Jupiter, FL  September 9, 2012

It is big and dark and fear starts to set in.  Then it becomes clear it is a manatee swimming and coming up for air.  Half a manatee’s day is spent sleeping in the water, surfacing for air at intervals. Manatees can measure up to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds.  They have paddle-like flippers with a herbivore appetite.  The name manatí comes from the pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean.  It means breast.  The last tally in Florida of the species is 5,000. 

For the most part, manatees do not have any natural predators in the wild.  Even though they share the same habitats as sharks and alligators, they do not compete for the same food source. Man is their number one predator–the commercial and recreational vessel.

Juno Pier  (Sunday, September 2, 2012)

(Palm Beach Drum Circle, Jupiter FL)

If you enjoy the flow arts like fire-performing, hooping, poi-spinning and the rhythmic sound of a drum, attend a local drum circle. This was on the Blue Moon at the beach and included drum, dance & flow art performances, spiritual chanting with gentle drumming. It was under a beautiful sky and you jam with great percussionists in the area.

“The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together. ”

Mickey Hart, Grateful Dead Drummer, testimony before the U.S. Special Committee on Aging

Sunday, August 24, 2012   Before the Storm

This year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Summer Soiree–our family reunion. We gathered once again to relive and create new memories, share favorite foods, imbibe and strengthen our relationships. Our Summer Soiree is more than a picnic. It is a time for us to value education and achievement, recognize our elders, strengthen our identity, and display our talent in bodysurfing, volleyball, Bananagrams, crazy bridge, poker, potato sack racing, surf fishing and more.

Together again–we share close quarters for a weekend or more with those we love. We establish ties broken by time, distance and life’s busy schedule. Our extended kinship awakens heartfelt sentiments and a deep sense of belonging which instills pride. And despite the heartaches and headaches, our family is there to overcome adversity, provide comfort, share victories and a helping hand when we fall.
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Team Schwarzenbek remains Undefeated.

(Jupiter, FL)

Whether you fish for dinner or sport, the Black Dog and Bill (Captain Bill Taylor) ensure you have the perfect day and catch. It is always fun! Check it out at http://www.blackdogfishing.com.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Crazy Fingers played at the Mizner Amphitheatre.  It was a wave of tie dyes, dancing and excellent music. The band has played over 2500 live shows allowing Crazy Fingers to sustain a devoted following and a nationwide reputation as one of the premiere Grateful Dead tribute bands.  They opened the evening with Good Lovin’ and played other favorites such as Foolish Heart, A Friend of the Devil, Gloria and Brokedown Palace.  An outdoor concert, a cool evening breeze and classic Dead tunes was an evening of pure entertainment.

The Boca Raton Museum is now exhibiting –Big Art-Mini Golf which includes a playable miniature golf course. Museum visitors play on artist-created golf holes ranging from an orbit around the Sun, a freeway infused metropolis, an inflatable paradise, a surrealist pinball hole to the world’s smallest version of the world’s largest miniature golf course. The exhibit explores the fusion between art, design and play.

At Creation Station this Saturday, children had an opportunity to build their own golf hole while Radio Disney entertained with music, games, dancing and prizes.  If you have small children, put Creation Station on your calendar.  It is featured at the museum once a month.  It is free for children under 12, creative and kids love it.

Saturday, July 14th, Seabreeze Amphitheatre, Carlin Park

The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival has arrived and they performed Twelfth Night free at Carlin Park through generous and forward thinking community leaders.  They say  Twelfth Night is the most melancholy of Shakespeare’s comedies.  The plot elements seem real and familiar enough–a cross dressed young woman, loveable drunks, love triangles and mistaken identities. 

Viola gets shipwrecked (plane wrecked) in Illyria and her twin brother dies.  She disguises herself as her brother and is employed by the Duke. Sebastian arrives in Illyria with his companion Antonio, a pirate, creating more confusion. Along the way, there are drunken antics, scheming servants and three marriages. Thank the heavens it was a beautiful night.