The Dotard

Many persons were puzzled when the president of N. Korea referred to the president of the USA as a "dotard." But he is perfectly correct as a dotard is simply a retard in his dotage.

Flamingo Gardens

Some trees are over 200 years old

Today I went on our first Meet Up trek with the Boca Raton nature group since hurricane Irma hit Florida causing much damage all around.

One place that apparently had a lot of tree and plant damage was Flamingo Gardens in Davie and today ( 23rd September) was the first day they were reopening  section of the gardens to the public.

These gardens are an important section of the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary and are home to a myriad of birds, butterflies and flora.

The aviary is the most impressive I have ever seen with a large variety of owls, eagles, pelicans, storks, birds of prey and of course huge spectacular flamingos.

The great thing I like about Flamingo, is that these gardens are also a refuge for Florida's small, native wildlife that have been hurt. They rescue, nurse, heal them and if they are able, return them to the wild or else they remain at this sanctuary.

At this time they have panthers a black bear, otters, alligators, possums, otters, bobcats, turtles etc.

An iguana basks in the sun beside the flamingo pool

I love that aspect of the gardens but it is really mainly a botanical garden which was established in 1927 and once had over 3000 species of rare and exotic, tropical, subtropical, and native plants and trees. Some of the magnificent oak trees which thankfully are still standing are in excess of 200 years old.

Not all the trees are native to Florida however as over the years, to diversify, they have brought trees and plants from all over the world. However a number of them were damaged and are being carefully pruned and rehabilitated where possible. 

So while only about two thirds of the garden was open to the public today, it is still extremely impressive.

A bobcat sleeps in his cage in a tree

There is also a museum which had been a weekend retreat of the Wray's who used it in the 1930's and later donated the property to the state.

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TV networks failing viewers

According to recent reports, twenty four people were killed on the USA mainland during the onslaught of hurricane Irma from Friday 9^th-10th September 2017. However if there was a way of testing it accurately, I would be prepared to bet that more people died from stress-related illnesses like heart attack and strokes, as a result of how the major television networks reported  the progress of that hurricane.

Because for almost a week before hurricane Irma was even due to descend on Florida, the major networks went of a feeding frenzy implying almost ad infinitum, that the annihilation of the state was eminent.  The unnecessary scare tactics and language used by the leaders in electronic media had a toll not only on Florida residents but also on their family members in other states and abroad.

Yes, it is true that Hurricane Irma with winds registering at times as much as 195 miles per hour,  was the largest and most dangerous to develop in the Atlantic and threaten the Caribbean region, but did the media need to start spreading panic about the “certain doom” Floridians faced, long before the path of the hurricane could be determined?

Yes they could have started informing and warning residents about the possibilities but did they need to compete so fiercely to see who could use the most inflammatory language to create irrational fear among their viewers? I don’t know if they realize it, but millions of Floridians have relatives in other states and all over the world from and as far back as Monday 4^th September, the type of sensational seeking reporting that prevailed, almost totally convinced viewers that their family would be wiped off the face of the earth, if they did not leave the state.

The sad part, was the fact that while the press was creating this false impression and paying attention to remote possibilities concerning  Florida, Irma was venting its anger thousands of miles away, on small vulnerable island like Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. Johns, British virgin islands,Turks and Caicos island, the very beleaguered Haiti, Bahamas, and Cuba, killing 36 people as it raged. However, initially, there was nary a word from the major US television networks about what was happing  in the tiny, vulnerable islands, far from the US mainland, before or while Irma struck them, only, almost grudgingly, after the fact, while they kept playing up the hype about Florida.

While ignoring the rest of the region too in their “international news” segments, they even displayed only passing interest to what was happening to people at their southern border, where a terrible 8.3 magnitude earthquake hit their most important neighbor, Mexico killing almost 100 people.

What “international/world news” can these networks be delivering?

Further those of us who have experienced many hurricanes and “real” weather forecasters know that most hurricanes do not normally follow predicted paths  until around 24 or 48 hours before they land, and Irma operated true to form.  So reporting designed to cause fear and panic, instead of information, is counter-productive. They could easily have been more effective, had they delivered adequate, timely information to the public, only adding the necessary urgency when the outcome was more certain, instead of deluging Floridians and other viewers for hours on end, up to a week before the hurricane was due to land on their shores.

Their fear mongering type of reporting, created unnecessary panic, even causing thousands of people to move north into areas where the hurricane eventually headed, putting the “refugees” more into harm’s way than if they had not over-sold the possible dangers long before they were apparent.

 Will the media have any credibility the next time a hurricane appears to be heading towards Florida? You tell me.

I don’t know if the performance of most of the journalists at the major television networks stemmed from the fact that many are too young to have experienced a hurricane,  their feeling of failure because people in Houston were not adequately warned about the possible dangers that Harvey posed or just from for hunger for ratings.

