Category Archives: Outside the Garden

Squirrel Crime Heads South

Posted by Lesley on April 17, 2011 None comments

We celebrated Cooper’s 13th birthday on Lido Beach yesterday.  It was a great day filled with boating, tubing, swimming, and eating.

But thanks to a couple of party-crashing squirrels, hanging on to our lunch proved more difficult than hanging on to a tube traveling at 30 mph.  Luke’s begging has nothing on these squirrels.  This one was trying to jump into my car as I unloaded the coolers and bags. 

We can all use our imaginations to form the picture of how that ride home would’ve gone.  Moths flew out of my air conditioning vents once, and I nearly crashed my car.  It’s extremely difficult to steer while swatting.  And it’s hard to unpack a car with stalking squirrels around every tree.  First, I found the bag with all the hamburger and hot dog buns on its side with one package on the ground.  I didn’t think much of it at the time, so I picked the package up off the ground, tossed it onto one of the picnic tables and went to get another load from the car.  Two minutes later, three tops, and this is what I came back to.

I put the package away again, took one more trip to the car, and then this…

There’s no disputing it. Remember my last squirrel post, Squirrel Crime on the Rise? I’m now a full-blown victim. Thank God it was only after the buns! Because, of course, I did nothing beyond stomping my feet. After reading about Kevin McDonald’s squirrel attack, one of my latest irrational fears is having a squirrel “go ballistic” on me. I say one of my latest because the last one came about Friday while kayaking. I was scared a mullet was going to jump into my kayak. I find it best to acknowledge these thoughts and move on…also to keep a respectable distance from squirrels.

Upcoming Classes at Phillippi Mansion

Posted by Lesley on March 29, 2011 None comments

I had a blast learning how to keep bees last week, but the how-to on keeping chickens will have to wait.  Chicken 101 was sold out by the time I went to register.  It’s not surprising since the city passed an ordinance in January allowing residents to keep up to four chickens per backyard.  But no roosters allowed!  They can’t keep their beaks shut. 

Chicken 101 is being offered through the Sarasota County Extension office so expect more classes to be scheduled.  The four-hour class costs $15; I’ll post an update on Facebook and Twitter when they schedule another one. 

For now, check out a free class at Phillippi Mansion.  The mansion itself is a gorgeous and historic setting, but take some time afterward to walk the hammock trail, let the kids explore the exceptionally cool playground and/or shop the farmers market.  Even if you’re not local, it’s worth a day trip. 

Class Schedule

March 30, 2011 at noon
The Healthy Home
Betty Alpaugh, Education Specialist

Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors where air quality is often ten times more polluted than outdoors.  Fortunately, this is one health risk that we can reduce by learning how to improve the environmental quality inside our homes.  This class will discuss how families can make their homes safer, healthier and more comfortable by choosing more sustainable materials and maintenance methods.  (1 hour class)

April 6, 2011 at noon
Herb Gardening
Robert Kluson, Ph.D., Extension Agent
 
Florida vegetable gardening includes many potential herb crops. Learn which herbs are best suited to Sarasota County and seasons. (1 hour class)

April 13, 2011 at noon
Irrigation Display and Demo
Angela Antonucci, Program Specialist
 
Do you know how your irrigation system works? If you did, you would know about the water savings you could have each and every month by becoming a “water wizard.” Learn how to calibrate and set your time clock and fix problems. (1 hour class)

April 20, 2011 at noon
Fruit Trees for Sarasota County
Robert Kluson, Ph.D., Extension Agent
 
Florida food gardening includes many potential fruit crops. Learn which fruits are best suited to Sarasota County and seasons. (1 hour class)

April 27, 2011 at noon
Turf Alternatives
Angelo Randaci, Extension Agent

Florida Friendly Landscaping means using low-maintenance plants and environmentally sustainable practices. We will explore options to turf that will create a beautiful landscape, while helping to protect Sarasota County’s natural resources.  (1 hour class)

Useful Links:

{this moment} Bayfront Park at Sunset

Posted by Lesley on March 25, 2011 2 comments

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  -Soulemama

Beekeeping

Posted by Lesley on March 24, 2011 4 comments

I want to keep bees!  A free class on honeybee keeping offered through the Sarasota County Extension has me inspired, although it may have to wait until after next winter.  Apparently bees sell out, and it’s near the end of bee season.  But if you can find bees now, with only one box you could have three gallons of honey or more by Christmas. 

