Jacksonville, FL

Many homes in Jacksonville have backyard pools. They provide great fun, but they bring great risks as well.

I had a heart-stopping moment a few days ago. My daughter who is 17 years old was swimming with a friend. I was working on a story—my office windows provide a great view of the pool. Suddenly I heard the unmistakable sound of someone choking.
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The Duval County Extension office is offering a series of workshops to help make your yard cooperate with Florida’s climate, soil and water. What should you grow? Read on.

The ideal Florida back yard features plants conducive to the amount of rain we receive, the soil in our area and the blazing heat we experience in summer months. The Duval County Extension Office is offering a series of workshops under the banner “Camp Florida Friendly.” Participants can learn how to create a Florida-friendly yard, how to landscape for wildlife and vegetables, and even how to plant for security.

The workshops at the Extension office located at 1010 N. McDuff Avenue in Jacksonville begin July 10. There is a $5 fee for each session or a $25 fee to attend all six sessions.

For more information, call 904-387-8850. Visit the Extension office on the Web, and check out the calendar pages for upcoming events.

Yesterday, I spied the butterfly in the photo above enjoying a big Lantana that grows by the corner of my office. When we bought this house about five years ago, the Lantana was a single tiny sprig nestled by some old azaleas. I made sure if someone besides me cut the grass, that little sprig was left alone. That bush is now about four feet wide and makes a beautiful blooming work of natural art. Butterflies and hummingbirds frequent it. We never have to water it; we do cut it back when cool weather approaches. My mother had a huge Lantana bush growing by her lily bed when I was a girl. So my own plant is a touchstone for my childhood.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Landscape, Florida yards, Plants, Shrubs, Butterflies, Florida Wildlife, Conservation, Environment, Florida Friendly Yard

We spend holidays like July 4 and Memorial Day here at home. We swim, eat and sometimes go to a fireworks display.

The National Weather Service forecast for Wednesday, July 4, currently calls for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

I told my younger daughter this morning July 4 weather in the South is always iffy. Even if the day dawns brightly, there’s always a chance for one of our famous Jacksonville popup showers. The rain was so loud last night it woke me up several times.

Nevertheless, we plan a cookout. The one thing I have relented on involves the menu. Now we plan something that won’t be a disaster if we have to cook it indoors. We tend to swim, eat and enjoy music on this holiday. Sometimes we take in a public fireworks display.

The City of Jacksonville always has a great pyrotechnic show—this year’s Skyblast Fireworks show starts at 9:45 p.m. Fireworks will be shot from barges; this increases the security factor. I really enjoy the city displays, but you have to get there early so you can park, and then leaving is a definite boggle. Downtown Jax is very compact, so when everyone leaves an event at the same time, it can get pretty congested. Plus you’re dodging pedestrians all over the place. So take your time and be patient. The fuss is worth it, though, because the displays are gorgeous. Read about the fireworks, parking, and picnic and other activities at the city Web site.

Jacksonville Beach also does a great display. I’ve never gone to that one, but most other events I’ve attended there draw more teen and college-age people.

As far as burn bans, as best I can tell, the ban in Flagler County is still in effect, according to the Florida Times Union.

Remember to be careful with fireworks if you do your own display. The Florida Department of Health says each year within the United States, more than 4,000 children under the age of 15 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries involving fireworks.

Above all, have a safe and happy July 4th as we celebrate our country’s birthday.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, July 4, Jacksonville, cookout, fireworks displays, celebrations, fireworks safety, holiday, events, weather Florida, Flagler County Burn Ban

From my backyard garden (left to right, clockwise) I clipped sweet basil, orange mint, tomatoes and banana peppers.

Just as the cold weather ended, I put some tomato plants out and stuck a few pepper plants in a little garden spot out back. I also planted some orange mint and sweet basil—the mint is a great addition to hot or cold tea. I use the basil for vegetables, fish, beef and many other dishes. It’s one of those great all-around herbs.

I have some radish seed my daughter gave me. I plan to stick those in the dirt in a few days. If you’ve never had a radish straight out of the ground, you’re missing a real experience.

Despite boutique markets and abundant produce aisles in groceries, nothing comes close to bounty from your own garden. Maybe it’s because we’ve vested part of ourselves in tending, weeding, watering and even talking to the plants.

I put my garden in a spot near the fence, where we kept a canopy of leaves at the lawn’s edge. Maybe because nothing much had been planted there for years, and maybe because the soil is just plain rich, the plants grew healthy and tall. I still have lots of tomatoes on the vine and the pepper of course continues to grow because that’s how pepper plants work.

Ironically, a squash plant came up around the small fence we put up around the garden plot—we had to do this because of our adopted feral chicken. I have no idea where the squash plant came from. I wondered if some seed from the previous owner’s long ago garden saw an opportunity as we turned the soil.

I’m hoping to add more herbs to my garden mix.

Nothing is more pleasurable than watching your garden grow. This has to be one of the best navel gazing opportunities in the world.

When we have cookouts, as we enjoy a cold drink, we also enjoy talking about the garden.

