36F in Indiana but 76F at beautiful at Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary this morning where we enjoyed seeing Florida Gators, blue herons (great and little), great egret, cormorant, bromeliads and spider lily.

Congratulations and a big THANK YOU to SWFREC staff for their service! Julie Carson (25 yrs), Roger McGill (30 yrs), and Kevin Hill (40 yrs) were recognized today for their years of effort. Photo with Melissa Curry (UF VP Human Resources) and Dr. Kent Fuchs (UF President).

A big THANK YOU to Larry Jones at UF/IFAS Facilities, Planning and Operations for providing safety training to @SWFREC staff today!

Having a great time at Charlie’s Corn Maze (south of Clewiston)! Face painting, pumpkins, flowers, hay ride, and more! Great job by you and your team, Chuck, on this first annual event! cbfarms.net/

After confirming First Watch in Naples served 100% Florida orange juice, I said “Thank you. I’ll have a large!”

When feral honey bees were obvious in a building scheduled for demolition @SWFREC, I contacted apiculture specialist Amy Vu @UFhoneybeelab who helped me find @FDACS’ honey bee removal list of registered bee keepers. Hats off to Brian Casey of Purpose Driven Apiary for the rescue!

“You don’t have to be Native American to appreciate, love, and respect native land.” -Daniel Tommy at Western Everglades Restoration Plan US-ACE meeting 1/17/2024

Only in Immokalee will a feral chicken look for a way to get into Popeye’s. 😊

Grateful to Denise Houghtaling (at right in first photo) for today’s tour of Veransa’s Seffner, Florida compost facility for @SWFREC faculty (@SoilMicroSarah and Ramdas Kanissery) and staff. Transforming brush into OMRI-approved compost and composted mulch.

20 seconds…that’s about how long it takes Nacho (planting) and Jose (truck+irrigation) of Chip Miller Planting to plant a Hamlin orange tree from W.E. Green & Sons @SWFREC. We are grateful for their skills as we renovate portions of our research groves!

Collier County Fair ends Sunday 3/26. Hurry while there is still time to “kid” around!

Great lunch today at Greektown Taverna (Naples, near the intersection of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach Road) — proudly serving delicious fruits and veggies from Immokalee.

Celebrating the arrival of our second grandchild: Blake Alan Johnson! Thanking the Lord that he and my daughter are as well as Blake’s father and family are proud.

Enjoyed a great evening with the Bonita Springs Tropical Fruit Club bstfc.org/ last night. Great potluck and discussion gathering for plant and agriculture enthusiasts every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month.

Our family, grateful to be new members of the UF/IFAS SWFREC GatorNation, started this holiday with Gator pancakes! Happy Thanksgiving!

Couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Veteran’s Day than attending the first night of the Collier County Farm Bureau’s Rodeo! Thank you veterans and active military! God bless you and God bless The USA!