Category: Community

Animal shelters in the summertime may be overrun with puppies and kittens. But there is little worry that these bundles of fluffiness and cuteness will find their forever homes. The fact is the youngest pets are irresistible to many adults and children.

Usually overlooked are the older dogs and cats. This is a shame because potentially they adapt more easily to a new home and present fewer behavioral problems with training. From peeing on the carpet to climbing expensive silk curtains, puppies and kittens can create havoc without supervision.

“We get a lot returns of puppies because they messed in the house or chewed something,” said Lisa Mendeim, public education coordinator of Broward County Animal Care in Fort Lauderdale. “People need to be realistic with young animals, there are going to be accidents. A lot of people a have no time for training. Senior pets are great companions and very appreciative.”

At what age is a dog or cat considered a senior? According to Dr. Lisa Feinstein, formerly of the Plantation Animal Hospital, it is eight years old. Though an animal’s breed is also a factor in how long it will live. “Little dogs, like Yorkshires or Maltese, live longer than Great Danes and Rottweilers,” Feinstein said. “Just as with people, senior pets present health challenges. You may or may not want to invest in a life-saving surgery. It’s a quality of life issues for senior pets.”

“All senior pets need is love,” said Cherie Wachter, public relations and marketing person with the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale. She sees older pets given up for many reasons, some include moving to a no-pets apartment or allergies.

Wachter has fostered senior pets from the shelter, including a Yorkshire terrier whose owner had passed away. She kept the dog for a year. “She was just so sweet,” Wachter said. “She loved to give kisses and be petted. With older pets, you know their personalities. There aren’t a lot of surprises in store.”

Wachter recommends that adopters of older pets pay attention to them. “Be observant of their habits in terms of eating or elimination in case there is a sign of trouble,” she said.

Jennifer Hummel is dedicated to the cause of senior canines through her organization vintagepaws.org in Sarasota. It is a senior dog sanctuary that houses older dogs and finds foster and forever homes for them. The genesis of the organization was personal. “My mother passed away when I was 16,” Hummel said. “She dropped off our three senior dogs at the shelter.”

Hummel gets older dogs from owner surrenders and no-kill shelters in Florida. “A lot of them come to be neglected, so we look at their dental and skin problems and fix them up,” she said.

Having helped hundreds of dogs so far, Hummel observed, “Senior dogs are more mellow. They just want to hang out with you and take a slow walk. Some still have energy, but they are good easy pets.”

I read The Shack, by William Paul Young, in 2008. Honestly, I resisted it then, as it seemed too “trendy” for my taste. The book was wildly popular – earning awards and selling millions of copies. I gave in, curious just to see what everyone was talking about. I was glad I did. I found it deeply moving, with profound insights into God and life.

Recently, The Shack, became a film. Again, I was skeptical. As much as I liked the book, I couldn’t imagine the movie being as good. I’ve not been “impressed” by the overtly Christian films I’ve seen in the theater. I feared that a beautiful book was being turned into a corny, cliché-cheapened theatrical version. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Though I still prefer the book to the movie, I found The Shack to be well-made, and respectful of the book’s intent. And, I found many of the visual references beautiful and deeply moving.

The Shack is the “fictional” story of a man named Mack, who encounters God in a mountain “shack,” following the abduction and murder of his daughter, Missy. After a time of grief and anger toward God, Mack discovers a note from “Papa,” to meet him at the “shack,” which is also where evidence of Missy’s death was discovered. When Mack arrives, unsure what to expect, he discovers the “shack” transformed into a beautiful mountain cabin, inhabited by three people representing the persons of the Christian Trinity. “Papa,” typically referred to in the Church as “Father,” turns out to be an African-American woman. Jesus is a young Jewish man. And, the Holy Spirit, is an ethereal Asian woman named, Sarayu. Over the course of a weekend, Mack discovers God to be quite different than he had previously thought, and finds healing for his terrible grief.

The Shack is filled with profound insights into God, that challenge many ideas about who God is and what God does. For some Christians, that has been a major problem. For some, The Shack threatens core theological convictions, and violates what they believe to be biblically true. Undeniably, The Shack pushes the boundaries of conventional Christian teaching, which is why it has been refreshing to some and threatening to others.

It is important to say that The Shack is not the Bible. The purpose of The Shack is to reframe ideas about God, as well as the issue of pain, and to force the reader/viewer to expand their spiritual imagination. In one of my favorite quotes from the book, Papa says, “Just because you believe something firmly doesn’t make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don’t want to trust them more than me.” 

The Shack is not ultimate Truth, however you define it. But, it contains valuable insights into Truth. Whether or not the reader/viewer agrees with every detail, The Shack provides an opportunity to reexamine your beliefs. For some, that may simply reinforce existing convictions. For others, it may open their hearts and minds a little bit wider. It did for me.

WorldFest celebrates diversity

Last month Coral Springs hosted WorldFest at the Sportsplex to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up the community of Coral Springs. The event featured ethnic foods, live entertainment, arts and crafts, and fun activities for children. The event also featured Culture Village and Kid’s World

1.Lotus Angel with South Florida Vietnamese Folkore Dance.

3: Mona Tsui from the Coral Spring Chinese Cultural Association.

8: Officer Jomant with Caeser from the Coral Springs k9 Unit, demonstrate K9 take downs.

9: Josef Keller reads a book while selling jewelry.

12: Rosa Humala buys handmade jewelry.

13: Brittany Bell pets a little donkey.

14: Fernanda Lopez rides the pony.

17. Chaitanya Bhate from India with his son Agastia and wife Shuti Bhate enjoy the day.

18.Emma Viola sips a pineapple

21: Emily Jones plays in the bouncy house

North of Ocala and south of Gainesville is a travel destination that is literally blueberry heaven. It’s the Red White and Blue Farm nestled in the quiet town of Williston, about one hour from Orlando.