It costs about $300 to start beekeeping, but there are no recurring costs.  If I decide to do this, I’m splurging on the $50 jacket that has the big netted hood attached…bees crawl.  They also roam up to three miles.  Beware of buying organically labeled honey because it’s hard to guarantee that the bees haven’t fed on a plant that’s been sprayed. 

Florida is a honey haven because the bees have so many options – maples, citrus trees, black mangroves, wildflowers, even Brazilian peppers-a non-native invasive species universally disliked by Floridians-all provide honey flows.  A honey flow is bee keeper talk for the combination of nice weather and abundant nectar from one source. 

One of the instructors, Betsy Roberts, is a gardener in addition to being a master beekeeper.  She handed out a list of native plants that provide pollen to the bees.  Among the list were quite a few that I have or have had in my garden – aster, tickweed, salvia, coneflower, morning glory, blueberry, and sunflower.  Two plants that were on the list and came up in class as good pollen sources were spiderwort and partridge pea.      

Roberts was also covered in bees!  Here’s a close-up of her pants:

For more information on bee keeping in Florida, visit the Suncoast Beekeepers Association.

World Down Syndrome Day

Posted by Lesley on March 21, 2011 None comments

I just opened this email from Manasota BUDS:

3-21-11 marks the 6th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day and each year the voice of people with Down syndrome, and those who live and work with them, grows louder.

Manasota BUDS encourages members to share stories of their loved ones on the BUDS Facebook page and Google discussion group.  

The milestones, accomplishments, and great moments from the past year.  

No problem; the timing couldn’t be better.  I spent yesterday with the most wonderful, sweet, funny, joyful little girl I know…who also happens to have Down syndrome.  The last part I add only to help the voice grow louder.  It is certainly not what defines my niece, Ella.  To me, her adoring aunt, Down syndrome has become an adjective among many others to describe her.  Daring is another one that fits.  I’m amazed she rides horses; that’s something I can’t do without a disability.  She rides roller coasters with her arms stretched straight to the sky.  And she braved choppy waters yesterday in a boat about the size of a garbage can.  She was nervous at first…

…but was over it in about 30 seconds!

Not once did she say, “I don’t want to do this,” or “I’m scared,” and trust me, she would have!  Another adjective to describe Ella is assertive.  She simply doesn’t back down from things – school, riding bikes, or in this case, the boat.  Down syndrome will not hamper Ella from achieving in her life.  She’s just like anyone else.  She has feelings, opinions and goals.  I consider myself extremely lucky to be along for the ride.   

{this moment} Arlington Park

Posted by Lesley on March 18, 2011 1 comments

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  -Soulemama

New College Campus

Posted by Lesley on March 12, 2011 2 comments

I spent the morning at the Archaeology Fest at New College.  It was an assignment from the paper, and I was happy to have it come my way.  The festival, people and stories were interesting enough.  But the location is one of my favorites.  The college is located next door to the Ringling Museum; the campus overlooks Sarasota Bay.  Up until 2006, New College shared their campus with the University of South Florida.  I once took a literature class in the original Ringling mansion.

The mansion, renamed College Hall, had seen better days.  Still, the classroom overlooked the bay and had a fireplace.  If I hadn’t finished my reading for that day, I’d show up early and pray this bench was open.

The new USF campus is great.  It’s all one building, laptops in the classrooms, the works.  It’s just so very different.  It was nice to walk the grounds and enjoy the beautiful day.  I even spotted a couple of butterflies.

Buckeye

Black Swallowtail

Riding Bikes

Posted by Lesley on February 28, 2011 4 comments

Where the Legacy trail ends in Venice, the Venetian Waterway Park trail picks up.  The meandering five-mile recreational trail runs along the Intracoastal Waterway, through woods and neighborhoods.  One section even offers a brief history of the city.  There’s a timeline painted along the cement path and a circus mural on a nearby building.

 

Saturday, John and I rode our bikes the length of the trail and then continued on to Caspersen Beach. 

