Weekend Concert in Marianna, FL

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This Saturday, head to Citizens Lodge Park in Marianna for a free night of music in the park!

Photo @ Citizens’ Lodge Park taken by @noahs.notions

Beginning at 6 PM, various Marianna natives will perform a variety of selections from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Performers include Lenny Jennings and Latitude 29, a band built for dance and party music that’s been all over North Florida and Alabama since 1986! Social distancing and masks are encouraged but not mandatory. So bring some snacks, drinks, and the people you love to spend an evening enjoying live music in chairs, on blankets, or in the grass. 

 

Check out the Facebook event page here! 

Learn more about Latitude 29 here!

Citizens’ Lodge Park Address:

4574 Lodge Drive
Marianna, FL 32446

Help Partners for Pets “Raise the Woof”

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Petoberfest

Partners for Pets is holding their 2nd annual Petoberfest this month. A non-profit no-kill animal shelter in Marianna, this year’s proceeds will go to helping them “Raise the Woof!” Partners for Pets is currently working hard to raise funds to build a desperately needed facility that will provide a temporary home for the animals while they work to find them forever homes. They are holding a silent auction through their Facebook (click here to visit their page) with new items throughout the month. So head over to check out the goodies you could win: paintings, a grandfather clock, jewelry, and more!

Additionally, Partners for Pets will be holding an in-person Petoberfest on Friday, October 30th. From 4pm-8pm at Madison Street Park, visit this Halloween-themed fundraiser with your family, friends, kids, and even pets (on a leash please!). Halloween costumes are encouraged and there will be treats and contests fit for the young and furry. There will be things to see like live entertainment, things to do like a dunk-tank, things to buy, and lots of yummy food. Hope to see you there to support this worthy cause!

Jackson County Pumpkin Patch

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Happy October everyone, fall is officially here! Are you looking for something fun and easy on the wallet to do now that the weather is cooling down? Check out a new Jackson County seasonal special – the Spanish Trail Farms’ pumpkin patch!

-photos submitted by a local photographer & friend of the blog-

PUMPKIN PATCH DETAILS

  • Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday’s
  • On certain days, $3 educational hayrides will be offered that offer an inside look at farm operations and the growing process
    • If you have kids 2yrs-old or under, they ride for free!
    • Specific timeslots are available on their Facebook
    • Scheduled to take 15-25mins
-photos submitted by a local photographer & friend of the blog-
  • On certain days, they offer additional goods such as free boiled peanuts, produce for sale, and Halloween/fall decorations for sale
  • A great place to take the family for some cute pictures
  • Pumpkins are for sale; $3 for small and $5 for large 

Spanish Trails Farm is located at 7202 Old Spanish Trail Grand Ridge, FL 32442
Call them at 850-557-3123 or visit their Facebook page to keep up-to-date on their hours and future events. 

In Need of a Vet in the FL Panhandle?

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Live in the Florida Panhandle? Looking for a new, reputable veterinarian? Visit the Panhandle Veterinary Services located in Chipley, FL. Founded in 1976, this is a vet, full-boarding, and grooming facility. There are four doctors on staff, all graduates of the University of Florida. They are a mixed animal practice that caters to small and large animals. They are currently welcoming new clients, walk-in appointments, and farm visits! Panhandle Veterinary Services Website

Reviews rate them as an overall 4.5 out of 5-star rating with 229 reviews. Positive reviewers state that Panhandle Veterinary Services “are always very nice, never pushy and I love that they have a drive-through!” Additionally, they “Explained everything to us and asked if we had questions or concerns.” Overall, it seems that this particular clinic is  acknowledged for its’ “Professionalism, Quality, Reliability, Responsiveness, [and] Value.” Panhandle Veterinary Services Google Reviews

Call them at (850) 638-4857 or visit them at:

Panhandle Veterinary Services

900 Falling Waters Rd

Chipley, FL 32428

Happy Birthday to a Famous Tallahassee Musician

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T-Pain, born Faheem Rasheed Najm, was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. His performance name is a nod to his hometown; the ‘T’ in T-Pain stands for Tallahassee! His interest in music was nurtured throughout his childhood by his friends and family; once, his father brought home a keyboard he had found on the street. As T-Pain got older and more experienced, a family friend would often take him to their recording studio to hang out. BY 10 years old he had converted his bedroom into a small workspace with only a keyboard, a beat machine, and a four-track recorder. However, he did not start seriously pursuing a music career until after high school; as a result, he took off in 2004. Now, T-Pain is a well-known American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer as well as the founder of the record label imprint Nappy Boy Entertainment. He’s even dabbled in other multimedia industries: he created an animated special called Freaknik: The Musical, acted in the movie Lottery Ticket, and won a reality TV music competition called The Masked Singer. 

