How to Find a REAL Christmas Tree in Florida

Oh, the search was on….Once we decided we were going to have a REAL tree in our first REAL house since living in the motorhome for three years, we started doing research on where to find a real one. (AHEM!) Uh, oh yeah... Eldy started doing research on where to find a nice one. Yes, you can find real trees on lots around Sarasota and Bradenton, but they aren't in really good shape. They've been cut weeks ago, having been sitting on lots for awhile, and they look like some of them might have even been sprayed to preserve their color.

Most of the real Christmas trees delivered to Florida come from the Carolinas. A guy at Lowe's admitted that his last truckload of trees had been cut SIX WEEKS ago…YIKES! What an admission to make to a possible customer. He had a load right in front of him that had come in, and he was arguing with the truck driver on who was going to unload them. We were turned off by that admission and the condition of the trees we saw. People were buying them from Lowe's but we just wanted something a little fresher than that…Eldy saw an ad for Hazeltine Nursery on North River Road in Venice…It said that their trees come in on refrigerated trucks. That sounded good, so we thought we'd go check them out.

Once we got there, we learned that not only do they bring the trees in on refrigerated trucks, they make a fresh cut off the bottoms and then stick them in water and water them every day. Terrific! We thought that was a step above and beyond the normal lot treatment of Christmas trees that come from up north. They had tons of Fraser firs and they were beautiful! We picked out an 8 footer, it was about 65.00, managed to get it inside our Honda CR-V and home we headed!

Sparky LOVES decorating the tree each year with handmade ornaments made by her.

Half of her collection is still up north in a storage shed, but she managed to get quite a few made and on this year's tree. Lots of little sweaters are on the tree, mittens, little socks, and Santas….

And hand embroidered rustic wool ornaments….

Sparky's got the garland up on the architectural shelf in the great room...

We've got our light pole wrapped outside….

And that about wraps things up for now….See you later…We're off to meet blogger friends, see the Sarasota boat parade and a bunch of other things!

It Was a GRAND Thanksgiving

Eldy's son Brian and his family came for a few days at Thanksgiving…He has two children, Trevor and Cate. They had their first plane ride to come and see us, and they were so excited! It was a good thing the winds which had been quite strong until right before they came, settled down..Otherwise it might have been the last time they wanted to get on a plane to come see us!

Trevor's first thought was to hit our little pool…never mind the water temp was under 80 degrees, he jumped right in and had fun.

A big Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Sparky went off without a hitch…which was pretty amazing since Sparky hasn't cooked a big family dinner in YEARS..Of course, she had a little help from Sister Schubert--her yeast dinner rolls (the frozen kind but which are delicious!) and a ready made pumpkin pie. (Sparky only bakes cookies now and then…) We did the turkey in a simple electric turkey roaster which made it really moist and delicious.

A trip to Busch Gardens…Sparky's first….Guess it used to be quite the alternative animal kingdom to Disney's comparable park, but now it's much more amusement rides than animals…It seemed a little dated, but still you could see efforts to keep it fresh and interesting….Sparky LOVED the flamingoes!

The kids LOVED the rides…Busch Gardens had a special going. If you come during the week, it's 50.00 a person instead of 90.00, AND they had a "Christmas Town" special--It's November 29th -December 23rd, a separate ticketed event…come at 6:00 PM when the park closes, pay the same 50.00 price as the day time special, and take advantage of the park rides with little to no wait, from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. The park was decorated with LOTS of colorful, lit up Christmas trees and lights. Coca Cola had a snow park for the kids, complete with an area to roll around in the snow and indoor tubing run…What fun for kids who have never seen snow!

The kids rode and rode the roller coasters and rides, but Sparky and Eldo declined…Sparky NEVER rides roller coasters, and Eldo not as much as he used to, after getting jerked around and feeling discombobulated with some ear problems and vertigo after the last roller coaster ride awhile back. Brian and Lori bought our tickets to the park for us as a Christmas present, so that was very sweet. This was a GREAT time to go to the park. We had seen hour waits earlier in the day, but once the bulk of the crowd went home, there was NO WAITING in lines to get on the rides. Five minutes or less…YAHOO! said Trevor and Cate. "Let's go on the coaster again, Dad!"

