A Cold Winter in Florida The sunshine state is experiencing the coldest winter in may years. Growers are struggling to save the citrus crop as record cold has visited the state. I myself have been using bed sheet tents and heat lamps to protect the plants in my flower garden. We have lost hundreds of Manatees as they are warm water mammals. They are often found near the warm water outlets from power stations but this winter they are really struggling to survive. The friendly Manatees are often browsing in the creeks and canals off the Intracoastal. They are gentle creatures that will come right up to humans. I have had Manatees come up alongside my boat and drink the fresh water draining off the decks when I was washing the boat. Here in St Augustine we have had a record low of 24 degre... 02/13/2010

St. Johns County-Economic Progress 2010: Northeast Florida These are portions of an article from Cyndi Stevenson-Vice Chair of the District 1, St. Johns County Commission. Forgetting what is happening nationally, we are trying to prepare and stay focused on what we should and can do to prepare St. johns County for success. County efforts include streamlining county regulations, opening the St. Johns County-UNF Small Business Center, seeking economic opportunities for agricultural lands and a fresh focus on tourism. At the end of 2009, the County opened the St. Johns County Small Business Development Center in the middle of the County Complex. With 42 miles of beaches, the Nation's Oldest City, internationally famous golf and meeting facilities, it is no wonder that tourism is an importa... 02/12/2010

St Augustine Real estate Take a photo tour of a St Augustine neighborhood. It's almost as good as a drive through.  This is Anastasia Dunes in St Augustine. It is a neighborhood of custom homes just a block from the ocean.   Our website has more tha 50 neighborhood tours. Stop by and take a tour. St-Augustine-homesearch.com 02/11/2010

Palencia Neighborhood Open House: Northeast Florida On February the 20th, Davidson Realty will hold an Open House in the Palencia Development from 1pm until 4pm. This will include homes listed and represented by Davidson Realty.   This will be a phenomenal afternoon. There will be two fabulous specs built by one of Florida's finest builders, ICI Homes.There will also be four Models open for display by ICI Homes that are fully furnished. We will have agents on duty to ask questions about the ICI Homes, especially the 650 lots available for pre-builds. We will also have information available about other ICI neighborhoods in Jacksonville and the Daytona Beach area. This is a gorgeous spec that use to be their Model. It is still professionally furnished and has every bell and whistle. Both ... 02/10/2010

    Day after day we drive by communities that seem like they have always been there. But at some point in the past, they were only an idea in one person's mind.   I decided to document some of these stories that made Marsh Creek, St. Augustine's highly desireable golf course community what it is today.  In an effort to preserve the stories of this community, you can now visit Marsh Creek Blog and read and tell about real life in Marsh Creek.   These stories will preserve the heritage and legacy which continue to shape the Marsh Creek community so that visitors, friends and family will enjoy an inside look at this wonderful neighborhood. Experiences on the golf course, buying or moving into your Marsh Creek  home, the fitness club, the clubhouse, tennis courts, the deer and other wildli... 02/09/2010

The Heritage Oak at World Golf Village: Northeast Florida This is an article that was originally written by Vanessa Cunningham with Davidson Development. This is a phenomenal Oak Tree located in The King & The Bear which is the gated section of the World Golf Village. When I came to work for Davidson Realty I did not realize that the Davidson Companies had hired this artist to do an original of this particular tree. I fell in love with the tree not realizing it was the same one hanging in our foyer. One afternoon I took pictures of it and had the one I liked the best uploaded to Kodak. I had an 18" x 24" made and had it appropriately matted and framed and hung on my office wall. The next day, Rick pariani, who was head of our ARC Board and also designed the World Golf Village came in an... 02/09/2010

World Golf Village Weather Update: Created for Gene Mundt I did a post on Happenings at The Hall of Fame at The World Golf Village yesterday. Gene Mundt from the Chicago area responded with a nice comment. He said I was hurting him because he was an avid golfer and was evidently snowed in at the present time. As my local friends know I am a very serious person that would never intentional razz anyone for the fun of it. Therefore, this post is to be considered an Historical Weather Report on the St. Augustine, Florida area for Gene so he won't feel bad about being snowed in. Ya'll will have to give me a minute to look up on the Internet and see what "snowed in" means. Ok. Now I understand. To make Gene feel better I will start by showing a picture I just took of my Jeep. It's filthy with... 02/07/2010

