Flowering Florida Fall

For the Smithsonian's annual Free Museum Day we headed down to Historic Spanish Point in Osprey.  My parents had taken us to visit when we were small, but all that my siblings and I recall of that venture is that we made butter in baby food jars! 

No butter this time, but it was really such a lovely, if muggy, day. The site is beautiful. Florida terrain can be a little monotonous...a little green-on-green. But, lo-and-behold, there is color to be found! There were so many amazing flowers. As many mangroves as I've seen in my life, I don't think I've ever seen the bud before, or the very beginning of the seed pod. 

Here is a small sampling of the palette of colors buried in the Florida greenery:

Suburban Nature

what. up. 

does anyone know what this will morph into?

eat your fruits and vegetables

[carrots grown by my sister, avocados from my parents' yard, mangoes from a coworkers neighborhood. the rest i think all came from fruitville grove...]

Summer Yum

big zucc bread, little zucc bread

h2o melon

rinds for pickling

my first attempt at (refigerator) pickling

local yummies

growth.

(me too.)

Easter Colors

Last weekend (was it only last weekend?) I had the most lovely Easter tea with my family.

(We celebrate with food, in case you couldn’t tell…)

Here, take a look:

A rainbow of dye

Pastel

My niece’s first year dying eggs. She had so much fun. She was tossing the eggs in the dye with abandon. I started saying “plunk” every time she did, and she quickly picked up on that. Plunk, plunk, plunk. Luckily eggs of the hard-boiled variety are a little tougher than the raw ones.

In progress

The first dozen

Pink! My niece's favorite color. This dye took a long time to soak in though…not great for the impatient.

My rainbow (she shared the dying responsibility with us)

All twenty-four (pre-stickers)

Easter shards (following our traditional egg duel - does anyone else do that?)

Naked eggs

Egg purgatory

Deviled

Easter tea, courtesy of my mom and sister: meat pie, scones (with clotted cream and cherry jam), ham biscuits, pimiento cheese sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, babka, cupcakes, and a chocolate Easter bunny.

Cold cuts + fruit

Kielbasa, fresh and smoked

White borscht, with the fresh kielbasa (my dad's specialty)

Adorable cupcakes that my sister made. Cute and delicious! (She left some without the coconut grass for me…)

Easter rose

Weeki Wachee Weekend (was wonderful)

First, let me start by spelling the name of the spring correctly…it’s not Weeki “Watchee” as I’d typed in my last post. It’s Weeki Wachee. And it’s plain fun to say – give it a try! The name means “winding river” or “little spring”.

Saturday morning my sister, my niece, and I ventured out (after visiting a farmers’ market to take advantage of one of the last weekends of strawberry season) and up 75. We took our exit and everything was peachy keen, until, for the third time, our mapquest directions told us to turn L on Cortez Blvd/SR 50. Third time. In a row. We’d never left Cortez Blvd/SR 50. After seriously doubting the accuracy of the directions, and one wide u-turn we realized, yes, you turn on the same road three times. Really, who planned this town?

(Strawberry goodness)

Alas! We got there and snagged a primo parking spot and made our way in. The first show was just starting – it was the Mermaids of Yesteryear, which featured mermaids from the past decades back in the water in a sort of behind-the-scenes show – fun, right? One of my favorite shows ever is Pushing Daisies, and throughout the day, but especially during this show, I kept thinking of Aunts Lily and Vivian, the retired Darling Mermaid Darlings. I was so happy the mermaids of yesteryear were back in their tails – they seemed content to be diving and dancing.

(Darling mermaids)

Aside from being a fairy-“tail” (oh, I love being cheesy) attraction that caters to the young and young-at-heart, the setting of Weeki Wachee is a slice of lovely, shady, quiet Florida. I really do love this state. Well, it was quiet except for the very vocal peacocks roaming around. These were not shy birds. They had no qualms about snatching sweet potato fries from hungry tourists.

(I love his lovely blue)

We snacked on our own fries (keeping one eye on the peacocks), wandered around the lovely grounds, took photos in the mermaid props (of course), and peered into the natural springs. Is it just my native Floridian blood, or is 74.2 degrees just too chilly to call swimmable? Though the swimming hole was full of people…perhaps snowbirds?

(My sister - the mermaid queen, me - the…king? My niece, who loves the camera, was being uncharacteristically camera- shy and didn’t want to pose…)

(Mermaid Me...ooh lala)

(People more cold-tolerant than me)

Next, the feature mermaid show had my niece (and me) captivated. I think when you’re little you probably don’t even notice the breathing hoses, but even through my thoroughly jaded adult eyes, the mermaid show was as I had imagined it would be 20 years ago - full of wonder. The show was a rendition of The Little Mermaid - a little bit H.C. Andersen, a little bit Disney, and a little bit Weeki Wachee original - and it was just right. We even got to meet the mermaid princess after the show!

(Lovely mermaid)

(My sister and niece [being oddly camera shy again] with the mermaid princess!)

We concluded our outing with a ride on the river boat (we almost didn’t make it because, unfortunately it seems, some people have no manners, and have no problem jumping in front of entire lines of patient people to make sure they get theirs…). We saw a bald eagle, an osprey nest, a deer, and some kayakers along the way.

(The chilly water did actually look inviting by this point in the day – it was a tad warm in the sun.)

What a beautiful, magical day.

PS - my sister wrote a guest post on our friend's blog SHDesignFL - check it out too!

Savory Tarts

Bacon

atop

Onions caramelized in honey, white wine, and bacon drippings

atop

Creme fraiche with nutmeg, sea salt, and black pepper

atop

Puff Pastry

Left overs made for an excellent breakfast this AM.

My delectable weekend continued:

Strawberries

Grapefruit sorbet served up in a compost-able bowl/orange peel

Proscuitto di Parma and drunken goat cheese. I paid a visit to my one of my favorite places, Casa Italia, where my family used to stock up on delicious cold cuts, salads, cheeses, and cured meats for the holidays. As a I walked in the salesclerk chuckled, and I figured he was just feeling jovial. But upon checking out, I mentioned that I remembered coming in as a kid, and he said "Yes, I remember you," which explained his knowing laugh. It was nice to see a friendly face from the past.

(*I know my father is cringing at me playing with my food, and then photographing it and posting it for all the world to see but...) it was cut so beautifully thin. Translucent indulgence.

And some gnocchi with parmesan and basil, to finish the evening.