November 2024 – Page 2 – Travels with Fred

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 5

19 November 2024

Two beautiful days and today is rain all day. Actually, that’s kind of nice. It seems appropriate to be in the woods, in a cabin, with a fireplace on a rainy day.

The rain didn’t stop us from breakfast at Hofer’s Bakery in Helen with all things German. Well, I don’t think donuts are German but I bought six anyway (3 glazed, 3 chocolate glazed). Sadly, Jimmie and Stephen turned me down on my offer of two each and I’ll have to eat all six. The things I do for relatives.

From there, we headed to Sautee General Store. It wasn’t open at 9 am so we continued to Clarksville, some 8 miles away. They were putting up Christmas lights in the square and Jimmie and I did some shopping – well, I did some shopping. There was a fishing store there that was spectacular, Unicoi Outfitters. I’ve never seen such high end fishing gear in one place.

One thing that drew my attention was a mounted antique bamboo fly rod and reel. Those things are very special.

Our next stop was at Wildernest, a cute take on the word wilderness. I’ve never seen a gift shop that included a tanning bed and a hair salon. Whatever, it seemed to work.

By then, it was getting on towards 10 am so we headed back to Sautee. I will not be denied my taffy. It’s a real cute store, both inside and out.

The front part of the store is antiques not for sell.

The back of the store is all modern and upbeat. They sell just about everything from my taffy to boots, to coats, to coasters. It’s wild.

Next door to the store is a sandwich shop with really good sandwiches. We stocked up for lunch and dinner and then headed back to the cabin to goof off, nap, and converse. I managed to wash a load of laundry, dry it, and Jimmie helped fold. When you are away 7 days, you go through a lot of clothes, particularly if you hiked for two of those seven.

If you remember, I’ve been thinking about the possibility of moving to a place with assisted living available. Interestingly, Jimmie and Stephen told me they are getting ready to sell their home in Greensboro and move into Carolina Pines, a resort/lifestyle community that advertises itself as going on a cruise ship without the water. They also have numerous amenities and services available as you age. I can’t wait to visit them after their move which is scheduled sometime in January.

Tomorrow, we pack up and head home. I’ll stop and visit a friend just north of Atlanta and then spend the night in Macon. From there, it’s another night on the road at Ocala and then home.

This has been a great trip! Jimmie, Stephen and I caught up with each others’ lives (and afflictions). I got in some hiking and a waterfall, and I did get my taffy.

Stay tuned!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 4

18 November 2024

The 3 bedroom cabin we are in is really nice. It’s called the Parkside cabin and is located just adjacent to the visitors center.

One of the wonderful features of the cabin when visiting during colder months is the fireplace.

After they delivered the kindling, I was able to make a fire, albeit with difficultly. There was a strong downdraft from the fireplace and when I tried to close the damper – nothing. Eventually, I got the kindling going and the wood burning but soon smoke began to fill the cabin and the smoke detector went off. This I wrote about yesterday. What I didn’t write about was the cause that came to me at 3 am. Somehow, we had cut the attic fan on which was drawing air from the chimney and up through the attic fan. I noticed it during my 3 am bathroom break. It would not matter whether the damper was closed or not because smoke was going to pulled into the cabin by the fan. If we do a fire tonight, we will make sure the attic fan is off!

We spent a lazy morning and ate breakfast in the cabin. Later, Jimmie, Stephen and I went to the visitors center and we toured their exhibits.

The Japanese maple made for a great background. Later, Jimmie and I walked around the visitors center loop trail. We clocked in 0.4 miles.

We decided to drive to Cleveland for lunch at our favorite place. The food is good and the prices are right. The place is called Clydes after the owner’s dog.

This is the third time we’ve eaten there. The park is equidistant between Helen and Cleveland and there are a lot less tourists with which to contend.

After dropping Jimmie and Stephen off, I headed to Dukes Creek Falls parking lot and walked the Dukes Creek trail down to the falls. It’s one mile to the falls – all downhill (with some steps) and then one mile back – all uphill. My Apple Watch clocked my hike at 2.5 miles which probably included some wandering down around the falls and when I had to go back and pick up my water bottle that had fallen out at the last part of the trail.

