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Showing posts from October, 2025

Does Florida have seasons?

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She looked out over the palmettos and pines, here where she’d grown up, where she learned to survive broiling heat in the summer, lightning storms, war and raiders, disease, and clouds of biting insects and animals that would as soon kill you as walk away from you. It was also a land of birdsong and warm winter breezes, flowers all year round, and plenty of water and sunshine. --[WIP] For Love of a Smuggler Depends where you live. Up here in North Central Florida, we can feel the change from not going outside in mid-August because it feels like you're in a sauna under a magnifying glass frying you on the sidewalk, to waking up in the morning and feeling chipper when you step outside.  For me it's also nature trails season. Florida, especially where I live, is blessed with springs, rivers, and lots of nature trails maintained by the various local and state governments and volunteers. Once the temperature drops down into the 80sF it's safe to get back out, so I grabbed my boo...

Know Your Trash Pandas

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The moon hanging heavy above the trees illuminated the pine flatwoods and palmettos, clear enough for him to see a raccoon scamper across the track in front of them. “Older he-coons wait until near dawn to come out,” Carl had told him at the trading site as John admired his collection of skins to trade. “The younger males get trapped or et by panthers and gators ‘cause they ain’t got no sense.” --BOOK NINE, maybe titled FOR LOVE OF A SMUGGLER or maybe TREASURE ON THE TIDE, I dunno yet... Floridians of a certain age may recall the phrase, "The old he-coon walks just before the light of day" and how it helped our late Governor "Walkin' Lawton" Chiles win an election. I was out walking a few mornings back and saw this guy scampering across a neighbor's lawn. It was long past light of day, so he may have had a busy night, or just lacked good sense.  Racoons are part of the Florida landscape, and these little trash pandas are annoying, but also interest...

Review: The Magician of Tiger Castle

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The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews