangle on the top? Next time you catch an old episode of "Miami Vice", you can see that building in the opening credits.

View from the Brickell station...almost downtown!

Crossing over the Miami River. You can't see it at all, but to the right of the River, past the high rises, it the site of the "Miami Circle"...a Tequesta site discovered when they had started excavating to build another high rise. The site is now protected.

The old Dade County courthouse.

The American Airlines Arena and to the right of it, The "Freedom Tower".

Above is the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. A very nice place that I have yet to visit.

The oldest refused to take down the number. He isn't old enough anyway. I am intrigued by it, though...

Wonder if there's a cache hidden there???

We were just thankful Metroral is air conditioned and the windows are sealed shut! Such a scenic sight...


(Why does she keep taking pictures of me?)

We made it to the end of the line, the Palmetto station. Then we had to wait about 1/2 hour for the driver to lock up and switch to the opposite end of the train for the trip back. While we waited, I took lots of pictures of the kids...


Yes, we both new he was faking it!

Now, let me tell you about the way you have to pay to get on the Rail...they used to take cash or tokens, then a while ago, they changed over to this weird EPass or ETicket thing. What a confusing mess that is!!! You have to take your money to a machine and buy a pass, then put money on it. You have to wave the pass over some sensor thing for the gate to open so you can walk through. But get this...you have to wave it again just to leave!!! I am SO glad I don't work downtown. Having to mess with that every day would drive me nuts.

Anyway, that was our little adventure for the day. Not too exciting, but better than staying at home, plus, the squirt got to finally ride the rail...it was a good day.

Google Earth Challenge # 26

2010-07-23T04:46:00.013-04:00

# 26:

Hint: It's not in Florida!

...and, um...where is Bonnie? Anybody seen her?

2010-07-22T20:53:00.002-04:00

TS Bonnie due tomorrow morning!

In the meantime. watch this...I laughed my butt off!

Being Lazy

2010-07-19T17:07:00.000-04:00

I just posted something on my other blog and am too lazy to figure out how to cross post it, so here is a link:

Remembering Old Miami

Check it out. We had fun there today!

Matilda's Neighbor

2010-07-18T18:09:00.000-04:00

Matilda has a new neighbor, Charlotte. Charlotte appears to be a very good mother, even lifting her egg sacs back up after I knocked them (and her) into her new home. After watching a youtube video of a guy opening up a widow egg sac and having literally hundreds of babies come out, I'm not to keen on letting these eggs hatch.

FWC Warning - so what else is new?

2010-07-18T10:23:00.000-04:00

In the news today:

Wildlife Officials Warn To Beware Of Gators

MIAMI (CBS4) ―

This 10-foot alligator was captured from the front door of a Tampa family's home. It's unlikely to have a gator in your yard, but if you live near water, experts say simple rules will keep you safe.: CBS

Close

numSlides of totalImage

A recent series of alligator bites has state wildlife officials warning Floridians to use "common sense" around water, especially lakes, ponds, canals, and other inland water waterways where gators can lurk.

Florida has had 6 reported alligator bites in 2010. Last year, there were 19 bites, but wildlife experts say there's no need for anyone to be bitten if they just follow a few simple gator protection rules.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist, Lindsey Hord, says people should swim only in designated areas, keep their pets away from the waters edge, refrain from feeding alligators, and maintain a safe distance.

The main message: leave the gators alone. They were here first, and aren't going anywhere.

Hord says adult male alligators tend to prefer open water areas, like canals and lakes, where people usually swim. Females are found in marshy areas, which are better for the survival of their young.

Female alligators are nesting now, but Hord says theres no link between breeding, nesting and alligator bites.

All I can say is, well...d'uh! Don't swim at dusk or dawn, scout the area before entering and stay aware of your surroundings. EVERY body of water has the potential to have gators in it, and probably does - so be careful!

Hmmm...Any Law Breakers Out There?