The falls are approximately 150 feet in height. Also coming down Dukes Creek are several cascades that are really nice.

I met a lot of people on their way up the trail and I would joke with them about the broken elevator or escalator for the falls.

As I was hiking back up, sweating and panting, I considered how nice it was to get back in the woods and on the trail. Several times when I paused to catch my breath, a gentle breeze wafted through the woods and cooled me off. Even the smell of the woods was intoxicating to me. I’m so pleased I managed to hike 2.5 miles today, down and back up a mountain. It gives me hope. Stephen commented on how I seemed to have a lot of energy today and maybe that’s due to getting back to something I love.

Even though it’s mid-November, there was still some color on the trees.

As I got back to the parking lot, I took one more look at Mt. Yonah. There’s a spectacular view from the parking lot.

Tomorrow, we plant to head to Sautee and our favorite general store and have lunch, buy taffy, and pretty much cool our jets. After all, it’s a vacation!

Stay tuned!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 3

17 November 2024

There were no vivid dreams last night. Maybe I worked out all my frustrations the night before.

I called the Doubletree Hilton in Jacksonville and questioned the two charges: extra valet and breakfast. She removed the valet charge but I must have been mistaken about the free meal. It wasn’t that costly and it was a good breakfast. Better than today’s at Home2 Suites in Augusta. They at least had my Raisin Bran.

Is it me or is all hotel coffee horrible? I’ve had experiences with all the room coffee devices and all the coffee in the breakfast area and it just tastes bad. It’s like the Hilton chain decided to make the coffee taste horrible so people would be more eager to leave and get a decent cup somewhere else.

Late yesterday afternoon I walked over to a franchise I’ve never heard of, Chicken Salad Chick. Seems redundant to me. Instead of chicken (the place smelled) I chose a pimento cheese sandwich which was OK except for the stale bread. It was quite a come down from Ruth’s Chris Steak House but was certainly a little cheaper.

When I got back to the room, I forgot that it was Saturday and college football. I watched LSU get beaten by Florida and watched a little of the Tennessee/Georgia game before I started reading on my iPad. In both games, they showed the student sections and I’ve never seen so many students crammed into so little space. When I used to attend the Ole Miss football games as a student, you had a little room to breathe between your seat mates. I guess they are cramming more into smaller spaces. Gotta pay for those sky boxes some way.

It was 46°F outside this morning. It’ll be interesting to see the temps in the mountains of Smithgall Woods State Park. Of course, I missed the beginning of the cool spell in Fort Lauderdale (68°F last night).

I was on the road at 9 this morning. Breakfast at this hotel wasn’t anything to write about. I had some problems with my GPS routing me around highway 78 because it was not up to date and didn’t show the new road. After one detour I figured out to stay on 78 until I needed to head north to Helen.

I pulled into Helen around noon and had a quick lunch. I did the tourist walk.

After the tourist walk, I headed to Smithgall Woods State Park and checked in. I paid the remaining balance (we split the cost and I’ve already been reimbursed). They had not finished with the cabin so I decided to walk the Laurel Ridge trail again. It’s 1.6 but with my meanderings, it ended up being 1.8.

It was a 300 foot climb in elevation and the day was perfect for the hike – cool, low humidity, sunny. At the top, you get a great view of Mount Yonah.

Mount Yonah is the knob on the left. It’s 3, 143 feet in elevation and is used by Army Rangers for training and repelling. I can’t believe I climbed that several years ago.

There were several people on the trail (who passed me) and when I got to the overlook, I sat on the bench provided and rested. Soon, another hiker approached. He sat down next to me and introduced himself as Nathan. I’d estimate his age around 18 or 19. He wanted to know about some hikes in the area and I steered him to Dukes Creek Falls, Anna Ruby Falls, and, of course, Mt. Yonah. I figured he was young enough he could run up the mountain.

I finally got permission to go to the cabin at 3:30. Jimmie and Stephen arrived around 4:30 and we immediately went to eat dinner. None of us like to drive after dark. We ate at a familiar restaurant to us and Jimmie and I had the same as last time: country fried steak.