Tomorrow is National Love People Day

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Tomorrow is National Love People Day, an annual event meant to spread kindness and love.​ As an official holiday, it gained traction in 2017 when a Chicago-based church took on the task of making this national holiday more impactful and well-known. Lifeline Church undertook this campaign in honor of their founders, Pastors Reggie and London Royal. National Love People Day is meant to bring communities, families, and the world together in the spirit of unconditional love. This is a day dedicated to inspiring and supporting others with the power of unconditional love.

How to Celebrate: 

Help someone else → random acts of kindness epitomizes the spirit behind National Love People Day. Hold open a door, send a card to a long-distance friend, call an elderly relative, donate money to charity – the possibilities are endless!

Express love through the arts → spread the message of National Love People Day by writing a poem, participating in a poetry slam, dance, take photos of the things you love, paint a picture; art is an amazing outlet in these trying times.

Be nice → like random acts of kindness, being nice is often priceless while being hugely impactful. Offer words of support or show empathy to friends/family going through hard times, share a hug, a cup of coffee, a listening ear to someone you do or don’t know; sometimes the stranger wishing you a good day after holding the door open makes all the difference in the world.

Florida’s Role in Deaf Dog Awareness Week

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Did you know some breeds of dogs have deafness rates of 40 percent or more? Yet most people are unaware that certain breeds are predisposed to hearing impairment, and even less know how to recognize the signs in their pets. Deaf Dog Awareness Week has just come to a close today; it was a wonderful chance to celebrate those special dogs, learn more about adoption and training, and to simply hug our furry friends close.

Florida has a special part to play in this week-long holiday. Gisele Veilleux founded a small foster-driven non-profit dog rescue located in Central Florida in 2009 called The Dog Liberator. A no-kill shelter, it rescues approximately 200 dogs per year. The Dog Liberator focuses on rescuing herding dogs in danger, thus preventing highly adoptable dogs from being destroyed. Veilleux published Deaf Dogs Hear With Their Hearts in 2013. It is the true story of China, a deaf and partially blind dog who inspired great things. China, an Australian Shepherd, was rescued from a kill shelter when she was still a pup and had been abused by her former owner. The effect China had on Veilleux and her daughter helped inspire Veilleux to focus more heavily on supporting hearing-impaired dogs. Thank goodness for animal-loving Floridians! 

5 Things Happening on the 25th

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1. Heritage Day

Previously known in South Africa as Shaka Day, a day commemorating the Zulu King of Shaka who united clans to for the Zulu nation. Since 1955. South Africans have celebrated the renamed Heritage Day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many different cultures that make up their nation. Often called the ‘‘Rainbow Nation,’’ South Africa’s cultural roots are rich, vibrant, and incredibly diverse cultures. Want to celebrate and better understand this beautiful smorgasboard of cultures? Read up on South Africa’s history; research it’s cultural past, explore the intense political history, the racial injustices, the complex languages, and their culture in general. 

2. National Comic Book Day

National Comic Book Day honors the art, artists, and the stories of comic books. Fans, collectors, readers, writers, and artists come together to celebrate this generational, cultural crossing genre. Comic books has grown as a genre to include full-length books, graphic novels, comic strips, manga, comic collections, and digital comics. Additionally, comic books have inspired countless movie adaptations – the Marvel Cinematic Universe would not exist if comics didn’t. Celebrate by discovering new comic books, reading old favorites, sharing your passion with those in your life, watching television shows/movies based on comics, or look for online celebrations you can join. 

3. National Cooking Day

A day meant to encourage and inspire people to discover something new and enjoyable in the kitchen. Learn a new skill by preparing something new and delicious for yourself or loved ones. National Cooking Day is a day for passing on recipes, making fulfilling meals, experimenting with new recipes, baking with loved ones, throwing social-distancing-safe potlucks, hosting meals, or maybe just whipping up your favorite comfort foods to enjoy in your pjs on the couch. Connect with friends and family or practice some filling self-care this holiday!

4. National Daughters Day

A special day created to celebrate and cherish daughters. While there is a National Sons & Daughters Day, this event is a response to the growing awareness of the inherent struggles womens go through in society. From the very beginning, society viewed women as inferior to men, limiting their potential due to male privilege dominated at the time. This is an opprotunity to learn and discuss gender discrimination and inequity. Help your daughter grow into a well-rounded, emotionally fulfilled woman by celebrating them today. Explore this parental blog about teaching kids about gender equality and this education blog to learn more!

