And In Local News...

Oddly enough, I think this happened in my neighborhood!

Florida Woman Attacked by Fox, Then Shot By Husband

Florida Peanut Facts

I LOVE FL Peanuts! The county I live in is #3 on the map (Levy) and it ranks third in the state of Florida for peanut production.

Just thought I'd share!

Production Facts

*Florida ranks 6th nationally in peanut production

*The southeast is the largest production region in the United States, with Florida producing approximately 6 percent of the total crop.

*A total of 102,000 acres of peanut were planted during the 1999 production season in Florida. Of this acreage, approximately 94,000 acres were harvested, with an average yield of approximately 2,800 pounds per acre. The remaining 8,000 acres planted to peanut were either harvested as green nuts, cut for hay, used as pasture, or abandoned (5). A total of more than 263 million pounds of peanut were produced, with a value of $0.23 per pound and a total value of more than $61 million (29).

*The U.S. produces four types of peanut: runner, Virginia, Spanish, and Valencia. Each type is distinctive in size and flavor. Of these, the runner type is the most common in Florida production. The runner type comprises 75 percent of total United States production (3).
A high proportion of runner peanut is used in peanut butter.

* Approximately 50 percent of all peanuts produced are used in peanut butter, 20 percent are for salted nuts, 16 percent are used in peanut candy, 7 percent are sold in-shell, and the remainder are used in other small markets.

Manatee Springs


Located in Cheifland, Florida, it is considered a First Magnitude spring. Springs are classified by size and a first magnitude spring is one that discharges at least 65 million gallons of water per day.
As you can see by the third picture, Manatee Springs ranks 4th, discharging about 150 million gallons per day. Rainbow River is #1 with over 400 million gallons per day.

Kayaking Poodle

Here's something I saw a few weeks ago on Manatee Springs. Funny, huh?

The Hippodrome Theatre

Last night we went to see the 60's mod musical, Shout! at the Hippodrome. It was a great show. They chronicled 5 girls through the decade of the 60's with songs such as Downtown, Son of a Preacher Man, These Boots Were Made for Walking, Wishin' and Hopin,' Windy, To Sir With Love and SHOUT! The summer musical is usually my favorite play of the year although I also enjoyed Macbeth, Stephen King's "Misery", Bram Stoker's "Dracula", The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 8 Track Sounds of the 70's, A Christmas Carol, and A Tuna Christmas. Next time you come to visit we should go to the Hippodrome.

http://www.thehipp.org

Tarpon Fishing

My friend Hope went deep sea fishing off the coast of Naples, Florida and caught this 125 pound tarpon. After photographing it she released it, but not before taking a scale off of it. The scale was as big as the palm of your hand! Congratulations Hope! Great catch!

Why Can't We Have Open Season On Alligators?



Manatees Could Lose 'Endangered' Status
AP
MIAMI (April 9) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday recommended upgrading the manatee's status from endangered to threatened, a move that indicates the animal has rebounded from the brink of extinction.


John Raoux, APA Manatee swims at Blue Springs State Park in Orange City, Fla., in January. The government has recommended that the animal's status be downgraded from endangered to threatened.
The manatee remains protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, making it illegal to harass, poach or kill the animals. The Fish and Wildlife service on Monday released it five-year review of manatee populations in Florida and Puerto Rico and found that the species no longer fits the criteria to be deemed endangered. Federal endangered status means an animal is at immediate risk of extinction. Threatened status means a species could become endangered in the future if protections are not maintained. "Based on the science it is clear that manatees are no longer facing extinction in all or a significant portion of its range," Dave Hankla, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Jacksonville office, said in a statement. "This is an opportunity for all of our manatee partners to celebrate a conservation success milestone." This year's annual manatee census recorded 2,812 of the animals, also known as sea cows, in Florida water. In 1991 - the survey's first year - 1,267 manatees were counted in the state. Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, said a classification switch could mean changes in boating and development restrictions that were established to protect manatees. "This is not the time to be moving to say that they're going to be downlisting (the manatees) and then dilute the protection for them," Rose said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted last year to change the manatee's status from endangered to threatened.