Living in Florida

Out for a morning walk on my paths today and came upon this oak snake next to my shop. He is 5 feet long. They are not poisonous so I did not kill it. They eat mice and lizards so they have some benefit. They will bite if you try to handle them so I just let him go on his merry way. Just one more joy of life in rural Florida. You have to keep a sharp eye when walking in wooded areas.


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I haven't read any stories lately about alligators dragging off grandma from her garden.
 
This one is soooo right:
A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

It actually applies to Europe this year as well. You have to be saavy and park for EVENING shade while at work, if you dont plan to move the car during the day.

Other point, wasnt ther a Supermarket chain called Winn Duixie in Fla and also back in the 1980s a chain that only sold unbraded stuff...I think it was called BASICS?
 
This one is soooo right:
A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

It actually applies to Europe this year as well. You have to be saavy and park for EVENING shade while at work, if you dont plan to move the car during the day.

Other point, wasnt ther a Supermarket chain called Winn Duixie in Fla and also back in the 1980s a chain that only sold unbraded stuff...I think it was called BASICS?

Well we still have Winn Dixie actually there is one in our town along with Publix. That other chain I think it's called Food Basics. I've never seen one in Fla. they are way up north and in the Pacfic areas. A&P I think owns them.
 
Chris, this was back in 1980, near Kendall Mall, so a long time ago. Slogan was "back to BASICS". Huge hyper markets, IIRC.

Maybe the gators got 'em. LoL
 
Siesta Key has my favorite beach, beautiful white sand. I lived in Orlando, pre-Disney, when I was a teen. I remember the sweet smell of the orange blossoms, the water skiing I did in the lake behind our house, the thousands of little frogs that would gather under the streetlights in my neighborhood and my claim to fame, as the "youth of the year" in Orlando when I was sixteen.
 
Out for a morning walk on my paths today and came upon this oak snake next to my shop. He is 5 feet long. They are not poisonous so I did not kill it. They eat mice and lizards so they have some benefit. They will bite if you try to handle them so I just let him go on his merry way. Just one more joy of life in rural Florida. You have to keep a sharp eye when walking in wooded areas.


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EEW!!! Yikes! I don't care poisonous or not. Snakes are bad, I don't care what they do for benefit. If I was back in my younger days with eyesight and my .22 semi-auto rifle w/double clips there would be nothing left of that snake. I obliterated a snake in the desert once (a rattler), boy was my dad mad at me. Not for the snake, but for the ammo I went through. I shot through about 40 rounds inside 42 seconds and hit the snake about 34 times. Ammo was expensive back then I guess, but when it comes to things like snakes, I like to be through. The guide with us on that trip was not pleased either because he was hoping for stew, but I put too high a lead content in it. He told me it was dead with my second shot, but of course I did not hear him, I was busy turning my rifle into a machine gun. Yup, not a fan of snakes.

Glad I don't see snakes anymore now days. I have no use for guns either anymore and besides now I couldn't hit the broad side of a war with a cannon anyway.
 
Bob.......I hear you. Florida is a wonderful state with a lot to offer. Having lived in the larger metropolitan cities, Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Tampa, and Jacksonville, my preference is rural north central Florida. The beaches are fine but the congestion in the major areas wears you out. I think the Gulf coast side of the state is far more beautiful than the Atlantic coast line, more like old Florida before the developers destroyed the eastern side of the state, but for me the country lifestyle offered in Florida's rural north central areas is the most appealing to me.

There's not doubt about the large population of older people who moved here to live out their days in the warmth but Florida has plenty of activities for the younger generations. If you like boating, Florida is a boater's paradise. All joking aside, Florida is a great place to live. I also lived in San Francisco, California and Portland, Oregon for many years as well. I do miss the culture, art, music, and food those cities offer. Still, rural north central Florida suits me just fine.

Dan
I used to vacation every March in a little town called Sebastian about 10 miles north of Vero Beach every year from 1986 to 1994. My cousin lived there. I like baseball and the LA Dodgers used to have their spring training facility in Vero. I'd sit in the stands in shorts and a t shirt drinking an ice cold beer and wondering what the people up north were doing. My other favorite place is Cocoa Beach, home of Patrick AFB and the world famous Ron Jon Surf Shop. One year I was there and was fortunate enough to see a night shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral. It was the most spectacular thing I've ever seen.

