SOUTHERN SKIES By Mike P. Usher usher34105@earthlink.net Tonight we look at the sky in the same place as we did last time; being two weeks later, the sky has obligingly rotated westward about 15 degrees bringing new stars into view. Nearly centered in the chart is Andromeda, the chained princess. Her mother, the nearby Cassiopeia, had a disagreement with the […]
Trinidad, West Indies
CRUISING LIFE Frances Diebler hfdiebler@gmail.com Ah, Trinidad! We spent over five weeks there from May 17 until June 25, when we left Chacachacare Island, which was formerly a Leper Colony (yes it is spelled correctly). We sailed to the north coast of Venezuela, South America. All of the Caribbean Islands have a unique charm and beauty about them. However, we […]
Glamour Puss Cat Calendar 2014 Winners
Submitted For the Love of Cats is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Glamour Puss Cat Calendar Contest. There were so many wonderful cat and kitten photos and accompanying stories. All 121 entries can be viewed at www.fortheloveofcatsmarco.com. The grand prize winner was Robert MacKenzie. The photo of his four rescue cats, each sitting on a chair cushion […]
Sicilian Hospitality
ALL THAT GLITTERS Richard Alan harborgoldsmith@comcast.net It only took less than an hour before the whole village knew the Americanos were in town. My friend Al and I accepted our mutual friend or “gum bade” Davide y (of Davide’s cafe) invitation to spend a week with his “family” in the seaside resort village of Tres Fontane in southeastern Sicily. Little […]
Sweetness in the Air
PLANT TALK Mike Malloy mikemalloy@naplesbutterfly.com With August winding down it’s time in Florida to set our sights on – fall? Most of us have been trapped for months, scurrying from our air-conditioned cars to our air-conditioned homes, trying not to be overcome by heat exhaustion or dehydration; working in our gardens only in the wee hours of the morning to […]
Birds of Paradise
PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Skimming along our beaches and resting in our rivers, bays and canals, these birds are a common sight on Marco Island. Their presence is especially breathtaking in the early mornings and as the sun sets over the island. Black Skimmers slice our mirrored waters, cutting the surface like silk. With their bright orange-red beaks and […]
Ins & Outs of Perspective
ARtful Life Tara O’Neill taraogallery@marcocable.com When I was but 18 years old, I travelled to Ireland with my best friend Diane Sweeney (now Fowler). It wasn’t our intention just to visit Ireland… we had big plans: we, with dollars hard-earned from waitressing, babysitting, and what-have-you-ing, were going to TOUR EUROPE. We spent months making plans while poring over maps with exotic […]
Goodland Hoodlums?
GOODLAND LIFE Natalie Strom natalie@coastalbreezenews.com When I was in about sixth grade, I snuck out of the house in the middle of the night with three of my friends to spray paint the under side of a bridge. A small creek ran through a wooded area of our upper-middle class neighborhood and then underneath a major roadway. Other kids had spray […]
The Butler
REEL REVIEWS By Monte Lazarus Bengoshi@comcast.net By trying to do too much, “the Butler” ends up doing too little. It intersperses the life of White House butler named Cecil Gaines (modeled on real life butler Eugene Allen) with episodes of the Civil Rights Movement. In a huge cast, including Robin Williams (who is supposed to be Dwight Eisenhower, but looks […]
September fishing in the 10,000 Islands
FOLLOW THE FISH Capt. Pete Rapps CaptainRapps@gmail.com September will be the last full month of summer heat and rainy afternoons here in the 10,000 Islands. Day time air temperatures will average around 91; water temps will hover around 86. Typical to our summer months, September heats up so much by mid day, that the bite will usually drop off by lunch […]