KTgreen – Page 319

Withlacoochee State Trail – Gulf Junction Trailhead

May 7, 2013 by KTgreen

Local Places, Local Faces

Terry, Maggie and I love being outdoors and doing all those fun activities available to us all year long in Citrus County, but between the Al-La-Palooza, the JesAndy Jubilee, and the crazy weather we’ve had so far this year, we haven’t had much time to get out there. Finally this past weekend we had a free day and decent weather!

So we headed to the Withlacoochee State Trail for some bike riding. In the next few months, I want to travel the entire length of the trail–all 46 miles–broken up into several manageable lengths. This ride started on the very northern section of the trail, the Gulf Junction Trailhead, just south of Dunnellon. Our plan was to ride five miles south or until we reached the next trailhead and then ride back. A ten mile round trip seemed reasonable.

While we have used the trail many times over the last several years, we always start in Inverness so I didn’t know what to expect at this trailhead. I was relieved to see that there was a restroom. And like the trailhead in Inverness, there was a picnic pavilion and benches.

Withlacoochee State Trail - Gulf Junction Trailhead — Since this is considered the beginning of the Withlacoochee State Trail, bluebird box number one is there. We saw several bluebirds making use of the boxes.

There were already a few cars parked and people either cooling down or getting ready to start out. They all made a fuss over Maggie which made the pooch very happy. Most of Maggie’s trail experience is from a bike basket since she’s old and has short legs, but she loves getting down and running or walking for short spurts. Her very favorite thing is definitely all the unusual smells.

The trail was relatively flat–just a few inclines and only a few roads to cross over. But I was happy to come across the South Citrus Springs trailhead a little short of our 5 mile goal.I was ready to turn around!

I recently read about an attempt to connect several bike trails and create a continuous 200 mile bike trail from St. Petersburg to Titusville. While I don’t think I want to cover that much distance, I would like to do the “Rails to Trails” 19th annual bike ride on the Withalcoochee Trail in October this year. By then I should have visited all of the trail heads and be ready to ride!

If you see us on the trail, stop and say hi! We’d love to meet you!

Seven Days of Roses

May 6, 2013 by KTgreen

DIY Yo-Yos

May 3, 2013 by KTgreen

Yo-yos have to be the easiest thing to make. And they are so cute! Great embellishment for totes, hair pins, aprons and Maggie’s collars.

Just in case you don’t know how to make one, here’s how I do it:

Make a circle pattern. I used a bowl and traced around it onto a scrap piece of paper and pinned it to the fabric. Or the pattern could be made out of cardboard and then just trace around the wrong side of the fabric with fabric marker. Hey, you could even use a compass for the circle!

The circle will be about double the size of the finished yo-yo. In this example, I am using a 4 ½” circle that ends up being about a 2” yo-yo.

On the wrong side of the fabric, fold under about ¼”. Anchor the first stitch with a couple of stay stitches. Use a running stitch around the entire edge of the circle, keeping the edge folded under.

Shorter stitches create a larger, more open center on the yo-yo. Longer stitches make a smaller center.

After the entire edge of the circle is stitched, pull the thread to gather the edges. Make a couple of stay stitches and trim the thread. Push the yo-yo into shape with the gathers in the center.

Now that you can make a yo-yo. There are all kinds of fun things to create.

DIY Yo-Yos — How cute can Maggie get? All ready for the JesAndy Jubilee!