Of course, there are gators at Busch Gardens…Great big FAT ones, the biggest ones we have ever seen. And they had been fed regularly during the summer months while they were active. The gator guy said that they weren't going to feed them again until March or April as they didn't need to be fed. He's not worried about the gators, is he? (There was a second guy armed with a big stick waiting and watching, just to be sure.) We got to see an unusual tussling biting match for a few seconds between two big ones where one seemed perturbed that the other one was in his space. That was cool and caught the attention of the gator guy. He said that was VERY unusual to see from these zoo gators.

Sparky loved the pavilion Christmas house display that was wired for an electronic light show, sort of like the Gangnam style light show that has shown up on Facebook this last year or two. Incredible Christmas light show timed to a classic Christmas carol music medley….She watched that while the kids rode the coasters.

Hmmmm…what else did we like about Busch Gardens? These two boys with rain slickers on who sat under the roller coaster ride that sprayed a HUGE rooster tail water SWOOSH as it came through the last turn. Anybody standing under the coaster ride got wet, a nice touch on a very hot day. But it was VERY cool today, as the evening came on, so we stood clear. But not these two guys! They had a ball! We kept hearing, "This is AWESOME, man!" every time they thoroughly got soaked. The little redhead would crouch down in that "duck and cover" school position we always had the kids assume when it was tornado drill practice, and he waited for the big SPLASH of water to come crashing down on him. The other kid just stood there and soaked it up each time.

This angel statue was beautiful. As we were walking by, a lady went up to have her photo taken right next to the angel. All of a sudden, the angel came alive! She put her arms gently around the lady, and everyone gasped. She had been so still and was so perfectly painted white you could not tell she was alive.

Then as the lady decided she was ready to move on, she started to duck from out under the angel's arms. The angel gently moved and enfolded her arms to hold her close so she couldn't get away. By this time, a crowd had gathered and we all laughed. As she finally let go, the angel arranged herself once again into a motionless upright statue.  Very cool!

We had a wonderful time today at Busch Gardens, Tampa…..One more day with the family, and they have to leave to head back home to Indiana, the home of cold and snow….Sparky is starting to feel just the tiniest feeling to be glad where it's warm and not icy. (WHA-A-A-T???? Did I just hear correctly? What did she just say? asks an astonished Eldo.)  :-)    What's he talking about? I didn't say anything. I still LOVE cold and snow…..Just not ice and sleet….shhhhhhhhh…….hehehheh…..

Later……….

Some Artsy Fartsy Stuff…..

Siesta Key Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Sarasota. It was voted the #1 beach in 2011 here in Florida….It's wide, expansive, clean beautiful white sand, and soft on the feet. Lots of cool stuff happens at Siesta Key Beach…the drum circles on Sundays, the sand castle building festivals…the national sand volleyball tournaments…and sometimes just some quirky art stuff…

Sparky read about something called the "Sun Boxes" recently….So she dragged Eldo to the beach to check it out. An artist by the name of Craig Colorusso, designed some solar boxes to play music…He set up 20 speakers operating independently, each powered by the sun. The boxes sound a guitar note continuously in a loop. Together they make a Bb cord. The loops are different lengths, so once the piece begins, they keep overlapping and the music changes over a period of time. The music sounds like a spa record, or something you would hear during a yoga session. It's VERY relaxing and soothing….These sun boxes have been set up in different locations, moving around Sarasota this week and one of the last places they were set up today was Siesta Key Beach.

the artist is in the hoodie

They were so cool! The music was beautiful…Many people were stopping by and walking in and around the boxes, which changed the loop length as they interrupted  the power to the solar panels by their shadows.

That made the dynamics of the music be ever changing in the nature of the sounds. And as the sun peeked in and out of the clouds, that variable made the music change. It was great…..This little guy came up to explore one of the boxes, and when he saw Sparky with her camera, he just flashed the cutest little grin and posed for a photo by the box. Adorable!

Stay tuned for some marvelous festivals coming up. The season is heating up! The temperatures are cooling down….The snowbirds are on their way….A Renaissance festival, a blues and brews festival, and Sparky's daughter Kelly, is coming for a visit!  See you later!

