My emotional responses to loss loam angles howl like a wolf years sound take it all in silence non emotiona; flaying crybay. botter angy tears angry growl fetal position btragfruit treet gumbo limbo tree soi; removal. . i would like to be remembered for soil i would lije to be remembered for.
The soils of the Keys are alkaline and consist of shell, organic matter, with either disintegrated coral rock or Miami oolitic limestone (Craighead 1971:81). At present, overlying sediments are conspicuously sparse, often being less than 10 cm in depth. Deeper sediment deposits occur in solution holes, and these deep sediment solution holes often were targeted by early settlers as agriculture plots for pineapples and citrus plants. Some deep sediment deposits contain black earth midden soil associated with prehistoric occupation. Early settlers often borrowed from these middens to acquire the organically rich soil for their gardens. Formerly, soil composed of hammock peat and litter, about 6 to 18 inches thick, covered high, well drained limestone rock outcrops that supported tropical hardwood hammock (Craighead 1971:81-2).
PARCEL B of PARCELS A B & C
1969 Cousin Peter and Sister Dede were house hunting in Key West. They saw a property that excited them, and they urged me to go see it. I took a stroll to find Parcel B contained within the block sided by Simonton, Flemming, Elizabeth and Southard Streets, This property was in the heart of high density old town Key West, known as district one. I walked down Free School Alley a lane infrequently travelled as evidenced by its unpaved hard white cap rock surface leading to the interior of this city block. The non shaded alley was exposed to blinding overhead sun light and intense heat. At the end of the alley my feet stepped off of harsh sun light cap rock and onto a soft shaded earthen path. the land pith doenward the elavation changed and the ground slopped downward.Once on Parcel B. a fragrance ensued, and the temperature dropped 10 degrees. To my right was a rare Jamacan tall King Coconut Tree with a massive fat trunk. It had so far resisted the blight The narrow well-worn rarthen foot path wound towards the east. There was an rmense awesome upper story canopy of centurian fruit trees, tall massive trunked heavily branches trees sapodilla , spanish lime, an almond tree and a grove of alvocado trees a thicket of tieasse trees, a dense stand of pandanus, a small sugar apple tree Even though there was very little midstory, I could not see the entirety of the space which was obscured with odd vegetative popups creating little hidden areas potential for the game of hide and seek. private secret rooms most notable were clumps of tasseled flowering ornamental grass. appearing in columns tall and wide enough for a human to hide behind. I followed the well worn path, It land sloped downward towards 518 Elixzabeth Street. Along the path ust a few feet in near the entrance was a good looking well built hand douged antique well that had been filled in with rocks blocking access to the drinking water below water and group of regular panhandlerds who had panhandleded for yers. It tiurns outthat thpath was a shortcut for the neighbors to go to Faustoes food palace. Pan handling was good because it was a popular neighbor hood shortcut to get to the Fausto's Food Palace, I little further down the path was a giant sail of coralvine blooming with spaays of pimk flowers every day. These vines had worked to weave a giant open net from the floor to the top of the tallest sapodilly tree. When the brnext came the onlyeeze blew this living pink flowered sail lufted back an forth. Next along the parhe was the glorious high spiritual tree the only nvive on the property. A redbarked gumboo limbo tree. The pretiest oneon the island. Shaggy bark ablaze in the setting sun every evenong when the rays of light.
the base and roots of this tree were interesting to behold. because tere were a number of large limestoned rocks on the surface and it roots whisch the tree roots had to wrestle with. big roots abouve ground and rerouted because othsd natrallalt rocky terain. As the path went forward to it left just was a the topilogical geographicle hole in the ground. A sik whoe are solution hole as they are called in Florida. waist high Snake plants covered the ground so densily their torange ubers protruded everwhare looking for room to multiply Parcel B was part of a large sink hole that existed near the highest elevation known as solaris Hill, Solaris hill had two sink holes the other one was known as The coco co;a bottling company.
