I’ve spent the last few days thinking back on the year that was, which is, I think, a normal thing to do – but the more I think about what was, the more I remember what wasn’t. Just look at the date of the previous post – April 28, 2023!
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man
Once Upon A Tree
Rome has its Forum and Colosseum; Athens, its Acropolis; and Egypt, its Pyramids. Oakland Park, FL, on the other hand, has its tree.
In a place where history is relatively recent — unless one considers the discoveries of native settlements that have been buried by centuries of swampy muck and development — to have something called the city’s oldest tree is a pretty big deal. That was my thought, at least, when I first heard of the tree while attending Oakland Park’s Local Government Academy, a 10-week course that educated about 15 students on, well, local government.
The Great Unwrapping For Florida Winter
The cold snap from the previous post lasted that entire weekend. Out of an abundance of caution, I kept the outdoor orchids wrapped under towels and shirts, while the potted orchids were kept inside. On Monday, winds died down and temperatures became more seasonal.
Wrapping Up For Winter
This is what a cold front – a real cold front – looks like in South Florida. This may not be a Buffalo, NY-worthy cold front and it certainly can’t compare to the wickedness of the weather in California or Alabama, but by South Florida standards, this weekend’s weather was cold. This sort of cold – the kind that comes with wind chills and falling iguana warnings – isn’t very fun.
A Coconut Apple A Day . . .
I’m not saying I know everything about coconut palms and coconuts, but I do feel I have a decent working knowledge. This all comes courtesy of being with Joe, a palm enthusiast, for 35 years and gardening with him in South Florida for 8 of those years. Imagine my surprise when I was on a late-night, channel-surfing expedition and discovered “Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest” on my local PBS station and something entirely new about coconuts — at least to Joe and me.
Hurricane Ian & The Forgotten Field Trip
Before I get into the heart of this post, I’d like to take a few moments to write about Hurricane Ian. Joe and I live in southeast Florida, where we were placed in a tropical storm warning.
Jane Austen Is A Hot Mess & So Am I
A very long time ago, on a hot summer day, Jane Austen put ink to paper and announced she was a hot mess. Naturally, Jane was a little more Austenesque with her language. She actually wrote, “What dreadful weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”
Does Spring Fever Exist In South Florida?
As I write this, I’m sitting on the patio by the pool, enjoying one of the last cold fronts to reach all the way down the Florida peninsula. The temperature is hovering around 80 degrees and there’s a coolness on the breeze.
It’s delightful! It’s the most perfect spring day in May — make that the most perfect northern spring day in May, because this is March in Florida.
A Few Of My Favorite Things
When Joe and I carried the Christmas storage containers into the house from the attic and shed, it was like getting re-acquainted with some old friends. After all, it’s been two years since we’ve seen each other.
Repost: And So This Is Christmas
I used to love the news. Over the past several years, though, I’ve found that it brings me more stress and anxiety than information. As a result, I’ve done my best to avoid it. Every so often, though, a news story breaks through my wall — and one such item was the recent school shooting in Oxford, MI, which — according to CBS News — was the 28th school shooting of 2021. (There were 10 in 2020. Thank you, COVID.)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man 