The Sopchoppy Opry

This past summer provided two new opportunities to partake in the local flavor. The first was the arrival of a new BBQ/juke-joint Hammaknockers. Having taken over the long time VFW on the way to the Ocklocknee Bridge, Hammaknockers serves a surprisingly good BBQ pulled pork plate as well as a Hamma-burger: A pulled pork topped hamburger. For the month that I was down on the Gulf last May-June, every night appeared to be entertainment filled at Hammaknockers with either DJs, Texas Hold'em, or live music. There was even a bike rally over one weekend that they hosted.

In not too far away Sopchoppy, we were also fortunate enough to land tickets to the Sopchoppy Opry. My understanding is that these monthly shows are usually soldout way in advance. If you feel the need to step back in time where you could be entertained at the local high school gym for $10, then be sure to look the folks up at the Opry and see if they have any spare tickets for the next show. The Opry featured four individual and group performances along with the house bandleader providing master of ceremony duties.

The Passing of Time

This past December, my great-aunt Kakey passed away. We knew the day would come, and while you don't want to hold on to someone while they suffer, it is still sad to know that they are gone. Kakey was a name frequent to these blogs. St. Teresa may have been her greatest love. For many years, she was the matriarch to our beachhouse. As much as she could she spent time with family and friends on the coast.

This past summer, I attended church in Carabelle with my family. The reading that day stuck with me, and I thought that if we ever put up a memoriam at our beachhouse these words might be the most appropriate:

"O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground." - Psalm 104: 24-30

Beach Bears

A month or so ago, my parents sent me this photo from our friends the Hopkins. The picture was taken from their house in Lanark Village, which is about 15 miles west along the coast. It looks to be a mother bear and her cub taking advantage of some corn that was left in the yard.

We have known about the St James Island bears for a several years now. Several of the year round residents had seen the bears in their yards. I wrote earlier about the loss of one bear family last year.

It's great to see that there is a healthy community of bears who consider this part of Florida home. I'm especially glad to see that the habitat (and free corn) is keeping the bears around for another generation. You can learn more about Florida's Black bears here.