PARCELL B my sensory experie discovering visit a sink hole or solution hole. the sink hole was bowl shaped earthen down sloping land culminatin at the hole itself The hole was om B and includind a large number of properties near B. B is where the actual hole occured
elizabeth Street
the base and roots of this tree were interesting to behold. because tere were a number of large limestoned rocks on the surface and it roots whisch the tree roots had to wrestle with. big roots abouve ground and rerouted because othsd natrallalt rocky terain. As the path went forward to it left just was a the topilogical geographicle hole in the ground. A sik whoe are solution hole as they are called in Florida. waist high Snake plants covered the ground so densily their torange ubers protruded everwhare looking for room to multiply Parcel B was part of a large sink hole that existed near the highest elevation known as solaris Hill, Solaris hill had two sink holes the other one was known as The coco co;a bottling company.
PARCELL B my sensory experie discovering visit a sink hole or solution hole. the sink hole was bowl shaped earthen down sloping land culminatin at the hole itself The hole was om B and includind a large number of properties near B. B is where the actual hole occured
elizabeth Street
Parcel B contained something of great value, I channeled all my life-force my physical and mental attention to nurturing it. I was the best tool in my tool box to use in furthering my life long message of teaching sustainability Purpose in life. for Worthy of protection with all my might my power an Oasis a Solution hole a sink ho;e a depression 500 feet by 500 feet merely as big as a city block or bigger gradual downhill slope to the hole itself My allegiance my steadfast love for the place. my unwavering interest.
Have you ever wondered why the small island of Key West has drawn such a wide variety of different kinds of people with a preponderance of creatives artists more writers then painters, a mecca for artisans is it because it is a the end of the road, What ;s the magic draw and does it stiil exist this particular island in a chain of equally interesting beautiful islands. A Mecca for creatives. Like New Orleans, Like Asheville, like Ithica, like Taos, like Portland like Maraposa like Georgetown Penang Malaysia where I had an Ah Ha moment questioning the draw some geological places on earth. Was it because of Key West made of Miami oolite instead of coral rock higher elevation greater diversity of flora and fauna because its elevation is higher. Was it because of earth madnetic pull which causes unseen vibrations on our bodies our bodies instinctly know a spwcial energy radiatong from frequency of a spwcial place.
The World Heritage Sites of cultural and natural importance. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO /juːˈnɛskoʊ/)[2][a] is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture Legend Category of property Cultural Natural Mixed the world through the prism of place. I believe place matters a lot more than we think it does, that where we are affects who we are. That applies to happiness, to spirituality and to creative genius. look around the world where did geniuses pop up? It wasn’t randomly They have appeared in groupings, or what I call “genius clusters,” clusters of creatives at specific times and places. I really don’t think that’s a coincidence. The question I set out to answer in this book is, what was in the water back then and can we bottle it? What lessons can we learn from Parcel B? There was something about Key West itself that allowed that to really develop. but they didn’t shine the way They had lots of sunshine, but so did other places in Greece, so it wasn’t the weather. It was an ATTITUDE, . It’s a CULTURE. In the case of Key West, it was an outward-facing orientation. By that, I mean they were GREAT SSAILPRS GREAT SURVIVOTS , Great inventors of how to survive on an island where only seafood prevailed
This is one thing that surprised me. The Greeks didn’t invent as much as we think they did. Plato famously said, “What the Greeks borrow from foreigners, they perfect.” Well, “borrow” is a generous phrase. They stole, but they then did perfect. But as I said, first of all, there’s always an openness. So psychologists investigating creativity have identified on a personal level this one trait: openness to experience. It’s the single most important trait in creative people. It turns out that’s true for places, as well. Adventures pirates
. It’s not a place where ideas are coming in or getting out, and in all the genius clusters I visited, they were particularly porous that way. One aspect of that is immigration. Whatever you think of the current immigration debate, it’s simply a fact that places that produce geniuses tend to have more open policies toward immigrants. a degree of competition. I would add, also, a constructive, healthy kind that spurs people onto greatness and doesn’t just become this toxic force that eats people up…You had people from different walks of life, different social strata getting together….“Psychologists investigating creativity have identified on a personal level this one trait: openness to experience. It’s the single most important trait in creative people.” 29,000 You had people from different walks of life, different social strata getting together….Those are the images that come to mind. But in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was definitely a place of genius, characteristics of geniuses out there. the level of education. Higher education may not always correlate to being a genius. We have to jettison this notion that a genius is just a smart person that gets really good grades in school or has a high IQ.
