florida
Celebrate Birds–Live Birds of Prey Festival – Saturday, January 30, 2016- First Magnitude Brewery in Gainesville
Live Birds of Prey Festival – Saturday, January 30 – First Magnitude Brewery Join Wild Birds Unlimited at First Magni-tude Brewery from 12-4pm on Saturday, January 30 for an afternoon with live birds of prey from the Apopka-based Avi-an Reconditioning Center (ARC). This year’s event will feature a Bald Eagle and four other species of raptor …
If You Fish or Boat on Natural North Florida’s Big Bend– Know Your Weather!
Yes, Florida is warm. And in winter months, it’s typically warmer than the rest of the country and most of Europe. But there are times when cold fronts appear and the temperatures get to freezing or just a few degrees below. For many of us “natives” 60-degrees F is cold! When it comes to boating …
2016 Olustee Battle Reenactment and Festival, in Natural North Florida’s Columbia County
2016 Olustee Battle Reenactment An annual re-enactment of a Civil War Batte between the North and the South. Hundreds of re-enactors come from miles around to participate in this historical event. The Annual Olustee Battle Reenactment will be held February 13th & 14th, 2016 at the Olustee Battlefield State Park. This is the famous site of …
“Seenie Otey” Is Just A Short Paddle From Cedar Key
On the charts and maps of Cedar Key and Dixie County, Florida it’s named “Atsena Otie Key”. But to locals, it’s simply “Seenie Otey”. In any case, this island is just a short paddle from the beach and harbor at the south end of the town of Cedar Key. There, you can launch your own …
Starke, Florida’s Downtown Architecture Is Anything But “Stark”!
It happened nationwide–and especially here in North Central Florida. As the Interstate Highway System became fully implemented, many highways, like US301, US90, US41 and US19, became less popular routes for travelers to and from sunny Florida. Interstates 10, 95 and 75 drew traffic away from those routes, leaving many smaller communities to suffer. However, there’s …
Fall Means Flounder on Our Natural North Florida Gulf Coast
Cooling Gulf of Mexico waters means that the fish, especially flounder, are hungry and willing to eat almost any bait presented them. Flounder are voracious eaters, attacking small minnows (mostly killifish, or mud minnows), small mullet and shrimp. They lay on the bottom near rocks, almost invisible except for their distinctive shape, both eyes facing …
Southbound To Yankeetown (Florida, That Is!)
I remember my first encounter with the waters near the mouth of the Withlacoochee River. It was the mid-1980s and my Mom and Dad had just moved from St. Pete to Yankeetown. Our boat, a Boston Whaler Montauk, was well suited to drifting the flats off Pinellas Point or for trolling for Spanish mackerel near …
Visit Gainesville’s Kanapaha Botanical Gardens–You’ll Be Surprised!
While the names Bellingrath, Callaway and Selby bring to mind some of the south’s great botanical gardens, Gainesville’s Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is often overlooked by even the most enthusiastic garden lovers. Florida’s climate is generally tropical, and Gainesville can be hot, but being north of Tampa Bay, where the “tropics” start and it really …
Gainesville Area’s “Big City” Farmers’ Markets Bustle in Fall
While mostly rural, the 11-county region we call “Natural North Florida” has one large urban area. Gainesville and Alachua County are large, that is, if you count the 75,000-plus college students at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Without those venerable institutions, you’d see fewer Publix Supermarkets and more roadside farmers’ markets! Not …
Great Kayak Fishing Access at Rocky Creek, on Dixie County’s “Road to Nowhere”
At Casey’s Corner Store, on Highway 358, in Jena, on the way to Steinhatchee, you can veer left onto the “Road to Nowhere”, CR361. About 5 miles south you’ll cross Rocky Creek, but just before you reach the creek, you’ll see a sign marking “Rocky Creek Boat Ramp Road”. If you’re a small craft boater …