Betsy

Betsy (feline)

Born August 4, 1995
Primarily white with large tabby/tiger spots


Betsy came to us in March 2004. She came with her name and knew it. If one says “Betsy” she will look directly at that person.

Her human mother was getting a divorce and leaving the state. I found out about Betsy through my veterinarian, Dr. Bill. She and Sadie resided together with this nut job human and a yappy dog. I probably would not have made the call if I knew this was not the first time the human made life changes that put her pets at risk of abandonment. It took both Betsy and Sadie a long time to adjust to our family.

At the time that they came, Molly (canine) and Scooter (feline) were long-time members of our family. We had lost Eb almost a year earlier. Molly and Scooter were good friends. They played together often. But, when we went away to do business (kettle korn) Scooter was left alone with lots of food, water, and kitty litter, as Molly came with us. Scooter was always welcoming when we got home. Steve thought she was lonesome and that she should have another cat to keep her company while we were gone.

A picture of Sadie was posted at the vet’s office. I called the woman. She said both cats had to go together as they had been together. I said, “OK.” She lied. The two cats still do not get along and hiss at each other whenever they are within twenty feet of each other.

Betsy spent the better part of the first couple of years hiding out on the top of the refrigerator, usually behind my cookie jars. She never knocked anything off. Today she usually sleeps in my guest room surrounded by pillows. When I looked in this morning, all I could see was her back in the middle of a rainbow of colored pillows.  When she sits, she reminds me of a Porcelain Cat.  She sits sooooo still.

She is my talker. Meow, meoooow, meow. Yak, yak, yak! She was a day-time outdoor cat for some time, but now that she is getting up there in age, she stays in more.

When she was with us about a year, she disappeared for what turned out to be three full days. We could not find her anywhere. When we did find her, she was meowing… From where was that sound comin'?  Well, it turned out she had gotten under the eaves. There was an ever so small opening that she somehow crawled through. I guess she felt safe up there, but finally got hungry. So, she came down. She loved high safe places.

The kettle korn business took us north for the summer season. We had moved to Florida and unlike many people who become snowbirds when they retire, we became snowbirds because of the business. Kettle korn in Florida in the summer does not work. So, back to New England. We did this for twelve summers.

The critters always traveled with us…the cats in carriers, depending on the year—one, two, three or four. The dog in the front seat. The cats were never happy, but would settle down after a couple of hours.

When we got to our house in Connecticut, we always found that we had given our home refuge to many mice for the winter. Betsy is one of my hunters. Within a couple of days in Connecticut, there were no more signs of mice in the house. I think that they told each other, “The cat is back! Scram!” Some years, for the first couple of mornings, we would find the carcass of a mouse, always in the same place. Thank you, Betsy, for the wonderful gifts you have given to us.

We no longer make the trip for the summer, so she gets to stay in one place. We moved since we got her. The rural area suits her well. I have found her on the roof…not on my roof, but on a neighbor’s. I cannot imagine how or why she got there, but within an hour or so, she was back in our yard.

Betsy wears a watch (or so we think). Every afternoon around four thirty, she comes out of “her” room and sits on the arm of the Lazy-Boy chair waiting for us to bring forth our evening vittles. She’s never late. We have become animalistic and eat most of our meals in front of that infernal TV. So, that arm is a good place for her to sit. Sometimes, she gets her favorite treat—chicken; sometimes, she gets nothing. She gives the alarm to Friskey and Roscoe as they now join her in the begging ranks. It is always amazing to me that many times I have not yet started the evening meal, so it cannot be the aroma that gets her attention. The watch is probably a Mickey Mouse watch or maybe Alice’s Cheshire cat! But she hides it well, so we cannot tell for sure. But, we know she has a clock of some sort.

Leave me alone...can't you tell it's nap time!

Zolfo Springs Pioneer Park Days

Pioneer Park Days

http://www.hardeecounty.net/Pioneer/index.cfm
http://www.floridaflywheelers.org/


Admission to Pioneer Park Days:  $2.00 per adult per day or $5.00 for a weekly pass.

Pioneer Park is owned and operated by Hardee, County, Florida. It is a cool park which has good camping facilities, an animal refuge, lots of stage entertainment and some historical “Cracker” crafts (blacksmithing) and buildings, including the Cracker Trail Post Office and Cracker Museum. Once a year (this was their 42rd year), they host an event called Pioneer Park Days the first week in March starting on Wednesday and continuing through Sunday. Sometimes, it starts in the last day or two of February, depending how the calendar allows it to fall.

