News from Keys Treasures

  The 41st running of the annual 7 Mile Bridge Run occurred last weekend and for all those who were lucky enough to secure a spot, it was a resounding success.       Each year, just over 1500 entrants line up at the start of the bridge (historically the North end but for the past two years, the Big Pine side), and await the gunshot signaling the race has begun.  The race itself is a bit shorter than the name implies, measuring just over 6.8 miles but with the Florida Keys heat beating down on you, even as the sun...

          This lovely family of manatees greeted us at the dock upon our return from a recent fishing trip.  We love manatees!      While we were hosing off the gear, a snout peeked up at us, trying its best to get a quick drink.  We immediately stopped spraying fresh water and watched the little trio for about ten minutes.      Feeding, touching, and watering manatees is forbidden by law and we do not do any of those things because we respect both the law and the manatees.  The slow-cruising creatures are in danger of...

     After years of looking for the Goldilocks version of a mahi-mahi print fabric, you know, one that's just right, I gave up.  They were either just too splotchy and looked like a leftover splash art project from the '80s or had bizarre, misshapen scales.  A few came close, but I didn't like the color.  So I threw in the towel and decided to create my own.  With the gorgeous natural colors of both the fish and of the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico to inspire me, I made my print.  It's not too splotchy, not too...

     A lot of people think there are no seasons here in the Keys.  They've got it wrong, as do the snowbirds, in my humble opinion.  Snowbirds come in the winter, escaping the snow, ice, and unpleasantness that comes along with those things.  But they take off in the spring and totally miss out on the greatest season of all here-  summer.      Summer in the Keys means flat calm water with crazy visibility, sea turtle hatchings, and storms that make one feel truly alive.  Lobster season begins in the summer, and the hotter it gets, the hotter...

     If you visit the Florida Keys, chances are, you'll hear the word, "conch".  Phonetically speaking, you'll hear konk, and you may wonder just what a conch is.  If your first encounter with the word happens to be reading it in print, you may have mispronounced it and tipped off anyone within earshot that you are definitely not local.  That is, if your clothing, accent, sunburn, or something else didn't tip them off first.  But  I digress....      A conch can be referring to one of two things, the gastropod found in the ocean or the people found...