Cormorants vs. Anghingas

Sparky was out for another 12 mile ride today…You'd think she'd be losing weight now that she's biking instead of painting the house, but nope! Maybe that's because Eldy keeps bringing home ice cream to eat. Sparky's favorite of all times is Haagen Daz Dulce de Leche…which has something to do with caramel, sweet cream and caramel swirls in the ice cream…YUM! So she doesn't protest when Eldy brings it home….She's just gonna have to ride more miles next time!

What did she see this time? Well, the gator is still sunning himself regularly on top of the water fountain in a nearby pond. Guess they aren't running the fountain at all or he'd probably be long gone by now.

Saw some beautiful flowering plants….It seems the cooler fall weather triggers blooms in some species of plants down here..

And the turtles are out in great numbers…but they are just small pond turtles…The anhingas and cormorants are out in great numbers….They are similar dark colored birds. They both need to dry their feathers out on land, as neither one of them have oil glands in their feathers like most water birds to keep their feathers waterproof. They are diving water birds and since their feathers are not waterproof, they can stay under longer to find their prey. But then they have to come out and dry their feathers off. This is a cormorant…You can tell that by the yellowish orange part of its beak, and the fact that it's hooked downwards at the tip. 

Maybe you can see the little hooked beak a little better on this photo…

As Sparky got closer, the cormorant got ready to fly….So Sparky backed off….

When a cormorant flies, it soars for a long time…Anhingas flap their wings much more when they fly. Anhingas have longer necks and tails than the cormorant and a straight beak instead of a hooked beak. The anhingas feathers are much prettier…The female anhinga has a tannish brownish head and neck.

Anhingas spear their prey, cormorants grab their prey and hold it in their beak which has serrated edges to grip slippery fish better. When the anhinga spears a fish, it typically flips the fish off the beak and swallows the fish headfirst. We've been lucky enough to watch them eat! 

Today, it was just time for the birds to sun themselves…It was a beautiful day to be out and about on a bike ride. Is there ever a day where it's not nice to be out? Not since the rainy season ended and fall is here…..See you later!

Chalk Talk Part 2

Yesterday, Sparky went to the Chalk Festival in downtown Sarasota and today Eldo and Sparky both went to see how things were coming along…..WOW! The talent of the artists is incredible!

So many talented artists rendering their feelings and memories about loved ones or relatives or just honoring soldiers in branches of the military from past to present….

Native Americans were well represented….This is Glen Douglas, a veteran of three wars, who recently passed away…born a member of the Canadian Lakes-Okanogan tribe.

The Tuskegee airmen were honored….When we were traveling, we saw an exhibit about them which really sparked Sparky's interest in watching the movie Red Tails (2012) when it came out.

The 3D chalk painting was really cool…Here's what is looks like on the pavement….The artists are still working on it...

And here's what it looks like through the viewer….

The ambitiousness of some of the projects was amazing….Several artists chose Norman Rockwell paintings to recreate as a symbol of patriotism…..Here's an illustration of one of Rockwell's illustrations…

And here's how it's looking on day 2…..It's Sparky's favorite of the festival….

In addition to service men and women, animals were represented….

Past presidents….It's the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's death this month….The artist did an awesome job on this portrait don't you think?

Here's another portrait of an army (?) doctor that was incredible!

Artists come from all over the world to participate in this chalk festival….This jeep looks like it's coming right out of the pavement!

Sparky thought this was going to be Rosie the Riveteer, but it's not….

One last favorite chalk drawing….painting….

Thank you for coming along today….Bye for now…...

Chalk Talk of the Town Part I

When we were traveling full time in the motorhome, we always hit every festival we could in the area we were staying in. Now that we are living in Bradenton, we look for the festivals that are in our area. There is NO LACK of festivals here, that's for sure! They are every weekend and they have been just about all summer long. Now the festival offerings are even more varied in type and number since the snowbirds have started coming back…

This weekend alone there was a Medieval Festival which is running for three weekends in a row, the Siesta Key Crystal Classic Master Sandcastle building competition at Siesta Key Beach and a Blues and Brews Festival in Venice. Hard to decide, but Sparky decided to go check out the Chalk Festival in historic Burns Square in downtown Sarasota first. Wowee! It was fantastic! The theme of this year's Chalk Festival is Legacy of Valor, honoring veterans, patriotism and freedom….Very cool subject matter for this year's festival….