2010-07-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Didja know in the fine state of Florida it is illegal to:

     ...sing in public place while wearing a bathing suit?
     ...have sexual relations with a porcupine?
     ...skateboard without a license?
     ...fart in public after 6:00pm?
     ...sell your children?
     ...be seen publicly in a strapless gown if you are a man?
     ...fall asleep under a hairdryer?
     ...shower naked?
     ...break more than 3 dishes a day or chip more than 4 cups and/or saucers?
     ...have oral sex?
     ...kiss your wife's breasts?

Also, all doors of public buildings must open outwards...unmarried women cannot parachute on Sundays...only the missionary position is legal!...and the penalty for horse theft is death by hanging!!!

Ok. I'm guilty of more than one offense. I will not divulge which ones, but seriously, who knew you couldn't sell your kids! (please know I am just kidding...or am I...)

I wonder what would happen if you walked into the nearest station and tried to turn yourself in for breaking one of those laws? I'll pay someone a buck to try it and report back.

Back by Popular Demand!

2010-07-16T15:33:00.003-04:00

People have been asking me when I was going to start doing these again, so here ya go...

Challenge #25:

YES, I know I didn't black out the coords at the bottom, so just be good and don't cheat!

New Office Pet

2010-07-15T15:35:00.001-04:00

You can't see her, but she's safely inside that bottle on my desk.

Her name is "Matilda" and she's a brown widow spider.

I am thinking that she'd be good for kids to see when we have programming.

She may also be a good deterrent for those who like to sit at my desk for reasons unknown...

A big thanks to Mitch...my supplier!

Just something funny

2010-07-13T21:48:00.000-04:00

A New TV Show - "The Glades"

2010-07-01T13:26:00.000-04:00

Last night as myself and a friend of mine were sitting in the IMAX at Sunset Place waiting for "Eclipse" to begin, they showed a trailer for a new series on A&E..."The Glades". It looks like it could be a good show...a fictional cop in a fictional town on the edge of the Everglades...check it out HERE

I love any show set in Florida, although there is one I can't remember the name of anymore. It was a couple years ago...aliens in the 'Glades...ring a bell? I liked it, but it never ended and got cancelled. I hate that! "Burn Notice" is cool...and who can forget "Miami Vice"? "The Golden Girls" wasn't filmed here, but was supposed to be here. What else? Can you think of any other TV shows set here in the Sunshine State?

Do me a favor. Set your DVR to record this new show on July 11th, 10:00pm on A&E. I'd like to hear what y'all think of it!

U-Verse problems = Photoshop playtime!

2010-06-28T09:27:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, my wonderful AT&T U-Verse was down all day...no internet, tv or phone. So out of boredom I started messing around with my pictures and came up with these. I kind of like them!

Babies on the way!

2010-06-24T11:29:00.000-04:00

I found these two spiders on a Gumbo Limbo tree at work, guarding what I assume are their odd egg sacs. I have googled and googled but cannot find anything that helps me identify what kind of spiders these are. Any ideas? They are small and pretty flat...

There are two of these spiders hanging out guarding their respective sacs in a nearby tree. I "believe" they are Leucauge venustas. Again, anyone know for sure?

FYI

2010-06-20T11:26:00.002-04:00

I started a separate blog for my PA adventures...www.hoeyinpittsburgh.tumblr.com

This place was turning into more PA stuff than FL and I am trying to get it back on track.

Doo, doo, doo lookin' out my backdoor...

2010-06-20T10:12:00.002-04:00

We have a green anole that hangs out by the backdoor. Seeing him always makes me smile. They used to be much more abundant until the brown anoles from Cuba began to take over. They're cute, too, but not as sweet as the greens.

I saw the female Knight (or Cuban) anole in the middle of the backyard this morning. At first, I thought it ws a young iguana. Thank God it wasn't! We took some pictures of her, then she jumped up into the palm tree. We heard some rustling and thought it was just her, but it turned out to be a male one. Bigger and more colorful than the female. We left them alone. Looks like it may be a morning of lizard love...

Ack...BUGS!

2010-05-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

My stupid little Eeepc has a nasty virus. I have messed with it for 2 days now, but I think I have finally got it under control - maybe. It's still there, but I think I have it where I can at least use the little computer without too much trouble. Hell, I'm using it now and it seems ok.

