It’s been five years since El Niño last visited Florida but this one is already off to a strong start. We do need the additional precipitation because believe it or not, a good chunk of the state near me is experiencing a drought.
It would be nice though if the rain didn’t bring along its damaging friends, such as high winds and storm surges. Thankfully, yesterday’s squall was not as destructive as the one we experienced last month. Let’s hope the same holds true for the upcoming one!
If you’re a birder with a bawdy sense of humor this is the kind of present you get. (Side note, we really need to stop letting men name things.)
My friends know me all too well! Thank you for the giggles, Alyssa and Sarah! 💖
Last month I was in Tampa for a morning work gathering, which meant I had the afternoon free for a bit of exploring. So I wandered over to Ybor City. My only other visit to the popular entertainment district was at night for a Todd Snider concert several years ago.
I was eager to tour this district during daylight hours. The historic enclave started as a cigar company town in the 1880s. Vincente Martinez-Ybor was a visionary Spanish cigar maker who had moved his factory to Key West from Cuba in 1869. Fifteen years later, he was again looking for a larger base for his operations.
He needed a location with a humid climate, good transportation, and plenty of vacant land. In 1884 Henry Plant’s newly completed rail line to Tampa provided an overland route for goods, the bay offered multiple shipping options, and the leaders of the burgeoning town were eager to welcome industry.
In 1885 Ybor started with 40 acres but he quickly purchased more land to provide housing for his growing immigrant workforce. Most of the first wave of boncheros (or bunchers, as cigar-rollers are known) had followed him from Spain and Cuba.
By all accounts, Ybor took good care of his workers. In addition to the casitas, he created social clubs and theaters, set up medical facilities, operated a street car line, and built Tampa’s first brewery.
Seemingly overnight, Ybor City boomed. Other cigar manufacturers noted Ybor’s success and followed suit, bringing immigrants from Sicily and elsewhere in Europe. For 50 years it was a thriving, multi-cultural melting pot. From the 1880s until the 1930s, these factories produced cigars in the hundreds of millions and the town became known as Cigar City.
The Great Depression brought that all to screeching halt. The ensuing 50 years were marked by rapid decline as factories shuttered and workers dispersed. In the late 1980s, the historic warehouses and the workman’s bungalows began to attract artists and musicians to the area. Thankfully, their renewed interest helped save many of the buildings from the wrecking ball.
It felt like a trip back in time as I strolled the brick streets: historic architectural elements caught my eye, murals provided bright pops of color, and music flowed from the doorways of bars and clubs. Chickens strutted and roosters crowed. I caught snippets of conversations spoken in Spanish, Italian, Greek, and French. I watched buncheros sort tobacco leaves and roll cigars (see video at bottom of this post). Even though it was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week it was still a vibrant area.
As I wandered along, a funky store sign caught my eye, Dysfunctional Grace. Of course, I had to check that out. The upstairs space was neatly packed with all the morbid oddities one would expect from a curiosity shop: fortune telling supplies, taxidermied animals, hair wreaths, a used embalming table, shrunken heads, and even some surgical implants that the former owners no longer needed.
My Aunt Polly would love this store! Though I was fascinated, I only made one small purchase. I did have a fun conversation with Grace, the owner. She said “I’m learning to make shrunken heads but not from real people, because that’s illegal.” I replied, “That’s a damn shame because I have a list of people.” We both laughed about that.*
By then, it was time for a little refresher so I popped into the Tampa Bay Brewing Company for some hops. It felt like I had just taken a mini-vacation, what a great way to spend an afternoon!
*I do not, in fact, have any such list. It was just a funny thing to say.
My friend Amber and I spent the morning cleaning up the beach. People left an awful lot of trash behind after their celebrations last night. Sigh.
But then again, it was a good excuse to get my toes in the sand, so I shan’t complain.
Hopefully your day started off better than this girl’s:
Ah, my favorite beach. There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be on the final day of 2023!
As for my wishes for us all in the coming year, I’ll echo The Paperboys, in hoping that it’s better than the last.
Yes, I know, I have shared this song before, but I find it pertinent (and I just love this band and their music). Happy New Year!🥂
I’d like to formally introduce you to CJ, swindler extraordinaire. You may recall a couple months ago when I came home to find a cat that looked remarkably like my Westley sitting on my front porch.
It surprised me because I’d left my cat in the house. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was just a doppelgänger and not my boy (who was peacefully napping on his cat tree at the time).
The little stranger tugged at my heartstrings with its pathetic mew and demands for attention. I offered it a scoop of food, which it immediately scarfed down. It made me worry that it had been left behind by one of the neighbors that had recently moved away.
That first night I left the cat alone, hoping it would find its way home. Which I presumed happened because I didn’t see kitty for about a week. When it showed up again one morning I sprang into action. I lured kitty into a cage with some food and drove over to my vet to have it scanned for a microchip.
After a few phone calls, I was able to reunite her with her family which lives down at the end of my block. We had a good chuckle over her antics when I walked CJ back home because even though she acted ravenous around me, she is a well-loved and well-cared for cat. Apparently, she just knew I was a soft touch!
CJ still visits occasionally, though she doesn’t stay long. She is severely disappointed in my lack of concern regarding her “malnourishment”!
Sadly, the dearth of snow down here means we can’t participate in many typical winter activities. Thankfully, we have plenty of white, fluffy sand which at least allows us to practice building snowmen.
For what it’s worth, while sand is a good medium in this instance, I do not recommend substituting it for snowball fights.
I know which one I like best, but which one is your favorite?
Heading out to the beach for my sunset walk today, I opted to wander south instead of north just to get a different view.
My direction ended up not mattering at all because the fog started rolling in shortly after I stepped onto the sand. When I left my house it was 71º and sunny. By the time I left the beach 45 minutes later, the temperature had dropped 10 degrees and visibility was under a mile.
The fog, cool breeze, and choppy sea took me back to my beach walking days on the Oregon Coast.
I was not expecting a holiday theme when I drove over to explore a new nature park in nearby Dunedin but I was pleasantly surprised. Within five minutes on the trail at the Gladys E. Douglas Preserve I encountered Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia spp).
It’s only found in undisturbed areas, so even though I’ve tramped numerous miles through scores of parklands here in Florida over the past few years it was my first ever sighting. As the common name implies, it also grows north of the Arctic Circle where caribou (aka reindeer) browse on it in the winter.
Further down the trail was a Hog Plum tree (Spondias mombin) with a few late-season fruits still hanging on. While the small fruit is edible, a quick nibble proved it was the opposite of a sugar plum.
Turning around I spotted Christmas Wreath Lichen (Cryptothecia rubrocincta) growing on a tree trunk. The name is based on the color combination along with its typically round shape.
I noted some cheery red and green pops of color along the trail. Then, tucked back in the woods, I spied a tall, scraggly orange tree. I had to wander over and get a closer look. It felt like I found a little gift because there was one ripe orange on the ground (while the rest of the fruit was at least 10 feet in the air and well out of my reach). I’ll be planting the seeds soon, it will be interesting to see if I can get it to grow.
Speaking of presents, a few minutes later I stumbled across a pretty painted rock. I enjoy finding these and sometimes I take them with me, but this one I left so that someone else can experience the joy of discovery.
Next a thin, yellowish twining vine caught my eye. It looked remarkably similar to one from the desert southwest of my childhood but this dodder is called Love Vine (Cuscuta europaea).
In a small clearing nearby I was treated to a sweet and simple sight, someone had decorated a pine seedling for the season. It made an adorable little Christmas tree. Whoever you are, thank you for the giving me a smile.
Near the end of the loop I looked up and received the best gift of the day, my first sighting of a Barred Owl (Strix varia). Thankfully, this one was so involved in a preening session that it didn’t mind me taking photos. It was a treat to share a few peaceful minutes together.
Who says Florida doesn’t celebrate the season? What a wonderful way to spend part of the holidays!
Wishing you peace, love, and joy, not just on Christmas but throughout the coming year! 🎄
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