Here’s a recipe my family enjoys, using some of my bounty. It’s a great side item for grilled food or a veggie plate.

Tomato with Feta Salad

3 medium sized tomatoes
½ block (about 4 oz.) of feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS. virgin olive oil
Sweet basil, finely chopped
Kalamata olives

Slice tomatoes and place on coffee filter or paper towel to wick excess juice. Whisk balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Stir in feta cheese. Place tomatoes on platter, and drizzle vinegar/oil/feta mixture over tops. Sprinkle 1 TBS. of the chopped basil for garnish. Add Kalamata olives as desired for garnish.

(Photo and text by Kay B. Day)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Home and Garden, Vegetables, Herbs, backyard garden, recipes

We think this snake is a Southern Black Racer. He seems to enjoy the shrubbery and the Sagos that ring our yard.

I’ve stepped on him or his kin as I pull weeds in my small backyard garden. I’ve admired him as he suns in the Sago branches, or in the other shrubs along the front of our house. We think he’s a Southern Black Racer, a common species in these parts.

I’ve thanked him silently for helping to keep our lizard and rodent population under control, and hopefully, for helping keep other snakes that aren’t as friendly under control as well.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Web site refers to the Black Racer as a “slithering garbage pail.”

My husband shot this photo Saturday morning. Until I uploaded it to the computer, I couldn’t appreciate the length of this snake. What we have appreciated many times is his curious spirit—the way he raises his head, probably looking for prey. He shouldn’t run out of food anytime soon because we have many species like lizards and frogs in abundance. I’ve also seen a few mice in the area around the pool house.

He’s startled me at times. One afternoon as I returned with groceries, I came within inches of him. He was sunning on the walkway in front of our door. I set the bags down and possibly from the ground vibrations, he took off. Another time, he decided to get an up-close look at my daughters as they sunned and swam near the pool. Probably because of their ear-piercing screams and hysterics, he took off.

I wrote about that event; this story was the beginning of my relationship writing for the local section of the Florida Times-Union.

Of course, I don’t know if he’s a beautiful boy or girl, but I do know this snake has done good things for us. He isn’t very aggressive. Otherwise, the day I stepped on him he’d have got a good bite out of my foot.

Because of the racer and other wildlife like backyard birds, possums, and the occasional turtle, we leave edge around the backyard fence and we try not to over-prune the large bushes.

Development is taking every available green space in our community right now. It’s as though every patch and every tree has a bulls-eye painted on it. I figure providing a substitute home is the least we can do for wildlife. (text by Kay B. Day; photo by Randy Day)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Southern Black Racer, Snake, Backyard Wildlife, development, environment, species, protection, conservation, Florida Wildlife

Jacksonville has to be one of the best garden spots in the world. Everything I’ve planted seems to thrive. One of my favorite projects is my kumquat tree.

I picked mine up from a nursery and hardware store on San Jose Blvd. I planted it last spring, hoping I’d get at least one of these small citrus fruits. By mid-summer, the tree was full of tiny, white blossoms giving off a sweet scent. As we enjoyed our Christmas holidays, I harvested my bumper crop of kumquats.

I did an article about my experience with this small, edible-peel citrus for Christian Science Monitor.

Kumquat Growers Inc., an organization for industry growers, has great recipes on the Web site. The organization was kind enough to give us permission to use some of their recipes for my CSM article.

I learned that my tree is a Meiwa. Fruit from this variety is best eaten whole. The Nagami kumquat we see in groceries during November is the best one for cooking or baking.

Technically, the kumquat isn’t a member of the Citrus genus, having been classified in 1915 in its own genus, Fortunella. Many growers say the fruit was introduced to the United States by Japan.

It’s fun to grow something that I can harvest in the winter, long after my tomatoes and peppers have been picked and eaten. If you want to grow something really special, try a kumquat. (photo & text by Kay B. Day)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Kumquat, Meiwa, Nagami, Jacksonville garden, Citrus, Recipes, Holidays

This is a 13-SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) unit, but when matched with a variable speed air handler, raises the rating to 14-SEER, producing more control over humidity and more efficient energy usage.

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Many homeowners endorse the ritual of spring cleaning, but when it comes to their heating and air conditioning system, reason goes out the door.

Maintenance on the system that is one of your home’s biggest and costliest appliances is a necessity. Not only will it save you those runny noses and itchy eyes that come from dirty air filters, it can also save money on energy costs. And if you’re contemplating installing a new system, there may be tax advantages. IRS explains this latter benefit as, “any insulation material or system that is specifically and primarily designed to reduce the heat loss or gain of a home when installed in or on such a home.”

George Morris, president of Morrhall, Inc., in Jacksonville, smiles when asked if homeowners put off regular maintenance on their HVAC systems. “When it gets hot, they turn the system on. They don’t think about it until they need it.”

Morris has been in the business for more than 20 years. He says people tend to forget to change their filters. Morris says sometimes when a homeowner discovers the system won’t work, he’ll run out to buy a filter, hoping that’s the problem. And most forget another rule of HVAC maintenance, having the coil cleaned. “As long as the unit’s working, they just don’t think about these things.”
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