World Golf Hall of Fame Happenings: Northeast Florida "There are two events coming to the World Golf Hall of Fame" These events in Northeast Florida will be supported heavily by Davidson Realty Inc and ICI Homes. "Van Gogh: Brush with Genius"will open February 12th, 2010 at the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX theater format. The extraordinary colors and passionate brushwork of Vincent van Gogh take on a new life in this giant screen. For scheduling and ticket pricing, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org. President's Weekend at the World Golf Hall of Fame will be on February 15th, 2010. The World Golf Hall of Fame will celebrate a common thread between generations of United States presidents - golf - with its annual President's Day weekend. With regular admission the public an tour the museum... 02/06/2010

Helping Hands of St. Johns County: Northeast Florida Helping Hands is a great local charity organization that helps multiple charities. Helping hands of St. Johns County just presented 850 gifts to various agencies in the county. The group over the last year has helped the Salvation Army, Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, the Council on Aging, Nursing Homes in the area, Mandarin and Celebration Food Bank, Hospice of Northeast Florida, Betty Griffin House, St. Francis House, Homeless Coalition, Faith Community Church,-Crisis Kits, conducted a garage sale to benefit local man with Lymphoma with medical bills, and completed a makeover,room for an 11 - year old liver transplant recipient. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this organization work or who has donated time or whatever ... 02/05/2010

The St. Augustine Wild Reserve: Northeast Florida All animal lovers in Northeast Florida need to visit this park. Say goodbye to Amadari. He was a 15 year old Serval that was rescued as a kitten. This hits close to home with me because I use to have a second generation Serval. The Wild life Reserve has a White Tiger that turned one year old in September. Landscaping in progress: The Reserve has received a generous donation of Palms, Loquat Trees, Muhly Grass and more. This will be an ongoing progress. Amira is one year old. She is a beautiful white-tailed Doe that turned one year old on Christmas day. The Fifth Annual Fundraiser was held at the Casa Monica Hotel Nov 1st. Tours are available by appointment:The St. Augustine Wildlife Reserve allows tours on an appointment basis only. Plea... 02/04/2010

Sneak Peek Saturdays Open House: World Golf Village Northeast Florida: Sneak Peek Saturday On the first Saturday of every month, join us for a Sneak Peak inside The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village. Here, You can easily get a glimp of what its like to live in this friendly community. On February 6, from 1pm to 4pm, stroll through a variety of homes in the Cascades at World Golf Village. Enjoy light refreshments in one of our homess and register to win a flat screen TV - Just in time for the Super Bowl - in another! This is a 55+ community with an Amenity center that cannot be beat. It is also gated and inside The World Golf Village. Directions:I-95 to exit 323. Go West. At the first traffic light, turn right onto WGV Blvd. Go to the first stop sign. Turn left into the cascades entran... 02/04/2010

Friday: February 5   GREAT SOUTHERN CRACKER ROAD SHOWTwo of Florida's greatest Heritage writers, Janis Owens and Dana Ste. Claire will make a presentation at 7 p.m. at Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Ms. Owens is the author of The Cracker Kitchen: A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down Home Family Stories and Cuisine; My Brother Michael;  and Myra Sims. Mr. Sims is the author of three books including the award-winning Cracker: The Cracker Culture in Florida History and Borders of Paradise. Previous work included being the feature columnist with the Orlando Sentinel and a PBS television host for Florida Crackerbarrel. Don't know what a Cracker is? Well a Cracker is a Florida native. PARENTS' NIGHT OUT The St. Augustine Alligator Farm and... 02/04/2010

"The Saint Augustine Amphitheater: Northeast Florida" Don't miss these events. 1340C A1A South, St. Augustine, FL 32080 PH: 904-471-1965    WWW.StAugAmphitheatre.com In Northeast Florida, one of the premier places to visit is The Original St. Augustine "Fountain of Youth" The St. Augustine Amphitheater - www.StAugAmphitheatre.com The Moody Blues - March 6th Aretha Franklin -   March 19th SJC Fairgrounds Harvest of Hope - March 12th - 14th Lineup announced at  www.harvestofhopefest.com Flagler College Auditorium Richie Havens - February 11th Downtown St. Augustine Gamble Rogers Folk Festival - April 30th - May 2nd (www.gamblerogersfest.org) For information call Ted Tyndall or Carol vonRabenstein at Davidson Realty Inc. "Northeast Florida Homes for Sale" 02/04/2010

