Swamp Cabbage Festival 2016

These are Sabal Palms or sometimes known as a Cabbage Palms. They are the Florida State Tree and are also edible.

There is an annual festival in LaBelle, Florida called The Swamp Cabbage Festival. Swamp Cabbage is the edible part of the Sabal Palm. If you have seen Hearts of Palm in cans or jars in your local grocery store then you have seen Swamp Cabbage.

The Colonel and I (as well as Yam and Spud) had been to the festival once, about eight years ago. This year was the 50th Anniversary of the Swamp Cabbage Festival and The Colonel, Darling-Sister-In-Law and I went to join the festivities.

First, there was a parade. The Colonel and I stood on a little grassy hill while Darling-Sister-In-Law stood on the sidewalk in front of us. The hill made for a great viewing spot. The parade lasted about an hour. We did not bring chairs to sit on because as soon as the last parade-entry passed us, we would join the parade and make our way to the riverside park where the festival was being held (and our car was not parked anywhere near the park and we did not want to carry the chairs around). I was asked to babysit a dog for a few minutes while her owner went to check on his truck. The dog's name was Ivy. She was a cute Schipperke (a breed originating in Belgium. A good watchdog on boats or houses). Ivy was well behaved and loved to be petted.

This was another dog nearby that Ivy was happy to meet.

The tail-end of the parade happened to be a group of Hispanic Cowboys on prancing/dancing horses and two county law enforcement officers on horseback. We had to watch our footsteps closely as we walked to the park.

Here are a few parade highlights. Notice how the palm fronds figure in some of the float designs.

 

We followed the end of the parade to the park that was already stuffed with people. Parade watching makes one hungry, so we looked to see what we wanted to eat. There were several booths offering many delectable bites. The Colonel and I decided to have Swamp Cabbage Fritters with the fried turkey nuggets. Darling-Sister-In-Law chose something else. 

There was live music being played on a bandstand as we walked around the park. Some favorite events of the Swamp Cabbage Festival are the Armadillo races. Bets were only $2, so Darling-Sister-In-Law split the bet and placed it on #3, Emily.

Emily was the first one out of the gate. The crowd was cheering and I think Darling-Sister-In-Law and I were cheering the loudest. Emily was clearly in the lead and had made her way halfway to the finish line when she took it into her little, Armadillo mind to turn 180 degrees and work her way back to the starting gate. Such is my luck when it comes to betting. Anyway, it was fun, nay exciting, cheering Emily on.

After the Armadillo race we continued walking around the park. Not only were there food booths, there were also craft booths. In one section of the park there were games and rides for the kids like a bouncy castle shaped like a UFO.

There was one activity for the kids that looked like so much fun.

The Colonel and I walked on the bridge over the Caloosahatchee River to see the river and part of the festival in the park.

It was time to make our way back to our car. We retraced to path of the parade as we walked. We visited a shop for honey. I bought some Seagrape Honey, one of the most delicious honeys I know of. We also saw a man selling Swamp Cabbage soup on the roadside. He had a cup or so left. We bought what he had. Darling-Sister-In-Law had never tasted it before. It was delicious!

The Colonel and I love going to the festivals that are special and unique to the surrounding area. Must look at the calendar to see what is coming up next.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Homosassa Hippopotamus (and More)

Last year in late October, The Colonel and I took a little trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. I had never been there, but The Colonel had been when he was a youngster. He remembered the distinctive sign that welcomed us to the park.

When I was checking out the place on-line, I saw some mention about an "Underwater Fishbowl". A must-see while at Homosassa Springs. Here is the sign that told us all about it.

I just had to experience that. It was one of the first things we did at the park. The Fish Bowl was on the underside of an observation platform/deck.

As The Colonel and I made our way along the walkway we spied a manatee nearby and a school of fish swimming by.

We took the steps down to the Fish Bowl's observation windows and saw the same manatee from a different angle.

I was glad to have experienced the Fish Bowl, even if the aged and algae-slimed windows made the underwater mammal and fish a bit fuzzy at times.

We climbed back up the stairs and walked away from the Fish Bowl. The spring water was clear and beautiful. I think the manatee was following us.

The wildlife park is home to many animals. We saw Roseate Spoonbills, a Green Heron, Alligators and a host of other animals.

But of all the animals I enjoyed seeing, Lucifer, or Lu, the Hippopotamus was my favorite.

 

When The Colonel and I first saw Lu he was swimming around in his pool. He was very graceful as he swam around.

 

Lu, an African Hippopotamus, was born on January 26, 1960 at the San Diego Zoo. He weighed 90 pounds at birth and now weighs 6,000 pounds. He eats a daily diet of 15 pounds of alfalfa hay, 4 scoops of herbivore diet (does Purina make Hippo Chow) and a 5-gallon bucket of vegetables and fruit.

 

Lu has lived at Homosassa Springs since 1964. He was one of Ivan Tors' animal actors. Lu was in the Daktari movie and television series of the 1960s as well as the movie, Cowboys in Africa .

 

 

Some of the other Ivan Tors animal actors were: Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion on Daktari, the dolphins on Flipper and the black bear on Gentle Ben. I used to love watching all three of these television shows when I was young.

 

 

 

I especially liked Flipper. One year for Christmas I asked for a Flipper Punch-Me. A Punch-Me was an inflated, vinyl character with a weighted bottom. When punched, it would bounce back but not hit back.

 

 

 

I loved my Flipper Punch-Me! I never wanted to punch it and definitely did not want any of my siblings to either. I would take Flipper to bed with me at night and try to tuck him in next to me (we were roughly the same size) but because of his weighted bottom, Flipper would pop right back up and take the blankets with him.

 

I did not have my beloved Flipper Punch-Me for very long, one of my little brothers punched a hole in him. I was devastated! My mother tried to find a replacement Flipper but never could. She found a clown Punch-Me that I never liked or played with...she did not understand that it was not the punching aspect of the toy I missed or wanted. It was Flipper, my beloved Flipper I wanted back :( 

 

Back to Lu...Lu eventually came out of the water (a feat we did not witness because we had gone to have lunch at the diner in the park...the hamburgers were DELICIOUS!!!) and was napping in the warm sunshine.

 

 

The Colonel and I were mindful of the "splash zone" signs that were posted near Lu's enclosure. Apparently hippos have a tendency to broadcast their feces with their tail-sweeps.

 

LU'S DANGER ZONE

 

 

 Thank goodness Lu was napping. He eventually opened his eyes for us...but his tail never moved.

 

 

 

 

The Colonel and I had enjoyed our time at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and it was now time to take our leave. We waited for the same pontoon boat that brought us along the Homosassa River to the park (visitors can take a boat ride or tram ride to and from the parking area to the park). 

 

 

The boat ride back was again leisurely and pretty. We saw turtles along the way.

 

 

I enjoy taking these mini vacations with The Colonel. I would definitely go back to the Homosassa Springs area. I liked seeing an animal star that I used to watch on television when I was young...made me feel like a kid again...almost.





Wordless Wednesday