FOOTBALL IS BACK !!!

FOOTBALL IS BACK !!!

Its that time of year again, my favorite.  Football practice has started.  First week of conditioning is out of the way and we are in full pads.  The boys were excited to FINALLY get to hit a little last night.  The team looks like it has potential this season.  After seeing the offense for the first time yesterday, I am confident we will be putting points on the board.  Have not seen the defense yet, so I can only speculate how stout we will be.  With Coach Boss at the helm, I am not too worried.  

Gunnar looked good at quarterback.  Ziggy and Christian ran the ball well.  Zac, Connor, and Blake were catching passes.  Caleb, Jack, and Patrick were shotgunning and doing a great job.

They seem excited and have been a pleasure to coach so far.  I keep telling them "Day by day, We get better and better, 'til we can't be beat".  I hope they are having as much fun as I am.  

Blake's Serenade

Jingle Bell Run

The 2011 Jingle Bell Run for The Arthritis Foundation was so much fun.  Our team, The Mary Bells, raised almost $700.  Mary Grace, the Jingle Princess (# 258), had a blast.  We are so proud of her.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated, contributed, and supported us.  We will definitely participate again next year.   My wife says it has lifted her Christmas Spirit and I have to agree.  It's what we should be doing this time of year.   

6 Reasons to Use Native Plants

Native plants seem to have a stigma attached to them as being unkempt, or ugly, or messy.  Landscape architects are wild about them.  Many developers are only willing to use them to the extent that jurisdictions require them.  The general public is generally not aware that there are more native plants available than just “grasses”.  In an effort to educate the non-believers and the unaware, here are six important reasons to use native plants when planning gardens or landscapes on any scale.

Reason #1 – Sense of place

Sabal Palm

Native plants are, in large part, what make a place, a place.  They provide visual cues as to where in the world you are.  The sighting of a Sabal Palm (Sabal palmetto) lets you know that you are not in the mountains and you can be sure that if you picnic in the shade of an Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), that you are most likely not at the beach.

Reason #2 – Conserve water

Native plants are acclimated to climatic and environmental conditions to the regions in which they grow.  They do require supplemental watering to help get them established, but irrigation systems can be turned off after a period of time.  Water is a precious, but limited, resource that we have a responsibility to conserve for future generations.  Exotic species require creating artificial conditions for survival, wasting natural resources and energy, and costing more money.

Reason #3 – Don’t need chemicals

Native plants are naturally resistant to local pests from years of exposure, and they don’t require fertilizer because they have evolved to thrive in native soils.  Chemicals used to support exotic species are harmful to wildlife and people, and pollute water bodies.

Reason #4 – Require less maintenance

Kudzu Gone Wild

Native plants are adapted to environmental stresses, and therefore don’t require much attention to sustain them.  Exotic species require, as mentioned already, the creation of artificial conditions, depleting natural resources and polluting water bodies.  They also require energy to keep them from outgrowing their spaces and from escaping into natural areas, which could be devastating to native flora and fauna, as is the case with the Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) in Florida and Kudzu (Pueraria lobata)in Georgia.

Reason #5 – Ensure biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the health of an environment.  Relationships exist between native plants and organisms, where a species own survival is dependent on the survival of another.  It is a tentative balance that can be upset by the introduction of exotic species or the removal of native species.

Reason #6 – Support native wildlife     

Monarch Butterfly

Native wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, are attracted to and depend upon native plant species for nourishment and shelter.  Their biological clocks are synchronized so that leaves bloom, flowers bud, and fruit ripens at times when native wildlife needs them.

These are the reasons why it is imperative that native plants become more utilized in planning gardens and landscapes for our small backyards and large commercial developments.  There are thousands of species of native landscape plants available.  With some thought and creativity, native plants can create a beautiful look.  It does not have to feel unkempt or messy.  We have a responsibility to conserve our limited natural resources.

Natural is beautiful.

Landscape architects and native plant nurseries, like All Native in Florida are great resources for native plant information.  Consult them if you are unsure how to utilize native plants.

2011 Jingle Bell Run/Walk - Orlando, FL - Home

2011 Jingle Bell Run/Walk - Orlando, FL - Home

Zac Brown is a DAWG

I'm a few weeks late, I know, but I guess as I sit here awaiting the start of a Georgia football game, the feelings and emotions from that fantastic weekend in Jacksonville are coming back to me. I'm not even going to speak about the game here. We all know what happened. This is about Zac Brown the night before the game.

We were fortunate enough to see him that Friday night in Jacksonville before the Georgia-Florida game. I had not seen him before and was really excited, love his music. His concert was not fancy. He doesn't use bells and whistles and smoke and mirrors, just stripped-down, unadulterated feel-good music. What he does do is surround himself with the best of the best singers and musicians. They were all so versatile. It seemed every song had someone playing an instrument that they didn't play on the previous song. There was one song, where Clay Cook was singing and I couldn't even find Zac. I spotted him way over at stage left, playing guitar in the shadows, happy to be sharing the spotlight. It was a great show, better even, than the Sugarland show we went to the weekend prior, though that was a great show too. 