The park was once a beautiful Florida long-needle pine woodsy area. Hurricane Charley in 2004 changed its landscape dramatically. When we went back in 2005 to do our Pioneer Days, we found ALL those beautiful trees gone. The County has planted new trees (not the pine trees). They are starting to grow, but are still rather small. The Peace River covers the east and part of its north boundaries of the park, where one can see wild ‘gators sunning themselves on occasion.

This is the only event in which we have participated for our entire fifteen years of business. It was one of three events “given” to us from the family from whom we purchased our equipment.  They had been on site for somewhere between two and five years before us.

We are always set up in the same area…next to the Sweet Bay (formerly Kash ‘N’ Karry) truck. For many years, we were east of the truck, but the park put in a new septic system in “our spot.” They moved us to the west side, but we are still next to our faithful truck. Paul, the local manager of the grocery, and his crew are primarily there as a public service. Most of the food on site is provided by local not-for-profit churches and organizations (boiled peanuts, pork rinds, homemade ice cream and kettle korn are the exceptions as we are “specialized”). Paul’s truck is refrigerated. He keeps ice and a large supply of soda along with some of the items that are most used by the vendors. Several times a day, he makes the rounds to the various food vendors to find out what they may need. He, then, calls orders into his store. Within a short time period, it arrives at the truck and is delivered to the vendors. I cannot tell this audience how many times he has rescued us from a dwindling supply of sugar or salt.

The weather is totally unpredictable. This year was cold, cold, cold from Tuesday (which is the day we arrive to set up our equipment) through Friday. Saturday and Sunday turned our beautiful. Some years, we have wanted to melt from the heat. So, one never knows. Rain, wind (we totaled a tent one year)…with the exception of snow, extreme weather is the norm. We are blessed when the weather turns out in our favor—rarely, I might add.

It is an olio event, including a bit of this and that…tractor and antique one lung engine show, flea market, antique/classic car show, stage entertainment, Florida Frontiermen encampment, Sons of Confederate Veterans, a few scattered Civil War re.enactors, Cracker buildings and skills.

The animal refuge:  Guests Move about freely on the elevated boardwalk to see Florida wild animals in a natural habitat.  Admission in addition to entrance to Pioneer Park Days. This refuge is next to the road by the river…bears, raccoons, Florida panther, and other local species. Like most Florida animal refuges, these animals are here because they had been injured and could not be returned to the wild after as much rehabilitation as possible had been exercised.

The Florida Frontiersmen started coming about three seasons ago. Before that, it seemed, very few people dressed as “pioneers.” Of course, Miss Molly’s always does. One year, a very disappointed lad came to us and said, “I thought this was pioneer days. You are the only ones dressed like pioneers.” With the arrival of the historical frontiersmen and War Between the States Re.enactors spectators can now see many of us dressed like pioneers of many time periods.

Tractors: Cases, Olivers, Fords, John Deere in their various colors and sizes are displayed throughout the park. I learned to drive on an early ‘50’s Ford tractor, so I especially like the small Ford tractors. They are very special to me. The tractors range in size from lawn mowing size to those with huge air conditioned cabins for heavy duty farming. At 2:00 every afternoon, they parade through the park. Some of the older ones have been restored to the eenth degree; some remain in their tired, well-worked state. This year we had a special treat. On one tractor, a man carried his very hoarse beagle. He’d bark ten or twenty times, stop for a few seconds and start over again. Girls, boys, men, women…drivers--dogs, kids, spouses...passengers. Flags flying. The sounds of the tractor engine are a chorus onto themselves.

One lung engines: These, as well, have a musical melody of their own. It cannot be described. Most of the motors sound as though they are going to stall, just as it huffs back into the sound of a working engine.  Made by a huge array of manufacturers, they were used for an equally huge number of life's functions.  The motors come in various sizes. In days gone by, these motors were used for all kinds of things…sawing wood, early mechanical laundry (the old Maytag motors ran early washing machines), corn husking and shelling, dividing wheat from chaff, railroad trains and apparatus. The list is extensive. Many of the owners of these engines like to display them by having them being used for a practical purpose. Many other owners just like to show the engines. (We have three which have never been shown…a shame).

One thing that always fascinated me at this event is the imaginations of so many people in designing and building various moods of transportation. One could never foresee wheels, engines, seat, steering components, etc. could possibly be put together in such unusual ways. It is fun to watch, a homemade vehicle with a cart attached with seating for family and pets.

