Moo had a little crush on me, and I could all but return his affections. He possessed saucer-size eyes, a sturdy build and a sweet disposition. But what really tugged at my heart was his story of survival. The super-friendly brown-haired bull, who had trailed me through the pasture like a lovelorn teen, had been found tied to a car during his calfhood. He was saved by one animal shelter, then recently relocated to another, Farm Sanctuary near Watkins Glen, N.Y. ...more

July 20, 2008

A typical day at Equestrian Club Country's horse camp begins with breakfast - for the horses, that is. ...more

July 16, 2008

There was a time when motoring along U.S. 41 you couldn't miss the once-thriving Giant's Fish Camp besides the Alafia River Bridge. ...more

July 9, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Anne Reynolds, a white-haired lady in her 60s, speaks softly when asked about the younger version of her painted on a downtown Lake Placid mural. "That's me, 1966, when shortly after arriving as Charles Reynolds' bride, I was elected the first president of the Lake Placid Arts and Crafts Fair." Reynolds' home, a two-storied, New Orleans style red brick with black, wrought iron balconies, perches on a high bluff, Bear Point, offering a panoramic view of what used to be Lake Childs, now Lake Placid. The 12-acre property boasts heavily mossed, native-Florida trees and foliage. A golf cart ride downhill leads to a rectangular, green building, once a garage, now a lab. David Butler, archaeologist and professor at Rollins College, comes here, often bringing students, and studies findings from the Blueberry site — more about that later. The samples are sealed in labeled, plastic bags and piled around the musty, somewhat mystical room. ...more

July 6, 2008

The city's redevelopment efforts have been dealt another blow. St. Petersburg-based developer Grady Pridgen, who planned to build a massive retail and residential complex with condos, shops and offices overlooking the Pithlachascotee River, has put the property on the market, leaving the future of the project uncertain. ...more

June 21, 2008

The city's redevelopment efforts have been dealt another blow. St. Petersburg-based developer Grady Pridgen, who planned to build a massive retail and residential complex with condos, shops and offices overlooking the Pithlachascotee River, has put the property on the market, leaving the future of the project uncertain. ...more

June 20, 2008

It started as the story of two little pigs. They were scrawny little things when they came trotting out of the woods, half-starved and looking for salvation. ...more

June 12, 2008

It started as the story of two little pigs. They were scrawny little things when they came trotting out of the woods, half-starved and looking for salvation ...more

June 11, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - The saga of a dirt pile, nicknamed Mount Sheldon by neighbors and county officials, is approaching its final chapter as the last truckload of dirt was removed Thursday. ...more

June 11, 2008

About 120 Deloitte employees who usually push computer and calculator keys in their air-conditioned offices in Tampa put their hands to shovels and rakes Friday, helping the Tampa Metro YMCA's Camp Cristina spruce up its grounds before summer camp opens Monday. Volunteers replenished landscaping, cleared nature trails and painted the open-air stage backdrop. About a dozen Deloitte employees pulled indoor duty, drafting a new personal finance curriculum for the YMCA to introduce to teenage counselors in training. ...more

June 9, 2008