The signs of Fall in South Florida

It is really hard to tell when it’s Fall here in South Florida.  We had a few days of what I consider to be Fall weather and now…it feels like summer again.  It’s just strange to be in the middle of November and the high temperature is still in the mid 80s.  What’s it like elsewhere around the country where my friends and family are enjoying Fall? 

Let’s see… 

How are my friends in Fort Worth?  They’re wearing sweaters since it’s 57 degrees there!

Austin?  A lovely 62. 

What about Los Angeles?  66

Baltimore? 49

Nashville?  57

Las Vegas?  66

You get the idea.  It’s warm here – and there are no fall colors.  I really miss the oranges, golds, and even browns, that signify Autumn back in Texas and around the country. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I saw an iguana run across the street. 

Maybe that’s a sign for Fall here in South Florida. 

As the wise, round-headed kid known as Charlie Brown would say, “AGH!” 

 

An autumn wine tasting party

Even though it doesn’t really feel like autumn here in south Florida yet, the temperatures are dropping from a warm 90 degrees to the upper 80’s.  I also saw one tree changing from green to a pretty gold just yesterday….ahh!  It’s Fall at last. 

A few years ago while living in Fort Worth, Dear and I hosted one of many wine tasting parties.  My favorite one was in October which we set up in the back yard.  My friend Denise came into town to help with all the preparations including cleaning the house and setting up the back yard.  Of course, we hung little white lights in the trees  and all around the deck – right after cleaning up all the lovely dog poop!  That’s what good hosts do… We were very lucky since a cool front blew in the morning of the scheduled party day.  It was perfect outside.  We set up two long tables with white table cloths (which is always a requirement at a wine tasting so you can see the actual color of the wine when held next to the white cloth), lots of white candles, and a table full of sparkling stemware.  For dinner, we grilled freshly made pizzas (think mozzarella, basil, etc) for everyone right on the deck.  What a great party! 

 

If you are interested in having your own wine tasting party, here is a great website to get you started. 

http://celebrations.com/article/sensuous-wine-tasting-party

Cheers and Happy Autumn!

 

We’ve got crabs!

…well actually, just one .   This morning, Cubs was in the garage when he heard an interesting noise.  We’ve had a family of stray cats around recently and he thought it might be a kitten.  He didn’t see anything at first so he thought it might be a rat (yes, Boca Raton has rats!).  He followed the sound until he saw a small crab on the side of the garage door!  I guess the little crustacean was just visiting. Of course, Cubs had to find something so that he could poke at it a bit – that’s the straw you see in the photo.

Now that’s something we never saw in north Texas!

Speaking of Texas, it looks like they are preparing along the coast for the impact of Gustav, which is likely to be a category 3 hurricane.  Even though I grew up in Lufkin, in east Texas, I don’t remember my family ever having any major concerns about hurricanes as a child.  However, we never had to worry about hurricane shutters and that sort of thing because we were so far inland.  Dear said he could recall his family “preparing” for a hurricane a couple of times when he was a teenager when they lived in Houston (which was farther south than where I grew up).   While the Gulf Coast is getting ready for Gustav, here in southeast Florida, we are closely tracking “Tropical Storm #8″ (already pre-named “Hannah”)…it’s a busy season.

 

The high sea

Yesterday we had the chance to do something we have never done before.  We went fishing on the Atlantic Ocean!  We had planned to take a boat from Boca down to Fort Lauderdale since we had friends visiting from Texas.  The weather was great (although it got a bit hot at times) and we had a blast.  After beginning fishing, we had caught two fish!  The first was a brownish fish with small blue spots (I don’t know my Atlantic fish very well) and the second one looked a little like a dogfish.  At first we thought it was a small shark.  Everyone was very excited and wanted to fish more but we decided to go for a ride down to Fort Lauderdale.  It was great.  Every time the boat hit a wave, there were lots of shrieks and laughter from the kids (and me!) since the boat was being driven at about 50 mph!  It was better than a ride at Disneyworld!  All of the adults got a chance to “drive” the boat which was pretty fun too.  All in all, it was a very fun day!

 

 

There’s a thief among us

We have been welcomed several times since moving into our new house by the neighbors.  One neighbor even brought over cinnamon muffins!  I always considered Texas to be friendly but Boca Raton is the most friendly place I have ever been.  In addition to being welcomed by well wishes and tasty goodies, we have also been “greeted” by a thief – a plant thief, that is!  No kidding.  A plant was taken right from the front lawn just last night.  Now, this isn’t any kind of plant.  The previous owner was a gardener (which we appreciated since she created some amazing landscaping) and she informed me that this particular plant was rather rare in this area.  I don’t think she even knew what is was but said she couldn’t find it at local nurseries.  If I recall correctly, she said it just started blooming in the back yard much to her pleasant surprise.  I guess she made some clippings and began growing 3 of them in the front yard as well – but now, there are only 2! 

I woke up this morning at the sound of a barking pup (Lucy!), as I do most mornings now.  After getting dressed and making coffee, I headed out front to get the Sunday paper.  As I glanced down on the right side of the walkway, merely feet from the front door, I saw this:

 

Someone took my plant (and it’s pot!) right out of the ground!  Who would do such a thing?  Another nearby gardener, perhaps, concerned about the newcomer’s ability to handle such a rare South Florida / Zone 10 specimen?  Could it be a local teen wishing to give his mom something particularly special for her birthday?  (If so, why this plant?)  No matter what, it’s MINE!  You know, this is not my favorite plant because of the thorns and the need to cut it back fairly regularly.  Some gardeners love roses and other plants with thorns – not me.  I’m just too clumsy and I always get stuck one way or the other!

So, had this thief simply asked for the plant, I would have gladly given it without any concern.  Unfortunately, the plant has been located this morning in a nearby yard – just around the block.  It just so happens to be the home of the first neighbor that stopped by after we moved in.  She asked if the previous owners had already moved (Yes, they’ve moved.  Unless they just bought 2 new cars on their way out of town!) and to tell us she really liked the previous owners because they had gardening in common. Well, I’m no master gardener and I’m sure the landscaping won’t be up to par with the previous owner’s green thumb, but I like plants (and at least I know which zone I’m in) and I’ll do what I can to tend to them.  Here’s what I really want to say -  (listen up, thief):  That’s no way to treat a neighbor!  No more free plants for you!

 

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If anyone knows anything about this plant, feel free to share your knowledge.