Stonehenge. Photo by Jonathan Ridley from Unsplash.
Stonehenge is a Neolithic monument on the Salisbury Plain near Wiltshire, England. Human remains and evidence of prior construction at this site date back to about 8,000 BC. The monument, whose ruins we see today, is believed to have been built from about 3,000 BC to 2,000 BC.
Stonehenge is a popular tourist destination, and every year, thousands of visitors celebrate the summer and winter solstices here. Stonehenge has religious significance to modern Pagans and Neo Druids. It is one of the most important historical sites in Europe.
Source: Wikipedia. There is an excellent article on Stonehenge in Wikipedia, if you are interested in reading more about it.
Katey Batavia & Ellen Maher in their wetsuits and ready to board the pontoon boat.
Swimming with Manatees
During the summer, manatees
wander widely in warm seas.
Manatees throw fall and winter parties
in warm springs near seventy degrees.
Hundreds of manatees socialize in Kings Bay
near Three Sisters Springs on November days.
These marine mammals enjoy each other’s company.
They don’t compete for territory.
Vegetarians, they live on sea grass…
How peacefully, how gracefully their days pass!
Nursing calves swim beside their mothers.
They have no predators, no fear of others.
Though manatees bear the scars
of encounters with boat propellers,
they still seek humans as their playmates.
Snuggles and belly rubs are appreciated.
As I climbed down the boat ladder,
a manatee waited in the water.
A thousand pounds of curiosity
and sweet manatee eyes greeted me.
The moment we came face to face,
I knew there was hope for the human race.
At that moment it was clear to me
that people could learn from manatees.
How happy life would be
if we could live in harmony
with nature and our fellow creatures.
Manatees are charming teachers!
A friendly manatee. g7b148…-Suo02VjEllen meets a manatee at Three Sisters Springs in Kings Bay, Crystal River, Florida. DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0196.JPGA manatee asked Katey for a pat. Note the harmless algae growing on the manatee’s back. DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0250.JPGTime for my belly rub, Katey! DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0156.JPGCheryl. Photo by Katey.
West Indian Manatees
West Indian Manatees are endangered marine mammals whose closest relatives are elephants. They require a minimum water temperature of sixty-eight degrees. Interestingly, they have no front teeth, only molars for chewing tough sea grass. They swim gracefully at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. At 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, they have no natural enemies, but many are injured by propellers of fast-moving boats. Boaters can protect manatees by observing posted speed limits in manatee areas.
Personnel at Kings Bay in Crystal River tag and monitor injured manatees. They are transported to a manatee rescue center in Homosassa Springs for rehabilitation if they are unable to recover on their own.
Florida has numerous hot springs where manatees spend the Fall and Winter months. Kings Bay has a constant year-round temperature of sixty-eight degrees and some manatees are year-round residents there. Other springs may be a little warmer, about seventy-two degrees.
When you swim with the manatees, you are instructed not to disturb resting manatees. As you would get to know a strange cat, you should let them approach you. Ellen had a manatee hug her arm. A manatee wanted Katey to pet it and give it a belly rub. One manatee swam up against me, and another manatee put its nose against my mask and gazed into my eyes. These are moments we will always remember!
Manatees have been called “sea cows” because they graze on sea grass and other aquatic plants. Very lonely mariners in the early days are said to have mistaken them for mermaids. There is another species of manatee in Africa.
My daughters, Ellen and Katey, on the bayfront terrace of Ca’D’Zan, the 1920s Venetian-style mansion of John and Mable Ringling. They lived and entertained in this home for 90 days a year during the winter. Sarasota was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus for many years. A luxury private railway car, The Wisconsin, was John and Mable Ringling’s home for much of the year as they traveled around booking acts for the circus. The car, complete with stained glass, can be toured in the Circus Museum.
The mansion features stained glass windows, hand-carved, hand-decorated ceilings, and antique furnishings. My favorite room is the ballroom with its beautiful wide plank floors and gorgeous ceiling depicting dancing couples from different eras. The main room of the mansion is several stories high and has a view of Sarasota Bay through pastel-colored stained glass windows. The room has an ornate grand piano and a pipe organ that cost $25,000 in the 1920s.
Mable Ringling’s wagon wheel-shaped rose garden has approximately 1,250 antique roses, many from the 17th and 18th centuries, and is surrounded by statues of courting couples.
The sixty-six-acre estate has numerous other gardens and several museums. We spent about half a day exploring the mansion and the Circus Museum on this trip. Multiple galleries feature priceless circus memorabilia. There are elaborately hand-carved and painted antique circus wagons, calliopes, gorgeous vintage costumes made of silk and embroidered with faux gems, old circus photos, and informative and entertaining videos.
There is a 31-gallery art museum famous for its world class collection of old masters. Besides its permanent collections, the art museum hosts various exhibits. I have visited the art museum several times in the past. You could easily spend a day there. There is also an historic theater which hosts live performances.
Katey takes a selfie in front of one of the fourteen banyan trees on the estate, a gift from Thomas Edison, who raised several types of banyan trees at his winter estate in Fort Myers, Florida. In the photo: Katey, Cheryl, and Ellen.
