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Follow that Dream Parkway

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 by KTgreen

I seemed to have missed the whole crazy foaming Elvis Presley fanatic thing when I was kid. Perhaps I was a few years too young. Perhaps because my parents thought Elvis, Johnny Cash, and the Beatles were all on drugs so I wasn’t allowed to listen to them. Therefore they did not exist.

I was allowed to listen to Julie Andrews, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Eddie Arnold, Neil Diamond… You get the idea.

The original overprotective helicopter parents. Perhaps that’s why I drink so much!

Anyhow…..

As I mentioned yesterday, this weekend was divine and the forecast is that it will continue all week long. Yippee!

Terry suggested we drive up to Shrimp’s Landing in Inglis on Saturday. The weather was supposed to be “top down” friendly. Which to me is somewhere between 80 and 90 degrees. Left the Grammy-Van home–that’s what I call my car since it snugly fits three grand-darlings in the back seat. (and on a little side note, putting those car seats back there and getting them all buckled is almost painful.)

Anyhow…

We pulled into Shrimp’s Landing and I said “this does not look like a very fancy place”. Terry chuckled. And I was right. More like a diner. (They didn’t even sell beer.) But Inglis is the town mostly known for (besides Elvis) putting a sign up back in 2001 that banned Satan.

“Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis.” It goes on and on but you get the gist.

Fried Shrimp was “all you can eat” for $10.99.

Grilled was a dollar more and not “all you can eat”.

Grilled Shrimp — Little skimpy on the fries but the shrimp was very good.

But there was plenty of shrimp. And the place was packed. Very popular Saturday afternoon spot.

And since we were that close to “Follow that Dream” Parkway, we had to take a little drive down that winding road to the Gulf.

Yeah, in case you were wondering, the movie with Elvis Presley “Follow that Dream” was filmed right there in Inglis, Yankeetown, and Inverness. Elvis walked these streets! (and according to my parents, probably did some drugs there, too.)

Which brings me to a whole weekend of Elvis celebration in Inverness in February. Oh yeah, there will be pictures! There’s even a bus trip scheduled plus an Elvis impersonator. I already told Terry to put it on his calendar. February 20 – 22nd.

Here’s my pictorial tour of Follow that Dream Parkway…

What! They already have signs up for a bike path all the way to the Gulf! So sad our sidewalks won’t even be started until 2016.

And we stopped at a Levy County Park on the Gulf.

Crabs! This is a beach! If I laid down here, in now time they would be nibbling on me! — Crabs! This is a beach! If I laid down here, in no time they would be nibbling on me!

Small but powerful! Look at that giant claw!

Took a little sidetrip to Yankeetown, which is just off of “Follow that Dream” Parkway, to check out what has happened to the Izaak Walton Lodge. We went there once with friends and it was truly “fine dining”. Heard rumors that the Dish ran away with the Spoon and the place closed. But it’s open again.

But this sign was right next door and says that it is at Izaak Walton lodge. So I’m a little confused.

Might have to do some investigative reporting (dining).

If this weather continues, we’ll be doing some more top-down travels!

In My Garden

November 24, 2014 by KTgreen

Last week there was strange weather all over the country. We had freeze warnings for Wednesday and Thursday. Rain and wind pounded us on Saturday. Heat and humidity came back on Sunday. We went from 37 degrees on Wednesday morning to 80 degrees on Sunday afternoon.

CRAZY CAKES!

So Sunday afternoon I was out on my screened room and saw a butterfly. What??? Which made me think, I probably out to check out the yard after this strange weather and maybe take some pics.

Here’s that butterfly….

Butterfly

He’s a little worn. Pollen on his shoulder, part of his wing chewed off. The weather hasn’t been kind to him. But he just happened to flutter into a yard of butterfly flowers. And life is good for him for a few moments.

And I went on to check out the rest of the gardens. Two of the hibiscus got hit with frost yet the azaleas are starting to bloom. The plants are so confused!

The trellis of mandevilla and roses has never looked better!

And these poinsettas. I planted them last year just to have some Christmas color. They were wee. I never expected them to live. Finally I put them in pots because I didn’t need Christmas color in September. They shriveled up and looked pathetic but I put them in the sun and here they are now, ready for another Christmas season.

Only in Florida!

In My Gardens

September 23, 2014 by KTgreen

I’ve been trying to get my gardens back into some type of order since we got back. So much rain!

The garden bed right by the front door was covered with powdery mildew and fungus. I had to cut everything down to the ground. I’ve never had anything like that happen and these were mature plants that have been there for years.

And it’s just not local, here’s the overlook deck on Lake Kanapaha that we visited on Saturday. Underwater! We were really fortunate to get that trip in before the afternoon rains hit.

Lake Kanapaha

Thanks to my trip to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, I think that I’ve identified this mystery fern on my seawall. There are four of them and they just showed up one season. I think they look very cool on the rocks.

I especially like the shape the new growth takes.

birds nest fern

I also identified a bromeliad that was in my yard when we moved here many years ago. The one on the left is a Fingernail Bromeliad named for the red color on the tips of the leaves. Michelle gave me the bromeliads on the right. I don’t know what they are but Michelle probably does. They started out as just a few plants but they spread like crazy. I’ve planted them around several trees. Love it when they are blooming.

Bromeliads One more photo of a bloom after the rain…

Plumeria

More rain forecasted for the rest of the week!