I’m talking about a creative genius, someone that creates something that lasts through the ages….having some bad stuff happen to you at a young age in some people — and that’s the key caveat — tends to produce a mother load of creative genius. We explain the rise and decline of regional clusters of creativity over time. We argue that this dynamic is the result of the interplay of individually rational decision-making processes with collective externalities of unplanned social encounters; A large body of literature shows that highly creative people - artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and the like - are highly likely to be open to new experiences. They found open-to-experience people were more likely to "attempt to escape the ennui experienced in small-town environments by relocating to metropolitan areas where their interests in cultures and needs for social contact and stimulation are more easily met."It is not just that people sort themselves into places where they can find work. They seek out environments where they can pursue their personal interests as well. Not surprisingly, given its reputation as a gay, bohemian paradise, openness-to-experience have a considerable concentration of the creative class or even the work they do; it is this "something else" that is at least partly captured by personality. Rentfrow’s research also suggests a psychological dimension to creative communities that contributes to their ethos and character. It is not just that people sort themselves into places where they can find work. They seek out environments where they can pursue their personal interests as well. Clusters of open-to-experience personalities are associated with innovation because, he writes:
the jobs at the center of innovation ... such as design, engineering, science, painting, music, software development, writing and acting, appeal to individuals who are curious, creative, intellectual, imaginative, inventive, and resourceful. These professions are primarily concerned with exploring, developing and communicating new ideas, methods, and products.People who are high in openness are also adventurous, he adds: they are likely to generate new perspectives on old issues and are comfortable with and adaptable to change. Adventure and dreamer
They are also more likely to move to pursue their interests and follow their dreams. It’s not that they do this by design, the process occurs gradually and in an ad hoc way over time. But over time they seek out and find other similar personalities and begin to cluster in particular communities. These communities than take on a certain level of openness which draws in more open people and enhances its openness to new people and ideas, and ability to harness creativity and generate innovations. Openness comes to be imprinted on their psychological and cultural DNA.Place itself, I began to realize, was the key factor. So much so, that I coined a term--quality of place—to sum it up. I use the term in contrast with the more traditional concept of quality of life to cover the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. Over time, my colleagues and I have come to refer to these characteristics as Territorial Assets, the fourth T of economic development after Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (what I have elsewhere called the 3Ts of Economic Growth).Menu
Show SearchECONOMY, MARKET & TRENDSWhat Draws Creative People? Quality of PlaceBy Richard Florida
Cities like Providence, Rhode Island, offer a mix of established neighborhoods, multiple ethnicities, and stimulating activities that many creative people consider a necessary component of the places where they will consider establishing a household.
Why do people—especially talented Creative Class people, who have lots of choices—opt to locate in certain places? What draws them to some places and not to others? Economists and social scientists have paid a great deal of attention to the location decisions of companies, but they have virtually ignored how people, especially creative people, make the same choic
Place itself, I began to realize, was the key factor. So much so, that I coined a term--QUALITY OF PLACE—to sum it up. I use the term in contrast with the more traditional concept of quality of life to cover the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. Over time, my colleagues and I have come to refer to these characteristics as Territorial Assets, the fourth T of economic development after Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (what I have elsewhere called the 3Ts of Economic Growth).Generally, one can think of quality of place as cutting across three key dimensions:
What’s there: the combination of the built environment and the natural environment; a stimulating, appealing setting for the pursuit of creative lives. Who’s there: diverse people of all ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations, interacting and providing clear cues that this is a community where anyone can fit in and make a life. Generally, one can think of quality of place as cutting across three key dimensions:
The World Heritage Sites of cultural and natural importance. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO /juːˈnɛskoʊ/)[2][a] is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture Legend Category of property Cultural Natural Mixed the world through the prism of place. I believe place matters a lot more than we think it does, that where we are affects who we are. That applies to happiness, to spirituality and to creative genius. look around the world where did geniuses pop up? It wasn’t randomly They have appeared in groupings, or what I call “genius clusters,” clusters of creatives at specific times and places. I really don’t think that’s a coincidence. The question I set out to answer in this book is, what was in the water back then and can we bottle it? What lessons can we learn from Parcel B? There was something about Key West itself that allowed that to really develop. but they didn’t shine the way They had lots of sunshine, but so did other places in Greece, so it wasn’t the weather. It was an ATTITUDE, . It’s a CULTURE. In the case of Key West, it was an outward-facing orientation. By that, I mean they were GREAT SSAILPRS GREAT SURVIVOTS , Great inventors of how to survive on an island where only seafood prevailed
This is one thing that surprised me. The Greeks didn’t invent as much as we think they did. Plato famously said, “What the Greeks borrow from foreigners, they perfect.” Well, “borrow” is a generous phrase. They stole, but they then did perfect. But as I said, first of all, there’s always an openness. So psychologists investigating creativity have identified on a personal level this one trait: openness to experience. It’s the single most important trait in creative people. It turns out that’s true for places, as well. Adventures pirates
. It’s not a place where ideas are coming in or getting out, and in all the genius clusters I visited, they were particularly porous that way. One aspect of that is immigration. Whatever you think of the current immigration debate, it’s simply a fact that places that produce geniuses tend to have more open policies toward immigrants. a degree of competition. I would add, also, a constructive, healthy kind that spurs people onto greatness and doesn’t just become this toxic force that eats people up…You had people from different walks of life, different social strata getting together….“Psychologists investigating creativity have identified on a personal level this one trait: openness to experience. It’s the single most important trait in creative people.” 29,000 You had people from different walks of life, different social strata getting together….Those are the images that come to mind. But in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was definitely a place of genius, characteristics of geniuses out there. the level of education. Higher education may not always correlate to being a genius. We have to jettison this notion that a genius is just a smart person that gets really good grades in school or has a high IQ.