Whatever the reason, their performance this week as the purveyors of “international/world news” has done nothing to enhance the waning credibility of the US media. Nor in reality have they demonstrated that are they any different from their president, whose nationalist worldview and rhetoric about withdrawing from world affairs, many of those same journalists at the major networks correctly criticize.  

Good radio coverage

The radio journalists at WLRN and 93.1 in Ft. Lauderdale did an excellent job on Sunday September 10^th 2017, covering hurricane Irma and keeping listeners totally informed as it passed through Florida. I normally keep my dial set on WLRN radio, but it failed after a while and that is how I ended up with listening to 93.1.

It took a lot of courage for the reporters to be out there in the midst of the storm keeping us informed while we remained comfortable and safe in our homes and I thank them.

A little criticism though, I live in Tamarac  and  being a Caribbean person, am more or less accustomed to hurricanes, so was a bit startled at times when I looked through my window and saw the trees swaying no more vigorously than in a normal storm, while hearing words like “catastrophic” and “ferocious” coming over the radio as some reporters described  what was happening in my town.  I really don’t think reporters need to exaggerate so much or use irrelevant inflammatory words to scare listeners during periods like that!

Very little tree damage

We survived well with only a very few trees losing branches or falling down totally and must congratulate FPL as we had power throughout.

I DON'T LOVE NEW YORK!

I had this writer's conference to attend in New York in mid -August but went early as I  have always wanted to visit Philly and had convinced my daughter in law to let us use her car to go there and tour.

So off we headed but stopped first just over the George Washington bridge to visit my new born grand niece in New Jersey. Their home has the most fabulous view of the Hudson river and bridge so the trip was off to a good start.

Whenever I am doing road trips in the USA I have always stayed with the Comfort Inn group and made a reservation with them to stay at their Rodeway Inn in Gloucester City, new Jersey, (just outside of Camden,) the plan being to commute to Philly daily for sightseeing.

But that place was a mess as they were doing major construction there and instead of closing it to the public, they put visitors in rooms which were musty and had dangerous walkways as building material was scattered everywhere  and cement dust was literally covering everything.

We stayed there less than an hour then moved to the home of a friend a couple miles out of Philly.  Naturally I subsequently complained to the head office but only got a partial refund. 

Will never deal with the Comfort Inn group again.

A scene in Betsy Ross' home

Our friend's house was fabulous as are the gardens and they made us feel most welcome. Besides we walked into a party as our friend was having  birthday and her husband had planned a surprise for her.

Despite them having  young children, everyone kept it  secret and she was really surprised. We had to hurry back from Philly to be there when she returned but we didn’t mind at all.

During the day, we visited the Constitution hall, Betsy Ross' home and the liberty bell. The Constitution hall tour is a must for anyone visiting Philly as it is most educational.

T
he next day we finished up our touring by going to the art museum which has 72 steps. It was on those steps that  Silvester Stallone stood triumphantly in one of his Rocky movies.
We learnt that all 6 of those movies were made in 

Philly. Naturally, as it is so high there, you get a great view of certain sections of the city.

We then visited the African American museum and that was really an eye opener. Glad we returned for we certainly learnt a lot about the prominent role African Americans played in the civil war as well as standing up for their rights in every possible forum. As you know, in the history books in America, they tend to exclude the role of the African Americans, so if you do not go to that museum you can come away with  distorted view of American history.

This museum is therefore a most important institution and no visit to Philly should exclude a trip there.

Out of curiosity, we visited the nearby Dutch market where some Amish sell their products and I was shocked to see how they are now embracing modern technology like credit cards and air condition.

A traditional Amish transport outside the market

A few decades ago I visited one of their settlements in Belize and if anyone had told me they would reject their lifestyle and embrace these modern things I would have laughed.

I really don't like new York, never did.....could never figure out why so many people buy souvenirs saying "I love New York." Of course, most being tourists, they probably never venture further than Times Square! That would account for it.

Many years ago I had gone there to settle and stayed only six months as I could not stand the drab appearance of the place especially those monstrous red brick apartment buildings, the huge buildings blocking out the sun downtown, the lack of trees and greenery in general plus the terrible rusting subways.

Of course Times Square is a different scene and I always enjoy going there to see what weird happenings are taking place and to take in a Broadway show. This time it was  the Book of Mormon and it was really hilarious.

As I had a few days to spare before the conference, I took a quick trip over to the statue of Liberty from Battery park and really enjoyed the vista. I had not been there since I was 14 years old and that was a long long time!

I got another pleasant surprise too as less than half hour out of the miserable city is Bear mountain. It has the most beautiful hiking trails, both difficult and moderate.

My hosts went off on the difficult section but I stayed with the moderate trails and it was really charming and peaceful, with Hessian lake right in the at the center.

There is also a quaint looking hotel there and I hear it is a popular spot in winter. When  we were there, dozens of families were all around , barbecuing or exercising.

