Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1527562/open_sms] Florida author and naturalist Andrew Furman [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1527562/episodes/8189877] returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Of Slash Pine and Manatees: A Highly Selective Guide to My Suburban Wilderness [https://amzn.to/4keBBDf]. Links We Mentioned Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair With Florida [https://amzn.to/45dz8EX] Bidens pilosa [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3712223/] (aka beggartick, etc., etc.) and its medicinal uses Frogfruit [https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-phyla-nodiflora/] (aka hatpin) Who invented the grassy lawn? [https://ucanr.edu/blog/backyard-gardener/article/history-american-lawn] Yellow-crowned night heron [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-crowned_Night_Heron/id] Photo by Andrew Furman  Support the show [https://paypal.me/floridaspectacular?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US] Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com [cathy@floridaspectacular.com]. Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter [http://eepurl.com/df4f_T], and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com [http://greatfloridaroadtrip.com/]. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com [http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/] and get his books at rickkilby.com [https://www.rickkilby.com/]. Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy [http://www.facebook.com/SalustriCathy] and everywhere else as @CathySalustri [http://www.twitter.com/CathySalustri]; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth [https://www.facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth], Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/oldfla.bsky.social]), and IG (@ricklebee [http://www.instagram.com/ricklebee]). NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link [cathy@floridaspectacular.com?subject=Plant%20question]!

Send us your Florida questions! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1527562/open_sms] How Bowers of the Retro WDW [https://www.retrowdw.com/about-us/] podcast joins Rick and Cathy to talk about the not-so-secret-after-all Florida Project, the origins of Disney Springs, and what Cypress Gardens had to do with Walt Disney deciding Florida would be a great place for a theme park.  Links We Mentioned Retro WDW [https://www.retrowdw.com/about-us/] Lake Buena Vista Historical Society [https://lbvhistory.org] Support the show [https://paypal.me/floridaspectacular?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US] Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com [cathy@floridaspectacular.com]. Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter [http://eepurl.com/df4f_T], and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com [http://greatfloridaroadtrip.com/]. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com [http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/] and get his books at rickkilby.com [https://www.rickkilby.com/]. Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy [http://www.facebook.com/SalustriCathy] and everywhere else as @CathySalustri [http://www.twitter.com/CathySalustri]; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth [https://www.facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth], Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/oldfla.bsky.social]), and IG (@ricklebee [http://www.instagram.com/ricklebee]). NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link [cathy@floridaspectacular.com?subject=Plant%20question]!

Send us your Florida questions! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1527562/open_sms] Orlando historian Rachel Williams joins the podcast to talk about Colonial Plaza Mall (now a shadow of its former self and called Colonial Marketplace), and from there the conversation moves to caves in Ocala, coffee roasters we love, and the importance of the shopping mall in Florida culture.  Links We Mentioned Ocala Caverns [https://www.floridacaving.com/ocala-caverns-cleanup-and-trip/] (and what's the difference between a cave and a cavern [https://worldofcaves.com/whats-the-difference-between-a-cavern-vs-cave/], anyway?) Rachel's article about Colonial Plaza [https://www.thehistorycenter.org/colonial-plaza/] Florida Historical Society [https://myfloridahistory.org/] conference in Orlando (May 15-17 in Orlando [https://myfloridahistory.org/2025PHF]) Remembering Ronnie's Restaurant [https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/ronnies-restaurant.html] Rick's post about living on the former Datson Dairy land [https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/07/dairy-around-corner.html] Who created the shopping mall? [https://msourceideas.com/the-origin-story-of-the-enclosed-shopping-mall/] Secret Mall Apartment [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21221386/] Joffrey's Coffee [https://joffreys.com/] Barnie's Coffee [https://www.barniescoffee.com/pages/our-story] Orlando Milk District [https://themilkdistrict.org/] Happy Mother's Day to a fierce Florida mom [https://youtu.be/d1N_aHr2wL8?si=_PfK_VnJXoVnroOA] Roadhouse movie [https://www.amazon.com/Road-House-Jake-Gyllenhaal/dp/B0CH5YQPZQ] Support the show [https://paypal.me/floridaspectacular?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US] Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com [cathy@floridaspectacular.com]. Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter [http://eepurl.com/df4f_T], and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com [http://greatfloridaroadtrip.com/]. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com [http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/] and get his books at rickkilby.com [https://www.rickkilby.com/]. Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy [http://www.facebook.com/SalustriCathy] and everywhere else as @CathySalustri [http://www.twitter.com/CathySalustri]; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth [https://www.facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth], Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/oldfla.bsky.social]), and IG (@ricklebee [http://www.instagram.com/ricklebee]). NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link [cathy@floridaspectacular.com?subject=Plant%20question]!

