Tag: south florida

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Wedding plans march on

Weddings are an important event and milestone. All across the world, couples have had to change wedding plans, details, and dates because of COVID-19. The pandemic has severely affected weddings, engagements, and the industry as a whole.

The Wedding Hero team

Jana Tobey, the owner of Wedding Hero, a full-service wedding company, has firsthand experience. “March 2020, at the height of COVID, I began my company. Initially, there were cancellations. March and April weddings moved to October. Now, as I am coming into the burrow months, we are finding that people are done canceling and want to get married.”

In light of COVID-19, Wedding Hero has taken the necessary precautions. “If a bride wants to do a big or small wedding, my team and I ensure that there are social distancing parameters. All employees are wearing masks. We do it out of respect for our guests to make them feel comfortable,” Tobey said.

In addition to postponing these dream weddings due to the COVID-19
pandemic, several people have delayed their ideal proposal.

Due to the pandemic shutting down South Florida, family-owned luxury jeweler, J.R. Dunn Jewelers, launched a giveaway for one lucky winner to “Say it Big” and propose in front of millions of people, on the busiest roadway in South Florida, I-95.

Patrick Callahan of Delray Beach, Florida, was the winner. Patrick planned an elaborate proposal for the love of his life, Taylor, after six years of being together.

On August 17th, 2020, Taylor thought she was going for a birthday
weekend trip to the Florida Keys with Patrick. On their way, they made a pit stop at the Deering Estate in Miami. Patrick led Taylor to the center of a beautiful setting and proposed to her with a solitaire diamond engagement ring from J.R. Dunn Jewelers.

Mr. and Mrs. Callahan

Taylor said yes!

After the proposal, the couple drove to a surprise dinner with all of their closest friends and family. On their way, they passed J.R. Dunn’s billboard reading, “Taylor, will you marry me?  Patrick” with one of their most coveted pictures together.

Taylor was in awe of the endless surprises Patrick had planned. “Love is not canceled! Whether we plan your intimate wedding of thirty now or continue to push forward to the wedding for 300 in the future, we WILL make it happen!” Tobey said.

We wish Mr. and Mrs. Callahan a huge congratulations and cheers to many more memorable moments.

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Older dogs make great pets

During the month of November, many humane societies and adoption centers worldwide bring attention to adopting senior pets.

Caring for an animal provides a sense of responsibility, purpose, and fulfillment. In more ways than one, pets can improve a person’s well-being. Not only are you saving the animal’s life, but you are enhancing your own. Pets can help reduce anxiety, depression, and stress.

Adopting a senior pet provides plenty of benefits. Older dogs usually require less training. Not only are they calmer, less energetic, and easy to train, many senior pets are house trained and understand basic commands.

Betty Delman, animal lover and creator of the phone application, “Dog, Cats, and Me,” agrees. “I just lost my 15-year-old dog a year ago. I couldn’t handle a lot of energy, chewing, and a not potty-trained dog. It was so much more relaxing having an older dog around. Everyone wants a puppy, but when they grow up, they lose interest. Older dogs are great companions. It is a friendship and easier having an older settled dog.”

Delman’s mobile application caters to kids ages four to ten. Not only does the application practice reading skills, but it helps children to learn more about dogs, cats, and the humane treatment of animals in a fun and engaging way.

Adjusting to a new home environment is easier for senior pets than puppies because they have come from a family life before being placed in a shelter.

When adopting an older animal, personalities and traits continue to develop by the time you bring them home, so you can tell right away if he/she will mesh well with your family.  Besides being calmer, senior animals do not require the constant attention and exercise that comes with puppies. Their mellow nature is an excellent fi t for older individuals and families looking to add companionship to their lives.

Delman believes that if you are unsure about adopting a pet right away, considering fostering fi rst. “If more people foster, then maybe the shelters can get more dogs and train them to be a good dog for their forever home,” Delman said.

Not only are you welcoming a lifetime of love into your home when you adopt a senior pet, but you are also saving a life with many fun years ahead.

If you are looking to add some excitement and companionship to your routine, reach out to Humane Society of Broward County, Abandoned Pet Rescue Inc, Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center, and Paws South Florida Rescue to find your furry friend.

Interested in giving these two 10-year old beautiful cats (brother and sister) a new forever home?

Please contact publisher@theparklander.com

 

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SoFlo Gardening: October 2020

What to Plant

Annuals/Bedding plants: Even though temperatures are still warm, begin planting for the cooler months ahead. Impatiens, alyssum, and dianthus are good plants for the fall/winter garden.

Bulbs: Plant agapanthus, rain lily, and Clivia lily now for blooms next spring or summer. Add organic matter to the planting bed for the best results.

Herbs: A wide range of herbs can be planted from seed or transplants this month. Some to try include dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro.

Vegetables: Easy crops that can be grown now include beans, broccoli, carrots, collards, lettuce, green onions, peppers, radishes, spinach, and tomatoes.

What to Do

Lawns: Control winter weeds in lawns before they appear. Pre-emergence herbicides must be applied at the right time to be effective. Apply when nighttime temperatures are 55°F–60°F for 4–5 days.

Ornamental trees and shrubs:
Fertilize plants that are not performing as desired. This is the last month of the year to fertilize shrubs and trees. Controlled-release fertilizer provides nutrients over a longer period of time.

Lawn fertilization: Fertilize lawns if needed.

Strawberries: Prepare beds and set strawberry plants this month. Strawberries also make colorful and tasty container planting. Either way, water daily until plants are established.

Palms: Palms have unique nutritional needs. Select a fertilizer that contains controlled-release nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium.

Oleanders: Control the oleander caterpillar, which is a year- round resident in South Florida, without harming beneficial insects by pruning off infested leaves or spraying with BT (Bacillusthuringiensis).

Twig girdlers: Control twig girdlers by cleaning up and destroying fallen branches that young twig girdlers can use for harborage.

Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension

 

 

 

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Always that perfect something

Pizazz is a women’s jewelry and gift boutique in Coral Springs, offering unique gifts for every occasion.

Traditional gift shops are mostly a thing of the past, but Pizazz, at 10724 Wiles Road, has been in business for 12 years. A testimony to the success of its goal of making shoppers feel welcome from “the moment a customer is greeted coming in our door until they leave,” asserts owner Brent Brewster.

“It is our pleasure to offer our beautiful and complimentary gift wrap for every purchase,” Brewster adds. “Our goal is to make the customer service at Pizazz stand out tremendously. We hope that everyone who shops with us feels welcome and cared for because they are,” she adds.

Pizazz offers gifts for every occasion: Babies, graduations, weddings, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, bar and bat mitzvahs, and more. And you’re likely to find something for yourself as you browse.

Go ahead. Treat yourself.

The store also includes a large selection of Fair Trade items, products that give back to communities in need all over the world. You can find out what they do at fairtradecertified.org.

“I had always wanted to open a gift shop,” Brewster explains. “When my second daughter went off to college, I really wanted to try something new. My very supportive husband said, ‘Give it a try.’ And we did!

“We opened in the Promenade in 2008, just as the economy was crashing. Pizazz was able to weather that storm though, and in a few short years we had quite a few loyal customers.”

Brewster says there are two things she enjoys most about her business. The first is “the joy that comes from providing my customers with products and service that I, myself, enjoy.” The second, but just as important, she emphasizes, is that “Pizazz is a local, family business. I love that.

“I love being part of what this country is supposed to be about. I love knowing that I can do something that I enjoy and make a positive impact on my community at the same time.”

The last few years in retail have been incredibly difficult,
especially for small businesses, Brewster notes, and “the past
few months have seen a tremendous strain on the entire retail community.

“We feel the best future for Pizazz is to go small and offer online services which we have not been able to do in the past. Our goal is to press forward and hopefully see the resurgence of mom and pop businesses,” Brewster says.

“What is most satisfying about Pizazz,” Brewster believes, “is that I get to be a part of the lives of women.” The store’s line of Fair Trade items helps “provide safety and jobs to women around the world. This is the heartbeat of Pizazz.

“I also get to be part of women’s lives in South Florida. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student looking for a gift for your teacher, a young mom who is looking for a special pick-me-up for herself or a grandmother who is excited to welcome her new grand baby, Pizazz has that perfect something.”

Pizazz, 10724 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, 954-688-9895, www.pizazzflorida.com. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Private shopping hours available by appointment.

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Your Atlantic hurricane primer

Living in South Florida, many of us become amateur meteorologists every summer. With each tropical wave that forms, we watch it casually until a few become a tropical system. Tropical cyclones are an awesome sight and a reminder of the power of nature.

Most tropical storms spawn from waves created by thunderstorms coming off the West African coast.

Just south of the Sahara, the wet season brings many storm systems that will eventually migrate west with the trade winds and cross the Atlantic. The systems traverse the tropics as a wave and create stormy weather. Slowly, due to the Earth’s curvature, the wave starts to gain momentum in its spin. The spin will cause some of these waves to curve around themselves, and create a self-contained circulation. The spin in the Northern Hemisphere is counter-clockwise and in the Southern Hemisphere, clockwise.

Like a giant vacuum, a tropical storm draws in the warm air underneath it. The warm air rises and energy is released as it cools in the upper atmosphere. Cooled air will either flow out of the core or fall back into the center of the core, the eye of the storm. The more efficiently this occurs, the stronger the storm tends to be. This is why you may notice a more defined circulation pattern and eye as the storm intensifies.

Wind shear is when the wind flows in different directions
for a short distance and can be either vertical or horizontal. Storm circulation can be sheared vertically by crosswinds at different altitudes, hindering the strengthening of the storm. Just recently, Hurricane Marco’s mid-level storm clouds were sheared off by its low-level core as it approached the gulf coast. Losing its vertical circulation, the storm quickly lost strength. Just a day later, Hurricane Laura, with no wind shear to disrupt the flow, was able to strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane.

Laura was able to take advantage of what the National Hurricane Center calls “conditions that are conducive to development,” which means you will often see the major strengthening of a storm. In other words, this is when a storm is undisturbed by crosswinds, often resulting in an explosive intensification of the storm.

For South Florida, some of the strongest hurricanes coming our way tend to be Cape Verde hurricanes. They originate from tropical waves near Cape Verde, an island country in the central Atlantic, and slowly travel eastward as they gain latitude and strength. These hurricanes will typically form in August and September but can start as early as July, and continue well into October.

These Cape Verde hurricanes are often steered by a high- pressure (ridge) system that typically sits over Bermuda in the late summer. High-pressure systems create clockwise circulation that helps push the storms eastward until they get past the ridge. At this point, the storm typically begins moving north.

Because the wind currents that steer the storm are different at various altitudes, the net direction of the storm is often affected by its size and strength. For example, if there is a westerly wind at high altitude and easterly wind at low altitude, the storm will get pushed eastwards when the storm is weak; when the storm is strong, it will be affected by both and end up being almost static, as was the case with Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

So the next time you watch a forecast on TV or read an update from the National Hurricane Center analysis on http://nhc.noaa.org, you should be familiar with the terms used. If you are a weather junkie like me, I recommend the Youtube channel TropicalTidbits, along with its website https://tropicaltidbits.com for a detailed analysis of each storm threatening us.

By Li Pan

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If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood

One fact might remove some of the sting from this year’s mosquito season: Health officials have no data to suggest that mosquitos transmit coronavirus to people. Still, mosquitos can transmit potentially deadly diseases to humans. And so, like every mosquito season, county officials are working to control the
population.

This year, Broward County has temporarily suspended mosquito home inspections as part of social distancing protocols. However, “we continue to provide truck-dispersed mosquito control products,” said Ahn Ton, director of the Broward County Highway and Bridge Maintenance Division and Mosquito Control.

The county’s seven inspectors apply products, collect traps, test water for larvae, and participate in public outreach. The county’s call center received about 50-80 calls per day in May, Ton said. By July that grew to 150-200 calls, County residents can call 311 or (954) 831-3940.

Ton said the mosquito problem this year is no greater or less than previous years. “Thankfully, we are not currently experiencing a mosquito-borne illness pandemic as we did with the Zika Virus,” Ton added.

However, from March 9 through July 28 of this year, as of press time, Palm Beach County had experienced one case of West Nile Virus in a human. In Miami-Dade County, that number is 24. Also, the Florida Department of Health has confirmed a case of West Nile in a horse in Northern Broward County.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne disease that affects birds, but mosquitos, through their bites, can also transmit the condition to humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States.

Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall. There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat WNV in people. Most people infected with WNV do not feel sick. Roughly one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms. About one out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.

“Mosquitoes that transmit West Nile Virus bite during the day and night,” according to information on the county’s website. “People can avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent (formulated with Permethrin, Picaridin, or DEET), by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and by treating clothing and gear.” The website also advises people with horses to ensure the animal is vaccinated against the virus. “When possible, keep your horse stabled and spray it with a horse mosquito repellent.”

Broward County officials are educating people about methods to lower mosquito populations such as removing standing water from their properties. Also, the county is providing materials and non-toxic larvicide tablets at special events and doctors’ offices.

Trapping is another control method, said Ton.

“Traps are used for surveillance so that we know the quantity and species of mosquitos in an area so that we can tailor our treatment technique to maximize effectiveness and minimize any waste,” Ton said. “Traps have the added benefit of removing adult mosquitos from the environment.”

Officials place traps throughout Broward County and collect them weekly for “counts.” On a regular basis, the county biologist traps mosquitos, separates them by species, and detects any potential viruses. Findings determine the chemical application that county workers will use and the type of treatment required.  Aerial spraying traps provide another control method. But under
Florida law, counties must show a 10-fold increase in their mosquito population before the state approves aerial spraying. Ton said the last time Broward County conducted aerial spraying was July 2019.