50,000 Points - I'm Excited: New Milestone that Seemed so Far Away To the "Old Timers" "Age Not Intended - Don't want TLW Hunting for Me" this is a great day. When I joined in October I was struggling so hard to hit 2000 points. I figured, What a Day, when I could make it past the 2000 hurdle. Maybe someday I may even make it to 10,000 points and open the wine.   I thought all this was real fun. I never thought about the work part of Active Rain. Reading post and finding out there was information to learn. I thought I knew it all. Trying to write post, when I was never a very good writer, much less with informative content. Learning I needed to add pictures. Then everyone starts throwing all the other Social Medias in the mix and how to interact them all together. Holy Cow! Is that Mind... 02/02/2010

Northeast Florida Schedule of events: St. Augustine St. Johns County in Northeast Florida has just posted a schedule of Events for February   February: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd - Tennis Clinic & Instruction every Tuesday at camp Heritage in Heritage Landing.  For information call 904.910.2915.   2nd & 16th- WGV Toastmaster Club every first and third Tuesday at 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Hancock Bank. For more information go to wgvtoastmasters@comcast.net 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd - Learn to use Poetry from 4-6pm. Call 904-209-3646. 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd- The Imperative by Roger Rueff will be presented at the Limelight Theater. Call 904-829-5807.   2nd, 5th, 9th, 12th, 16th, 19th, 23rd, and 26th - Yoga classes every Tuesday and Friday from 1 -2:30. Call 904-209-3646. 3rd- fashion Show at the Ca... 02/01/2010

Homes for Sale - Open House: Promenade Pointe Drive, St. Augustine Northeast Florida Open House dates and Times for 700 promenade Pointe Drive This is a new Open House Schedule for a one of a kind home on Promenade Pointe Drive in the Palencia development. This street wraps around golf and water and looks across at the back of the Club House from a distance. It was built with the finest of amenities and a view that is breathtaking. This home has everything. An office and a Library. Laundry Rooms upstairs and Downstairs. It has an elevator shaft installed. And best of all that makes it worth looking at: A built in Expresso maker. This home will be open to the public on the following dates and times.                                                                                          ... 01/30/2010

"The Power of Active Rain: Reasons to be a Rainer" It's great to be in the Rain. More Power to the Rain. Anyone building a Real Estate business needs to be extremely flexible and utilize every avenue available to build a strong client database. I think the majority of sales people utilize methods that either they were taught by a colleague or use the method they feel the most comfortable doing. However, this is not always the most effective way.   The problem too many of us have is we get "too" comfortable and never get out of our comfort zone. What makes us successful? Hard work coupled with a really good system. "Success Breeds Success".What better way to build a business than to receive advice and read real life stories from thousands of successful Real Estate agents on a website for... 01/28/2010

Haven Horse Ranch is now a Licensed, Equine-Assisted, health-care Center This is great news for the people that promote and assist the community in charitable ways. This is one organization that is worthy of the community support. St. Augustine, Florida -It has been 20 years in the making, but Haven Horse Ranch announced they are now a licensed equine assisted health-care facility through SpiritHorse International. They currently boast two Certified Instructors on staff with plans to have the remaining 3 instructors certified later this year. The ranc already had programs in place for children with autism and learning disabilities, and provides riding for those in wheelchair's through Brook's Rehabilitative Sports Therapy but wanted to expand and improve their services. With this new li... 01/27/2010

Homes for Sale: St. Augustine, Florida Open House the January 30th, February 14th, February 20th, February 27th 1200 Ellington Court, St. Augustine, Florida Gorgeous ICI Home on a large corner lot in the superb golf community of Royal St. Augustine. This home is scheduled for Open Houses on the above dates from Noon until 4pm each day listed. This is a great floor plan with a side entry garage by one of the true custom builders. This is a home built on a huge corner lot at the entrance to a private cul-de-sac. Come visit and compare the quality of ICI Homes with other builders. Virtual Tour For information contact Ted Tyndall or Carol vonRabenstein at Davidson Realty Inc. (904.940.5000) 01/26/2010

Florida Sun Cats Come to the Renaissance Resort February 27th - 28th "Calling all Cat Lovers" Credits for the contents of this article go to the World Golf village Community Journal The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village will host the Florida Sun Cats Show on Saturday and Sunday. Close to 200 cats will be competing for prizes during the two day event. The show is affiliated with the International Cat Association (TCIA) and is hosted by the Florida Sun Cats, which has been representing shows in the greater Jacksonville area since 1989. There are 200 cats anticipated to be entered in the show, plus kittens for sale as well as Lucky Cat Rescue with adoptable rescue cats and kittens (www.luckycatadoptions.org) said Show Manager Suzanne Hansen.   St. Augustine Wild Reserve will also be... 01/26/2010