Unless stated otherwise, photos in this post were taken by Katey Batavia and Ellen Maher.
Sculpture above the entrance to the Circus Museum.
A scene from the Howard Brothers Model Circus, which recreates an early 20th century circus. Howard Tibbals, a retired circus performer, created the 44,000-piece display by hand over a fifty-year period. The display occupies 3,800 square feet in the museum.
Multiple acts took place simultaneously under the big top.
Animal acts and the menagerie allowed many people to see exotic animals for the first time.
The menagerie.
A circus parking lot filled with beautifully-crafted vintage cars. Schools and businesses shut down on circus day so that people for miles around could attend the circus.
There were side shows where people could entertain themselves with novelty acts as they waited for the circus to start under the big top. The circus train carried the circus from town to town. When set up, the circus was like a small city. It took over a thousand workers to set up the circus and take it down. They could set the circus up in four hours for the day’s performance. Then they would tear it down and set up again in the next town. Most performances lasted only one day.
Young boys and girls all across the country loved the glamour and excitement of the circus. Many had big dreams of joining the circus someday.
A Young Boy’s Circus Dreams
Photo by Jeremiah Lawrence from Unsplash.
A Young Boy’s Circus Dreams
I’ll join the circus!
A ringmaster in top hat
and tails, I will say…
“Ladies and gentlemen! Children
of all ages! Welcome!”
I’ll join the circus,
ride an elephant bareback,
and teach bears to dance.
Lions and tigers will purr
when I crack my whip and grin!
I’ll join the circus,
a goofy clown…folks laughing,
watching me fall down.
I’ll honk my red nose, driving
crazy in my tiny car!
I’ll join the circus!
Wearing flashy spangled tights,
I’ll walk the high wire,
and catch flying girls from my
high trapeze…Crowds will go wild!
I’ll join the circus
and see the world from a train…
each day, a new town!
I’ll come home for vacation…
fish all day…eat Mom’s peach pie.
Ellen in a tiny car in the interactive exhibit.Katey, trick rider, interactive exhibit.
Upcoming posts will feature more adventures from our travels during Thanksgiving week. It was so good to see my daughters again, and we had a fabulous time!
For more information about The Ringling Museum, visit their website, ringling.org
A Poem about Hanukkah, a Jewish Holiday beginning this year on November 28
Jews celebrate the eighth night of Hanukkah. Eight candles burn in a menorah. The ninth candle in the center is used to light the other candles. Photo by Rodnae Productions from Pexels.
“A Great Miracle Happened Here!”
Hanukkah menorah lights burn bright.
Just one candle is lit on the first night,
two on the second, three on the third…
On the last night, all eight are burned!
A woman gambling for Hanukkah gelt, spinning a dreidel. The letters inscribed on dreidels stand for, “A great miracle happened here!” Photo by Rodnae Productions from Pexels.
Spin the dreidels…Their message is clear:
“A great miracle happened here!”
Tell the Hanukkah story, please,
of Jerusalem reclaimed by the Maccabees.
Drawing the Star of David. Photo by Cottonbro from Pexels.
In Jerusalem, the temple’s rededication
was cause for joyous celebration.
They had enough oil to burn for only one day…
but for eight days, the temple lamps blazed!
Photo of a violinist by Cottonbro from Pexels.
Bring out the latkes, sing the songs.
Hanukkah celebrations are eight days long!
Love of religious freedom is heartfelt,
holiday memories as sweet as Hanukkah gelt!
Hanukkah gelt, chocolate coins covered in foil. Photo by Rodnae Productions from Pexels.
The events commemorated by Hanukkah occurred about 167 BCE. The history of the period is very complex, but well worth learning more about. I especially like the story of Judith, a spy who helped win the war to reclaim Jerusalem. Hanukkah is generally viewed today as a celebration of religious freedom.
My daughters, Ellen Maher and Katey Batavia will be visiting over the Thanksgiving week, November 21-27. I am so excited to see them for the first time in almost two years! I will be off WordPress to spend some time with them. A swim with the manatees at Crystal River is planned. It was canceled last time because of Covid 19. We are eagerly looking forward to the trip.
The poem above was written by Ellen. She is an ordained Baptist chaplain and a teacher and administrator in a recovery program that deals with issues such as grief, addiction, and illness. She also volunteers for many special projects at her church. This year she helped to produce a video for a virtual Vacation Bible School during the pandemic. Ellen writes religious poems on her blog, Echoes of the Lion’s Roar.
HappyThanksgiving!
West Indian Manatee. Photo by Maegan Luckleish from Unsplash.
One Saturday about forty years ago, when my husband was at work, my young daughter, Ellen, and I watched fire and smoke moving down the mountainside toward our house. We packed our car with something irreplaceable…our photo albums. My fifty-two-year-old daughter still has those albums, memories of her childhood.
An Album of Childhood
Photo by Joice Kelly from Unsplash.Photo by Romina Veliz from Unsplash Photo by Josh Applegate from Unsplash.Photo by NeonBrand from Unsplash.
Photo by Deb Dowd from Unsplash.
Photo by Prince Abid from Unsplash.Photo by Robert Collins from Unsplash.
Gulf Coast Poet 