It is a beautiful place with the most trees you will probably ever see in new York state I guess.

When the time came for work, I had to head downtown from Mt. Vernon early each day to catch the subway to the Hilton in Manhattan where the Writer's Digest annual conference was being held. The trip was as tedious and unpleasant as I remembered it to be when I spent my 6 months there many years ago.

However the conference was excellent with great, knowledgeable presenters and participants from just about every continent. I made a number of contacts and learnt a whole heap about the writing industry in the USA.

Great value for money.

I will be back next year even if it is held in miserable New York!

Caladiums galore

Wow, I had no idea what these flowers were called for we have them growing almost wild in Jamaica and place little value on them.

Section of a caladium farm outside Lake Placid.

However, with my Meet Up group led by Jennifer Weis, we had a wonderful day in Lake Placid, dubbed the caladium capital of the world, where they take this plant seriously as it provides quite and income for them.

Lake Placid is a pleasant little town with a population of just over 2000, situated in Highland County (I learnt yesterday that Florida has 67 counties. I had no idea it had so many). It is quite some distance away (over 130 miles)  from Broward County in which I live but was worth the trip which took us through scenic farm country and charming little towns.

To get there, we traveled through Palm Beach, Martin and sections of Okeechobee counties.

We didn't just go "flowers looking" though as we stopped on the way at the Hickory Hammock park area to make sure we got our usual Saturday morning exercise, a trek of almost 3 miles.

Hickory Hammock is I understand, sometimes a hunting area for those who want to shoot deer and wild boar and we saw lots of evidence of the presence of wild boar, although none in the flesh. But they clearly were around as our fearless leader pointed to the huge holes in the ground where they furrow to get their protein, worms and bugs. 

Hickory Hammock is a pleasant place to walk during the hot summer days in Florida, because of the shade provided by the huge oak trees of various ages and sizes. It is also very rustic and scenic in its own right with lots of palm, blueberries and other flora. (We were able to find a few ripe blueberries to nibble on).

Nine of us started on the hike but when we returned to our vehicles, we found a late comer waiting to accompany us to the caladium fair.

It was about a half an hour drive from Hickory Hammock to Lake Placid.

Lake Placid as I said earlier, is a pleasant little town but it is made even more attractive by the proliferation of beautifully painted murals on almost every street in the section where the festival was held.

A lovely mural on one of the buildings

This was the 24th annual Caladium festival and I was really overawed by the variety and sizes of the flowers, both those laid out for sale and those used for attractive decoration all around where the festival was held.

At the fair, you could buy both plants and bulbs and as festivals are, there were booths offering all sorts of craft, foods and other items for sale. There was even a booth giving out water which had a sign saying "Free water for the body. Jesus provides water for the soul".

I guess this might mean Lake Placid is a fairly religious area, I don't know. Just assuming. (But what does assuming mean?

Making an ass of you and me lol.) 

It was a nice day but being Florida, it was interrupted by a downpour of rain, but it did not last long.

We took refuge at a craft store which appeared to be run by the community and we actually saw some students working on their craft skills in a classroom there.

After a tasty and pleasant lunch during which it rained again, it was time for the long, tiring drive home.

But it was surely a day well spent.

Alligator mating call

I heard an alligator mating call and believe me it was the most bone chilling sound I ever heard.

Storks all over the trees

 It was almost, I imagine, how it sometimes sounded when disnosaurs were roaming!

We were walking in Wakodahatchee Wetlands. This is a park in  Palm  Beach County on Jog Road close to Delray Beach and it is managed by the water resources people. I had gone there with our fearless Meet Up leader, Jennifer Weise in late May or early June.

At this reserve you find a wide variety of Florida's flora and fauna. However, it is best known for the proliferation of birds and you see bird watchers with their cameras prowling as they wait patiently for the shot of a lifetime.

We went there a bit late that day so the only birds that were still around in their numbers were storks, mostly white and of every size.

They literally took over every tree from top to middle and really made a literal mess for the other birds or anything that must survive on the bottom branches and under those trees!

The only animals we saw that day were a few rabbits, a couple of iguanas and as we approached the boardwalk, we saw a lone alligator lurking among some trees.

We did not pay him much attention but after we had passed the area and gone about 100 feet, we heard a loud blood-curdling sound and lots of action in the water. I had no idea what was happening but although Jennifer said she had never heard the mating call in real life, she recognized it from what others had told her.

We went back to watch him for a while and like this photo I found on the wetland's fb page, it was as if he half rose out of the water and was just shouting or shrilly growling and splashing in the water with his huge tail, for quite some time.

Even after we walked away, he could still hear the eerie noise, though fading, thank heavens, as we got further away.

It was not the type of sound I liked hearing and for his sake, I hope he found a wife, for if he didn't, maybe he is still there creating a racket. 

Worse yet, he could have died from a heart attack for the way he was exciting up himself, he must have been putting quite a strain on his heart!