If I were to move to Fla. the Cocoa Beach/Melbourne area would be my preference. The lifestyle seems to be very laid back and easy going plus I would never have to deal with snow or brutally cold weather for the rest of my life. People always say that if you live in Florida you have to put up wit bugs, hurricanes etc. I'd rather put up with the bugs and hurricanes rather than blizzards and sub zero temps.

BTW, I love palm trees:heart::heart:
 
Florida also has towns with cool names like Holopaw, Kissimmee and my favorite Yeehaw Junction. Florida also has some of the best large mouth bass fishing in the world.
 
I drove my bike down thru the keys How would life be on one of the keys . I would think cost would be a factor in the keys and the one road in and one road out. But it looked nice Key west is a little too many people for me.
 
EEW!!! Yikes! I don't care poisonous or not. Snakes are bad, I don't care what they do for benefit. If I was back in my younger days with eyesight and my .22 semi-auto rifle w/double clips there would be nothing left of that snake. I obliterated a snake in the desert once (a rattler), boy was my dad mad at me. Not for the snake, but for the ammo I went through. I shot through about 40 rounds inside 42 seconds and hit the snake about 34 times. Ammo was expensive back then I guess, but when it comes to things like snakes, I like to be through. The guide with us on that trip was not pleased either because he was hoping for stew, but I put too high a lead content in it. He told me it was dead with my second shot, but of course I did not hear him, I was busy turning my rifle into a machine gun. Yup, not a fan of snakes.

Glad I don't see snakes anymore now days. I have no use for guns either anymore and besides now I couldn't hit the broad side of a war with a cannon anyway.

Eric.......I understand being repulsed by snakes. I am not necessarily fond of them either but do recognize their place in the ecosystem, that is with the exception of the poisonous ones that are a threat to human life. Two weeks ago my nearest neighbor down the road called me just after lunch and asked me to bring a gun over to his place. He had a 4' diamondback rattlesnake coiled up by the feed room door at his horse barn. I took my 12 gauge shotgun and drove over there. The rattlesnake was coiled up under a small table. We used a long piece of metal conduit and managed to get the snake out on the dirt where I promptly blew its head off with a single round of #6 buckshot. A rattlesnake bite from one of these fellows can kill a human and they are not to be played with.


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A couple years ago I shot a five foot diamondback rattler on my property. Marlene had gone out to feed her horse Gus. I heard her yelling my name and when I went to see what she wanted she was pointing at a five foot diamondback rattlesnake slithering along by the gate to the pasture. I grabbed a .380 pistol and went down there and killed the snake with a round to the head. Actually it took me two rounds to hit him because he was moving. I used a long shovel to move him to a table for the photo below.


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About five years ago I killed a coral snake out by my firewood pile after a hard rain. He was the third one I killed in a ten year period and I haven't seen any since then. Coral snakes are the deadliest snake in North America. Their venom works on the central nervous system and fairly quickly your ability to breath stops and you suffocate to death. Fortunately coral snakes are slow movers, not very aggressive and have small mouths so you have to actually be handling them to get bitten. I used a long handle wood ax to chop this guys head off. He measured over 32 inches. That is big for a coral snake. Most measure about 20 to 24 inches.


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Having lived in Florida for many years including all of my youth, I have developed a heightened awareness for snakes as I move around my property, Gus's horse stall and feed room, and particularly my walking paths through the oak and pines. You have to keep a sharp eye out and pay attention to what you hear. There are black indigo snakes around, too. They are a protected snake in Florida because they will kill water moccasins and rattlesnakes. When I see them I let them go on about their lives. Not all snakes are bad but the poisonous ones have got to go.
 
We lived in FL for 15 years - 12 in Orlando and 3 in Ft Lauderdale. We plan to settle back in FL for our next life phase. Likely the gulf coast - Tampa, Bradenton, Sarasota or even a little further south.
 
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