Coffee & Conversation

Coming to Central Park, March 6 and 7, 2010!

Come celebrate Nature in full bloom.

The inaugural Amelia Island Garden Show produced by the Fernandina Farmers Market will roll out nature’s brightest colors for two days on March 6 & 7, 2010 at Central Park in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida.

With growers and nurseries from around the state, the Amelia Island Garden Show will feature more than 50 vendors with a full assortment of flowers, plants, trees and palms, orchids, bonsai, water pond accessories, native plants, butterfly-friendly plants, shrubs, and garden accessories.

On-site experts will offer advice as to “greening” your home, yard and garden. “Ask the Expert booth” will offer short presentations and demonstrations from sustainable gardening to Orchids 101.

Featured attractions include: The Butterfly Encounter and The Raptor Experience.

The farmers and producers of the Fernandina Farmers Market will also be part of the Show with their just harvested produce, organic products, gourmet baked goods and variety of prepared foods.

Check out the website for more details:
www.ameliagarden.com

Sunset on Fort George Island

We sit on the porch alone together at twilight.
“Soon,” I whisper, “the sun will set and our sky will change.
The show will begin.”
“The eye of God will come and all His glory will perform just for us.”

We are like children filled and overflowing with anticipation,
as if running down the stairs on Christmas morning
to see what new shinnies the man in red has left behind.

Spellbound, first we see a soft blue, we point and say,
“Oh, that’s the color we should paint our bedroom.”

Then, with each inch the sun retreats below our marsh:
the pink, warm golds, deep blue – crimsons and orange.
We just gaze, almost a strange glare in silence engulfed and flooded
by the presence of God.

I don’t think either one of us is breathing….?

For a moment I remember back to the time when He and I started this journey together.
We had nothing – we were both children – both alone.
We had held each other and declared,
“We can do this!”

Yes, we are breathing.

Here we are now, engulfed and submerged in this Shangri-La.
We feel hidden as if we have been sitting here alone together for centuries,
taking in all knowledge of what we see.
In the silence of our shambhala
we become conscious of great noise filling our lull.

Can there be soft noise?

In our stillness we now see the other world,
we hear the other world also along with us at the closing of our day, their day.
They are lifting their voices, their essence, to their God, our God.

First a song from the wren, soft and sweet, calling earnestly.
Crickets using drums to communicate, a familiar cry of the marsh hen
and off to the left frogs begin to harmonize.
There is life all around us giving praise.

Not wanting to be left out,
the tall cedars begin to sway, dancing with the music from the breezes.
We close our eyes and feel their soft touch on our up turned faces
as they ask us to join them in their evening dance.

With one last gift to be given us on this memorable evening – just off to the northeast, slightly into our right ears,
we hear the peacocks offering up roaring cries, their last prayers for this night,
from high atop the massive oaks where they retreat and retire for protection.

Now He and I join hands as black silhouettes against a sea of color
slowly slipping away to become our night sky.
Our breath is good.
Our breathing in time.
“We are happy.”

He looks at me, deep, intensely – into all I am – we smile –
Is this what Paul meant when he said, “to be in constant prayer”?
I think so!

The phone rings.
My thoughts are yielded.
It’s Kammy.
I laugh out loud!

- Elizabeth Slover 2006

Liz & Dave celebrate 40 years of marriage on November 23, 2009

The 2nd annual St. George Jaguars Tailgate Event was great. We had about 26 people–more than last year. The food was great as everyone contributed and the Mimosas were wonderful. Thanks to Bob Hays at Florida Rock–we had a nice private place for our ‘little party’. See the picture on the front of the St. George Website. Go JAGS!

1. Take someone’s shopping cart and switch the items with stuff from the person next to them’s cart
2. Walk up to complete strangers and say, “Hi! I haven’t seen you in so long!…” etc. See if they play along to avoid embarrassment
3. Smash the person in front of you on the head with a ham
4. Go up to some old geezer & say “Grandpa!!! You’re ALIVE!!! It’s a MIRACLE!!! etc.”
5. Take something from someone else’s cart, when they say “hey, that’s mine! ” call the security and say that the other … person was trying to take your (more…)

This was a beautiful little Episcopal chapel in the Grand Teton National Park, the Chapel of the Transfiguration.  There was a plaque with a great explanation of why they named it that, describing how mountains have been portrayed in scripture, from Abraham and Moses to Jesus’ transfiguration.  So they built their chapel with the mountains in the window behind the altar.  Hopefully the progression of images shows the original image from 1925, then mine from the outside moving in.  Just awesome!

It’s time to join the St. George Jaguars Tailgators on Nov. 8 at Florida Rock Parking Lot. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. – noon. Father Marty is gone that Sunday so it’s a good time to seek spirituality in sports! If you’re a season ticket holder–then just join us and we’ll give you a dish to bring. If you need a ticket, call Amy Dyar at 251-3114 or sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board. We will need your $40 by Oct. 25th. There will be an envelope by the sign-in sheet in which to deposit your money.
It was a fun time last year with about 20 people eating, drinking and talking. Go Jags!

Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009. From 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Description: The Friends of Talbot Islands State Parks will host the first annual Fall Festival Fund-Raiser. Come enjoy hayrides, carnival style games, kayak and Segway demos and spooky tours. There will also be a silent auction with great getaway packages and food available with an organic option. The festival will be held at the Ribault Club located on Fort George Island Cultural State Park. All activities have a nominal donation to participate.

The Florida Park Service is dedicated to providing programs that are accessible to all. Persons with special needs which may limit participation or enjoyment of any program should advise the park in advance so assistance with reasonable accommodations can be provided.

Fees: This event is free!
Contact: For more information, call 904-251-2320.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortgeorgeisland/default.cfm

Exploring the natural and cultural wonders of Fort George Island is a great escape from the hassles of the work week. Whether it’s hiking along the 4-mile nature trail or strolling through the historic Ribault Club, this is one of the best times of the year to see some of the REAL Florida!

And don’t forget about the Virtual Ranger Tour of the Saturiwa Trail on Fort George Island. All you need is a car CD-player and an interest in ‘old Florida’. The tour follows the narrow road around Fort George Island, a setting rich in natural and cultural significance. Visitors have the option of checking out a CD audio guide, or downloading a written version of the Virtual Ranger Tour from this website. Both the audio and text versions are designed to be self-guiding, where visitors can enjoy the tour at their own pace.

Native Americans feasted here, colonists built a fort, and the Smart Set of the 1920s came for vacations. A site of human occupation for over 5,000 years, Fort George Island was named for a 1736 fort built to defend the southern flank of Georgia when it was a colony. Today´s visitors come for boating, fishing, off-road bicycling, and hiking. A key attraction is the recently restored Ribault Club. Once an exclusive resort, it is now a visitor center with meeting space available for special functions. Behind the club, small boats, canoes, and kayaks can be launched on the tidal waters.

To reserve the Ribault Club for a special event, contact Amelia Occasions at 904-251-1050. Located approximately 16 miles east of downtown Jacksonville on State Road A1A, or three miles south of Little Talbot Island State Park.

For an eco-friendly experience you won’t soon forget, sign up for a guided tour of Fort George Island on a cross terrain Segway with Ecomotion Tours. This 2 hour tour departs from the historic Ribault Club and visits the Kingsley Plantation while traveling along more than 3 miles of maritime forest, abundant with plant and animal life. No experience necessary, but advance reservations are required so please call 904-251-9477 for more information.

We welcome you to visit all seven of the parks which collectively comprise Talbot Islands State Parks: Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park, Amelia Island State Park, George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park, Little Talbot Island State Park, Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park and Big Talbot Island State Park.

Contact the Florida Park Service Information Center for general inquiries.
For Information about Fort George Island Cultural State Park, please call (904) 251-2320.

Hours of Operation

Florida state parks are open from 8 a.m. until sundown 365 days a year.
The Ribault Club is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Ribault Club is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Driving Directions

Fort George Island Cultural State Park lies approximately 16 miles east of downtown Jacksonville on S.R. A1A, or three miles south of Little Talbot Island State Park.

Park Fees

Admission Fee:

No entrance fee is required to enter this park.

Fort George Island Cultural State Park

12157 Heckscher Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
Phone: (904) 251-2320
Fax: Contact Park for Number

Citizen Support Organization

Friends of Talbot Islands State Parks
12157 Heckscher Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32226
info@talbotislands.com

Visitor Service Provider

Ecomotion Tours
Island Explorations on Segways
904-251-9477
Ecomotion Tours

Did you know that Winnie-the-Pooh was inspired by a Canadian black bear?  In 1914, Harry Colebourne, a Canadian soldier, was traveling east on a troop train headed for England and World War I.  When the train stopped in White River, Ontario, Harry bought a black bear cub from a hunter.  He called it Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and took it to England as a mascot.  Colbourne loaned Winnie to the London Zoo while he was fighting in the war.  By the time he returned, the bear had become so popular, he decided to leave him there.

A few years later, a four-year-old named Christopher Milne brought his favorite stuffed bear Edward to the zoo.  When he saw Winnie, he became so excited that he re-named his own bear; and thus the inspiration for the beloved children’s character was born.

Author:  Jim Zaenglein

I travel a bit and often take pics of Episcopal Churches and chapels that I’d like to share with those that might be interested.  I went to a chapel in Valley Forge, PA a few weeks ago and saw the awesome memorial chapel there.  The woodwork and ironwork throughout was incredible.  It was a little weird how they mixed the military and war theme with religion, but as a former soldier, I was moved by it.