Old Homosassa – Page 16

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016 by KTgreen

So….I started this series for my readers that live here in Florida about places to take your guests. Cause you know you are going to get them. Young, old, , everyone wants to come to Florida and especially to the Nature Coast.

First place I posted about was Alpaca Magic USA.

Followed that up with Weeki Wachee State Park.

(Are you getting tired of photos of my grandkids yet?)

And now, you know I have to tout Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.

If you come to visit me, you will go to this park. All of the grandkids expect it when they spend a few days and even though they’ve been many many times, they still love it. It’s just such a cool park and it’s almost in my backyard!

Right now both Jack and Piper love the alligators the best.

alligators

I like the otters.

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park It’s clean, spacious. Lots of volunteers that are eager to answer questions. The boardwalks and bridges throughout the park can easily accommodate a stroller or a wheelchair.

There are many varieties of birds. Many in rehab or here because they couldn’t survive in the wild.

Bald Eagle — How about that pose for a photo op? The eagles have badly damaged wings and will never be able to fly.

flamingo owls

ibis

Native flowers,

flowers lily

Manatees,

manatee manatee

and many other creatures.

This is Yuma but I just found out that there is a new panther at the park. Sakata is 8 months old and not in the main area yet. Looking forward to meeting him.

lu the hippo — If Lu isn’t in the water, beware! Lu has quite a spray area when he goes potty! Very nasty.

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park bear

Don’t miss the wildlife encounter at 10:30.

screech owl

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

The Education Center has activities for the kids and the volunteers are always happy to see kids come in.

discoverycenter

And so many photo opportunities for your guests.

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Homosassa Springs State Park

We have an annual state park pass that gets two of us in for free. Otherwise, Adults (age 13 and over) $13.00. Children (6 through 12) are $5.00. Under 6 and it’s free! You can also get a discount out of the local touristy ads and magazines. The Friends of the Homosassa Wildlife also offer a seasonal pass to the park. No matter what you end up paying, it’s worth it. Spend an hour or half a day. You will love it.

Friday Meanderings

July 22, 2016 by KTgreen

Friday again.

And it’s still hot.

But we did get a bit of rain yesterday. Just a bit. And it was a blessing.

And I’m almost over being sick. Sheesch. Summer cold. Miserable. Two grandkids came to visit while I was sick plus Great Grandma Shirley. Besides not being a very good hostess, I probably sent them all home with a summer cold. Sorry guys.

I really was sick. I think I picked up some weird bug from all those politicians at the “Meet and Greet” that I was the hostess for at the Civic Club. After I was deathly ill, Terry came down with it. We still entertained those adorable grandkids but maybe not quite as enthusiastically.

Addison

I had planned on saying last week that I actually did get featured on a DIY blog a LOT bigger than mine! Check it out at SewMamaSew. I’m almost famous. Okay. Not really. But I did get a couple new hits on my DIY website. And I’ve got a really shiny pretty new bag!

SharkWeek, New Tote Been working on the Homosassa Arts, Crafts, and Seafood Festival. This will be the BEST festival ever. Terry’s running the show so everything is very organized and he’s going above and beyond. Plus he’s following every lead for grants and sponsors. We’ve got great chairpeople running the arts, crafts, and food. I’ve lined up four exciting local music groups. Oh, and the best, the Homosassa Elementary Chorus will be performing. We are bringing the doorprizes back and we already have a lot to distribute. Lots more to do but we are headed in the right direction!

Like I said, it’s hot here. I’m sure there are things going on. But I’m just spending this weekend trying to get completely better. In the air conditioning. Napping.

Okay, I can’t close this without mentioning Phil Royal’s death. I met Mr. Royal only a few times but always came away with the impression that this was a good person and would be a great Citrus County Sheriff. At only 47 he made a huge impact on Citrus County. He was everywhere that Terry and I went lately and I have a few photos of him on my Mullet Toss post. He was young, only married for a year, and had a brand new baby girl. It’s very difficult to for me to understand this loss so I’m going to stop now.

Hope you have a great weekend,

Kathy

“Meet and Greet” honoring Senator Charlie Dean

July 13, 2016 by KTgreen

Finally.

Event OVER! The original date of June 6 for the “Meet and Greet” just happened to be the day that Tropical Storm Colin decided to hit Old Homosassa. Lots of rain and wind. Minor flooding, some tree damage.

Of course, the “Meet and Greet” was cancelled.

Roger Cullin, Rosey Rendueles, and I have been preparing for this event for at least six months. Although it seems like it’s been years.

And finally it happened Monday night. It’s over. Now I can get back to regular life.

And of course, I have pictures and commentary.

First, I want to show you the newly painted Homosassa Civic Club. I wish I had a before photo of the 80’s burgundy valances, the horrendous mural painted on the wall, the nasty bookcase, the cheaply framed photos.

But all I have are “afters”.

I still plan to make new up-to-date valances for the windows. The tables all need replaced because they are stained and just nasty but good sturdy tables are expensive so for now we keep tablecloths on them. The art on this wall is all about the new “Working Waterfront” park. Two prints of renderings made by local artists, Sheldon and Cleo Lydy.

The Civic Club is a “non-political” community group so meetings or statements endorsing candidates can not be made but we can honor a politician. This event was to honor Charlie Dean who lived in the area all of his life, was the Sheriff for 16 years, and then was in the Florida Senate. Politicians may attend, they just can’t “politic”.

This meeting was also a way to get attention for the parks that the “Access to the River” committee has been working on.

That’s our new senator on the left, Wilton Simpson.

Justin Grabelle, running for US Rep Rick Nugents seat.

Almost all of the sheriff candidates were there, along with a woman running for school board, and a few men running for County Commission. Good time to get noticed!

Rodney MacRae spoke about his association with Charlie Dean. That’s the president of the Civic Club, Jim Bitter, in the other chair.

Then it was time to get to the REAL deal. Roger Cullen and Rodney, co-chairs of the “Access to the River” committee, presented packages with details about the two parks to the senators and representatives.

"Meet and Greet" honoring Senator Charlie Dean — From left, Roger Cullen, Jimmy T. Smith, currently FL Representative but his district has been eliminated so he is now running for county commissioner, Dr. Ralph Massulo, running unopposed for FL Representative, Senator Wilton Simpson, Senator Charlie Dean, and Rodney MacRae.

So we did our bit. Glad it’s over. Time to get our parks!