Flora and Fauna – Jacksonville Blogger

Lucky Chase- Lucky to Get Back Home

It was February 7th, 2018 and we still have fond remembrances of Lucky Chase.

Mandarin, Florida is considered a “charming, historic suburb in southernmost Jacksonville, Florida.” It is widely known for the beautiful and very large oak trees; some in the middle of the roads. Its rich history of Harriet Beecher Stowe, orange groves and Spanish moss is only accentuated by the beautiful St. Johns River that runs along Mandarin’s banks. Because of the St. Johns River, there are a great many tributaries that run in and around Mandarin. There are a lot of ponds, creeks and lakes. One area known to so many is Lake Mandarin, a community of 312 homes including some single-family and others patio/cluster homes. Lake Mandarin homes back up to waterways.

These small lakes attract a variety of animals.- including Great Blue Herons, egrets, river otters, turtles, snakes and a variety of fish. While large birds do fly in and out, it has been unusual to find peacocks in back yards and yet in 2018 that is exactly what happened.

Lake Mandarin

While leaving the Lake Mandarin subdivision on a Wednesday morning in 2018, a very large pea fowl was crossing the road at Loretto and Gwenford. Loretto is a well-traveled road and not one for animals to share. Gwenford does back up to a St. Johns creek tributary but where the peacock was walking was away from the water and it was as if he was lost and confused. Being in my truck, I pulled over to the right side of the road and let the bird pass. The traffic was heavy and there was concern for the animal’s safety, so I got out of my truck thinking I would carefully shoo the bird toward the back of the homes but with traffic and yard fences, it would not work.

At that time, the third house on the road had its garage door wide open so when I walked toward the bird, he felt he had no where to go but in the garage. The owner of the home blocked the back door opening and I gathered up the peacock in my arms. Carefully holding him tight and making sure his long tail was extended, I took him to my truck, wrestled the door open, pointed his feathered tail toward the inside right door and slid into the driver’s seat; bird in arms.

Having at least 60 chickens of my own at the time, I had accommodations for the bird and immediately put him in run # 1; the largest pen I had. He would not fit in the hen house so at night, I secured him in a large box pen that I used for new mother and babies. Every day he would stay in the run with the chickens and at night I would put him in the large box for safe keeping. That first day we named him “Lucky Chase” because a friend of mine, Lois was talking about him being saved was a “luck chase” for him.

Wondering what to do with Lucky Chase, I posted on Facebook that I had found a large male peacock and suggested all to ask around to find out who may know of its owner. For over a week nothing came of the post until somewhere around February 19th, a young lady contacted me saying her mother was missing a peacock that frequented their backyard lake on a street about 2 miles from where he was found. She felt that might be the peacock.

On Wednesday, February 21, we arranged to meet at her location. My daughter and I took Lucky Chase in the van where there was more room for the long feathered sweep. Many of the neighbours all came to see and sure enough, they all acted and reacted happy together; even Lucky Chase. He was back home.

Even the ducks came out to meet and greet.

As much as I wanted to keep him, I knew he needed to return to his lake where I’m sure he’s lived happily ever after. I know his human was happy too.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Category: Animals, Flora and Fauna, Mandarin, Uncategorized | Comments Off

January 18

Old Fashioned Gardens

The Garden Club of Jacksonville

Ground Breaking, Photo: Garden Club, Jacksonville Historical Society

My Aunt Bette, was a garden club member. She fit right in. Bette Long was beautiful, gracious, loved people and philanthropic. For as long as I remember, she talked about her beloved Cherokee Rose kind of Garden Club. While it was located in neighbouring Orange Park, it had the same focus and drive as the Jacksonville Garden Club. It was there that she had her memorial service upon her home-going. For sure, she probably never actually potted a plant with her beautiful nail-painted hands but more than likely gave a ton of money to help the needy and further the cause.

Many times, she and her group would join the Garden girls at the Jacksonville Garden club for annual meetings and the like. With Aunt Bette, the more people the better. That is how I learned about the Downtown Jacksonville Garden Club which began its life on March 22, 1922.

First Garden club show.. 1922( Garden Club, JHS)

Yesterday, a group of about seventy five ladies gathered at the Riverside area Garden Club to hear interim archivist Emily Cottrell talk about how the Historical Society of Jacksonville archives its items. It seems that in July of 2020, the historical society came to the garden club to view hundreds of documents, photographs, scrapbooks and more that were in the possession of the club. By the end of that year, the garden club group had donated these items to the Historical Society and they were carried away by several trips to be archived and documented.

The speaker and archivist, Emily Cottrell a UNF graduate first volunteered at the Historical Society and now is a member of the staff in charge of this massive historical archive. As many of 10 scrapbooks, dozens and dozens of documents, booklets, brochures, and pages of different and various “circles” are now in her possession at the JHS to archive, decipher and digitize. With the help of Ethan and Tova, members and other volunteers, many have worked diligently to put items together by date, time and group.

The event yesterday was presented on a slide show and with a table display of some old and long-standing documents and photos. There was the first garden show and ribbon cutting event pictured. Also was shown, an old scrapbook of 1946 newspaper clippings dating back to the early 1900’s. Other projects shown was that of a 1963-64 “Garden for the Blind” where at least 25 students from the St. Augustine Deaf and Blind school were celebrated with a “sensory garden using the senses of touch, taste, smell, feel, and see, set up for them.

The Jacksonville Garden Club was founded by Ninah Cummer with a group of some 17 friends in 1922. It was a “small organization to further their garden research and to enhance city spaces. “

During Cottrell’s talk, she mentioned 2555 Gilmore Street as a place of service. After the event, I rode past to see what and where that was. It is the home of Central Riverside Elementary School which was built in 1916 so within it first few years, the Garden Club was helping beautify the school grounds.

