Gardening Against the Grain: From Fertile Illinois to Sandy Florida Costs and Profits When Growing Your Own Food
Growing up in Illinois, private gardens were everywhere. In the town of Mendota, circa 1960s, family gardens ran the length of property lines. Border gardens produced flowers and food. Walking to school in the Spring and Summer was a tour de force of colors and fresh smells. The lesson learned; you don’t need a green thumb to grow food and flowers. You need good soil, an accommodating sun, proper rain, and a bit of tending time.
Read full storyCats, Beauty Pageants, and Haute Attitudes: Beauty Pageant Histories of All Kinds from Miss Feline to Miss America
If there was ever an animal meant to be judged, it’s the cat. Because they don’t care what we think. A cat allows or forbids. We cat lovers like to think we’re making headway; we’re just riding a train of tolerance. Why do they call it a catwalk in pageants and runway modelling? Because models walk like a cat. Cat walking elevated platforms and ramps, looking disinterested. Vaguely annoyed. Giving off the scent of disdain and utter social exhaustion. They barely tolerate us, these perfect breed humans. Yes, cats are a perfect fit for pageant and breed shows.
Read full storyCast Iron, Coffee Grounds, and Conservation: St. Petersburg’s Infrastructure Water Plan Starts at Our Plumbing
Today there’s about 228,500 adults over the age of 18 living in St Petersburg, FL. Statistically, two-thirds are coffee drinkers (If you believe the National Coffee Association). Which I do. They’ve been around since 1911. About 158,000 residents drank coffee this morning. Then poured the coffee grounds down the sink. Within a few hours of each other, outside of those third shifters out there. (Stay strong people!) That is a lot of sticky, chunky, absorbing mess that will find the nooks and crannies of old pipes to collect in. Which brings up the other thing. Water conservation includes the water we send back into the city’s waterworks. Water has a lifecycle in human consumption. It all matters. Particularly when fresh water is becoming a smaller resource, that’s harder to preserve, find, and deliver. I bring up coffee grounds for the conversation because it’s a familiar idea, a familiar experience, and explains how easy it is to ignore a big picture. And let me just say, big pictures are hard for me in the morning before coffee.
Read full storyMicrochip IDs: The Small Tech That's a Big Help in Proving you are the Real Owner of your Lost or Stolen Companion Pet
Seven footlong young Caiman crocodiles float in their baby blue kiddie pool. We’re in a basement of a brick ranch home, in a beautiful residential neighborhood, looking down at bright yellow eyes looking up at us.
Read full storyTips for Dog Owners New to Living in Florida's Expanding City Centers: Life's a Bark in the Park in the Sunshine State
City living in Florida, we’re growing fast. As a dog owner, navigating a city life and caring for our dogs in the Florida weather and environment is relative. If you’re a new arrival, welcome! Here are some valuable tips for living with a dog in the Sunshine State as our cities grow exponentially because of all that sunshine. If you are a Floridian by birth or arrival already, you may find a few thoughts you hadn't thought about.
Read full storyFlorida Gardens and Landscapes: Local Extension Offices Are Here to Help You Succeed in your Personal Gardening Goals
Local News. Local foods. Local businesses. It’s a good time to remember that where we live has everything we need. Local extension offices play a vital role in disseminating knowledge and promoting best practices for living in your specific region. In 1862 President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act. It set up the Land Grant College system. A unique mission for university settings to educate their residents in agriculture, economics of home and city, mechanical arts and practical professions. For free. Practical applicable knowledge for a successful life, financially and emotionally. Agricultural clubs and societies were abundant after the American Revolution. Lincoln funded a societal push to thrive. Leveraging the wealth of expertise and resources available in academic institutions, these offices serve as a bridge between the research community and the public, fostering collaboration and sharing valuable information to address local needs and challenges. Your extension office is your access point for specific science backed skills and knowledge tailored with research-based advice. Local extension offices facilitate hands-on learning through workshops, seminars, and field demonstrations, allowing individuals to gain practical skills and apply theoretical knowledge in real-world situations. Free for the asking.