Many of those who display engines often collect other old timey items…pig oilers, old farm, construction or household tools and other things that helped to make life simpler.

When we first started attending this event, most of the flea market was a combination of collectibles and antiques. It has now moved somewhat away from these items (although there are still lots of good bargains in these areas...but one always needs to watch for reproductions). Now like many flea markets, lots of new stuff has appeared—everything from sunglasses to shampoos, pet items to tools. They are, however, almost always several fruit and vegetable vendors (although with so much weather this winter, they were in short supply this season).

Ruthie used to have a great collectibles booth. She retired a couple of years ago. We loved Ruth. Our spot is in a weird place and, thus, does not meet the norm for a flea market space. It is long with no chance of selling off the back end. We can park all of our equipment there, along with several other vehicles. The normal vendor parking is a very long distance away. Ruth’s mother helped Ruth in her stall, but could not walk long distances. So, we traded part of our spot to Ruth for old hankies and other collectibles. It was a good deal for both of us. This year a gourmet food person and some flute playing, CD selling group were in her spot. We miss you, Ruth.

We seldom get to the music entertainment, as we are usually either too tired or too cold to go.  But, in the years we have attended we always enjoyed outselves...down-home, friendly groups with pretty decent talent.

We always do well at this event. On Friday, one of the women from the Florida Frontiersmen stopped by and helped us. We also had a gentleman help Steve stir the corn while it was readying itself to start popping. Saturday, the woman came back. Dave could not make it, but a friend of the Sweet Bay folks (they not provided me with food, it seems, but with good help, as well) stepped in to help. Thank you Bubbles, Dave and Jim. We could not have done it without you.

The cars are generally only there on Saturday and maybe part of Sunday. Always, a great bunch of vehicles to see.

With the addition of the historic men and women a couple of years ago, a whole new dimension was added. This year we even heard the cannon pop occasionally on Saturday and Sunday. They have montage of displays of crafts, reproduction items and skills. Always fun to see. Always educational to hear what they might have to tell one in an historical context. They are camped near the buildings that make up the “Cracker” area.

Some people equate the word “Cracker” as a derogatory term. But, most people who have descended from the Florida Cracker population are as proud of their heritage as those of us who are long-time Yankees (from the mid 1600’s) and are proud of our heritage. There are several sagas as to how the term came to be. The one that seems to be most used concerns cattle. The early Florida cattle, bred to withstand the Florida extremes…weather, bugs…were long-horned free-range critters. When it came time to get them ready for market and round them up, the cattle drivers would crack their whips over the heads of the beef to move them in the direction in which they wanted them to travel. So, the cattle drivers were [whip]crackers. To me, an honest job should not cause its title to be disparaging.

By Sunday night, we had little to pack as the corn was all popped and sold.  We arrive home late, tired and very satified.

SARASOTA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Sarasota Middle School Camp Day #13


This is a favorite event of mine. There are a few schools around the country that hold what is equivalent to the Camp Day that Sarasota Middle School holds annually. Canton, Connecticut Middle School also has a Civil War (War Between the States) Day. I know there must be others, but unfortunately not nearly enough.

This event is called Camp Westcott. Adam Westcott was a history teacher at Riverview High School in Sarasota. He was also a Civil War Re.enactor. He was a member of the 1st Minnesota in the area and later a member of the 97th Pennsylvania. Yep, he fought as a Yankee. But y’all can’t have a re.enactment unless you have two sides. As time moved on, he had some health problems. He switched from a fighting soldier to a member of the medical corps and fielded with the doctors. Later, he had to make a further switch as his health became worse. He started a time period sensitive pharmacy and did many demonstrations with his field medicine cabinet. He went to be with the Lord in 2005. In 2006, although the event had been going on for several years known simply as Camp Day, it was dedicated and renamed Camp Westcott.  Adam's tent, chair and brogans (army shoes) along with a plague are onsite throughout the day.

Adam was a good friend, and we miss him very much. His widow comes to the Camp Day each year. She, too, is a good friend.

Adam and Middle School history teacher Jan had conceived the idea several years earlier. After getting permission from the powers that be, they started Camp Day. From what I understand, the first one was very small.  This is no longer true, however. They believed that it would be a good way to teach the students history in a fun way. That turned out to be a good prediction.