"Chicken Fried"

Now, with all that said about how great the show was, I gotta tell you, I had a fleeting moment of disappointment. We all know Zac is from Georgia. I had been told that he is a big DAWG fan. I realized just before the last song that he had not said anything about the game. There was a room full of gator fans and he had a microphone. What an opportunity? If it were me, I would have come on stage, grabbed the mike, chanted "Gator girls wear jean shorts" and "GO DAWGS", and then broke into "You know I like my chicken fried…" But, that's just me. Zac obviously has more class. After the encore, as the arena was emptying, I told my wife "Zac didn't say anything about the game". Then, I saw a form jogging across the stage and stop at the microphone. A voice cut into the chatter of the unaware party-goers. It was Zac. This is what he said "Now I know we're in Florida, and you know I love you guys. But…(pause) GO DAWGS!" He turned and ran off stage and was gone. The arena became equally and simultaneously inundated with "GO DAWGS" and "GO GATORS". It was loud and it was a great moment. Thanks to Zac for that. 

K N O W S H O N 

Zac lit the place up with what he said. That's when it officially became Georgia-Florida weekend. It was raucous. We exited through a 4-story enclosed concrete stairwell that bounced sound back and forth. In a brief moment of quiet in the stairwell, I had to put in my 2 cents worth. I shouted "G E O R G I A" and waited. I don't usually put myself out there like that, but I guess I was caught up in the moment. The silence was a little too long and I thought to myself, a little embarrassed, that no one was going to respond. Then, a grumbling began to lift its way to the top of the stairwell as the shout broke out, 400 people strong "B U L L D O G S !!!" That was really cool. What a way to start the Georgia-Florida weekend… and the game was still more than 12 hours away. 

The Turkey Shoot

For Jack, it had been three years, maybe four that he had begun the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, amongst old friends, for a good old-fashioned wild turkey shoot. When they got together, there was always great camaraderie and questionably-believable story-telling, and lots of lies. They caught up on old times and discussed life's misadventures. There may have been stories of stolen tractors, crooked salesman, and pesky lawyers. There were undoubtedly stories of the best college football teams and how the University of Buffalo would one day be among them...Read more

Cuban Night

Since Habana Grill shut down last year, there has been a big Cuban void in my life. You see, Cuban food (and drink) is my downfall. I just can’t get enough. I like the spices and flavors and the way the food is prepared. At Habana Grill, my wife enjoyed the veggie Cuban Haystack with sweet maduros or tostones and I liked the Carne Asada, the Ropa Vieja, the Lechon Asado (favorite), the Vaca Frita, and on and on. And don’t forget the cocktails, the Mojito or the Caipirinha, or the Sangria.

I haven’t had any of these dishes since Habana Grill closed. There doesn’t seem to be a comparable Cuban restaurant in the area. Now, I know some of the Mexican restaurants, Garibaldis and Habaneros, serve some of these dishes. While good, they are not the same. Habana Grill had an unmatched Cuban authenticity that I haven’t found anywhere else… yet.

The point of this is not to cry over the closing of my favorite restaurant, but to introduce you to another fantastic Cuban dish.

Early in my career, I would frequent a hole in the wall dive called Black Bean Deli. It’s been years since I even thought about the place. Recently, a friend mentioned it and got me thinking about going back. It’s a little far from me now, so I haven’t been able to go. But my craving for their PICADILLO was just more than I could handle. So, this past weekend, instead of going there, I decided to make my own Picadillo and see how it turned out. Picadillo is a sort of a Cuban Hash, almost a stew or closer to a chili. It’s slow cooked and has great flavor.

So, I set up my grill’s side burner to do this outside while watching football (GO DAWGS) on the back porch with my son. It was a great day for it, nice and cool outside. Let me tell you, it turned out great. It was so good, in fact, I thought I would share the recipe with you. Please give it a try and let me know how it turns out.

Obviously, you can do this inside, but if the weather is nice, take it out back.

Click here for recipe.

Don't be an Oyster

A great idea…People, I urge you to pay attention to the proposal for a new tax system in America called the Fair Tax. It is a system that taxes what we choose to spend rather than taxing the income that we work so hard to earn. Do you understand what that means? No longer will our taxes be seized from our paychecks, instead we will pay taxes, voluntarily, on new goods and services that we choose to consume. Now doesn’t that sound better? I think it does.

We will receive our entire paychecks – no more Federal withholdings or Medicare or Social Security withholdings. We keep it all. This will put more dollars in our pockets that we can save, invest, or spend. Only then, when we decide to spend, will we pay a single dime in taxes...Read More

  

AutocCAD with Professional Charm

Ten years ago, I was hired at a firm where the only computer was shared by everyone. At the time, the firm consisted of the two founding principals, the part-time office manager, one other entry level landscape architecture graduate, and me. There was no AutoCAD.

I was brought in to help lead the firm’s efforts to begin incorporating AutoCAD into the daily operations of the firm and keep us evolving with ever-changing and advancing technology. My only AutoCAD experience was a course that was offered in college when I was there. It was a general overview course that touched briefly on many different topics but not too deeply into any one thing...Read More