It's a six day festival running in November every year….totally run by volunteers and donations from sponsors and the public to bring the artists to Sarasota, and the event is a benefit for the Avenida de Colores Cultural Arts. The public's donations help pay for the artists' airfare, lodging, fees and art supplies.

The artwork covers six blocks! On average, it takes the artists 36 hours to complete their designs. They have a veterans' artist section, two age grouped kid sections, two dimensional street painting, an interactive exhibit, street painting workshops, a chalk artist awards ceremony, and a Swing Canteen dance/USO style show.

Day I--The artists were painting their background blocks with various media--paints, watered chalk, etc. Some were well under way chalking their artwork, some were just starting to map out a grid on the pavement…

a sample illustration

They all have photographs of their artwork that they are working from square by square, and they are constantly referring to their illustrations in hand to transpose the artwork and color to the larger squares.

Some of the artwork is three dimensional, so when painted on the pavement, it's stretched out and elongated, so that when viewed through a special lens, the artwork appears to "pop up" off the pavement! AWESOME! Except today, the artists weren't very far along just yet…..But here's an example of what you look through to see the 3D chalk art along with a painting that's just beginning…..

These guys are from South America, we think….and they were getting a lot of attention from the public with their design centered under a Statue of Liberty made of styrofoam painted to look like the real thing! We'll show that tomorrow….

Everywhere you looked were beautiful chalks just begging to be used….

There were many ambitious projects starting out today….Washington crossing the Delaware….

We can't wait to go back tomorrow to see how things are coming along…Come on back and check it out with us for Day 2 of the Chalk Festival!

Florida Weird News and Other Frothy Stuff

It's time for more weird and wacky "Florida Man" stories….Somewhere Sparky read that Florida seems to have more than its share of "weird and wacky" news. We see this mentioned on TV and in the newspaper on a regular basis almost as if the local news media is bragging about this dubious honor of having some of the weirdest stuff to report. It seems to happen more often here than most other places in the country. All that sunshine is affecting our brains down here, we guess. There are plenty of websites and blogs are devoted totally to the topic of the strange, bizarre, funny, and wacko…Like Fark.com for example…."Real news, real funny"...silly stuff but true! At any rate, "Florida Man" is a Twitter feed that gathers news headline descriptions of true stories of what Florida males are doing to attract attention in the news. The tweets are meant to be as if a single Florida guy were doing all this crazy stuff….Here are some examples from recent events that really happened….

"Pepper spray wielding Florida Man robs bank dressed as Albert Einstein…"

"Police find erectile dysfunction pill in Florida Man's crack pipe…"

"Mall evacuated after Florida Man sprinkles ashes of recently deceased wife in her favorite store, Lens Crafters…." This was at a Sarasota mall and made big news here locally….

"Florida Man shot while jogging home naked…."

"Florida Man arrested for throwing concrete at St. Petersburg Hilton, blames zombies."

"Florida Man rams car with airboat…"

and Sparky's personal favorite…."Florida Man slashes love rivals electric wheelchair tires, flees on pink bicycle…."

Other frothy stuff…we spent some time at the beach lately, but not for very long, with a storm coming in…Don't you just love the way these shorebirds, some kind of terns, all line up facing the same way? Wonder if they are forecasting the direction of the storm coming in? :-)

There were other shorebirds at the shore…Sparky is not sure what kind these are, she looked everywhere to try and identify them…But they are beautiful with their striped coloring. Their beaks curve UPWARDS which is different from the usual downwards or straight beak.

There was a sand castle contest with some big sponsors there….Keep Manatee Beautiful and Anna Maria Island Privateers had the biggest and baddest sand sculpture there…..They were sponsoring the Sandblast/Pirate Invasion at Coquina Beach this past weekend….There's another sand castle contest coming up soon at Siesta Key Beach. We'll love to check that out!

Kids would have had a TON of fun here at this sand pile….But the storm coming in kept them away for awhile….We had to leave before we could see them dig in….The rain was coming.

Off to find some other things to do today. There's no shortage of things to do here in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. There's a symphony concert back here at Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island coming up soon. It's hard to decide which activity to do, there are so many wonderful things going on here to choose from!  See you later…..