I wanted to start a fire in the fireplace but there was no kindling. The office said they would send someone over with it. When we got back from dinner, I tried to get it going but there was a strong downdraft coming through the chimney. I decided to close the damper just to get the fire started and it went well. However, when I opened the damper, the downdraft filled the cabin with smoke and the smoke detector went off. We opened up the doors to get the smoke out and then let the fire die out. There’s still a stiff breeze coming out of the fireplace and the damper doesn’t seem to want to close again. Oh well. Good thing we have auxiliary heat.

I think we’re all exhausted from the drive and me from the hike. I’m thrilled that I had the stamina to make the hike even though I had to take several rest stops. I’m not sure my stamina is back but my hard headedness made me push through. It’s great to be out in the woods again. I’ve missed it.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 2

16 November 2024

I don’t know if it was the drive or the booze at dinner last night but I was exhausted and turned in at 8:30 am. That meant that I was awake at 4:30 am. In between time I had three vivid dreams. I blame the petit filet since I so seldom eat meat these days.

The first dream had me awaking at 4 am after hearing voices in the parking lot below. Realize, I’m on the tenth floor and hearing voices in the parking lot below is unlikely but not impossible. I spent one night on the 19th floor of a San Francisco hotel and heard every conversation from below because the buildings close by echoed the sound upwards.

That was not the case here. Anyway, I opened the curtain to take a look and saw about 50-60 people in folding chairs staring out farther into the parking lot. They were mostly wrapped in blankets so I assumed it was a little chilly. After listening a while, I finally managed to understand they were at a casting call for an audition to some tv or movie. Why 4 am, I have no idea, but hey, it’s my dream.

I eventually tried to take a photograph (for the blog, course) but couldn’t get rid of the glare from the window. I finally went back to bed. This was so vivid a dream that when I did wake at 1 am, I did a double take on the alarm clock.

The second dream was explaining to friends where I had eaten last night. Apparently we were in my grandmother’s home in Morton and I could not remember the name of the restaurant. I tried Googling it and could not find it using any search terms. I then had the bright idea of checking my blog. I didn’t mention the name in my blog. I never came up with the name. One reason may have been I was Googling “Sheraton” when I was staying at a Doubletree Hilton.

In between dreams, I realized it was Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Note bene! I forgot the possessive on the name of the restaurant in yesterday’s blog – maybe that’s why I dreamed about it.

The last dream was a recurring one albeit always slightly different. I was working at Broward College and apparently, due to the way personnel had the records, I was retired with the exception of having to teach two classes. After those two classes, I was free to go home. There are several parking lots on South Campus and faculty have designated spaces on two of those. If you have late classes, you may not get a parking space because students and nature fill a void. If so, you may have to walk farther than you usually do to your office or class.

In any case, I was through with classes and needed to get to the Jeep to get home but I couldn’t remember where I parked – more and more common these days. On my key fob, I have a button to remotely start the Jeep which is proceeded by two honks of the horn and a flash of the lights. That’s how I find my vehicle when I can’t immediately locate it. The problem was I walked the campus and all the parking lots and the Jeep didn’t respond. On top of that, a storm was coming that predicted six inches of rain in one hour. Fortunately, after several travels around the campus, I waked and didn’t loose the Jeep. Hopefully the rain is not a premonition. I’ve already had two floods at the house.

I packed up everything and after a breakfast they charged me that was supposed to be free and for two valet parkings, I headed out on I-95 again until I got off on I-20. I was 7 minutes from my next hotel and 3.6 miles away when we came to a dead stop. There was a left lane closure ahead and like South Florida drivers, the left lane drivers all tried to get to the head of the line and then cut in. This was causing a significant backup in both lanes.

To the credit of a semi driver, he moved into the left lane and blocked anyone else from trying to cut in. I loved it. Kudos to the driver!

I checked into the hotel and they gave me room 238. I had reserved a room on the fourth floor to keep the elephant noises down but I didn’t want to make a stink. However, when I got to the second floor, there was no 238. The rooms stopped at 235. Back down I went.

