Florida Circle: Florida Family Time

Scott with his brother, Craig, and his sister, Nancy

We left Alabama and headed “home” to Clearwater, Florida.

 

Tampa Bay area

Scott and I both grew up in Clearwater, Florida, and we still have a smattering of relatives in the general vicinity, although many have moved away. 

But, when we say we are going to Clearwater, we are actually visiting relatives in Tarpon Springs, New Port Richey, Tampa and Dunedin. 

The impetus of our trip was to visit Scott’s mom, Betty, who is in memory care in Tarpon Springs. 

It has gotten increasingly more difficult to visit with her because she doesn’t usually remember if we had visited and the conversations with her are very trying because her attention span is so short. 

Betty's home

We knew that, during the time we were apart during the pandemic, things had gotten worse, but we didn’t really know what to expect. I'll address that shortly.

The Suwanee River 

So, we drove from Alabama to Scott’s brother’s house in New Port Richey without much happening along the way except for a stop for Scott to buy one of his favorite southern treats, boiled (pronounced "bawled") peanuts ...

Not my cup of (sweet) tea, but ...

... and a picnic next to the Suwanee River in Fanning Springs.

A lovely picnic spot; Photos: Scott Stevens

Yes, it’s THAT Suwanee River that Stephen Foster wrote about in “Old Folks at Home,” which is the state song of Florida. 

The Suwanee

Foster is one of only two songwriters who penned TWO state songs. His other composition was “My Old Kentucky Home.” The much cooler one is for my state: John Denver wrote “Rocky Mountain High,” Colorado’s state song, and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” West Virginia’s state song. 

But, in truth, Foster didn’t write about the Suwanee. He just wrote a song and attached the name. He never saw the Suwanee; he never even visited Florida. The song was commissioned in 1851 to be sung in a minstrel show. After Foster had composed most of the lyrics, he struggled with a river name for the opening line and asked his brother, Morrison, to suggest a two-syllable name for a Southern river. Morrison found the "Swanee" on a map and Foster went with it. 

One of Foster's most famous songs is about a not-so-famous river

The original version is decidedly racist, written in a white man’s version of slave dialect, with lyrics that romanticized slavery. Florida made "Old Folks at Home" its state song in 1935, replacing "Florida, My Florida.” Over the years, it has been repeatedly revised to make it less offensive. Florida made moves to replace it, but only took it halfway, selecting "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" as the “state anthem” while retaining "Old Folks at Home" as the state song. 

Photo: Scott Stevens

I used to live near the Suwanee and it’s a lovely river, but I think it’s time for that dreadful song to go. But, I digress … 

Some Family Time 

Betty and me

While in New Port Richey, we visited Betty and did find her condition to be far worse than before. This time, she obviously knew that Scott was someone special, but I doubt that she knew his name (or my name) or that he was her son. 

Scott and Betty

It’s difficult to see that happening, although she does seem to be happy and well-cared-for. 

Betty as a girl

One strategy for the visit that really seemed to work was sharing some old photographs with her. I recently completed a six-year project where I digitized all of our old photos, including all of Betty’s childhood pictures. 

I took the file with me on the trip, so I was able to show her some of them. And, typical of dementia, although she can’t remember breakfast, she can identify all the people in a photo taken in 1934. And, she seemed to enjoy looking at the photos. 

Betty's 1934 family picture

It’s tough, but it was nice to see her. We also got to see the newest family member, Scott’s sister Nancy’s first grandson. So, that was a treat. 

More babies in the family

We had a lovely lunch at Nancy’s new condo (we brought stone crab claws purchased in Tarpon Springs) ...

Yum!

... and a big family dinner at Frenchy’s, one of our favorite eating spots, which is famous for grouper sandwiches, smoked fish dip and key lime pie ...

Photos: Frenchy's

Ya gotta love Florida foods. 

An abundance of seafood

Some Nature Time 

Just like in Colleyville, I have some “go-to” nature spots when I visit family in Florida. I visited Brooker Creek Nature Preserve and was disappointed to find very few birds or animals … 

A Carolina Wren was one of the few birds we saw

But, just after I told Scott on the phone that I was heading home because the place was dead, I heard a raucous call directly overhead and realized I was standing right under a Red-shouldered Hawk’s nest. 

Red-shouldered Hawk and its nest

So, that kept me entertained. 

Red-shouldered Hawk

Then, on the way to the car I almost tripped over a Nine-banded Armadillo ...

An Armadillo in the leaves

And, I saw a really cool grasshopper – an American Bird Grasshopper, to be specific – in the tree right above the truck in the parking lot. 

American Bird Grasshopper

I guess the moral is to never give up. 

While I did not see any new species while in the Clearwater area, I did see a couple of baby Sandhill Cranes – including chicks called “colts”  – walking along the side of the road.

Florida Sandhill Cranes

If have seen lots of Sandhill Cranes, including the Florida subspecies, but never a colt. 

Look at those legs!

Adorable! 

Goin’ South 

Following our visit with family, we had also planned a trip to the Everglades, which I will discuss in my next post. On the way down, we made a quick stop at the Naples home of a high school classmate to see “his” Bald Eagles. 

Bald Eagles near their nest

He actually has a Bald Eagle nest in a tree on his property! Like, in his yard! That is like a dream come true for me. Although the chick had already fledged, it and the parents were all there when we visited. 

Recent fledgling

The light was bad, but I still got a few pictures. How cool is that? 

Adult Bald Eagle

(Thanks, Paul, for inviting us to stop by.)

The, south we went towards the Everglades. Stay tuned.

Trip date: April 1-19, 2021