Sunday, May 24, 2009

An Unexpected Find on the Hiking Trail Today



Our friend Dean, who is a naturalist, tells us that this is a carnivorous flower, beautiful but deadly for insects, which are lured by the lovely scent and then are trapped inside the petals.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Need A Smile Today? Watch This.

Here's the description from You Tube: "More than 200 dancers performed their version of "Do Re Mi", in the Central Station of Antwerp. With just 2 rehearsals they created this amazing stunt! Those 4 fantastic minutes started the 23 of March 2009, 08:00 AM."



Apparently it's part of a promotion for a Belgian television program looking for someone to play the leading role in the musical "The Sound of Music".

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Migrating North


Timeless Beauty, originally uploaded by A Fool in Miami.



As we were driving north last week on I-95 on that scrubby stretch from Jacksonville to Savannah, we started to notice cars laden with luggage and the telltale clothing rod stretching across the backseat. Cadillacs, SUVs, RVs and even a Maserati--they all had shirts swaying in those backseat closets. (Is this an unwritten rule?)

Unknown to us, we had joined the caravan of white-haired travelers heading back home to the North. Who are these peripetetic people? Much to my surprise, they are not predominantly Canadians and many aren't from the coldest states in the U.S. Curious? Here are some statistics from a survey done at the University of Florida:

Snowbird Statistics:

13.1% are New Yorkers
7.4% are Michiganders
6.7 % are from Ohio
5.8% are from Pennyslvania
5.5 % are Canadians.

Their average length of stay in Florida? 5 months.
The number of snowbirds? Approximately 920,000 in 2004.
Their average income? Over $100,000.

There you have it! Curiosity satisfied?