After much discussion between two employees, they upgraded me to a king bed on the fourth floor. That made me happy.

Today’s drive was almost less than yesterday’s but with the traffic jam on I-20, it ended up being around 5 hours again. Tomorrow is supposed to be a 3 hour drive but never believe what the GPS says.

Stay tuned!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 1

15 November 2024

I was out of bed by 6:30 this morning and after getting everything into the Jeep, I killed time until the traffic eased on I-95. I finally got underway (Coastie term) around 9:43 am and actually breezed through the area around Sunrise and Coconut Creek which is always backed up. Of course, by the time I approached Boca Raton, traffic was dead stopped. Only a few times later did the traffic get bad other than the crazy drivers on 95 thinking they were Mario Andretti.

I got to Jacksonville a little after 3, as predicted by my GPS, and after taking a wrong exit due to the lack of an update on the GPS, I finally saw the Doubletree Hilton. When I get to choose my room, I always choose the upper most floor because I don’t want to hear the elephants above me. I’m in room 1016. I have a beautiful view of nothing other than some passé buildings around the hotel.

Speaking of passé, Davis Brown informed me that my old friend Jack passed away last year. Jack was my French teacher at Ole Miss for my first two semesters. He was hell on wheels at the French Lab and told his classes if they missed two labs, they would drop a letter grade. I ended up with Legionaires Disease and in the infirmary for two weeks. He graciously allowed me to make up the labs. Later, he hired me to move some magazines of which he was the editor to another location and paid me generously. He became a life long friend. He retired from Ole Miss and owned a plant nursery in Oxford and when he came to South Florida to buy plants, he would always stay with me. I’ll miss him.

I decided to dine locally at the hotel. They have a Ruth Chris steak house here. I’ve done appetizers at the Ruth Chris in Fort Lauderdale and ate a steak at one in Hollywood years ago. This was a real treat, albeit an expensive one ($188).

I chose the petit filet (medium) with creamed spinach and potatoes au gratin. I tried their blackberry mojito (I think they were out of blackberries and substituted blueberries) and a pinot noir by the glass from Oregon. For desert I had coffee and crème brûlée. The steak was good, the potatoes excellent and the creme spinach just OK. I’ve had better crème brûlée.

For a very fancy restaurant, it was noisy with the wait staff gossiping with one another at the wait station to the point you could hear their conversations. I started to mention it to the manager but decided not to.

The restaurant had a riverside view of the St. Johns River. Jacksonville is noted for the military bases here. At one time, the U.S. sub fleet was in Key West. A local politician got Jacksonville as the home port. The subs have top travel a significant length of the St. Johns River in order to hit the Atlantic where they can deep dive off the continental shelf and hide. The Key West base was better because the continental shelf is closer in the Keys and it takes less time to get underway and hide. Such is politics.

I hate this bridge. It seems every time I come to Jacksonville, I get caught on rush hour traffic on this bridge. I also hate the tallest building seen here. It has a flared triangular base (not obvious here) and it looks very ugly.

Jacksonville, at one time, had the largest square mile area for any city in the U.S. I assume it is still the same. The city limits just sprawl. The only time I’ve spent any time here was at a Florida science convention. I made a professor very uncomfortable when he showed some slides of some significance and I asked the question how he didn’t know the stuff he was showing was artifacts in the production of the slides. In my defense, they looked like artifacts I had seen in slides before. His answer was “they just aren’t artifacts.

So far, the hotel is quiet but it’s not even 6 pm. It could get louder tonight. There is quite bit of traffic on a road nearby. The hotel could use a remake. The carpet is tired and so are the rooms. However, it was convenient and I get Hilton points – shades of Tom Green.

Tomorrow, I head to Augusta, Ga. I swear, when I was a kid putting together a puzzle of the states of the U.S., Augusta was listed at the capital of Georgia. My Georgia friends insist Atlanta has always been the capital of Georgia. I did a Wikipedia search an apparently that is not true.

Anyway, stay tuned for Augusta!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 0

14 November 2024

Tomorrow begins my trip to Smithgall Woods State Park to meet up with Jimmie and Stephen. We’ve planned this trip ever since our first visit and we made reservations at the same cabin we had last time at least six months ago if not longer.

