Carol Donohue and MaryKay O’Hara enjoy “Cheers!” at the Memorial Day RibFest.
“America is a song. It must be sung Together.”
~Gerald Stanley Lee
Memorial Day was celebrated with a poolside ribfest hosted by Jessie Shipp and MaryKay O’Hara. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. MaryKay cooks the ribs from 8 a.m. in a 250-degree oven for about eight hours. Her recipe calls for salt and pepper and Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbeque sauce. To keep the ribs moist and tender, MaryKay tents the pan with aluminum foil. She had five pans going in two ovens to feed the crowd of about 30 people. Other neighbors brought potato salad, baked beans, and salads.
Dave Grusz was surprised with a cake for his birthday. Denise McNamara treated everyone to ice cream sandwiches, a welcome treat on a warm night. Many thanks to Jessie and MaryKay for carrying on the tradition of “the official beginning of summer” for the second year.
From left: Caroline and A.R. Caputo, the Coneys’ daughter and son-in-law, are joined by Barb Coneys, Pam and Dave Grusz and Matt Coneys at the Memorial Day Festivities.
Greg Podczaski is our guest writer this month, sharing an invitation to visit the Six Mile Slough.
“Carol and I belong to a Naturalist Program sponsored by our county in St. Charles, Illinois, our home during the Summer/Fall. We’re about 40 miles west of Chicago. The natural areas we visit and hike in are prairies, woodlands, and wetlands.
Here in Southwest Florida, the landscape is completely different. One of the places we frequently visit when we are in The Landings is Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. The main attraction is a 1.2-mile boardwalk through a cypress swamp. It’s basically a swamp but a slough is technically a natural inlet that sporadically is filled with water.
boardwalk at the Six Mile Cypress Slough.
The preserve is home to many species of reptiles, insects, birds and mammals. It takes about 90 minutes to walk the boardwalk at a leisurely pace. I would say there’s at least a 50 percent chance at seeing an alligator. At dusk hundreds of ibis fly in to roost along Gator Lake.
We also belong to the Friends of Six Mile group. They are similar to the group we belong to up north. This is a support group that provides volunteers for the Slough and its Interpretive Center. They have an informative Facebook Page. Just in the past month pictures have been posted of otters, raccoons, and a black bear, along with cottonmouth snakes and owls that are found at the Slough. The Friends group also sponsors field trips to interesting natural and educational sites in the area for members. Lee County is responsible for the Slough and sponsors Full Moon Walks during the Winter/Spring season. I invite you to make the quick 20–25-minute drive to the Slough to explore this oasis.”
The Mezzanine in building 4100 is ready for hurricane season. Hopefully Fort Myers area will get a pass this season.
Wishing everyone near and far an enjoyable and safe Fourth of July. Happy 249th Birthday America!
