A weekend full of fall festivities!

The weather has been absolutely wonderful this past week and I know so many of us are just itching to get outside and enjoy the beginning of Florida fall! If you’re not sure what to do this weekend, you’re actually in luck, because there’s so much going on - you may just not be able to make up your mind on what sounds like the most fun. You may just have to go to all of them!

The Haystackular Haymaze  across from S.S. Dixon Primary School in Pace is open and hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and noon until 6 p.m. on Sundays. This fun event runs from September 30th until October 22nd.  If you haven’t been, here’s what you can expect...to start with a 4,000-bale haymaze to get disoriented in (the largest hay bale maze ever constructed in northwest Florida), hayrides, bouncers for the kids, a playground, a corn trough to play in and even a zip line! 

Next, we have the fabulous Main Street Milton First Friday! This event takes place every first Friday of the month through November 4th  - hours are 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. If you haven’t been, you really should go. They have a car of the month club, arts and crafts, and I’ve even spotted our roller derby team there... I’ve also noticed a nice collection of classic cars seem to hang out at First Friday, maybe they come for the live music or dinner specials offered by the local restaurants, or maybe they just like being downtown and visiting with everyone  - whatever their reason, they sure do have some nice cars and I sure hope First Fridays are here to stay for a long time!

The next event is another local favorite - so much a favorite that's its been happening for 30 years now! Yep -I ’m talking about the St. Rose of Lima 30th annual International Fall Festival! Starting Friday, October 7th from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday 10a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon until 5 you can enjoy foods from the cultures of Filipino, America, Hispanic, Cajun, Italian, and Polish. There’s art tables, craft booths, plant booths, bakery booths and even a petting zoo. Keep me away from the petting zoo. I almost left there last year with a goat and a pot belly pig named Bacon.

Not really into the Fall Festival scene, how about taking a trip over to the Milton Library and visiting the Friends of Milton Library Sale. They have great prices on used books and it’ll be a little more quiet that the festivities going on around town. Hours are Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Closed on Sunday.

You could also visit the Santa Rosa County Historical Museum, open 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays in October. Here you will learn about the culture and history of Santa Rosa. The museum is located in historic downtown Milton.

The last place on my list is the Sweet Season Farms Corn Maze. This was so much fun for us last year! We literally stayed for half the day. The farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. It opened October 1 and will run through November 6th. I follow them on Facebook and due to limited rainfall this summer, the corn is not as tall as it has been in past years, but that won’t stop us from visiting! There is so much to do here. Admission is $5 for ages 4 and up, but along with a gigantic corn maze, that by the way is drawn out into a theme each year, they have a play ground, hayrides, a cow train little ones can ride on, a corn cannon  - yeah, you actually load corn into a PVC pipe and fire the corn, and a picnic area. Not to mention the farm is just beautiful. And with the beautiful weather we’re expected to have this weekend, this will be a great place to spend the day!

There you have it, plenty of options to choose from! Enjoy the wonderful weather and our great town and which ever event you choose to go to - even if its all of them!

-Jenn V.

Summer Time Refreshments!

Ahhhh, good ole summer time! August brings in the dog days of summer where the heat in Florida is just about too hot to tolerate. So hot that when you step outside your lungs feel like they have caught on fire. Thankfully, kids like Kendall remember what else summer is great for - Lemon-aid stands! This longtime tradition has stood the test of time and comes back every summer all over America, giving us adults cool beverages to sip on and teaches our kids the importance of entrepreneurship.

Ok, well at the very least it gives the kids something to do for an afternoon and a chance to earn some money for something they'd like to have. (and it gets them away from t.v and video games) In case you missed it, this past weekend, little Kendall set up shop on her parents front lawn  to raise money for a much desired scooter! I'm not sure how much she ended up earning, I believe the rain clouds got the best of her business after about an hour, but she did have plenty of customers.

 Many neighbors stopped on their way home from Sunday afternoon shopping and some stopped for a cool drink while walking the dogs. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping to see this lemon-aid stand a couple more times before school starts!
-Jenn V

Avoiding Heat Stroke

Think you’re immune to heat stroke? Think again. Many people think their immune to it. They work outside in the heat everyday, they’re used to it. They think “it could never happen to them.” As you’re outside working it’s important to stay hydrated. Yeah, you hear that all the time don’t you? But have you actually stopped and thought about it? According to the Water Information Program, the human body is more than 60% water. So, when you’re outside working and sweating, you’re loosing a good amount of that water. It needs to be replaced. Profuse sweating, fatigue, thirst and muscle cramps, usually in the stomach, arms or legs are some of the first signs to heat stroke, this first phase is categorized as heat cramps. When this happens you need to get inside to a cool place and replace the fluid you have lost with Gatorade or water.

If you choose to ignore these warning signs, the next phase will be heat exhaustion. The symptoms include: iheadache, dizziness or lightheadedness, nausea, skin that feels cool and moist, and muscle cramps. The symptoms are treated the same way, although it may take longer for you to feel better and if they don’t go away, seek medical attention!

According to the Mayo Clinic The cause of your heatstroke depends on the activities you do that bring on your condition. Heatstroke can occur in these ways:

• Environmental conditions. In a type of heatstroke called nonexertional heatstroke, your condition is caused by extreme environment temperatures that cause your body temperature to increase. You may be doing some light or moderate activity, but activity is not the primary cause of your heatstroke. This type of heatstroke is typical in warmer, more humid weather.
• Strenuous activity. In a type of heatstroke called exertional heatstroke, your condition is caused by strenuous activity that increases your body temperature. You can have exertional heatstroke even if you're accustomed to working or exercising in very hot temperatures, though heatstroke is more likely to occur if you're not accustomed to high temperatures.