The eighth graders participate in this day. The seventh graders are guided through the camp. And the sixth graders are paraded around the perimeter. There are a zillion opportunities and jobs for the students from officer of the day to dish washing. Members of the 97th Pennsylvania donate their time to do drills, fire cannon, fife, drum and demonstrate historical crafts. It changes a bit every year, of course, depending on what members might be available.

2009 presented an extra special treat…Jan and her beloved sweetheart Charlie got married with all the students present. The fifer (Jane) and drummer (Tim) played them down the aisle. Yes, it was a “real” wedding as a clergyman officiated at the ceremony. Appropriate license obtained ahead of time.

This year we left our house and traveled the almost 200 miles on Thursday and stayed with Jan and Charlie, so that we could be near the school for early Friday morning setup.

On-site is Adam’s old medicine cabinet now manned by his friend Wally and Wally’s daughter Andy. There is a general store (the students can buy period candy), lemonade stand, period music (this year a banjo player), a hospital, Underground railroad station, and inn. And, of course, Miss Molly’s Kettle Korn. Several young men helped to get us set up. Then eight to ten students (always seem to be girls) had been chosen to help in our tent in two shifts. One girl on each shift collects money (which goes back to the school). It gets very busy at times--with nothing to do at others. I have done this event long enough to know not to stop during down time. Just keep baggin’. The bags of popped corn will disappear soon enough.

The students receive their assignments for the day by pulling the job from a hat. Most of the time, the students are happy to get our job until they stand there for a while. I have to keep telling them that I do it all when they are not there. Steve is the cook; I am the bag lady (fill the bags) plain and simple. Unless we are super busy, I also collect the $$$$$ in normal life. I always get one or two great workers, a couple of mediocre and a couple of divas whose feet hurt within five minutes or they become soooooooooo tired.

My favorite is when those prima donnas get the dish washing detail.

Jan has accumulated many costumes, uniforms, and various sundry outfits which she “rents” to the students (the rental fee is not in money, but they do have to sign for them).

Lunch is provided. It is a meal one might have had in the War…crackers, an apple, baked beans, apple pie (which the parents donate), lemonade and muffins.  Food is served on metal pie plates and lemonade in "tin" cans. Most of the food is donated. Not very substantial, but none of us starve...

Most of the students and their parents are extremely enthusiastic about this day. It often comes just before spring break. The students, their parents, many teachers do most of the set-up. Jan and Charlie start the evening before and bring out some of the façades that need to be put together on the day itself. They put in mannnnnnnny donated hours before and after the event. Much of the stuff is owned by Jan and Charlie; some owned by the school. The school does provide a “portable” in which they can store everything. (For those of you outside of Florida…a portable is a “temporary” building used as a classroom. It is not usually temporary, however. It is a free-standing building on the school campus.). Students and parents from Jan’s team, the GNUs, under Charlie’s direction tear everything down and put it in its proper place for use next year. It is amazing how discipline, cooperation and many hands can get a big task done quickly and efficiently.

We goofed on calculating supplies this year. We messed up on the amount of oil we needed. So, one very nice Mom went to the local Publix in the middle of this whole thing and picked up some vegetable oil for us. I am sorry I don’t know her name, but THANKS be to her, nonetheless.

Jan is a tough, but fair teacher. If someone is not behaving in a manner appropriate to the time period, she will give them a time out (up to an hour). I have heard her threaten to ban someone from Camp Day for misbehavior (which seems to be THE worst punishment a teacher can hand out these days!!!).

The day, from what I understand, has become self supporting due to the sales of kettle korn, lemonade and general store items and donations by parents and local businesses. The eight graders get paid with “funny money” by the paymaster. They can, then, in turn use these funds to buy what they want (until they run out of money, of course). The sixth and seventh graders pay with real US money.

The day is very hectic and VERY tiring, but it is also very exhilarating! It is good to see students absorbing and learning things that are outside of the classroom, but may be part of life.

Thank you Adam, Jan, Charlie, teachers, parents, students, soldiers and demonstrators. You truly have an unique story here. There are few events like this in life for fun and learning.

http://www.sarasotamiddleschool.com/html/civil_war_camp_day.html

MURDER AT MASONIC

SPRING IS TRULY HERE—the azaleas are BLOOMING. They are several weeks late, but they are blooming….Hooray!!!!!!!!!!











Murder at Masonic

I bought my first Murder Mystery in a box at a yard sale (actually, as a Connecticut Yankee, it is a “tag” sale) for $.50. It was called the Grapes of Frath produced by How to Host a Murder. I invited eight friends and relatives. We had a pretty good time. In addition to the mystery, I had a meal that was theme related. Everything glitzy and glamorous.The setting was a luxury yacht in the 1920’s.