The farm’s name is symbolic of patriotism and love of country, but Terry Robinson who co-owns the family business with wife Sharon, son Devon, and his daughter-in-law, Sarah, admits the “blue” was a good fit to advertise the farm’s blueberries. “It was a perfect fit,” he said.

It’s a perfect fit too for the masses that travel to the farm to select choice blueberries, dine on homemade lunch specials, enjoy delicious items from the bakery, and visit the ice cream parlor. At RWB, its everything blueberry—from milkshakes sundaes, and muffins, to cobbler, pies, scones, cookies, jam, and more.

After a busy day of blueberry picking and dining, guests can settle into comfortable rocking chairs and appreciate the ambiance of a farm surrounded by 200-year-old Oak trees. “The farm’s ambiance is hard to duplicate,” Robinson said. “It has a real old school picturesque feel to it, and people love that.” Against this beautiful backdrop, the farm also hosts weddings.

According to Robinson, visitors arrive from all over the state—including many from South Florida. “When you come here, it’s very much a family outing because there’s something for everyone to enjoy,” he said.

You Pick Days

The farm sits on 100 acres, 38 of which are lined with neat rows of select blueberries. The “You Pick” days are a family favorite, and open seven days during the picking season that begins in April and ends in May. This year, according to Robinson, the season will be extended into the first couple weeks of June.

There is a grass parking area for vehicles. Visitors are met and are given instructions on where to pick and walk in the fields. Guests are provided with a special picking harness that hooks onto a bucket that hangs at chest level so they can pick with both hands. Their box is capable of holding about six pounds of blueberries. “I’ve seen some pick as much as 50 pounds of blueberries,” Robinson said. “If you don’t want to pick, we sell a cooler that holds two pounds of blueberries for only $10.”

There are various varieties of blueberries to choose from, and at the end of every row is a stake with a color indicator for each type of blueberry. Red is Windsor, green is Emerald, purple is Spring High, orange is Sweet Crisp, blue is Jewel, yellow is Star Highbush, gray is Primadonna High, and black is Farthing. Robinson said it takes anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to pick a bucket and that some people want to taste every variety. Once the fruit is harvested, visitors go to a weigh station and are charged $4 per pound. “We provide everyone with a box container and it’s a perfect size for any refrigerator.”

“There was a time when a woman came up to me and said, “Your farm is like Disneyland compared to other farms,” recalled Robinson. The reason is simple—the taste. “Every blueberry farm is different; if you grow 20 miles away the water and soil may be different, so the harvest and taste will differ,” he said. “A blueberry contains 87-90 percent water, and we’re fortunate that our farm has the resource of an intricate river system, so the quality and taste of our product is exceptional.”

Educational tours and field trips take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. “We explain to kids the importance of bees and honey and how they impact our environment,” commented Robinson. “While the kids learn, the parents pick.” Also on the grounds is also a play area for children and picnic tables under the Oak trees. “We get a lot of moms with their kids and both parents and kids just love being here,” said the co-owner of the farm that had its roots in Stuart in 2007 and moved to Williston in 2010.

For those that love everything blueberry, the Red White and Blue Farm is a must-see destination on your travel itinerary.

It’s just past 10am and the residents are hungry. Wildebeests, tapirs, and ostriches gather at flat concrete slabs immediately adjacent to the roadway, to scarf up the feed that the workers have spread out for them. They wander at will throughout their respective areas of the park, uncaged—although the lions remain securely behind a fence. Apparently 10am isn’t their feeding time. They stretch out in the sunshine, napping like overgrown housecats.

It is the visitors who are caged. Lion Country Safari, an attraction in Loxahatchee, Palm Beach County, strictly requires visitors to remain in their cars with the doors and windows closed.

This doesn’t deter some of the animals from trying to get up close and personal with the visitors, but it does keep them safely on the other side of the window glass. As we drove through the animal park on a recent morning, we came up behind another car stopped on the roadway. An ostrich was standing immediately adjacent to the car’s passenger-side window, rippling its neck up and down, back and forth against the window glass.

Besides the obvious appeal of being able to see the animals wandering uncaged throughout the park, there are practical advantages to the set-up, too. If you’ve ever tried to walk a small child through a conventional zoo, you know the dangers of his or her wandering away from you, as well as the probability that at some point he’ll complain that his legs are tired. Driving through this zoo rather than walking through it is also a boon for people like me with mobility issues.

Lion Country Safari is divided into separate sections, with names such as Serengeti Plains, Kalahari Bushveldt, and Las Pampas. Some of the animals’ names are equally exotic: kulan, nyala, greater kudu, and Nile lechwe to name a few. But you’ll also encounter familiar “old friends” such as giraffes, zebras, chimps, impalas, and llamas.

When you’ve finished circling through all the sections of the park, you have the option of going around again, leaving, or—if you’re looking for a chance to stretch your legs—there are lots more things to do in an area where you are encouraged to park and exit your car. You can follow the advice of the song from Mary Poppins and “feed the birds.” You can ride the carousel. There is a petting zoo. Enjoy the Safari Splash Waterplay Area and the water slide. And that’s still not all. Hungry? There’s a restaurant and two snack shops. And what would a park-type attraction be without a gift shop? There are also animal shows and talks at scheduled times.

Although pets are not allowed to ride through the park, the park does provide free comfortable kennels for them if you’ve mistakenly brought your furry family member with you. From June through August, the park offers one-week daycamp sessions. There is a KOA campground. They also host birthday parties and they offer annual passes.

It’s a winner of an experience for all ages. For more information, call 561-793-1084 or visit LionCountrySafari.com.