In either exertional or nonexertional heatstroke, your condition can be brought on by:

• Wearing excess clothing that doesn't allow your sweat to evaporate easily
• Drinking alcohol, which can affect your body's ability to regulate your temperature.

Please remember to wear loose fitting clothing and STAY HYDRATED!


-Jenn V

My Slithering Friend

I must give kudos to Brianna Abney - my blog and Facebook admin partner. The other day after dinner, the kids and I were outside. I was watering the flowers and the kids were eating Popsicles. When I was done watering I decided to have a seat in my camping chair and relax for a few minutes. And then a bug crawled on me. Not a small bug. A medium sized bug. It was black with red, I’m not real sure on the specifics and they don’t really matter anymore, its just one of the stepping stone leading up to the event of the evening. Since I am not a fan of any bug, I decided I would not be sitting in the chair relaxing. I mean after all - I have no idea where this bug went to after I freaked out and flicked it off of me. So, I folded up the chair, picked it up, and turned to bring it back into the garage.

That's when I saw it.

Squirming around like it was confused on where to go. I froze. Was it poisonous, was the mama around? I wanted to grab the kids and run inside, but I knew if I did this creature, this SNAKE would get further into the garage and grow into an adult snake and then what would I do? This snake was still small enough that I wasn’t screaming, but it still had enough punch to render me frozen not knowing what to do. Mostly because I didn’t want to get bit by a poisonous snake while I was home alone with the kids. So, I did what any freaked out woman would do.
I called a neighbor. 

I had originally thought Brianna’s step son would be the one to come down and haul this thing off, but to my surprise Brianna came charging down the street like a She-ra Princess Warrior to my rescue. Her step son Cameron was with  her, and they quickly determined that my new friend was a white oak. Common to north Florida and wooded areas. I have also learned that they like to hide in tree’s and attack their prey by surprise. UGH. Just the thought of a snake in a tree and possibly dropping on me, freaks me out while I am sitting here typing. Anyway...back to this slithering reptile. Apparently they are not poisonous, which is good to know and they’re good at keeping rodents away. That's good to know too, but I’d like to propose to all the snakes out there- that if they could please do their ‘do-gooding’ while I am inside that would be great.
Episodes like this remind us of the precautions that we do need to take. Especially living in Florida - we do have poisonous snakes and we just need to be aware of our surroundings, teach our kids to be aware, and most important (for me especially) know what to do when we happen to come upon these creatures. After all, our She-ra Princess Warrior may not always be around when we need her. 

So, what do we do when we happen upon a poisonous one? The Florida Museum of Natural History says to just leave the snake alone. Most snakes bites occur when a person is handling them or trying to catch them. So, what if the snake is in the garage like mine? Without getting too close, try to push it out with a long handled broom or shovel. Of course if the snake is aggressive or poisonous and eliminating its existence is the only option, then do so with caution. If the snake is in an area that you can not get to, you can call Florida Wildlife Trapper at 1-866-263-WILD. They also remove other animals. Check out their website for more information. You can also find them on Facebook.  

With that -  lets all be safe and hopefully none of you happen to come across the mama or the siblings!




-Jenn V

4th of July Riverfest!

The 4th of July falls on a Monday this year, but that doesn't mean you can't take the family down to Riverwalk Park at historic downtown Milton! There will be a ton of fun activities for young and old, plus who doesn't love a good 4th of July celebration? The Stars & Stripes parade will actually kick off the festivities on July 2nd. There will be all day activities on July 4th followed by fireworks.There will be a Treasure Island activity area for the children from 11 to 5. Please keep in mind that the North and South streets will be closed. For more information you can visit the Beaches to Rivers of Santa Rosa County website or  you can also call SRC chamber of commerce at 850-632-2339 and to see a list of events click here.

Happy 4th of July!

-Jenn V

First Friday!

What are you doing Friday evening? Have you been to a first Friday in historical downtown Milton? This Friday, July 1st you can take part in the festivities from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. There will be lots to see and do! Check out the different vendors and crafters. There will be artists and even a car club! I’ve also seen in the past that the Emerald Coast Roller Derby Girls have been there, so if you know of a woman thats been wanting to join a roller derby – here’s her chance! First Friday’s occur literally the first Friday of each month. If you’re interested in becoming a vendor or if you’d just like to read more about it, you can visit the Main Street Milton website. Their website is full if great news and you can even become a fan on Facebook or sign up for their mailing list.

Happy Thursday and maybe we’ll see you downtown tomorrow night!

-Jenn V

Welcome!

And so it begins! When a couple of us got together for dinner one evening and began talking about the neighborhood and how to bring everyone closer, it was suggested that I create a blog and a Facebook page to help keep everyone informed. We thought it would be a great idea to have a place to share activities such as cookouts, yard sales, ideas anyone may have, or just have a helpful way of getting to know one another.  Since most of us work during the day, and it seems our lives become more and more busy as time goes on, it has become increasingly difficult to meet everyone and truly get to know our neighbors. Our hope is that by creating an easily accessible on-line community, we will all have a chance to learn about each other, and generally feel a little more connected to our community.  Since this blog is so brand new, please be patient with us as we get the hang of it, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Also, if you’d like to write a blog article, or have any news you’d like to share, feel free! You can email me the scoop, and we’ll get it posted. I’m looking forward to meeting some of you for the first time, and looking forward to getting to know some of you a little bit better.  I’m in the process of creating our Facebook page, so look for a link to that coming soon!


-Jenn V