Thursday, July 23, 2009

It's no mustang with flames, but I still like it

Will is convinced that Uncle Scot needs a black mustang with flames on the sides to get a girlfriend. Will is wise beyond his years cause that just might work for Scot. But, we did get a new-to-us vehicle today - a 2005 Ford Escape! It drives really nice and has a great turning radius. We traded the Mercury in and got a total of $400 for it. I'm glad we didn't wait to much longer. We might not have driven the Mercury to be traded in then. We timed it just right for us also. Our first payment for this one is due in October and the truck is paid off in September.



New cars are so much fun!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

What I Do at My Job

Beneficial insects shoot

Well, this isn't all I do, but during a shoot I do a lot of this. My job during a video shoot is to stay out of the way, not touch the equipment, make sure we have all the props we need, guest speakers understand what we're doing, and to keep everyone hydrated. So, basically I'm the water girl.

I do more than that, but not so much on the shoot. For several weeks before our week long shoots, I set up locations, guest speakers, props, and try to coordinate a multitude of people's schedules. There's been several times in the last year that I thought TV would be the death of me.

Beneficial insects shoot
Walter Reeves, our host, and Steven Arthurs, UF entomologist, releasing lady beetles.

When we're not shooting, I'm dealing with stations, printed materials, web sites, etc. Oh, and I also handle a weekday radio show and lots of written material for our Web sites. So, I guess I'm more than water girl.

Gopher Tortoise shoot
Gopher tortoises are protected in Florida. Charles Fedunak is showing Walter his tortoises that the Extension office keeps for educational purposes and discussing all the habitat benefits their burrows provide.

From day-to-day, I never know what my job will bring. But, I do love working at the university and interacting with Extension agents.

Picture 641
Kerry Herndon is one of the largest orchid growers in the world. He's showing Walter how orchid breeding happens. This was one of the prettiest locations we've ever shot at.

And, I learn a lot of plants. Not that I can implement ANYTHING that I learn. But, I could tell you what you need to do!

Jon's Nursery shoot
Jon's Nursery was HUGE! It has almost 200 acres in woody ornamental production. They showed Walter how camellias go from propagation to the market.

I love my job and the people I work with. It doesn't get better than that.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

G-rated Fourth of July

This year was a blur of activity for us for Independence Day. It was very kid-oriented and a whole lot of fun. We started the day off by getting the 4-H float ready for the Micanopy parade. We all rode the float (I ride because Kaity rides and I'm afraid she'll fall off.) The kids threw 30 lbs of candy out and rode the three blocks of the parade. We had some good friends from Gville come watch us and sit with John (he didn't want to ride the float).

Here are Will and Danny riding the float - the newest Micanopy 4-H members and possibly the only male members.


The tag-a-long member, Kaity, had a blast and mostly rode with Tiffany who will be a senior this year.


After the parade, we headed out to the 4-H leader's house for a potluck and swimming. Again, Will and Danny were the only boys. And, again, Kaity stuck with Tiffany. But, Tiffany did get her in the pool and swimming a little bit.

We headed home for a little bit in the middle of the afternoon and took naps and then headed out again about 6 pm. Will's best friend, Chance, lives in a grand old house in downtown Micanopy. We headed there with half the town and did more swimming, eating, and partying. About 8:30, we ALL headed out to the ball field to watch the fireworks. They were really good this year. And, really close. Gainesville cancelled theirs so I think we had a lot of people come out and enjoy our small town festivities. They had a free bounce house and hay ride for the kids, but of course, we got there too late for that. All total, I think we were keeping track of about 15-18 kids. It was chaos.







After the town fireworks, it was back to Chance's house for more fireworks of our own doing. One of Chance's uncles brought a whole trunk full of firecrackers/fireworks. We set them off in the middle of downtown Micanopy in the midst of all the antique shops. But, considering Chance's dad is mayor pro temp, it was probably okay. We finally ended up leaving about 11 pm and they weren't even halfway through all their fireworks yet. And, as far as I know, no one got hurt. Overall, it was a great Fourth. My new favorite non-wintery holiday.

Friday, July 03, 2009

RIP Smokey

We keep hoping Smokey is going to come home, but it's been almost a month now with no sign of her. We're pretty sure a bobcat got her. My mother-in-law-'s 14 year old cat, my aunt-in-law's 9 year old cat, and 3 or 4 barn cats are also missing. And, we've seen a bobcat recently. Not sure what happened, but we really miss Smokey. This is the last picture I took of Smokey. Not a great one, but it is the most recent.


To make up for us missing Smokey, Tebow has taken up residence in John's chair. This is actually unusual, but John was shooting his gun this afternoon and scared Tebow into the house. This is where he ended up and where he's stayed with Will basically sitting on top of him. Tebow is enjoying himself immensely.

 

Out on Wacahoota Road | Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial License | Dandy Dandilion Designed by Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates