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 Cover of Tenant from Hell
The Tenant from Hell
Book 1 in the Realtor Mystery Series
Casey Clark, property manager, is just trying to evict a bad tenant. Instead she is over her head in murder and mayhem

 Cover of Double Duplicity
Double Duplicity
Book 2 in the Realtor Mystery Series
Trouble  follows Casey like a raging fire.


 
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Missing-- Gone but not Forgotten

Based on the unsolved abduction of a little girl in a rural  Florida Community.




coverof Under a Bloody Flag

Under a Bloody Flag

Kansas and Missouri were a "no man's land" in the days before the War between the States.




 
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Under a Black Flag
Kansas and Missouri heated to the boiling point during the War between the States. 





cover of For want of a ship
For Want of a Ship
John Roy came to New Orleans looking  for peace instead he found war.





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Last Step
Last Step will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you gasping in surprise at the ending





 
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Kudzu
Kudzu shows you a different part of the South, past and present. Mystery with a touch of romance and a smidgen of paranormal.





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Wild about Florida: South FL
The Everglades swarm with wildlife from birds,  to mammals, to reptiles.




cover of Wild about florida central
Wild about Florida: Central FL
Central Florida has the ocean and gulf beaches much like other parts of Florida but in many other ways it is distinct and unique. 



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Wild About Florida: North FL
Come explore caves, hills, whitewater falls and lots of other fun things you didn't expect to find in Florida.

 
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Georgia's Ghostly Getaways 

Who is not fascinated by mysterious things that go bump in the night? Are there some places where departed souls still linger?



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Hosts With Ghosts
The South has long been famous for its Southern Hospitality. Hotels throughout Dixie vie with one another to offer their guests more service and more amenities. Many have guests that never depart.


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Finding Florida's Phantoms
Florida! The land of sunshine and wide-open beaches. But even the Sunshine State has its dark secrets. Places where centuries old spirits remain tied to earth. Beneath the facade of fun and make believe lurks the real Florida.

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Color Saint Augustine
This is a way to virtually visit Saint Augustine. It's a coloring book for grown ups (but kids will love it too.)  with an actual photo of the attractions in Saint Augustine. The opposite page is the same photo converted into a black and white line image for you to to color. It's 64 pages with 30 photos and 30 pages for you to color. On each photo and each color page there is a little about the story of the image . 
     





































A Walk on the Wild Side of St. Lucie County


Story and most photos
by Kathleen Walls
Video with Ischell Laxton

 

Here’s a secret about Florida. It’s not all theme parks and crowds You can visit St Lucie County for some natural resources and have a blast minus the crowds. I recently took a nature press trip and want to share the beauty of the Treasure Coast with you.

Lets start with a hike we did at Oxbow Eco-Center guided by Eva.

manatee exhibit at oxbow eco center

bearded dragon

Some still photos of the hike starting in the center visitor center.

hike trail and guide at oxbow eco center

boat in Indian River

gopher tortoise

And along the trail. I loved the little gopher tortoise we met at the end of the hike.

orchid

heathcote botanical garden

suculents at heathcote botanical gardens

veggie garden at Heathcote

bonsia

rare atala butterfly on flower

We visited two beautiful botanical gardens to see even more natural beauty. The photos above are at Heathcote Botanical Gardens and below are at Port St. Lucy Botanical Gardens. Heathcote has a vegetable garden to help the community. And for those interested in Bonsai, there are fabulous plants. One of my favorite treasure there was seeing an Atala butterfly that back in the 1950s, was thought to be extinct. It's tiny but the vibrant blue spots on its black wings and red lower wingtip make it easily recognized.

 st. Lucie botanical gardens

The Peter’s rock agama lizard

flowerent suculent

fairy art

Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens has 17 themed garden areas including orchid, bromeliad, butterfly, rose, and cactus and succulent gardens. Each are maintained by volunteers. I saw some of those colorful but exotic lizards at both gardens. The Peter’s rock agama lizard, an invasive species from Africa, unfortunately eats insects including butterflies. Mingled with the plants there is some beautiful fairy art created by a volunteer.

four horseback riders

rvs at mccarty ranch

We didn't have to walk everywhere. We had some friendly four footed helpers to take us around some beautiful lake fronts at McCarty Ranch. My handsome ride was Fred. You can even RV at the ranch if you want to go primitive.

sl_aquarium

st Lucie aquarium1

seahorse lying on bottom to feed

All of our explorations was not about the land. We visited some top rated water attractions starting with St. Lucie County Aquarium. We learned about some unusual seahorse behavior.

mural at manatee center

exhibit at manatee center

We visited the Manatee Observation Center and learned a lot about these precious endangered sea mammals. Sometimes you can see real ones visiting from the deck but we were not lucky.

harbor branch vc

harbor branch exhibit

Harbor Branch Ocean Discovery Visitors Center is the gateway to Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute where some of the nation's top marine scientists and engineers explore ways to preserve the coral reefs, sea grass, and other ecosystems important to life on earth, not just for sea creatures, but for all of us.

boat at dock

water birds nesting

Our Indian River Lagoon and Swamp boat Tour with Captain Barry “Chop” Legé on his pontoon boat, Emile,  took us into the Indian River Lagoon where we saw dolphins and many water birds. Captain Legé comes from a Louisiana bayous family so he knows all about waterways, wildlife, and the need for conservation of our natural resources.

little green heron

By now we were ready to stretch our legs on a hike through D. J. Wilcox Nature Preserve. It's a105-acre site along the Indian River Lagoon. We saw all three variants of mangrove, red, black, and white. My favorite moment on this hike was spotting a small green heron.

kayaking

kayak in mangroves

kayaking

Before heading home, we got out on the water in a big way at Lisa's Kayaks. Our knowledgable guide took us through open waters and into narrow mangrove passages. What an exciting trip! (Kayaking pictures are credited to Ishell Laxton, my amazing assistant on this trip.)

ischell swiming

Of course, we had to stop and take a dip in the water on our way home.