I’m not sure any of us are up to hiking. I have no stamina, Jimmie has hip problems and Stephen gets out of breath. Looks like we will have to enjoy temps in the 3o’s and 40’s at night with a fire crackling in the two fireplaces, doing some star gazing, and, of course, dining out in Helen. Hopefully the fall colors will still be around.

I managed to get most of the items on my “to do” list completed. It’s been a busy and exhausting day. I think I’m pretty much packed and I hope to get out of town around 10 am. It should be about a five hour drive to Jacksonville where I’ll spend one night.

The one problem I ran into is choice of clothes. There’s gonna be some cold days and nights and those clothes are bulky. I think it’ll all fit in my suitcase.

Stay tuned for the trip!

Everything Fred – Part 481

13 November 2024

All good things must come to an end. So must my feeling really well. I got up this morning thinking I was going to be fine. When I started my morning walk, I realized I wasn’t going to do it. I walked around the block and came back in the house after 0.2 miles. I had a blah feeling all day.

I wanted to go visit Chris today at Hollywood Memorial on Johnson Street but I just couldn’t get the energy necessary to do it. I talked with him on the phone and he admitted he wasn’t quite ready for visitors yet.

It also meant that the time I set aside for packing didn’t get done right away. I went back to bed, read a little, and then had a nap. Dinner was left over beef stew which is still surprisingly good after the third day.

I got as far as writing down a “to do” list for tomorrow and it seems to keep growing. So far I have:

turn the pool off while I am gone – too many leaves are blowing into it and it could cause the pump to fail with a clogged basket.
shut down the air filter/dehumidifiers in the house
have some house keys made at the local hardware store
fill up with diesel
get the car washed and cleaned inside
put out the trash bin and yard waste bin for Friday pickup
water the only plant inside before I go
clean the pool filter

My goal is to start at the hardware for the keys, drive across the street to the service station and fill the Jeep up and then head to the car wash. After that, I can finish the tasks at home. I anticipate getting away on Friday morning around 10 am.

This evening, I managed to drag the suitcase out and start packing. I always overpack but it’s a large suitcase and not a problem as long as I don’t have to lug it up over too many stairs.

I may or may not be developing a urinary tract infection. I keep getting this tiny pangs at the tip of my you-know-what. How I get urinary tract infections is beyond me. My last hospital stay I had one even though that was not why I was admitted.

I’m looking forward to this trip and the cooler weather. It’ll be in the 40’s at night in Helen and then in the 60’s during the day. I even packed some heavy shirts. Even though that’s not too cold, in the scheme of things, to this South Florida boy, that’s cold. We may get down in the 40’s once or twice a year and it is in the high 40’s.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I hope I’m up to it. Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 480

12 November 2024

As yesterday was Veterans Day, I totally forgot it was nine years ago that I put Rocky down. He was 14 (98 in human years) and it was one of the toughest things I had to do.

This was a really good friend. He made me laugh and apparently I made him laugh. That’s about all you can ask for in life. Someone to laugh through life.

Also, since it was Veterans Day, I watched the movie Patton. I’ve read several biographies of Patton and have always been fascinated by him, his persona, and his foibles. In an introduction by Francis Coppola who wrote the screen play and was eventually fired from the production, explained he won the Oscar for best Screenwriting for Patton. According to him, it was that award that kept him from being fired from the production of the Godfather. The producers thought it would look bad to fire an Oscar winner.

One of the most famous scenes is the opening monologue by Scott in front of a giant American flag. Coppola wrote that thinking the production company would never accept it but it turned out to be the most iconic aspect of the movie.

This, in my opinion, is the best performance ever by George C. Scott. Ditto for Karl Malden. It won best picture in 1970 and 6 other Oscars. If you watch it, you need to carve out some time, it’s a long movie. The running time is 172 minutes. I remember seeing it in a theater in New York when I was in radio school at Governor’s Island. That same year, I saw Tora, Tora, Tora! It seems 1970 was the year for war movies.

