I was driving home last week, after a day of selling, and drove through a tremendous thunderstorm. Plenty of rain, wind, thunder and lightening. 15 minutes down the road, it was sunshine and a beautiful sunset. Mother Nature’s way of saying, the journey will not be easy, but the rewards will be great. I always told my kids, it’s the best free entertainment you will get all day – a sunrise and a sunset. Seems like we all have lost sight of that anymore. So addicted to our TV’s, computers and cellphones that we are letting the world go right by us. I’ve said many times that I feel so lucky to have grown up in this beautiful state and have so many things close. The beautiful beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, the great fishing and outdoor activities of the Gulf of Mexico, tubing down the world renowned Ichetucknee River and of course the theme parks of Orlando. I feel even more blessed to have been able to stay in this area and raise a family and start this business. We will never be able to say thank you enough to all of our advertisers and readers who have made it possible. Incredibly enough, our next edition for November/December will begin our fifth year in print.
We were a little uneasy going into this current issue. July/August had been very slow and our page count dropped to 24 pages. No fault of anyones for sure, as we are all traveling this road together. This round, I am happy to say, brought a big bounce. We are back to 32 pages and we have some old friends who have joined us again with advertising and also contributing articles.
Toni Collins and Jeff Cary lead the pack with excellent articles on history and a spoof on the local critters thoughts on COVID-19. Rhonda Rogers-Bardsley has again sent us some articles regarding the latest happenings in Steinhatchee and how they fared through the summer. The Cedar Key Historical Society sent us an informative article on how you can help support this great organization, and I happy to say we have Mike Farmer, Salt Addictions, back in with us as well. Mike is a heck fisherman and he shares his knowledges of fishing over the years in the waters off Steinhatchee. Finally Natalie Stephens, of UF/IFAS NCBS gives us a great overview on the creation of the Living Shorelines in Cedar Key.
Cedar Key Canvas, Anglers RV Campground and Pelican Realty are back in with us for this edition. In addition Cedar Lakes Woods & Gardens gave us a great cover shot and The Lower Suwannee Art & Nature Festival is starting early looking for vendors for their event in March, 2021. We thank all of them for their continued support of our little magazine. We know it has not been easy.
Be on the lookout for our last edition of the year in November. I, for one, will be happy to put 2020 behind me. We look forward to 2021 with guarded optimism and hope for a return of some type of normalcy.