Costuming was minimal. My cousin portrayed a financial genius. To prove to all of us that he was financially sound, he bought a shirt from Wal-Mart and, like Minnie Pearl, left the price tag on it. Sorry, Sheri, I can’t remember what you wore. Deb and Dan came with some old timey clothes. Bill and Jean came casual. But the stars of the costumes were Mary and Jim. Mary portrayed a Russian countess and wore the mostest tackiest (I know the grammar is poor, but it was so bad it needs extra exaggeration) green flowered polyester gown with a tiara and lottttts of bling. It was sooooo appropriate. So gooosh! And Jim, portraying the ship’s captain, wore an even more outrageous pair of a kind of plaid patch-work quilt slacks with a red and blue stripped shirt and a blue blazer. He wore a bunch of medals on his jacket.

One of my guests thought it would be fun to do for our organization. We quickly got eight volunteers, set up a menu and played that mystery again. Everyone had soon much fun that they asked to have another one the following year. We did one called, “the Good, the Bad and the Guilty.” Then, they wanted one the following year. And, it looks as though, a fourth murder will take place this fall.

I purchased the next two online. They were also by How to Host a Murder. Again, I invited eight guests to my home (different from the first batch—this was before my organization wanted to do another one). Our meal included coleslaw and barbeque pork.  The victim, Judge Waylon Payne, had invited his guests (suspects) the Malevolent Seven to a barbeque at his home, so, theme-wise, it was apropos.

We had appetizers, “played” two rounds, ate the “real” food, and “played” the last two rounds.” Over dessert, the mystery was solved. This format and food has been followed for both the home version and the crowd pleaser.

John, now Master of his Masonic Lodge, was one of my guests at this murder set in the Wyoming Territory in 1881. He filed the whole thing away. When he became Master, he wanted to do some “different” things for the group. So, he put out the word to his officers and members and quickly got the eight characters he needed.

A committee was appointed to work on a meal, pretty much the same as we had used the first two times. Grub getters and servers included Dave, Shirley, Louise, Christina, Lynne, Candace, and Merylee.Table decorations included stuffed horses, cattle, western bronze bookends and other western chatskas.

The props were many/  They included a dead horse in the road, a miniature gallows with eight nooses (made by Steve), the cemetery, Helena's cattle ranch and lots of gold (candy wrapped in gold foil).

Read the names carefully. The characters were

Butch Chastity (Beth) -- Legendary the first lady of outlaws. Her all-woman gang is oft referred as the Amazons of the American West. There’s nothing coy or dainty about Butch. She can drink her fellow outlaws under the table; she can hold her own in a game of poker; she can rob a stagecoach in record time; and she can kill a man just as soon as look at him—and often does. In her secret hide-out, a place called the Hole in the Mud, Butch plans the most daring heists, including her many famed train robberies. It has been rumored that Butch has gotten away with more gold than any outlaw alive.

P’elvis Swagarin (Jeff) -- A mysterious lone gunslinger who rides into some dusty frontier western town. Solemn, poker-faced, bowlegged—he’s a cowboy’s cowboy. He was born Peter Elvis Swagarin but is known as P’elvis to those who know him. He’s a man with no belongings but the shirt on his back, his gun and his saddle…a man who sleeps beneath the icy stars, a horse his only companion. P’elvis appeared out of the prairie heat just two days ago, and ever since he arrived, the whole town of Roadkill has been whisperin in hushed tones, wondering who he is and what he wants….

Helena Handcart (Helena pronounced like the capital of Montana—Hellina) (Lynne) -- Matriarch of the Handcart clan, the mother of the Handcart boys: all thirteen of them. Billy-Bob, Bobby-Rae, Little Ricky, Martin and Lewis, Harpo, Groucho, Sleepy, Sneezy, Manny, Moe and Jack. Oh, of course, the Beav. Unfortunately, she had to bury all thirteen of her sons after they were tragically killed in a shoot-out at a dairy farm. The now infamous gunfight at the Parkkay Corral left her with nothing but memories. A strong woman, she has been able to survive, although most of the time she remains secluded on the sprawling Handcart Ranch, managing the family cattle business. Helena owns half the territory and never lets any one forget it.

