Christmas Carols

Christmas in Florida is a great but different experience; for instance we laugh at the thought of a ‘White Christmas’, have flamingos along with the reindeer our yards, have boat parades along with one ones down main street and our kids are just as comfortable with Santa delivering presents in a canoe as a sleigh, there even a song about it thanks to Jimmy Buffet. One thing remains the same from Maine to Marathon, Jacksonville to Jackson Hole and everywhere in between is the music of Christmas. All over the country, children’s choirs and church choirs, bands and ensembles practice all year long for that one special night when we all dress in red, green, gold or white and head to a local venue. We take our seats and wait in anticipation for the moment when the lights go down and the music starts; what could be better than those old familiar carols to get us in the Christmas spirit.



Christmas carols focus mainly on the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus but they can also be secular and have themes like as winter scenes, family gatherings, and Santa Claus. The first known Christmas carols appear in fourth century Rome, then in the thirteenth century, France, Germany and particularly, Italy, developed Christmas songs in their native languages. O Come all ye faithful appears in its current form in the mid 18th century. Silent night was written by Father Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber and first performed on Christmas Eve 1818; some carols we know and love are very old indeed. Some, however, are relatively new; Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer didn’t hit the scene until 1949, the Little Drummer Boy wasn’t around until 1957. Did you know Joy to the World is based on the 98th Psalm and Jingles Bells was originally written to be a Thanksgiving song? One of my favorites is from Handel’s ‘the Messiah’, the Hallelujah Chorus. It is customary to stand during the performance of this song this originates from a belief that, at the London premiere in 1743, King George II did so, but there is no convincing evidence that supports this theory, it’s still a great story. So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone and enjoy the music!

Hurricane Season

Hurricanes are called many different things depending on where in the world they form; they are called typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes but the scientific term for all these storms is tropical cyclone. Hurricane season in the United States runs from June 1- November 30, with the most active time typically being the middle of August to the end of September. What is a hurricane? Here’s a simple explanation of a hurricane - A hurricane is the most severe category of a tropical cyclone, which is a counter-clockwise spinning low-pressure system that includes thunderstorms.
Hurricanes form when these three conditions occur; the surface water temperature is 80+ degrees down to a depth of 150 feet, weather disturbances, such as thunderstorms are present and the winds are light and fairly steady in the upper atmosphere. After they form, hurricanes can travel at speeds of up to 60 mph but they more commonly move at about 15-20 mph.

Wind speed in these storms is very important; it determines how they are classified. A Tropical depression is below 38 mph, a Tropical storm is 39-74 mph, and when wind speeds exceed 74 mph it’s called a hurricane. There are five different categories, or strengths, of hurricanes, also determined by wind speed. A category one has wind speeds of 74-95 mph, a category two is 96-110 mph, three is 111-130 mph, a four is 131-155 mph, and a five is over 155 mph. These are big, powerful, fascinating weather phenomenon we still don’t completely understand.



I have lived in Florida for most of my life and I have lived through many hurricane seasons but one of the worst was the 2004 hurricane season when we were hit by 4 major storms in that one year. Hurricane Charley was the first to hit. Charley was a category 4 hurricane that hit Punta Gorda, which is just north of Fort Myers, on August 13 th it was the strongest tropical system to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Then came Hurricane Francis, she came ashore just north of Jupiter on September 5 as a Category 2 storm. This was a huge, slow moving storm that did some significant to the Kennedy Space Center. Hurricane Ivan showed up on September 16th as a category 3 storm near northwestern Florida and did a lot of damage in Pensacola Beach. The last big storm to hit Florida that year was Jeanne she hit on September 25th as a category three storm in Punta Gorda, just 2 miles from where Frances had struck 3 weeks earlier. As you can imagine we, here in Florida, were so happy to see the 2004 hurricane season end.

