Thanks Ralph! Looks like Ft Meyers will do just fine. Did a little research... Can I safely assume we will have the blessing of the landowner???
Go forth my friend and be blessed with the ability to kill as many hogs as you want..There you have my blessing...
Not so fast my friend! I talked to the wife, and she said it sounded like fun. :shock: (No, not the part where we get to sell our wives. When told about this, she started browsing for single millionaires in the area. ) Ralph, I'd be turning this into a family vacation, with a day or two with the guys to kill hogs. Would there be any trees in fruit at this time that the kid (3 years old) would be able to see/pick? We had a pear tree and apricot tree at our previous home and even at 1-2 he loved going out to pick and eat with dad, so I think that would be an activity he'd enjoy for a few hours, if possible.
Great news Kes, I'm excited to hear you may visit as well, I just hope I can provide the experience everyone is hoping for... :shock: If we are talking September/October definitely yes we will have some of our tangerines available to munch on, I have not mentioned but I plan on totally goofing off while you guys are visiting (I may even get a hotel on Sanibel with the wife) and will make available our two John Deere Gators that hold 2-3 people each and a Honda four wheeler to scoot around on if desired... Everyone's interest in visiting is incredible and I think you will find SW Florida a pretty cool place on the bucket list....At this point I may have to speak to a couple friends of mine and see if we can get a couple airboats at the farm to give rides on our reservoirs, if you visit the area you might as well go whole hog in the adventure... I have a few friends with airboats that ask all the time to gig frogs on our reservoirs, I think the best night was 75 lbs of frog legs...I personally like frog legs but prefer sleeping even more so normally don't partake but there are a few favors to be called in on this...We will have an airboat or two.... 8)
If I could do this, I wouldn't be able to even leave until Friday night/Saturday morning, which makes it problematic.
Assuming we pull this off I was looking at arriving Friday and heading home Monday. Would be great to see you Corey, even if it was just a day or two. Ignore Kesley, he's an Engineer which automatically makes him socially inept.
Does anyone object to making Oct 15/16 the weekend we build this shindig around? I have cleared days around it with the folks at work so I KNOW I can be there then. I believe Kesley has done the same, so we have two Skybox guys who can make it...
Gipper the hog hunting is only an option if desired, don't give that a second thought. It's all about saying hello and enjoying the fellowship... I will even share a picture of my ugly mug with the woman of my dreams for 30 plus years if it won't scare you away, least I can do is give you guys fair warning what you will be looking at.. The crop revenue has been pretty bad in spite of some new options so I kidnapped my wife and drove to Sanibel Island to forget my worries yesterday, and it makes her overjoyed to get away as well ... Last thing I want to do is bake in the sun as I do it on a daily basis but remembering that work is not everything is important at times.... The other pic is the 1884 Sanibel lighthouse...it was right behind us, the beach in front. I would highly recommend this as a base camp to impress the wives if possible while you are in the area...
Hey Ralph, how die it got with those limes (Asian limes I think.) That sounded like an interesting new crop.
Oct 15/16 is just about perfect for me, since was coming down on 17th anyway. Will hold off on changing flights until it's definitely set. Depending on how many folks, I might be able to do a little hosting as well. Maybe whilst the Happy Hunters are on Safari, Gip and us old guys could get together at my place for beach and cocktails.
My family loves Sanibel Ralph.... we have been there 10 times since we moved down from Michigan in 2009. I've caught some nice fish on the beach there and a few times my wife picked up some cool shells. Glad you got away...
Thank you for sharing Dave, yeah Sanibel Island is fantastic, I have been visiting there for 46 years at this point in my life. Family Lore is that my Dad had the chance to purchase property in the late 50's with one of the original pioneers but for one didn't have the funds and two could not grasp the future potential as it was all woods, terrible water, mosquitoes and sand gnats that would carry you away if you loitered long enough. It was at one point the cattle gathering area for the confederates who would drive their cattle across the state and into Punta Rassa (the local boat ramp before you get to the island), barged over to the island and roam free where their cattle would be sold to Cuba and the cash used for the Civil War... Fast forward and the property sells by the square foot and is a remarkable beach front paradise with some of the best shelling in the world. I have received many a sunburn over the years on that island and caught a fair share of fish off the bridges and around the island in my boat when I lived in Ft. Myers. I would recommend it to all if they are in the area and want a break from life for a bit , breathe deeply, and putz around and enjoy great restaurants and the ocean hitting the shoreline while the sandpipers scurry along looking for a meal....
Actually my finger limes are doing great, we (a citrus marketing company) sent off 40 lbs of the high priced babies across the US to see what if any interest as I try to expand my markets. Everybody loved them and wants to know when they can get some for their needs. It is officially the Australian finger lime, I have 90 trees ( The largest planting East of the Mississippi) and planted an additional 2 acres. Unfortunately this is just a small amount of revenue as we are a rather large Ag enterprise and will not make a dent in the problem we are having with our Valencia oranges at the moment. Every 10-20 years a fungicidal issue pops up called PFD (Post Bloom Fruit Drop) that ravages our bloom in very wet times during the bloom, think El Nino. With the pre-existing problem of citrus greening we are basically out of revenue laying in the bank for hard times and now looking at a catastrophe where our revenue making oranges do not have a crop. This seasons orange crop will be the lowest since the 60's, next year looks like it could go back a 100 years with the culmination of PFD hitting the State and wiping out next years crop by 50%. Its not a good year to be involved in Citrus. I instructed my son who is acquiring a Horticulture Science degree from UF not to pursue Citrus as a career choice. We currently employee 80,000 jobs in the business that entails $9 billion dollars. This is soon to end for a majority of folks as we just cannot sustain another crop failure... I am an optimist by nature otherwise I would not be a grower of food products but even though I have diversified it is not enough to cover the expected loss. We will not know exactly what we have for a crop for 30 more days as some is still falling off the tree but its not looking promising.. Hello Welcome to Walmart, how are you doing today...I'm practicing my new phrase...
"I would recommend it to all if they are in the area and want a break from life for a bit , breathe deeply, and putz around and enjoy great restaurants and the ocean hitting the shoreline while the sandpipers scurry along looking for a meal" Agreed....
Well hopefully we can make you some bacon this fall. :wink: BTW guys, the hog hunts will not be continuous. I will surely do my best to make at least one if not more gathering of the Skybox contingent that shows up.