Scrubjay Trail Winterfest

A mocking bird surveys its space. Does it see that bug?
I did see some scrub jays, but they did not pose as well
as this mocking bird.

I attended the Scrub Jay Trail Winter Fest in Clermont, FL on Saturday. What a great event and the weather was fantastic. All for a good cause: the preservation and conservation of the habitat in and around the Scrubjay Trail.

All day long wonderful musicians filled the air with festive melodies, people took rides on the big cart behind two gorgeous work horses, kids were entertained by Ranger Rick and a slew of activities, people bid on the vast array of silent auction items, and more.

And oh yes, I was there talking to folks about my books, Sustainable Gardening for Florida and Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida and also about the upcoming Florida Native Plant Society's conference in Jacksonville in May.

A beautiful lake with the classic Florida afternoon cloud show.

Cathy Brown on the porch working out yet another detail of this great event.

Oooh, and all the zebra longwings...

Zebra longwing female laying eggs on the
passionvine leaves.

Zebra longwings on the beautiful native, scarlet sage.

Silent auction items. Say, isn't that a copy of my book there?

Children's art display

Start kids out right with copies of "Ranger Rick."

Swamp Girl Adventures thrilled kids with
her snakes and other animals.

Wow, just think of the balance required for yoga on a paddle board.



Musicians played throughout the day and into the evening.

A basket weaver demonstrates her craft.

An angora rabbit is soft to touch in a fibercraft
booth with a spinning wheel.



Planting some winter crops in the edible garden.

While zebra longwings were abundant,
gulf fritillaries have obviously been here, too.
Both of these butterflies require passion
vines as their larval food.

Ranger Rick meets with some boy scouts.

Beautiful draft horses pulled a large cart to provide rides down the Scrubjay Trail.

It's inspring to see the huge amount of effort put in by all the volunteers to produce such a top-rate event. People of all ages were educated and entertained and how fantastic to spend the day outside communing with Mother Nature. And of course, all to benefit the Scrubjay Trail in Clermont, FL.

So do you have a pet project that you'll be working on for Mother Nature in 2013? She needs all the help we can provide.

Green Gardening Matters,
Ginny Stibolt