In Palm Beach County, mosquito control program supervisor Chris Reifinger said he deploys 17 traps around the county. This year, several traps caught more than 1,000 mosquitos in 24 hours. “That indicates a mosquito problem,” Reifinger said. Therefore, he’s had to conduct aerial spraying. Reifinger added the county usually uses a helicopter for that purpose an average of six times every year.

In early August, Reifinger said the mosquito problem in his county was “pretty calm.” By contrast, in June, mosquitos were a “big problem.” He’s had to conduct aerial spraying west of Military Trail on 270,000 acres of land which tends to flood. Reifinger said his team has also used a spray truck to try to kill West Nile Virus-carrying mosquitos.

For information on how you can avoid getting sick from viruses spread by mosquitos, visit cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/index.html.

 

By Aaron Krause

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Non-native species in South Florida: Harmful, or helpful?

As the community of Parkland continues to urbanize, it can be easy to forget how close the wild, thriving world of nature is — until those plants or animals end up dominating your backyard.

Because of our close proximity to the Everglades, Parkland’s wildlife system is interconnected with the “river of grass” and all of its ecological complexity. In recent years, residents and scientists have noticed and studied the lingering effects that non-native plants and animals have on the delicate balance of the food chain here in South Florida.

When a non-native plant or animal is introduced to an ecosystem, it often does not have any natural predators in the area. This may lead the species to become invasive, meaning it will cause ecological harm due to its rapid ability to reproduce. The Burmese python is one of the most notorious interlopers to our area, although not by its own choosing.

History.com reports that pythons, native to Southeast Asia, were first brought to the United States as exotic pets. “When the exotic pet trade boomed in the 1980s, Miami became host to thousands of such snakes,” the website reports.

“Because pythons can grow to such unmanageable sizes, it was inevitable that some irresponsible owners would release the snakes into the wild. But most experts believe the pythons established a reproducing population in the Everglades sometime after Hurricane Andrew—a category 5 storm that devastated the state in August 1992.

“It was during that storm that a python breeding facility was destroyed, releasing countless snakes into the nearby swamps.” History.com asserts.

The consequences of these human mistakes are alarmingly clear. As pythons continue to exist near the top of the food chain, the populations of small, warm- blooded animals have become noticeably absent. This disruption to the balance of animal populations is worrying because it can have disastrous effects on even more species if the pythons are left to wreak havoc.

What’s more, researchers recently discovered that Burmese pythons are responsible for spreading a parasite known as “tongue worm” to other native Floridian species of snakes.

The Palm Beach Post reports that “While pythons have developed defense mechanisms to keep the parasite in check, Florida snakes are naïve to the intruders’ methods with a biology unequipped to defend against them.”

As time has revealed that invasive species are capable of causing chaos which trickles down into many different aspects of the ecosystem, the call to eradicate and monitor the introduction of non- native species grows stronger across the media. However, what most residents aren’t aware of is the fact that non-native animals have also been used in a number of beneficial ways here in South Florida.

One non-native species that was introduced, ironically, to biologically combat another dangerous invasive species is the thrip bug. Thrip bugs, which are native to Brazil, can be used as a biological control to feed on the Brazilian pepper tree, which has invaded over 700 thousand acres of Florida and crowds out native hammocks, pinelands, and mangrove forests.

According to CBS Miami, officials specifically chose thrip bugs for this task because they were proven to not be of harm to Florida’s natural ecosystem, and are successful at weakening the invasive tree species.

What’s more interesting about this phenomenon is that scholars like Carey Minteer (assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida), who spoke to Local 10 News, claim that they have “a very long and successful record of using biological controls in Florida,” which may come as a surprise to some who perhaps made up their mind that non-native species should never be introduced to a new habitat because of creatures like the python.

Researchers tend to argue that as long as the biological control is experimentally tested and proven not to be an invasive threat to its new environment, then the introduction of a non-native species is actually quite beneficial. Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, was just approved by the Florida department of agriculture and consumer services to release a swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes across the Florida keys in the fight against disease carrying mosquitoes, even with the outcry of over 200,000 petition signers that claim Oxitec has not done enough research on the effects the mosquitoes may have on such a fragile ecosystem.

“The distinction between native and non-native species does not disappear over time,” smithsonianmag.com reports.

At least two of Florida’s main agricultural products, for example, citrus and sugar cane, are and always will be non-native. Sugar cane was introduced in the 1760s and citrus between 1513 and 1565.

And since there is no time limit, there’s at least one more non-native and arguably invasive species that has had an overwhelming
impact on Florida: Us.

By Madison Smith

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