There are a lot of people, from NOAA to William Gray, who try to predict how many hurricanes will form in a season but these predictions can be way off. The simple truth is that no one knows how many there will be but when they do form NOAA has two GOES weather satellites to help them keep an eye on them and track where they are likely to hit and warm the people; that’s what it’s all about, saving lives. If you are in an area when a hurricane is predicted, heed all the warnings, stock up on supplies, have a plan and leave, if you’re instructed to do so. We’ve had relatively quiet hurricane seasons since 2004 and here’s hoping they continue to be.

Fireworks

Everyone enjoys the 4th of July, the colors the lighting up of the skies the big booms, the music that sometimes accompanies them; but have you ever stopped and wondered how it all got started?
Though no one knows for sure their exact date of origin historians believe that the very first pyrotechnic composition was discovered in China sometime around 600-900 A.D. during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The Chinese developed huo yao, the "fire chemical" or "fire drug" and soon after the firecracker was born. Back then firecrackers were most likely made of chunks of green Bamboo and used to scare away evil spirits because they were so loud but they were also used to pray for happiness and prosperity. Before the Ming Dynasty fireworks had been for royalty and the rich only but during the Ming Dynasty they became obtainable for any occasion, a birth, a wedding, a business opening, or a New Year's Eve celebration. To this day China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world.



Settlers brought fireworks over to the Americas around the 1600s and the very first 4th of July celebration and fireworks display was in 1777. Many of our major cities today still have huge fireworks displays to celebrate our nation's birthday. Some of the big celebrations include Boston which has a big concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Philadelphia, as you'd imagine pulls out all the stops and Washington D.C. goes pretty big too. Another fabulous place to celebrate the 4th is Mount Rushmore; they have a dazzling display that takes place over the Memorial, I'm sure it's quite the experience. Here in Florida we celebrate the 4th of July on the beach and over our many waterways, it's a great place to be with your family and friends. Fireworks take many forms to produce the four primary effects: noise, light, smoke, and floating materials. They may be designed to burn with colored flames and sparks that include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and silver.
So now you know and wherever you are this year enjoy - Happy Birthday America!

Tribute to Alan Shepard - First American in Space

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 to became the First American in Space on May 5, 1961. Ten years later, he commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and became the fifth person to walk on the Moon. Today marked the 50th anniversary of Shepard's mission.

The photo above is of a 60s era block house and a replica of the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle. I shot this photo at the while at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Today they're still doing rocket launches at Cape Canaveral both for the US Air Force and NASA.

Tropical Florida

One of the things I love about living in Florida is how tropical looking it is. Most of the days are sunny and warm, in the winter is doesn’t really get cold and in the summer it does get hot but hey, that’s just a great excuse to hit the beach or jump into a pool some where. When you think about Florida it’s hard to not visualize a palm tree waving in the breeze. Did you know are over 2500 different species of palms and most of them can be grown here. Palm trees love the warm, humid climate and all the rain in the summer makes this ideal soil for them. I got married in a backyard garden in Key West and it was beautiful but let’s face it, there are many beautiful places to get married in Florida and one of the reasons is; that most people have a tropical theme when they landscape.



Washington Palms are a favorite; they are tall, grow fast and have a fantastic ‘beard’ just under their top this makes them very recognizable. Majesty Palms are great for parks because they are shorter flourish in the shade. Queen Palms can be found on the lawns of many urban houses they are sturdy and aren’t bothered by pests. Blue Latan Palms are smaller bush like Palms that can be found along rocky shores, the are just some examples of Florida Palm Trees. These trees are, of course, also used at as part of the landscape at many of our Orlando attractions and government buildings. One of my personal favorite Florida plants are the very colorful, popular croton bushes. These are small shrubs that have leathery leaves which are green at first but then turn the most wonderful shades of red, orange and yellow as the plant matures. They are sturdy, beautiful and a great addition to any landscape. This last picture, for me, really exemplifies the beauty of not only our fabulous Florida skies but also our magnificent palms, these delightful trees will always be a popular symbol of tropical Florida.