Read full storyThe Coyotes Next Door: The challenges of Urban Coyotes, Feral and free-roaming cats, and Florida's Wildlife Protections
St. Petersburg’s urban coyotes: Native, beneficial, adaptable, resourceful, and not that interested in meeting you. “She just showed up! Right over there. She was really interested in our dog, Bruiser. And Bruiser was interested in her.” Marly Kinzer laughed. Living five minutes out of downtown St. Petersburg, she hadn’t been looking for coyotes. But, by living near a lake, and three wildlife preserves, she should have been. The female coyote had appeared early in the morning while Marly sipped coffee. She noticed her dog running back and forth along the fence line without barking, so she went outside to see why. Marly found a coyote playing with her dog.
Read full storyFlorida's Parrot Rescue Community: Parrot Adoption and Understanding the Realities of Living with an Intelligent Being
It’s five o’clock somewhere! A parrot, in a weaved sun hat, sips a cocktail while watching the sun set into beach lined saltwater waves behind him. Under a Tiki roof sometimes. Sometimes not. You can find this plaque all over Florida, and particularly in the Keys. I blame Jimmy Buffett. The relationship between parrots and humans has always been romantic. If you want one, and don’t have one your brain references all the parrot icons you’ve collected. If you live with parrots, successfully, you know the romance is somewhere in between mopping floors, scrubbing cages, sharing your lunch, negotiating, explaining yourself, and ordering more parrot food. You may also find yourself yelling, “Stop eating the house!”
Read full storyFlorida's Curious Creatures: Intriguing, Introduced, Invasive Species and One Colorful Native that Only Looks Invasive
Florida is a crucible of native and non-native species, including humans, that have thrived in the state’s diverse ecosystems. Warm temperatures sustain a subtropical climate that supports adaptable life. The intriguing point being that most of invasive species were introduced by humans rather than just meandering their way from far-away lands to settle Florida. These species, unlike humans, didn’t choose to be here. The State recently leaned into the pet breeding trades of 15 Species, hoping to stem the tide that came ashore years ago. The absolute ban begins in June 2024. The ban doesn’t include current pet status. It will grandfather currently kept animals in under the ban. But once your python, tegu, iguana, monitor, or anaconda passes, it will be illegal to get another.
Read full storyTry a New Dog Park Experience: Sniffspot Offers Local Customizable Playtime Alternatives to Crowded City Dog Parks.
“We don’t have enough dog parks here.” Sandra Harris, downtown resident and accountant. She has her one dog. A rescue mix of shepherd and hound. “We did. I remember back in 2009 this place was so quiet during the weekdays. You had to come back and visit on the weekends to have dogs for your dog to play with.” Daren Idleman, local his entire life. He lived in The Burg when it wasn’t a burg yet.
Read full storySinkholes in Florida: Geological Formations, Ecological Habitats, Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Great Day-Trip Destinations
Sinkholes. Natural formations that are an integral part of Florida’s natural history and legends of terrifying headlines. Without sinkholes, Florida and it’s wildlife would be different. Sinkholes are a natural part of the geology that is the substrate of Florida. They also have become some of the state’s most scenic and ecologically significant landmarks.
Read full storyNew to Florida? A Timely Guide for First-Time Floridians for the 2023 Hurricane Season From Plywood to Spaghetti Models
Welcome to Florida. Fasten your seat belts and keep your hands and feet inside the ride until it comes to a complete stop. Hurricane Season is here. It’s early. The rains, flooding, winds, and off kilter weather confirm nature is ready to go. The gulf waters and African sands haven’t caught up with her, though. If you’re new to our seasons, they go like this: pollen, sauna, hurricanes, humid. Not necessarily in that order. We also have the interspersed No Name Storm Days and Frost Warnings of Doom Days. Random but welcome as they break up the monotony of pollen, sauna, hurricanes, humid.
Read full storyThe History of Cats and Their Human's Domestication into Servitude: There's 144 Cat Cafes Open for Business Nationally.
Felis silvestris lybica, wildcats, in the Fertile Crescent during the Near East Neolithic period, and again in ancient Egypt during the Classical period. Timing aside, Felis silvestris lybica domesticated large numbers of humans along their timeline in history. “In ancient times, cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” warnedTerry Pratchett.
Read full storyPreserving Paradise: Florida's Fragile Fisheries are Showing Clear Signs of an Elevated Cocktail Menu of Pollutants.