Chief Breaking Wind (Barry) -- The Chief is the distinguished leader of the Cowpai tribe—an honorary position these days, since the entire Cowpai tribe fell victim to a mysterious disease several years ago and perished. Still, the stoic chief keeps his traditions alive, trusting that, with his help, the Cowpai will rise again. Unwillingly relieved of his tribal responsibilities, the chief has since opened a successful barber shop in town and, ignorant historical reference notwithstanding, hasn’t scalped a soul. Still, no one ever angers the Chief.

Elvira-Lynn Fekshin (Diane) -- She is the consummate soiled dove and makes no bones about it, so to speak. She’s known throughout the territory, and there’s even that famous saloon song written about her—My Heart Burn for You, and Other Places, Too. She is the proud madam of the Pigeon Ranch, the best little you-know-what in Roadkill. Since Judge Waylon Payne is one of her steadiest customers, the law does a good job of looking the other way. To look at her now, you’d never guess that she was born in the gutter and suffered a sickly childhood, battling everything from consumption to bubonic plague. But now she spread, among other things, sunshine wherever she goes.

Wyatt Hertz (Lou) -- The most famous lawman in the West, by far, he kept the wild frontier town of Roadkill under tight control, keeping the locals in line with an iron fist of fear. That is, until a shotgun blast caught him in the tender parts a year ago. Legend has it that Wyatt was ambushed by the vicious Partridge Family gang. He didn’t stand a chance. Now retired, Judge Waylon Payne is the reigning sheriff and justice of the peace. Wyatt is now operating a lucrative rent-a-horse business. He has never lost a gunfight, and some folks believe that he could take out an entire gunslingin’ gang with a single round from his Colt six-shooter.

Dee Adela Muerte  (vaguely translated means "Day of Death")  (Jane) -- Adela, as she is known by her friends, is a Mexican beauty with the most pious of spirits. She is, however, plagued by bad luck. She’s thrice-widowed—each time as a newlywed. Her first husband, a local politician, died shamefully during one of his secret outings to the Pigeon Ranch. Hr second husband was the town pastor and died while preaching; her third, the town undertaker, keeled over from exhaustion while planting the thirteen Handcart boys. Now poor Adela is left to deliver Sunday sermons and forced to become town under. Still, she knows that she will rise above her misfortune. Until then, she’ll continue to wear her black mourning veil.

Elias Truist-Heath (said quickly: “He lies through his teeth”) (John G.) -- As a young up-and-coming heartthrob gunfighter, he dazzles spectators with his quick draw and a spin from his guns. When he’s not showing off his slinging skills, he demonstrates his pugilistic prowess. The best brawler west of the Mississippi, he comes out of every fight with nary a scratch. He was orphaned as a lad, but taken under the firm, wise hand of Judge Waylon Payne. After a patriotic stint with the US Cavalry, he returned home to Roadkill and to the women who adore him.

Handy Tohavearound—Town Bailiff and “Director” (Molly)

Costuming was done by individual characters. Adela and Helena wore mostly black as they were in mourning—Adela for her three husbands and Helena for her thirteen sons. Adela further wore a “mourning” veil. Butch had her hair braided, wore jeans, a gun belt, and a straw cowboy hat. Wyatt and Elias were attired in western garb, as was P’Elvis, although he entered with sun glasses and introduced himself with a Pressley voice. Eliva wore a black slinky dress accessorized with lots of red, including a red boa. Her earrings were dollar signs. During the breaks, she amused herself by flirting with the male spectators.

This was the first time most of the characters had ever scene one of these productions. All characters had certain information that had to be said during the course of the evening—various clues to personalities and possible reasons to kill the Judge (all had motive). In addition to the necessary information, one could improvise as much as they wished. Although one cannot lie, one can redirect the information to cast aspersion on another character or change the subject altogether or not answer “yes” or “no.” For instance, when Handy was asked if she wore a size 5 shoe (a clue in the solving) by a spectator before the “play” got started, she answered, “These are not my shoes.” A truthful answer, but avoiding the actual question…

Only four of us knew whodunit—Molly, Steve, Lynne and John. (Lynne has now taken part in this adventure three times as three different woman characters). The rest of the cast did not know until the very end. A group of over sixty (including the District Deputy and several former District Deputies) gathered for this evening of madness, laughter, silliness, food and fun. We invited the “audience” to tell us who the guilty person might be. They did not come up with a conclusive answer.

The cast did an unbelievably great job.  They are all good at improv

Overwhelmingly, the group asked for another “murder” in the fall.

Good job on the idea, John. Great way to try “something new and different.”