Send us your Florida questions! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1527562/open_sms] TJ Fridrich, with the Save the Manatee Club, joins the podcast to talk about what listeners need to know about when manatee can be dangerous (seriously!), what their mating behavior might look like, and where you can see some excellent documentaries about manatee and their ilk. Links We Mentioned Save The Manatee Club [https://savethemanatee.org/] The Disturbance Theory [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.11403] Mating herd in Haulover Canal [https://floridahikes.com/manatee-observation-deck/] Report a manatee sighting [https://savethemanatee.org/how-to-help/report-a-manatee-sighting/] Amazonian manatee and Last Chance To See [https://www.markcarwardine.com/last-chance-to-see.html] Last Chance To See documentary [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409667/] Swimming Through Air [https://springseternalproject.org/springs-eternal-project-2/lesley-gamble-swimming-air/] with the Springs Eternal Project [https://springseternalproject.org/springs-eternal-project-2/lesley-gamble-swimming-air/] Forgotten Mermaids [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9MV3kKqPN4] (Jacques Costeau) Save the Manatee 5K [https://savethemanatee.org/save-the-manatee-5k/] Attack of the Killer Manatee [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1979186/?ref_=ttpl_ov]  Support the show [https://paypal.me/floridaspectacular?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US] Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com [cathy@floridaspectacular.com]. Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter [http://eepurl.com/df4f_T], and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com [http://greatfloridaroadtrip.com/]. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com [http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/] and get his books at rickkilby.com [https://www.rickkilby.com/]. Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy [http://www.facebook.com/SalustriCathy] and everywhere else as @CathySalustri [http://www.twitter.com/CathySalustri]; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth [https://www.facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth], Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/oldfla.bsky.social]), and IG (@ricklebee [http://www.instagram.com/ricklebee]). NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link [cathy@floridaspectacular.com?subject=Plant%20question]!

Send us your Florida questions! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1527562/open_sms] Rick and Cathy talk about the middle basin of the St. Johns River, eco tours, and wildlife seen along the waterway.  Links We Mentioned Floridiana Festival at the Matheson [https://mathesonmuseum.org/events/] Squarehouse Pizza [https://www.squarehousepizza.com/] Love Vine? [https://plant-directory.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/cassytha-filiformis/] Welaka Florida [https://www.floridarambler.com/northeast-florida-getaways/welaka-florida/] Lake Jesup [https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/locations/lake-jesup-wilderness-area.stml] St. Johns River info [https://www.sjrwmd.com/waterways/st-johns-river/tour/] Airboat on the St. Johns Airboat chase sequence in Gone Fishin' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TUz202Rlj4] "36 Hours in Orlando [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/01/travel/what-to-do-36-hours-in-orlando-florida.html]" (New York Times) Bill Belleville's River of Lakes [https://ugapress.org/book/9780820323442/river-of-lakes/] Florida's American Heritage River: Images From the St. Johns River [https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813033525] St. Johns Riverkeeper [https://stjohnsriverkeeper.org/]   Support the show [https://paypal.me/floridaspectacular?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US] Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com [cathy@floridaspectacular.com]. Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter [http://eepurl.com/df4f_T], and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com [http://greatfloridaroadtrip.com/]. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com [http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/] and get his books at rickkilby.com [https://www.rickkilby.com/]. Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy [http://www.facebook.com/SalustriCathy] and everywhere else as @CathySalustri [http://www.twitter.com/CathySalustri]; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth [https://www.facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth], Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/oldfla.bsky.social]), and IG (@ricklebee [http://www.instagram.com/ricklebee]). NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link [cathy@floridaspectacular.com?subject=Plant%20question]!