Between The Beaches Podcast

This episode first aired in Season 1 and we're rebroadcasting it this week as a refresher leading up to another upcoming discussion with musician, storyteller, and Scottish historian James Johnston.  In this episode you'll get a broad overview of the Border Reiver culture that was the foundational roots for many of our Florida ranch families and you'll start to understand the gritty character that's a hallmark of cowhunters past and present.  (Note: our interview was conducted via Zoom and as such audio quality was lower than normal)

This one's as simple as the name implies.  We're reading some cowboy poetry from the middle of the pasture amongst the cows who chime in with background vocals.  If you close your eyes while listening, you might even think you're out there in the middle of Florida's cow country.  Give it a listen and escape your daily grind for about half an hour!

Dr. Todd Thrift utilizes his extensive and diverse knowledge base of cow calf management and ruminant nutrition to educate students, ranchers, and consumers alike about beef cattle in Florida. In this episode kicking off Season 3 of Between The Beaches Podcast, we have a wide-ranging conversation from the history of the first cattle in Florida all the way to the present which is sure to be extremely interesting to both cattle producers and consumers. Plenty to learn here, so be sure you don't overlook this one!

The Battle of Okeechobee was by all accounts the longest and one of the fiercest engagements of the Seminole Wars and it happened on Christmas Day 184 years ago. Okeechobee Mayor Dowling Watford, a Civil War/Seminole War reenactor and member of the Okeechobee Battlefield Friends set aside some time to unpack the events surrounding this seminal moment in Florida history and discuss the annual reenactment which takes place at the Okeechobee Battlefield Historic State Park. It was an event that had lasting ramifications not only shaping Florida as we know it, but one that rippled onto the national stage and it all started between the beaches...

This week we take a look a the ebb and flow of progress made in 2021 towards better water quality for Florida. Nyla Pipes devotes countless hours to researching the issues and projects impacting Florida's waterways. In this episode, she provides a bird's eye view of where we stand at year end and lays it out in plain language that anyone can follow and understand. We've still got a long way to go, but many water projects are moving forward and there's much to celebrate here as we wrap up the year.

It's the time of year for busy schedules and grateful hearts and this episode offers a quick look at the traditionally understood origins of Thanksgiving, Florida's role as the spoiler relative to the first thanksgiving feast, and some of our family traditions.

In a time when celebrities and politicians shine in the limelight, there are still plenty of people out there who operate quietly behind the scenes with great efficacy to guide policy in a positive direction for their community, state, and country. They don't do it for special recognition nor personal gain, they give selflessly of themselves because they care about others. Susanne Clemons is one such individual working for a better Florida from her home here in the heartland to Capitol Hill and beyond. Listen in to learn about her background in the citrus and cattle industries and her passion for Florida agriculture as a whole.

Storytellers come in many forms and weave their tales through many mediums. A. E. "Bean" Backus, Florida's preeminent landscape artist was no exception and shared his visionary tales of Old Florida through oil paints layered in intricate brushstrokes on canvas for the whole world to see. In this episode we look back on Beanie's childhood in turn of the century Florida, his beginnings as an artist, his painting techniques, and his enduring love for our beautiful state along with her diverse population.

A longtime powerhouse and iconic Florida symbol, the citrus industry has been rocked in the past few decades by a perfect storm of diseases, natural disasters, and changing consumer preferences but thankfully it's still got a fighting chance to continue. In this episode, we look back on its history and the significant economic and environmental benefits it provides to Florida as a whole.

Candy corn and cattle... it's sure to sound like an odd pairing unless you've studied up on the origins of modern day Halloween. If you don't know the history of Celtic culture's festival of Samhain and how their herding traditions and culture evolved to give rise to Halloween along with its associated rituals as celebrated in modern times, and you also like to hear random racket from hound dogs in the background then don't miss this episode where we dig deep to peel back the layers.