So today is Memorial Day. I plan on BBQing later, but in the meantime, it's a continuation of the yardwork we started yesterday...pulling and gathering dead fronds, trimming trees, spraying roundup, spreading fertilizer, planting veggies, moving the sprinkler around the yard...etc. But yesterday was special...every year, I pour an entire bottle of roach poison down this small hole in the backyard where our septic tank is. I pour, then I run for cover....the roaches SWARM out! It is SO nasty and it continues for a few hours...crazed, poisoned roaches scampering crazilly all over the yard. But I love it :)

Anyone who lives in Florida knows how the roaches are here. It doesn't matter if you have an entire cleaning staff and a hermetically sealed house - they get in. So, once a year in the beginning of the summer, I pour...and pour....and watch as 50-100 (I'm not kidding) roaches die a slow death. It was the high point of my day yesterday.

If I make it to Mack Cycle today to get the little one some training wheels for his new bike, I think we'll go for a nice ride.

Enjoy the day, but please, stop for a moment and remember what today stands for!

Porcupines, Allegany State Park and Creepy Angels

2010-05-24T10:54:00.002-04:00

This weekend, I flew up to PA to go to a geoevent in Allegany State Park in New York. This big, stumpy squirrel was not in New York, but in my boyfriend's yard. We don't get squirrels that big back home unless they're Fox Squirrels... There was also a cute little bunny next to him, but I didn't get a good shot of them together.

Ok, so now we are out of the yard and on the way to New York... we passed alot of old barns that have Mailpouch Tobacco ads painted on them. I want to start taking a picture of every one I see.

Some old building even have it painted on them. It's faded, but you can still see it.

We stopped in Bradford, PA at the Zippo Case Museum. It was a pretty neat place even if you don't collect Zippos or Case knives. There's a cache out front, but we couldn't find it. Neither could the other people who were hunting for it. Oh well... our first DNF of the weekend :(

Yay!!! Crossing into New York!

The first place we stopped in Allegany State Park was the Red House Lodge. It was so beautiful inside, but reminded me of something out of a Stephen King novel.

After some driving around and looking, we finally found the HQ for the event.

We went in, checked everything out and signed the log.

We set up and camp and spent some time exploring...and caching, of course!

Never did see any beavers, but did see a few of their dams...

And thankfully we didn't see any bears, either!

We stopped to do an Earth Cache at Quaker Lake. SO pretty!

I believe these are flowers on a Hawthorn tree. Very pretty but very thorny.

Buttercups and something...can't remember the name, but they were all over the place and very pretty.

Science Lake

These little pumps are all over the place! Never saw any of them actually pumping, though.

After seeing 7 + roadkill porcupines, we finally spotted a live one! I got so close to him and he stood his ground...old? sick? or just their demeanor since they have very few enemies?

We also saw a beautiful skunk one night in ASP, but seeing this guy was a highlight of my weekend.

We stopped in Ludlow to see the Olmstead Manor. An old, extremely haunted house that I believe belongs to the United Methodist Church (maybe?).

A really bad picture of some really pretty "Forget-Me-Nots".

Gotta love it!

In the town of Brookville, there is a cache called Scripture Rocks. Way back in the woods, totally unmarked by any signs or arrows, are hundreds of bolders carved with Biblical verses. One man did it all by himself about 100 years ago. That's what's so cool about caching...you see places you never knew existed!

Any thoughts as to what these angels are all about? I mean, I see the stars all over the place, and they are really cool (I have one thanks to my sweetie!)...but then we started noticing these kind of creepy angels on houses. Not as many as the stars...they all appear to be the same angel...creepy if you ask me. Does anyone know what they are about?

Dutchman's Pipe

2010-05-18T10:06:00.000-04:00

This Dutchman's Pipe is growing in the butterfly garden outside of my son's classroom. I think they are so cool...I must get one for my yard one of these days. Does anyone out there know if they attract butterflies or hummingbirds?

