Florida Spectacular

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Today the Florida Spectacular welcomes Craig Pittman, Florida environmental reporter, columnist, and author of many books – most recently, The State You're In.  

Get Craig's book for a discounted price – $20 – plus free shipping when you order from upress.ufl.edu or call 800-226-3822 and use the code FLMAN. Valid through September 30, 2021.

Stories from Craig mentioned in this episode:
Hunting Pythons with the Ladies of the Glades

A Tale of Two Toms and Three Ks

Want more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes Lara Milligan and Shannon Carnevale, and Cathy chats with them about their podcast, Naturally Florida, which delves into natural Florida and the things that live here. They also talk about Cuban tree frogs and other exotic invasives, fireflies (yes, we have them here!) and green anoles (you may call them geckos, but you'd be wrong.

Lara's the Natural Resources Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County; she focuses on wildlife, water, and general environmental education. Shannon leads the Natural Resources and Conservation Extension program in Polk County, addressing issues related to watershed ecology & restoration, invasive plant management, and wildlife ecology. Lara helped author a field guide called "This or That: A Beginner's Field Guide to Commonly Misidentified Animals and Plants in Florida"

Don't miss their YouTube channel, as well as Lara's blog.

Want more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.


 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes John Bisney and J.L. Pickering, the co-authors of Picturing the Space Shuttle: The Early Years. On the podcast they chat about the space shuttle, but not only that – you'll learn about I Dream of Jeannie's connection and the nude beach by Cape Canaveral. 

John Bisney, a retired journalist who covered the space program for more than 30 years for CNN, the Discovery Science Channel, and SiriusXM Radio, contributed the text. J. L. Pickering is a spaceflight historian with a robust archive of rare space images stretching back more than 50 years. Together, they've written four other books: 

Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini
Spaceshots and Moonshots of Project Apollo

The Space-Age Presidency of John F Kennedy
Picturing Apollo 11

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes Holley Short, an Audubon Florida Shorebird Program Manager in the Tampa Bay Area. Holley works closely with cities, counties, and landowners to project nesting shorebirds and seabirds.

Check out the Florida Audubon Society's website, flbeachbirds.org and follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Also, check out one of Holley's favorite birds, the Snowy Plover.

Find your Audubon chapter at audubon.org. Find bird walks on the "field trip" section of the chapter's website.

Learn about FWC enforcement in your area

Subscribe to other FWC reports

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week the Florida Spectacular welcomes Ray Bodrey of UF/IFAS Extension Gulf County. Ray's the County Extension Director and Florida Sea Grant Agent. Today we're talking about scallops in Franklin, Gulf, and Bay County. Ray talks about bay scallops and the volunteer scallop sitter program. 

Links we mentioned:

Find the Gulf County Extension on Facebook

Register to become a scallop sitter

Learn about the scallop rodeo

More info on Bay Scallops from the FWC

Scalloping tips

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes author Cynthica Barnett to talk about seashells and her new book, The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans. Cynthia and host Cathy Salustri talk about sushi, scallops, and whether or not it's OK to collect seashells (yes, as long as they're not alive and please don't take them all!) Connect with Cynthia on Twitter or her website.

More about Cynthia Barnett: She's an environmental journalist who has reported on water and climate change around the world, and a fifth-generation Floridian raising a sixth generation in Gainesville. The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans, is Cynthia’s fourth book, and she describes it as her completion of the water cycle. She is also the author of Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, which was longlisted for the National Book Award 2015. Her previous books are Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis, which articulates a water ethic for America, and Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S. which won the gold medal for best nonfiction in the Florida Book Awards and has been listed by The Tampa Bay Times as one of the top 10 books that every Floridian should read.

She has written for National Geographic, the Atlantic, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Tampa Bay Times and many other publications, and she serves as Environmental Journalist in Residence at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

Today The Florida Spectacular welcomes Tom Wichman, who works with landscapers to teach them how to keep landscapes Florida-friendly. Learn about how to mulch, which tree stands through (most) hurricanes, and how Florida-Friendly landscapers (and landscaping you can do yourself!) can make your Florida yard more spectacular. 

Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM in a Minute radio show

Flip My Florida Yard TV show

Florida-Friendly landscape apps

Florida-Friendly webinars for professionals and homeowners

Guidelines for hiring a Florida-friendly landscaper

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes Jason Katz, a South Florida writer who also teaches English and publishes the Islandia Journal in and around the Miami Metropolitan Area. Tune in to hear about the Everglades Griffin, why Miami has more on offer than most people realize, and the work that appears in the Journal.

He also writes for himself – check out his local writing at jasonkatz.info. He's working on a novel, called Foreclosure, set during the housing market crash, and a nonfiction book about Florida Futurism.

Slate podcast we mentioned about Anita Bryant, Florida, and the year 1977: One Year.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week The Florida Spectacular welcomes Tina Marie Osceola, an enrolled member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. We talk about Seminole gaming and what it means to her family, her feelings about the compact before the Department of the Interior, and life as part of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. 

Read more of her work at Life  in Naples magazine.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week the Florida Spectacular welcomes writer James Chapin, author of Ride South Until the Sawgrass, a "Florida western." We talk about Florida's forgotten history, why Daytona Beach doesn't suck, and Hillsborough County's Environmental Lands program and why it's amazing. Listen along!

Read James's Washington Post article about Florida's invasive species.

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Find James online and subscribe to his email newsletter.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@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!