Florida’s coastline runs from the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Straits and out into the Atlantic. The Keys off the southern tip offer ancient limestone steps into a treasure trove of marine life and vacation magic. Our coastlines, and all the waterways feeding the interior, our freshwater lakes, estuaries, everglades, and hidden fisheries are a vital component of Florida’s lifestyle economy. And they are suffering under the weights of overdevelopment, population density, poor choices, and concrete. The Gulf of Mexico is mixing an array of impacts endangering the entire Third Coast showcasing results in the wildlife that swim and hunt in its waters.
Read full storyLessons for Florida's Coastline: Offshore Drilling's Ugly History of Profits and Ecological Losses in the Gulf of Mexico
East then Southeast of the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico, there is The Third Coast. The coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. And just off the coast of Louisiana, leased, unleased, and owned oil and gas platforms create a snarl of rigs, pipelines, ship to shore, and air to land traffic. Platforms orphaned, abandoned, unknown, untracked, or working. These constructs affect every linear foot of coastal waters of The Third Coast. And not in a good way. Florida isn’t the only state with a Gulf coastline. We are a state that spends as much time and money mitigating bad publicity about our beaches as we do writing the good stuff. The Sunshine State has an affair of the heart for our coastline.
Read full storySt. Petersburg's Feline Feud: Examining the Challenges of the Feral and the Homeless Compared to How we Handled the Cats
An Opinion Piece based on our local collective empirical evidence. There’s a feral cat that is a house cat but pretends she’s the queen of felines on our street. She’s a big yellow tabby. Every morning I watch her sit, centered in her driveway, waiting. Waiting for her disappointing humans to come out and let her in the house. She sits staring at our house. At me. Pretty sure she’s staring at me now because our new windows are big panes of glass and the window to my left faces her driveway perfectly. She’s disgusted with me. I can tell.
Read full storyFrom Utility Bill to Flood Map: St Petersburg's Stormwater Master Plan and How to Lower your Water Bill Tier and Costs.
The City of St. Pete has created a Flood Plain Map to support the ongoing Stormwater Master Plan. Which sounds a bit Doctor Evil. It’s not as simple as Doctor Evil’s plans.
Read full storyFrom Coyotes to Shorebirds: FL Urban Wildlife in Pinellas County and The Burg as The Session of Sprawl Threatens It All
Pinellas County is the seventh most populous county in Florida. And the second smallest at 280-square miles. Population density means something to humans. It really means something to nature. There are 3,425 people per square mile in Pinellas County. The next closest county with a highly concentrated population is Broward with 1,470 people per square mile. Development, housing, and redevelopment of the Rays Ballpark is fast turning St Petersburg into a concrete and castoffs coastal fortress. A veritable Miami wanna-be. Or maybe it’s just the developers that are wanna being. Nature’s jury is still out fighting for it’s right to exist, hidden as urban wildlife struggling to evolve fast enough to coexist in and around the din. From Cretaceous alligators to shorebirds, songbirds, elusive snakes, inventive raccoons, and demure possum. Urban packs of Coyote ebb and expand from preserves seasonally. St. Petersburg’s urban landscape is a mosaic of diverse wildlife species forging and fighting for a slim adaptive life inside our nonsensical concrete size 50 wide footprint. They’re fighting all the way to the water’s edge and out into the polluted depths.
Read full storyThe Problem in the Fight Against Mosquito-Borne Illness and How Local Residents Can Make a Healthy Impactful Difference
Florida’s buzzing molesting mosquitoes. It’s always mosquito season. They thrive in the mangroves, bogs, lakes, ponds, thick undergrowth, and darkly cool damp spots that are in abundance. Florida not only has 2550 miles of exterior and intracoastal shores, we’ve got untold miles of interior waterways, pools, canals, and lakes. And we don’t have winter. If mosquitos designed a lifestyle, they’d have designed Florida. In cahoots with Noseeums, most likely.
Read full storySharing Florida's Waters with Bull, Tiger, and Blacktip Sharks; A Local's Perspective on Spending a Day at the Beach
Florida is renowned for its extensive coastline beaches. The state boasts around 1,350 miles (2,170 kilometers) of coastline, which includes both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Besides its oceanic coastline, Florida has around 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) of shoreline along Intracoastal Waterways, which is a network of protected and navigable inland waterways that runs along the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States. The Intracoastal Waterway in Florida comprises natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, as well as man-made canals.
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