I managed a 1.9 mile walk this morning along Riverland Road. The traffic was heavy on the road and it was difficult getting across without becoming a permanent portion of the road. As I started the walk, my eye caught a bleeding heart vine in bloom.

Bleeding Heart Vine (*Clerodendrum thomsoniae*)

There are other plants commonly called bleeding heart, especially the genus Dicentra.

Pacific Bleeding Heart (*Dicentra formosa*)

Just as there are plants with the same common name, Clerodendrum is another species growing in my backyard.

Star Flower (*Clerodendrum quadriloculare*)

To me, the two species of Clerodendrum don’t look too much like each other.

After my walk, I put the two extensions on the patio table and oiled them down with Teak oil. The table has taken on a new life and I’ll probably continue to add more Teak oil. I ordered some rubber “shoes” for the table legs so the wood would not rot. There were the beginning signs of that as I was oiling the underside.

Chris and I, sans, Tucker headed to Hugh Birch State Park for a leisurely lunch with an ocean breeze washing over us under a canopy of sea grapes. The food was good, the company was excellent. For those who have quizzed me about Chris and Tucker, here’s Chris and me at Hugh Birch. (Hint: I’m on the right.)

For those of you who have further questions, here’s Tucker.

Notice how Rocky and Tucker seem to be posing for the greatest effect! Hollywood ambitions!

After lunch, Chris and I drove the 1.9 mile loop around the park. It was like going back in history to old Florida. If you go the speed limit, it’s supposed to take 33 minutes of drive time.

After dropping Chris off, I crawled into bed, read a little and fell asleep. All that fresh air must have taken its toll. I’m only used to polluted air from the airport.

Judith has been great calling me with updates on Chris. He’s out of bed and sitting upright. He’s still in pain but has medication for that. The surgery was considered successful and nothing unusual was encountered during the surgery. Their son Alex (the physician) is staying the week attending Chris and Judith’s brother Clive (also a physician) is providing additional support and chauffeuring Judith back and forth to the hospital. I’m relieved Chris is through the surgery. I’ll try to visit him tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 479

11 November 2024

It’s Veterans Day today (tomorrow is the observed day) but I fly my flags today in recognition of those who have served which include my Dad and my brother.

I think this is Dad’s Officer Candidate School (OCS) photo prior to WWII outbreak. In case you can’t find him, he’s in the third row, second from the left.

Dad served under MacArthur in the Pacific and then again in Korea.

My brother Archie was a submariner [sub MARE eh ner] in the Navy and served aboard both diesel and nuclear subs.

When I was faced with being drafted during the Viet Nam conflict, my Dad, who served in two major conflicts, told me if he could go in my place, he would. That’s the sort of man he was. Archie served during the Cold War and Viet Nam when Soviet subs were playing cat a mouse with US subs resulting in highly stressful conditions. Me, I just copied Morse Code in the states.

I can’t believe I forgot to write about my experiences at Cafe Seville. Nancy and Michel highly recommended it and it certainly lived up to expectations. I had one of my favorite fish dishes, yellowtail snapper, and it was delicious.

The restaurant is cozy and warm and the staff are very welcoming. The food is outstanding. We got there a little after 6 pm and by 6:30 the place was filling up. By the time we finished, the place was packed. Yet, we were not hurried from our table. This place is a keeper.

I’m indolent today. I didn’t walk and I very lazily unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded it and finally made my bed. I don’t know if it’s low energy or what but I’ve decided to do nothing until I have to leave for my iron infusion at 2 pm today. Sometimes you just need a break in routine.

I’m thrilled to report that Citizens Property Insurance – the state insurer of last resort – renewed my policy yesterday WITHOUT AN INCREASE! I was going to pay by credit card on their website but they had tacked on a $140 fee for using a credit card. I then filled in the info for it to be taken from my checking account that did not have a fee. The Sun-Sentinel reported today that Citizens is asking for a 14% increase for next year. I’m glad I got locked in early.

I spent at least an hour putting pills in packets for morning and evening doses. That’s about the only thing I hate about getting ready for a trip. Not only do I have to do my usual weekly sorting of pills but an extra week of sorting for the trip. Too many pills!