5. Sport Purple for Platelets Day

Supports those suffering from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a disease that causes excessive bleeding, bruising and fatigue due to low levels of platelets (those are the cells that enable blood to clot). Unfortunately, ITP is widely unheard of and not much is known about the hows and whys of the disease. It was one of the first autoimmune disorders discovered, proving that a human body’s tissue could be attacked by its own antibodies. Despite this groundbreaking contribution, research into ITP never gained significant financial traction. The Platelet Disorder Support Association (PDSA) sponsors Sport Purple for Platelets Day in order to raise awareness and funds for those suffering and for research. So sport purple today to show your support for this life-shortening disease! 

 

All About Walking Indoors

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It’s well known that cardio, also known as aerobic cardiovascular or cardio exercise, is important for physical and mental health. Benefits of cardio include:

  • increases stamina
  • positive effects on mental health 
  • gain and maintain muscle
  • lose and keep off fat
  • boosts immune system
  • helps prevent and/or manage chronic conditions
  • strengthens the heart (among many others like the lungs)
  • …and more!

However, it’s so hot outside these days – especially with Southern humidity! – that going outside to exercise seems daunting. Heck, it can even be dangerous; working outside under the hot summer sun – the calendar may say autumn but we know better – can cause heat exhaustion or heat stroke. So stay inside and beat the heat with indoor walking! Don’t mist this opportunity – what? You didn’t like the pun? How cold! 

Indoor Walking Tips

WALKING IN PLACE: a low-impact activity, not only does it check the cardio box but also counts as stretching. As an exercise, it primarily targets the quads; additionally benefits the abs, hamstrings, and hip flexors. 

Walking in place is something of revived phenomena right now. Not only does it provide an escape from the weather, it also offers a safe alternative to going to gyms. Check out ‘walking in place routines/workouts’ on Youtube for a wide array of demonstrations for everyone from athletes to the elderly and even parents with kids! 

Indoor walking is built on the repetitive movement of marching in place. This can be hard on your joints, so consider switching it up by…

Adding movement: walk around your coffee table, down the hallway, climb stairs if you have them, or add simple side-to-side and forward-and-back movements. You can also try…

Adding weight/resistance: add easy resistance to marching in place by using light dumbbells in each hand. Or, use a weighted vest. Stay safe – DON’T wear a vest that’s more than 5-10% of your body weight! Additionally, exercises or stretches can increase the energy burned as well as tighten and tone muscles. Some easy exercises to add if you have dumbbells are bicep curls, shoulder presses, triceps kickbacks, and lunges. No equipment? No problem – try adding bodyweight exercises like squats or side-lunges.

If it feels too easy, try creating your own cycles using walking and various change-ups (or check Youtube!). For example, when you’re binge-watching a show through your streaming service, walk-in place while the episode is playing. Then, during the credits and while the next episode loads, perform x-number of squats, x-number of jumping jacks, and x-number x = whatever number you’re comfortable with of lunges as many times as you can. Return to walking when the next episode starts.

Weather or not you plan to try indoor walking (read more here), the joke below is guaranteed to make you laugh out cloud!

Why do cows lie in the rain…?

…to keep each udder dry!

Snakes and the Coming of Autumn: What’s the Link?

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As you may know, the autumnal equinox – also known as the September and/or fall equinox – falls tomorrow, September 22nd. The fall equinox is the astronomical start of the fall season if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, and the beginning of the spring season if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. The 2020 fall equinox arrives here in the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday at 9:31 A.M. EDT – did you know the actual time changes each year? This is the latest start to the fall equinox since 2015!

Linguistically speaking, the word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus – which means “equal” – and nox – which means “night.” Equal night, equal day: on the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length. Throughout history, cultures have marked the autumnal equinox. In England, the Druids observed this important change of seasons with feasts, harvests, and celebrations. For the Druids, the fall equinox indicates that:

“The Wheel of the Year turns and the time of balance returns…marks the balance of day and night before the darkness overtakes the light…the time of the second harvest…[the] central theme – thanking the Earth, in her full abundance as Mother and Giver, for the great harvest, as Autumn begins.” (source of information with quotations)

Some cultures even built monuments to celebrate and honor the autumnal equinox. Most well-known is the work of the Maya, who constructed the El Castillo step pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico. Anthony Aveni, Colgate University professor and author of The Book of The Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays, reports that there is a legend from Mayan culture that tells the story of an ancient feathered serpent god that descends from the sky on the equinox. So the pyramid was designed so that a snake made of light would appear to slither down the steps only during the autumnal AND vernal equinoxes. This effect not only creates a slithering snake but also connects a sculpted snake’s head at the bottom to the snake’s tail at the top of the pyramid. To this day, there are crowds of people at the El Castillo who hope to catch the light-snake slithering down the steps. (source)