There have been as many as 170 “circles” ( garden groups) over the years. Cottrell indicated there are 130 active groups at this time. Some of the names of circles over the years have been: Cherokee, Oleander, Avondale, Ingleside, Magnolia, River Oaks, Lantana, Red Bud and my favorite, “Old Fashioned Garden”.

Aunt Bette would be proud I went to the Garden Club of Jacksonville. I’m all about giving too but rarely put my hand in the dirt to plant either….Ha!

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Category: Flora and Fauna, History | LEAVE A COMMENT

November 20

The Jetties

When we were young, our parents took us to the jetties where we walked on the big rocks out to the Atlantic Ocean and would fish from seemingly the top of the world. The jetties were located Northeast of town about 30-40 minutes away. It was always fun but walking on those huge rocks could be worrisome. We would each have a handful of something to carry and then we’d bend, weave, crawl and scrap our way to a comfortable rock area, all while the water might be splashing and getting us wet. It was some event for a youngster and we loved it.

Mama would pack us a lunch and Daddy would pack the fishing gear and off we would drive , “a day and another” until we’d come to huge rocks by the ocean. We’d park the car, unload the stuff and head to the rocks. There we would be until the sun would set, fishing until our hearts content. Daddy seemed to spend most of his time getting Mama’s hook replenished or unhooked from the snags. The huge waves would take the fishing line into the cracks and crevices and he’d hold, pull, jerk and navigate until the line was free. Mama was happy. She would be fishing with his pole until he got her’s untangled. She’d fish non-stop and he seemed to be getting the lines untangled non-stop. That’s sort of how it went every fishing event. Both seemed to enjoy themselves.

Those were always long, fun days. We left early and came home late. There was the usual stop by the bait shop out Heckscher Drive and then the long drive to the beaches. Living on the Westside, it took a good 45 minutes or so just to get there.

So many times we came home with a “mess of fish” and had a fish fry. There were even times that Daddy skinned the fish, froze them and we’d have a Sunday school fish fry. There was then a lot of bragging going on about how big that fish really was.

Those were many of our days in Florida.

See you tomorrow,

Category: Family, Flora and Fauna, Parks, Sports, Visit This | LEAVE A COMMENT

August 12

The Tree Trunk

As I’ve been saying, there are many trees on our parent’s property. With that and trying to make changes, some have had to come down. While we’ve tried to get up most roots, some are in places that digging is not a good idea so we’ve had to improvise.

As you perhaps are ( or not?), you may see things on the side of the road and think…”I could do this or that with that piece”. If you’re like me, you heave-ho it onto the back of your truck or in the trunk of your car and off you go. That’s me.

I push, shove, grunt and groan to get whatever it is onto my truck bed, tie it down and off I go. When I get where I’m going, I figure out a way to use it. Such was the case for this slay bed that I found some months ago.

With the help of a friend, it is now a birdhouse slash tree trunk cover. I’m just waiting for a bird family. I already have lizards occupying it.

See you tomorrow,

Category: Family, Flora and Fauna, Random Posts | LEAVE A COMMENT

August 10

My Dad, the Arborist

My Father was a tree hugger. He was. When he visited his home in Hampton, South Carolina, he would return to Florida with a bag of seeds, seedlings, potted plants and the like. He loved flora and fauna and he and my Mother’s ten acres proved it. The entire property has been filled with plants large and small and mostly large.

In the front yard there are trees; huge and so big they are not even huggable. Many are live oaks, magnolias and cedars. On the corners of the land area there are the large, large trees. Down each property line, cedar trees stretch from one end to the other and this, so he would know his parameters, side lines and middle area.

In 2019 the state of Florida banned local governments from regulation regarding tree removal on private properties. Fees and the need for a permit was stopped and private owners could manage their own properties. My Father needed no such ruling. He would hardly trim the bushes, he was so driven by green growth.

So, today, over 50 years later, my parents property is full and green and that is to say full and green. We can hardly move. As a result, we have, by no choice of our own had to cut and trim in order to do some things to the property.

With little restriction, I find that I still have a huge restriction….my Dad. The “permit” in my mind is definitely my Dad. Before I trim too much or cut down a tree or really even a twig, my Dad lives in my head about it and I carefully make a choice.

We have, of late removed some of the old buildings, barn and swimming pool on the property in a way of sprucing up the land and adding new features. It’s been very difficult in that I really have to think twice before cutting or trimming.

And, yes, as we remove, we’re already in a mode to replant new trees and bushes. It would make my Daddy happy.

See you tomorrow,

Category: Country Life, Family, Flora and Fauna | LEAVE A COMMENT

July 24

Tamatillo

Who knew there was a plant such as a Tamatillo and it may be a relative of the “tomato”. Ha! As I cleaned out a plant area at my parents home today, I saw these beautiful bulbs. I’ve never seen them before so I had to take the time, go get my cell phone and take a pic.

After researching and trying to figure it out, it seems it is a Tomatillos. The “bonnie plants” site says it is a “distant cousin” of the beloved tomato.

It is native to Central America and can be gathered, sold and eaten( and we have them right here in Jacksonville, Florida)! I’ll keep you posted. I did not break any off so I’ll report back if it is similar to a tomato after it ripens and I take a bite. I like red beefsteak so I’ll let you know how this turns out. Tomato, Toma’to or Tamatillo?

See you tomorrow.

Category: Flora and Fauna | LEAVE A COMMENT