Living with Snakes and Gators

Join St. Johns County Park Naturalist Kelly Ussia for a family-friendly presentation about the snakes and alligators found throughout the State of Florida (and maybe even in your backyard!). Learn about the various species of snakes in our area as well as how to live with the amazing crocodilian neighbors. This program is open to all ages and is free. For more info, contact Kelly Ussia at kussia@sjcfl.us or 904-209-0335.
www.sjcfl.us/CountyNaturalist/index

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

What does it take to live 6 months of your life hiking the Appalachian Trail? Come to this free presentation by Carolyn (trail name Freckles) to find out what life on the Trail is REALLY like. Part of the discussion will include planning, hiking gear, food, food preparation, navigation, trail life, etc. Questions and discussion will be welcome. Her gear will be on display to view. A discussion about her hike will include the special challenges of hiking for older hikers. There are many things to consider before attempting a thru hike, and many ways to hike it. Everyone hikes their own hike, but preparation and determination are key for success. If you’ve been thinking about taking this challenge, come talk with Freckles!

Carolyn and her husband took up hiking, biking, backpacking, wilderness canoeing, and whitewater kayaking. They now live at the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail, and she is on the trail regularly. Her first of three thru hike attempts was in 2009, and she was finally successful on her third attempt in 2014! She hiked the entire trail with a seventy four year old woman, Drag’nfly, who remains the oldest woman to have thru hiked! Please contact the Main Library at 904.827.6940 for more information.

Brown Bag Lunch: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and St. Augustine

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the author of the classic The Yearling and known primarily for her relationship with the people of Cross Creek, Florida, also had very significant ties to St. Augustine. She bought her cottage in Crescent Beach in 1939, spending time in that locale in addition to Cross Creek. In 1942 she married Norton Baskin who owned and managed the Castle Warden Hotel in St. Augustine. These and the years that followed in St. Augustine and Crescent Beach were the years of Cross Creek, Cross Creek Cookery, the Zelma Cason lawsuit, World War II, and The Sojourner.

Barbara C. Wingo is an historian and attorney. She is the president of the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc. She received her Ph.D. in United States history from Tulane University and worked in the General Counsel’s Office and as an adjunct history professor at the University of Florida for over 30 years. She is a member of the Historic Architectural Review Board of St. Augustine and is a past president of the St. Augustine Historical Society. She currently serves as an officer and as a board member of a number of history, historic preservation, law and music-related organizations.

This program is free and open to the public. Seating begins at 11:00 am and the presentation starts at 11:30 am. Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine. For additional information, please call the Main Library at 904.827.6940.

Going Tiny: A Tiny House Talk and Tour

Have you been thinking about living the Tiny life? Think you can fit you and all your stuff in 125 square feet? Come to the Main Library on Monday, March 11th to learn more about what it takes to build, own, and live in a Tiny House. Shorty Robbins, of the United Tiny House Association, will be here with her Victorian Tiny House on Wheels, Nawaka. Shorty will give a presentation and then let you tour her home to see for yourself how it can be done! For more information, please call the Main Library at 904.827.6940.