As for me, I love doing these. But, it seems every time I invite folks to our house to have an evening of fun, I end of “producing” the whole thing for a group.

SPRING, GLORIOUS SPRING

I know spring is finally just around the corner.  Actually, in normal seasons, spring starts about mid February.  The trees start budding and new growth begins.  Not this year in Florida.  We had six weeks in which the temperature never got near seventy degrees.  I can see all of you out there with your violins.  I know, I know...If I want sympathy I should look it up in the dictionary.  But, we are not prepared for long term cold waves with arctic blasts.  Neither are the sub tropic plants that we nuture most of the year.

One of our favorite plants is the staghorn fern, an air plant. We have three...all close to thirty years old.  They are massive.  In winters past, no matter how much we wrapped them, we came close to losing them.  But they revived each year.

Last fall, we tried something different.  We cut the ropes holding them to the trees in their outdoor abode for two of the three and put them in the workshop.  One we hiked up to the rafters.  It took both of us to do that.  The second was too heavy.  So, we dropped it gently into a wheelbarrow.  The third one we covered.  We had so many consecutive nights of deep freeze weather that we did not uncover it till this week.  Poor thing.  Looks very sad.  But it still has a fair amount of green leaves which means it will "come back."

We attached new ropes to the other two and pulled them up over their boards.  It took the two of us to do that.  They grew during the winter. 

Staghorn ferns are air plants.  They get all their nutrients from the air, although occassionally we feed them an over-ripe banana or its peel.  We seldom have water them, but did so during the winter.

Next we checked the amaryllis, they are shooting up.  Most of the aloe look pretty bad, but they still have green on them as well.  The trees have gotten a late start, but we are starting to see buds on them as.  The pollen drift is also late.  We are now starting to see everything covered in greenish-yellow dust.  Wash the car...in ten minutes, one would never have known!

And, when Woody the Woodpecker starts his mating search by tapping against the metal chimneys and other other metal roof appendages, spring can only be a moment away.  He started on our roof this afternoon.  Good luck, Woody.  Hope you find her very soon.

Coming Soon

Zolfo Springs Pioneer Park
Hole in the Wall Restaurants
Sarasota Middle School Civil War Day
Venice Masonic Lodge Murder Mystery Solved and Dinner
Mississippi New Capitol
USS Alabama
Cruising the Connecticut River

Ft DeSoto Civil War Event

Ft Desoto/Battle of Ballast Point Reenactment

We left the house Thursday morning, February 25 and arrived at Ft. DeSoto Park (a Pinellas County Park) to set up for the weekend. This event, although not the original site of the Battle of Ballast Point, remembers that event. The host unit is the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company A. We battled extreme winds in putting up the tents. The sutlers, mostly independent in setting up his or her own tent, helped each other fight the wind gusts to get our stores put together.

The Battle of Ballast Point

Well, it was not really a “battle” but one of the many skirmishes that took place near Tampa Bay, Florida in the 1860’s.

It was the morning of October 17, 1863 when the one hundred sailors, six officers and two guides disembarked from the USS Tahoma and USS Adela. They marched inland and set two Confederate blockade-running ships on fire. The blockade runners had been loaded with cotton and supplies.

One ship captain escaped and sounded THE ALARM at Fort Brooke (Tampa). A portion of the Florida Home Guard, known as the “Cowboy Cavalry” had been driving cattle northward, joined in the fray. The Confederates had the cover of the trees, while the Union forces were holding their ground on the open beach, awaiting boats to return them to the ships. Offshore gunboats soon opened fire, giving cover to the Union sailors and officers, so that they could make their retreat. The wounded were taken to Mullet Key which can be seen from the Park. (from Lewis Zerfas’ research)

The Park:

Admission is currently free for the park except for the $.85 tolls one needs to pay to cross the two causeways to reach the park by road.

Fort De Soto Named America’s Top Beach for 2009. The beach has been named among the top American beaches consistently during the past decade, including the number one spot or top spot several of these years. Beaches are the number one recreational destination for Americans. These sandy playgrounds that line our coasts are the most extensive natural parks in the country. The park includes a doggie park and doggie beach. Camping. Boating. Kayaking. Hiking. Biking.

The largest park within the Pinellas County Park System, Fort De Soto park consists of 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands. First opened on December 21, 1962, when the state toll road named the Pinellas Bayway was completed, this park was dedicated May 11, 1963, in perpetuity as a public park. Annual park attendance averages more than 2.7 million visitors.

