In January of 1999 we were in Florida for the dog show circuit. The Havanese had just been approved to compete
for Championships at AKC dog shows, and we decided to travel to Florida to show, since the dog shows in the
Northeast are few and far between in winter. While enjoying the sunny 80 degree weather, we watched the national
weather report and saw that the Northeast was being blanketed with freezing rain and snow. Suddenly we wondered
why we were ever going back! The reality is we had a home and jobs there, so we returned to Connecticut, but
already the plans were in motion.
In April we put our home on the market, and waited for the eager buyers to arrive...and waited...and waited...and waited.
Despite the underwhelming interest in our home, we contacted a Real Estate agent in Sarasota Florida and returned to
Florida in mid-August to look at several parcels of land that the agent had found for us. Our needs were simple - or so
we thought. We asked for listings of a minimum of 5 acres in a rural area, with no nearby neighbors. What we did not
know was that agents do not show vacant land, only homes. We were given a group of listings with vague directions on
how to find them, and we were on our own to locate the parcels. We spent an entire week looking. The first place that we
really liked had already been sold. We finally found a heavily wooded parcel that backed up to a river. We called our
agent, and after talking to her, she told us that we were on the wrong street, and the actual parcel that was for sale was
on the next street. She insisted that "someone must have changed the street signs ". The frustration of the entire week
had gone over the top at that point, and that agent was fired on the spot!
We returned home to Connecticut and within hours of arriving home, the telephone rang. It was our friend Lynn
Nieto calling from Florida to tell us that she had driven by "the perfect place" for us that day, and the owner was there
putting up a For Sale sign when she went by. She had stopped to talk to him, and he allowed her to take pictures of the
property and to go inside the mobile home to look it over and take photos of the interior. We insisted that we had JUST
gotten home from Florida and there was NO WAY we were flying back that soon.
Lynn emailed us the photos that she had taken, and gave us the owner's phone number. We called him that night, and
were on a plane headed for Florida later that week. The evening we arrived, Lynn took us to see the property. We were
hooked, and couldn't wait to meet with the owners the next day. We left with a contract for purchasing the property in hand.
Selling our home in Connecticut was another issue entirely, and we were finally able to move to Florida in late 2001.
Our Florida Home
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
The concrete block building on the left was
demolished in 2002, and our house was built on
the same site.
demolished in 2002, and our house was built on
the same site.
Part of the back yard. Though many were seriously
damaged, and several were downed in the 2004
hurricanes, most of the trees are still intact.
damaged, and several were downed in the 2004
hurricanes, most of the trees are still intact.
Front of the property on state road 48. A cow
pasture is directly across the road - see next
photo!
pasture is directly across the road - see next
photo!
Facing the side of the yard. Beyond our trees is a
working farm of 168 acres.
working farm of 168 acres.
The house is nearing completion in August of 2002.
A large screen porch was built over the dog runs
to protect the toy dogs from insects, snakes,
weather and predators!
to protect the toy dogs from insects, snakes,
weather and predators!
Part of our flock of Guinea Fowl...the best
all-natural "bug control" on earth!!!
all-natural "bug control" on earth!!!
Our young niece, Susan Fagnand, passed away in June 2007. Two of her favorite things were
butterflies and the color pink. The garden bed below is being planted in her memory. It is still a
work in process, but the butterflies come to the garden every day.
butterflies and the color pink. The garden bed below is being planted in her memory. It is still a
work in process, but the butterflies come to the garden every day.
These are some of the "neighbors" across
the road. There are dozens of them that live
there.
the road. There are dozens of them that live
there.
Note the black and blue butterfly in the middle of
the photo above. We have a lot of these coming
to visit most days. They are big and beautiful.
the photo above. We have a lot of these coming
to visit most days. They are big and beautiful.
The following photos were taken on December 24, 2008. This is one of the best parts of living in Florida - something is blooming year-round!
| You never know who will show up next! A large yellow rat snake strolling through the yard. Several rat snakes live in our yard. |
A friendly Gopher Tortoise strolls through the
yard. They love to visit the farm next door for
meals. Our neighbor removes them from his
land and rehomes them on state-owned land.
yard. They love to visit the farm next door for
meals. Our neighbor removes them from his
land and rehomes them on state-owned land.
The ever-present tree frogs!!! They are
everywhere, and since they spend all night
hunting and eating bugs, they are welcome
to live wherever they like!
everywhere, and since they spend all night
hunting and eating bugs, they are welcome
to live wherever they like!
There are wild peacocks all over the state of
Florida. This male came to us as an adult
and lived in our yard for several years. We
gave him one of the dog runs to live in at
night to protect him from predators. The
branch visible in the upper left corner was his
sleeping perch.
Florida. This male came to us as an adult
and lived in our yard for several years. We
gave him one of the dog runs to live in at
night to protect him from predators. The
branch visible in the upper left corner was his
sleeping perch.