My niece Ashley is helping her Dad and Tanis out around the house and she was there working yesterday. I got to talk with her and then with Archie. He has an appointment with the VA on Wednesday and Ashley is taking the day off to go with him to the VA. I really appreciate her helping Archie and Tanis.

Since there was no walk today, I didn’t submit you to the punishment of looking at wildflowers.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 478

10 November 2024

Another nice morning with low humidity, temperature in the 70’s and a nice breeze blowing. It put a little perk in my steps during my 1.5 mile morning walk.

I passed by a house that I think belongs to someone involved with horticulture. He always has a wonderful yard with plenty of unusual stuff in bloom – stuff you would see only in a plant nursery.

One of the plants was Golden Arrow. I’ve featured this one before but the bloom was just too pretty to pass up.

You see this a lot in the neighborhood and I really do like the plant. It is another plant that belongs in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae).

The other one I passed was the first time I’ve seen it in bloom. Mostly, when I come across it, it’s in fruit. It’s Island Marlberry.

Island Marlberry (*Ardisia escallonoides*)

Most people don’t have this in their yard. It’s native to Florida and the Caribbean. It belongs to the primrose family (Primulaceae).

I got to thinking where I got my love of flowers. I think it was when I was living in Boyle, Mississippi where I was in the first grade (5 years old). I was ahead of the class in reading. I had already seen Spot run and I had already figured out Dick in the Dick and Jane stuff and knew he grew up to be – well, a dick.

Anyway, we lived in Mr. McCrain’s house and next door was a retired school teacher – actually quite old. Mother would go over and talk with her and pop her pimples. Apparently she had a really oily skin and had a lot of pimples in old age. Mother was an expert pimple popper.

To keep me entertained, she gave me some of her third grade handouts which were flowers and their names. She loaned me some crayons and I went to work. I began to associate the flower with the name even then. Since I was five, I probably colored outside the lines – something that persists today.

My next realization was when we moved back to Morton and I noticed Grandma Searcy’s potted geraniums and flowering quince. Then I began to notice the daffodils in spring.

My Grandmother Ruby would drive me and Mrs. Thompson around to Roosevelt State Park to see the dogwoods and redbuds in bloom. Mrs. Thompson (Nancy) dipped snuff – fairly common back then – think of the scene in Gone With the Wind. To dip snuff, she needed a toothbrush. To her, that meant a branch from a Tupelo gum (Nyssa sylvatica). It had to be the perfect branch. I spent what I thought was hours searching the park for the perfect branch. She rejected most and finally settled on one.

To make it into a “toothbrush” you chewed the end of it until it fanned out like a broom. Then while it was wet with saliva, you dipped it into the jar of snuff. The brushlike feature allowed you to get a really good dip of snuff.

I didn’t mind the dipping, the choosing the branch, or even the snuff. What I couldn’t stand was the spitting. She would carry a can with us and use that as her spittoon.

By the way, I later found out that the Tupelo gum is the first tree to change color of its leaves in the fall of the year. They turn a very bright red and you could walk through the woods in late July or early August and pick out gums from the red leaves.

Two things sealed the deal with me. Mr. Polk, our scoutmaster, had us do an exhibit on edible plants at the jamboree held at the fairgrounds in Jackson. He did all the work and had the plants mounted in Riker mounts. All we had to do was memorize the spiel for each plant. I loved it.

When I went away to Ole Miss, I took an introductory botany course with Dr. Pullen. He had put up a display of poisonous plants on herbarium sheets in the student lobby of the biology building. It fascinated me. Later as an undergraduate, I took his “Flora of Mississippi” course.

After doing my time in the U.S. Coast Guard, I decided to ask Dr. Pullen (1) if he remembered me and (2) would he accept me as a grad student. He wrote back he did indeed remember me and would be happy to have me as a graduate student. He even provided for a stipend.

As you can see, fate steered me to flowers. From there, I branched out into algae, mosses, ferns, and pretty much anything plant related. So, you will continue to be bombarded by flowers on my blog.

Stay tuned!