The park property was first purchased from the federal government in 1938 for $12,500. In 1941 the property was sold back to the federal government for $18,404 to be used as a gunnery and bombing range during World War II. The property was repurchased from the United States in 1948 for $26,500.

The Fort

The 12-inch mortar battery, located at the fort for which the park was named, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Adding to the historical interest at Fort De Soto, two British breech-loading, rapid-fire rifles of 1890 vintage were installed in March 1982. Markers showing the original building locations and a Quartermaster Museum add to the park's historic interest.

A team of Army engineers that included Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee in 1849 recommended that the two keys--Mullet and Egmont--become fortified. Both keys could only be reached by boat, since they were islands off the mainland. Union troops were stationed on the two keys during the Civil War (1861–1865) to aid in the Union blockade of Tampa Bay. The keys were again abandoned by the military and in 1882 military reservations were officially created on the two keys. Nothing was constructed there, however.

Construction of Fort De Soto began in November 1898 and was completed in 1906. It was to keep invaders out of Tampa Bay. The foundation was constructed of a shell concrete formula and the walls and ceiling used a shell, stone and concrete mix. The post consisted of 29 buildings. Active from 1898 to 1910. with only a caretaker force remained. By 1914 only a sergeant and game warden remained.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_De_Soto_Park

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm

The event:

Friday: Six hundred school-aged children and chaperones descended upon us eager to hear and see the many lectures and displays. Over the years, this has become one of my favorite times. I usually start the day with a lecture on the history of kettle korn, but so many people have heard it in the past that I decided to do a lecture on Confederate flags (that is plural…flags with an S). Like most countries (and the Confederacy believed themselves to be a separate country) there was not ONE flag, but many. The flag that we call the Confederate flag was one of many. The blue cross of St Andrew with thirteen white stars over a field of red was, generally speaking, a battle flag in the square shape. In the rectangular shape which we are so used to seeing these days was a Navy or ship Jack.

I am a Connecticut Yankee with at least two great grandfathers that fought to “Save the Union.” But, I feel badly that history has been so rewritten and misunderstood, that symbols of one thing have become symbols of something quite different.

Well, as it turned out, there was someone else doing the “flag” talk. And, I got very busy with the business portion of my being there. Only six lectures (more than usual). Half the number of students this year due to budget cuts, etc. But they all seemed to enjoy themselves and most actually admitted to learning something. I would call that a successful day.

Some of the other stations one might find at a student day Miss Celestine demonstrating period toys, Miss Grace lecturing on women who fought as men in the War between the States (specifically Albert Cashiers, but there are over 400 documented women who took part as soldiers), Rick demonstrating period music, various armaments (cannon, small arms, rifles/muskets, sabers and swords), Greg with his Naval presentation, the role of Chaplains, day to day camp life, woman’s period fashions, spies. These days are always different as it sometimes depends on whom might be available, but they are always educational. It is amazing how little young people really know about history. And, it is a shame.

Saturday: It rained all morning. The Ram/Jam (a modified Fife and Drum muster) did not happen. It was almost thought the battle would have to be canceled. But LO! And Behold! The skies cleared just in time for a belated battle to be organized and take place. And the public showed up. Can’t imagine where they were during the deluge, but they came. The ladies’ tea took place under a covered shelter, but the winds were blowing badly. And, it was sooooo cold (Yep! Global Warmin’ at its best!).

There was a group of honor history students that had planned to come for the day to enjoy a picnic and learn what they could. Some very brave chaperones grilled dogs and burgers. The young people (juniors and seniors, I think) froze. Since we have heat to pop the corn, we turned the burner on and invited them in. I have never seen so many young people that looked so miserable, but the duked it out and stayed. They did, periodically, come in to get warm. After the rain stopped, the day actually got a bit warmer. They went home saying they enjoyed themselves. Actually, they endured the extreme weather days that many of the soldiers had to endure, thus giving them an even better concept of how things were.

Several brave souls actually went to the outdoor ball that evening. We could hear the band. They were quite good, but it was much too cold. We retired early.

Sunday: The day turned out quite nice, still cold, but not so much. Everything happened according to schedule including the Mock trial and firing squad. Since this is a county park, the camps are not really ever closed to the public. In most events, there is a time when everyone is supposed to be out of the area. But at Ft DeSoto, people wander around, it seems, for ever. So, after the battle, even with all the spectators, we packed it in and went home to prepare for yet another event in which we would leave the house on Tuesday, March 2.