Around here ...

I haven't been here in awhile. Did you miss me?



That's what I thought.

There's lots been going on around here. Just to catch you up on things ...

... hosted five ... count 'em! 5! ... art exhibitions at Art Gallery 21 at the Woman's Club of Wilton Manors between October 2015 and May 2016.

... finished my eleventh year visiting fourth and fifth grade classrooms and talking about living in the Everglades. (Yes. We live IN the Everglades, on drained land.)

... preparing to install a museum exhibit which I have titled, "the Barbie story," using my personal Barbie doll collection to show her #evolution as a social icon and popular children's toy.

... working with the City of Wilton Manors Leisure Services Department to bring the "official" Wilton Manors Visitors and Newcomers Welcome Center to the art gallery.

... getting stronger in Jazzercise classes, increasing my weights by one pound and jumping for the first time in two years!

What have you been up to???

September sweeps ...

Oh. My. September is nearly done.

We have created a lovely show at Art Gallery 21 at the Woman's Club of Wilton Manors: the art of Nia Nakis. And, what an absolutely delightful human being she is! A lovely group of her friends and students have visited the gallery and they've all agreed with me about what a gifted artist she is! AND, she's sold a couple of pieces, which is always fabulous for an artist! You still have time to see Nia's show if you're in the neighborhood. It doesn't close until Friday, October 10.

I recently visited a passive park out west next to U.S. 27 ... Chapel Trail Park Nature Preserve in Pembroke Pines. Walked all the way out the boardwalk and took photos to share with my students this year. I think it's important to show them what's out there; places where they can go and experience the Everglades for themselves.

I've been doing a little design work for my darling daughter, the social media maven with the Master's Degree! This is a sample of the things we've created together ... (SoFi is pronounced like the name, Sophie) and I'm enjoying the entire process! It's been a fun way to, once again, dabble in some graphic design and to work with my girl. I'm so proud of her, my little entrepreneur!

My day job's kept me jumping, too! Research projects, prepping for school visits and wrapping up the budget for 2014-2015. Danbo will attest to that, too! He's been hounding me to clear my desk!

And, let us not forget that 30 days from today I will be with dolly friends, old and new, at the 2014 Integrity Toys Convention in Orlando, Florida where I and 499 likeminded folks will play for three glorious days with all those gorgeous Integrity girls!


C'mon, October!

Around here? Earth Day hangover approaching ...

Around here, it's the "busy" season. As an environmental educator, the months of March and April are filled with requests for presentations on water pollution and events focused on conservation. It is, after all, south Florida and we do, after all, live in the Everglades!

visited over 400 fifth grade students at three different schools, one classroom at a time and talked about water pollution

served as the outreach connection at Water Matters Day at Tree Tops Park for more than 500 folks who care about things like saving water ~ the kids love the Enviroscape model and they don't realize that they're learning something important while they play with the little cars

challenged the local politicians about the significance of teaching school children about the Everglades (they don't seem to find it important enough to fund)

photographed our mascot, Teddy the Turtle, with a lot of the local environmental 'celebrities' at the Waterway Cleanup along the C-11 Canal

clipped news articles about the next steps in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a 30 year plan to restore the flow of water to Florida Bay at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula

organized the 8th Annual Children's Art Competition, "Everglades Eyes: What Children See," and accepted 119 entries from five different schools in Celebration of Earth Day on April 22 ~ the artists are fourth and fifth grade students that I've visited with my Enviroscape model and my pep talk about the Everglades and they totally "get it!"

planted a tree in honor of Arbor Day on April 25, a dahoon holly, a Florida native tree that has red berries that the birds love to eat

shopped for a bottle of wine with which to nurse my "Earth Day hangover!"

And, what have you been up to this month?

Viele Road

It's Friday again and it's been a really busy week.

I am a creature of habit. I drive to work every morning, five days a week and I use the same route to get to my office 99% of the time.

Why in the world would I write about it? Because for four minutes every Monday through Friday I drive along Viele Road, also known as SW 70 Avenue between Griffin and Stirling Roads.

The roads in Davie are named after the pioneer families of Davie, those early Everglades settlers who were tough enough to live in the mosquito infested sawgrass prairies and smart enough to see what southern Florida could be. The Griffin Brothers ran barges up and down the New River, utilizing the newly dug canal between Davie and Fort Lauderdale and bought lots of land. Frank Stirling was Davie's first mayor and a horticultural genius who knew how to grow anything in the fertile muck of the River of Grass. They both made their fortunes here. And, their descendants continue to be active in the community, which I think is really cool. It gives you a sense of the place, which I like a lot.

So, there your are. That's my offering to the writing gods for today. I've taken lots of pictures of Viele Road over the years, so here are a few.

Enjoy!

The S-11 Canal runs along the west side of Viele Road,
which runs north-south between Stirling and Griffin Roads.

Most of the homes and horse ranches along Viele Road
are one acre or more. There are a lot of small lakes.

This section is what I call "a manicured lawn." The birds
seem to love this section -- there is almost always a bird here.

A Woodstork, just hanging out on the manicured lawn!

This is my girlfriend, Norma, with Lonnie Quinn from NBC6.
He was the meteorologist who was assigned to report on the
relocation of the 1912 Viele House, which sat at the corner of
Griffin Road & SW 70 Avenue. The house was moved to save it
from demolition in 2003 and what a media circus it was!

This is my personal favorite photo, shot on a cool and foggy January morning
in 2007. The geese acted like they owned the road, and, for these few minutes
they did! It's available to purchase on Veer, here!

Carpe diem!