Rode our bikes to the 3rd Annual Mullet Toss on Saturday. All the profits go to the Homosassa Elementary school and there was quite a crowd so there should be a large donation this year! Here’s just a few shots from our visit.
And, of course, the toilet toss…. This is where I decided that tall blonde woman was definitely Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor! She was wearing a Police Star on her hat–how could it not be!And here she is tossing the mullet. She was the winner in the women’s division when we left. But there were many more hours left in the party.
We went across the street to the Museum Café for lunch. Jim “Boe” Anderson was in the house and gave us some guava pastry just ’cause that’s the way he is. You can’t get better Cuban sandwiches and yellow rice and black beans than here. Another reason to love Old Homosassa!
The best Cajun food I’ve had since leaving Houston. We had heard good reports about this place from several different people and stopped by there last Tuesday.
I started with seafood gumbo and forgot to snap a pic. I was so hungry and it was so good. Full of seafood and white rice–perfect. We’d already started in on our lunch when I remembered to get these photos….
Blackened Shrimp Po Boy with Red Beans and RiceBlackened Grouper with Jambalaya and Hush Puppies
The shrimp and grouper were excellent as was the jambalaya and red beans and rice. I’m pretty picky about my blackening and usually only have it at home because I make my own. Usually it’s a too salty for me at restaurants but this was excellent. The tomatoes were even fresh and yummy–not those hard plastic type you typically get at restaurants. And the tarter sauce was incredible. And the hush puppies–the best. I yeah, I could go on and on and on…
Jimmy, the owner, has his own fishing boats that go out from Madeira Beach. He was also our server and brought out a piece of fresh grouper for us to check out. You can buy fresh seafood right at the café.
It was so good that we went back on Saturday for lunch. And I gobbled up my blackened grouper sandwich and hush puppies before I thought about pictures. Terry had a deep-fried shrimp po boy and french fries.
You can go to the food court at the mall and order delicious seafood dishes or buy fresh seafood right there.Or go right around behind the food court and dine in the café.
Just writing this has made me hungry. Jimmy–we’ll be back!
I had planned on putting this post up on Tuesday along with all of my beautiful butterfly pictures but didn’t have a chance to write it. (I had many many visitors last weekend. And had so much fun.) But I was also very excited about finding a monarch butterfly and caterpillar in my yard so I posted the pictures without the accompanying narrative. So here’s the words and a few of Tuesday’s photos!
I’ve written about the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park several times over the past few years. It’s one of my favorite places in Citrus County. When I read in the Citrus Chronicle that June’s monthly theme was about butterflies and bees, I was determined to attend. I had to do a little rearrangement of my schedule since it was the exact time of my banjo lesson last Thursday plus we had a trip to make to the airport to pick up VIPs! But it all worked out.
The speaker was Michael Boulware from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville. Mike obviously loves his job and was very passionate in his speaking about butterflies. After about an hour on the subject he then took questions from the audience.
Michael Boulware, living exhibit specialist at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Rainforest
Near the beginning of the program, Mike stated that just one person can make a difference and gave suggestions as to how we can make that difference. For instance, Florida has more spring water than the rest of the world combined and those springs are in trouble. He suggested that we had two easy ways to help save the springs. The first is to avoid plastic bottled water so companies will not use our springs to fill those bottles. The second is to use native plants since they need less water. He added that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem!
We try to cut back on those evil water bottles but it’s such a convenience, especially when friends and family come for a visit. And we do recycle everything possible. But we will make a better effort at putting our reusable water bottles into circulation. I’ll also be seeking out more native plants to put in our yard to cut back on the irrigation system use. Mike suggested finding our local native plant society. Something else to research!
To help monarch migration, Mike said to plant milkweed which is the only plant that the monarch caterpillar can eat. And that orange and yellow milkweed that most of us plant for the monarchs? That’s tropical or Mexican milkweed. While the monarch caterpillars love it, it’s the wrong plant! According to Mike it blooms for too long and the monarchs lay their eggs on the plants too late in the season. The butterflies should already be on their way to Mexico! He added that we should leave the Mexican milkweed until we get native milkweed established. Another bit of research to find out where I can buy that!
Monarch Caterpillar on Mexican Milkweed
In addition, Mike said to plant nectar plants for all varieties of butterflies and leave part of your yard unmowed which might even attract lightning bugs. I was surprised to learn the Spanish needle, one weed I have attempted to eliminate because I HATE it, is a good nectar plant. (Guess I’ll let it grow in that “natural” part of my yard.)
There are several reasons that we need the butterfly but the first important one is that it is a pollinator which we need to grow our food. It is also an indicator species. When the butterfly becomes scarce, there is a problem.
Mike handed out two pamphlets about butterflies plus another sheet listing butterfly plants for North-Central Florida. He was a very interesting speaker and I learned quite a bit during the presentation. On June 26th at 1 pm Melody Tayler will be presenting a program on bees. The program is included in regular park admission and held in the Children’s Education Center at the Wildlife Park.