The trail was quiet.  It was easy for my mind to wander, and it kept rewinding to a recent conversation with my sister.  We were standing in her garage, and I noticed my niece and nephew’s bikes up against the wall.  Dylan, who you know from De Soto National Park, is four and catching on to bicycling pretty easily.  Ella, who you know from the Buddy Walk, is ten and still struggling with it.  Beyond their ages and genders, the difference is that Ella has Down syndrome and Dylan does not.  Ella will ride a bike one day; it just won’t be tomorrow.  You know that old saying, “It’s as easy as riding a bike,”  well it isn’t for individuals with Down syndrome.  As my sister explained, there is actually a lot of thought that goes into riding a bike.  

I, as an individual without any sort of intellectual impairment, had been taking for granted the ease of it.  When broken down, there are quite a few steps.  You have to use your legs to pedal, your arms to steer; your core to balance, and your eye and ears to stay alert.  Ella has to think about all that; it’s a lot to learn.  So as I rode my bike, I thought of Ella – about her struggles and about her triumphs and about the day when we’ll ride this trail together and then…I flew over the handlebars! 

Can you believe that s@#%?  No joke.  I was messing with my camera, lost complete control of my front tire on the sandy road, and did the worst thing you can do in the midst of all that fumbling – I hit the front brake.  I launched from my seat and somehow managed to land on my feet with the bike behind me.  John was in disbelief; he said I stuck the landing like a superhero.  He was baffled that he didn’t have to pick gravel out my skin that night, but he didn’t.  He did, however, have to bring me multiple ice packs over the next day and a half.  So landing or not, and even though I spent my entire childhood idolizing her and an entire summer dressed like her, I have faced the sad fact that I am indeed not Wonder Woman.  She would never bruise this bad.     

But as for Ella, she just might be.  Her persistence, strength and self-confidence never cease to amaze me. 

For more information on Down syndrome, please visit Manasota BUDS.

De Soto National Park

Posted by Lesley on February 25, 2011 3 comments

Lukey had a playmate today - my nephew, Dylan.  And I use the term playmate loosely.  That’s my word not Luke’s.  He’s currently unwinding with a rawhide.

We spent the morning at De Soto National Memorial, a waterfront park in Bradenton where the Manatee River meets Tampa Bay.  A serene site recounting a violent history between exploring Spaniards and Native Americans, creepy cutouts like the one above are everywhere.  And the signs that accompany the cutouts are no less creepy. Since we stopped for the picture, I read half of one to Dylan before realizing I was about to tell a 4-year-old how the doggie in the picture was about to maul and eat an Indian.  But this is the cutout that will stay with me…

It made me jump a little.  The cutouts may not be my thing, but the park by itself is.  Shaded trails open up to bay views and a quiet little beach.  The boardwalk cuts through the mangroves, and Spanish Moss drapes the trees.  Although we didn’t partake, the park also offers reenactments of Florida history spanning five centuries.  And it’s all free!  There are no admission or parking fees.  

   

And Lukey had some fun too… 

Biking Legacy Trail in Venice

Posted by Lesley on February 13, 2011 2 comments

John and I took our bikes down to Venice and hit the Legacy Trail today.  While much of the 10-mile trail looks like this… 

…the Southernmost section in Venice meanders past parks, through neighborhoods and over two bays – Dona and Robertson. The trail is under construction at U.S. 41 right now, but a new overpass is expected to be finished by this summer.  We turned around at that point but could have taken a detour to continue on.  Legacy trail picks back up on the other side of 41 and connects with the Venetian Waterway Park trail.  The VWP is another fabulously uninterupted recreation trail; it runs along side the Intracoastal waterway for five miles.  On a warmer day, we’re going to take it to Caspersen Beach. 

There are seven trailheads for Legacy - Potter Park, Bay Street, Oscar Scherer, Laurel Park, Nokomis Park, Patriots Park, and the Venice Train Depot.  We planned to park at Oscar Scherer State Park but used the trailhead at Laurel Park instead because we didn’t want to be subject to state park hours.  The ranger told us that once the gates lock, you can’t get back to your car.  With our luck, we’d be camping tonight.  It was fun to see what was growing in the community garden at Laurel park anyway.

Cool air combined with a warm sun is the best kind of day.  Accordingly, the trail was bustling.  We passed joggers, bikers, fishermen, dogs, old ladies, little kids, pelicans, and squirrels.  We were all out to play!