Ya Learn Something New Everyday

2010-05-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

Chizzywinks

Mother's Day Adventures

2010-05-11T11:51:00.005-04:00

I spent this Mother's Day in Lake Placid with the guy I love doing some of the things I love...like hiking in the scrub (caching of course!)...

...stopping at Gatorama...

...a little swimming in Lake Francis...

...walking through the cypress swamp in Highland's Hammock State Park...

...FLYING!...(Archbold Biological Station)

Fisheating Creek......The Caloosahatchee River bridge and locks in Moorehaven

buzzing some airboaters...

The Kissimmee River and coming in for a landing...

..and it all finished off with an awesome dinner of BBQ'd shrimp, venison, garlic bread, corn on the cob, cole slaw and Key Lime pie for dessert!

All in all it was a fine weekend that went too fast and was too hectic, but still loads of fun. Just wish my oldest had gotten to be there, but he had to stay home to dog sit (poor old girl can't make the trip anymore).

Hope all the other Moms out there had a great weekend, too!

P.S. Foursquare is bizzare...I'm not doing it. I am also refusing Pandoras and iPhones.

WTF???

2010-05-07T08:14:00.000-04:00

This morning I got on the scale...with trepidation. I've felt fatter, like I've put on about 5 pounds lately. I haven't been walking or anything. My eating has been deplorable. So I stepped on expecting the worst.

But I've lost 2 pounds. WTF? I stepped off and reset it...got back on. Same thing! How can that be? I am now the skinniest (hahaha...LOTS of sarcasm there) I've been since having Aidan almost 6 years ago.

Very weird.

And here's a question for my fellow Floridians: Is it just me, or do you feel fatter the minute the weather turns hot again? I mean, the first day I break out in a sweat just by walking from my car to my front door, I instantly feel fatter. My clothes are tighter. I feel blah. When it's colder, I always feel thinner and my clothes are always looser. I love the winter! Does anyone else notice this or am I just my normal oddball self?

A Salty Gator!

2010-05-03T09:07:00.002-04:00

From the Sun Sentinel:

Diver has rare gator encounter -- on an ocean reef
Posted by Barbara Hijek on May 2, 2010 07:55 AM

Laz Ruda , a South Florida photographer, recently captured a rare sight on camera in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach: an American alligator in a reef about a mile offshore.

Gators are routinely found in freshwater lakes and rivers, although they can tolerate salt water, but only for a short span of time, reports wpbf.com
Ruda said he was 60 feet below the ocean's surface when he saw the alligator. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called out to investigate, but the alligator had swum away by then and could not be found, reports wpbf.com.
A University of Georgia website called EcoView states that alligators leave freshwater habitats to travel overland during droughts, in search of mates, and to avoid confrontations with larger male alligators. They will enter saltwater habitats on occasion and have even been found a mile or more out to sea. They do not live in the ocean but can tolerate saltwater for hours or maybe days without a problem.
Watch the salt water alligator video encounter on Ruda's website TheLivingSea.com.
Photo: Laz Ruda -- TheLivingSea.com

Not just for Hippies!

2010-05-02T22:15:00.004-04:00

Check out the Greynold's Park "Love In"

I think my old "big" boss did a good job being "interviewed". I've never been before, but am thinking about going this time. It could be fun!

Now, it's 10:30 pm and I'm sitting here thinking "what the hell"...I think I'll post some odd pictures. Webcam art, it you will....

Ok, "art" it ain't...but I'll tell you what, a webcam can provide hours of cheap entertainment for a 5 year old and about an hour of fun for his mom ;)

New Beginnings

2010-04-28T22:34:00.000-04:00

Views during my Friday commute

2010-04-26T12:44:00.006-04:00

Chased this pretty balloon in the morning on my way to work. I see this one up alot on nice, clear, calm mornings, but I've never gotten a shot this close before.

Stopped at the gas station to get some juice and had to snap a pic of the gorgeous Tabebuia out front.

Got to work and noticed the Cigar Orchid outside my office window was blooming again.

Then, driving home, I caught a glimpse of the damndest thing...a boat on wheels! Can you see it in my mirror? Unfortunately, that was the best shot I could get of it. Bizarre!