I’m talking about a creative genius, someone that creates something that lasts through the ages….having some bad stuff happen to you at a young age in some people — and that’s the key caveat — tends to produce a mother load of creative genius. We explain the rise and decline of regional clusters of creativity over time. We argue that this dynamic is the result of the interplay of individually rational decision-making processes with collective externalities of unplanned social encounters; A large body of literature shows that highly creative people - artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and the like - are highly likely to be open to new experiences. They found open-to-experience people were more likely to "attempt to escape the ennui experienced in small-town environments by relocating to metropolitan areas where their interests in cultures and needs for social contact and stimulation are more easily met."It is not just that people sort themselves into places where they can find work. They seek out environments where they can pursue their personal interests as well. Not surprisingly, given its reputation as a gay, bohemian paradise, openness-to-experience have a considerable concentration of the creative class or even the work they do; it is this "something else" that is at least partly captured by personality. Rentfrow’s research also suggests a psychological dimension to creative communities that contributes to their ethos and character. It is not just that people sort themselves into places where they can find work. They seek out environments where they can pursue their personal interests as well. Clusters of open-to-experience personalities are associated with innovation because, he writes:
the jobs at the center of innovation ... such as design, engineering, science, painting, music, software development, writing and acting, appeal to individuals who are curious, creative, intellectual, imaginative, inventive, and resourceful. These professions are primarily concerned with exploring, developing and communicating new ideas, methods, and products.People who are high in openness are also adventurous, he adds: they are likely to generate new perspectives on old issues and are comfortable with and adaptable to change. Adventure and dreamer
They are also more likely to move to pursue their interests and follow their dreams. It’s not that they do this by design, the process occurs gradually and in an ad hoc way over time. But over time they seek out and find other similar personalities and begin to cluster in particular communities. These communities than take on a certain level of openness which draws in more open people and enhances its openness to new people and ideas, and ability to harness creativity and generate innovations. Openness comes to be imprinted on their psychological and cultural DNA.Place itself, I began to realize, was the key factor. So much so, that I coined a term--quality of place—to sum it up. I use the term in contrast with the more traditional concept of quality of life to cover the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. Over time, my colleagues and I have come to refer to these characteristics as Territorial Assets, the fourth T of economic development after Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (what I have elsewhere called the 3Ts of Economic Growth).Menu
Show SearchECONOMY, MARKET & TRENDSWhat Draws Creative People? Quality of PlaceBy Richard Florida
Cities like Providence, Rhode Island, offer a mix of established neighborhoods, multiple ethnicities, and stimulating activities that many creative people consider a necessary component of the places where they will consider establishing a household.
Why do people—especially talented Creative Class people, who have lots of choices—opt to locate in certain places? What draws them to some places and not to others? Economists and social scientists have paid a great deal of attention to the location decisions of companies, but they have virtually ignored how people, especially creative people, make the same choic
Place itself, I began to realize, was the key factor. So much so, that I coined a term--QUALITY OF PLACE—to sum it up. I use the term in contrast with the more traditional concept of quality of life to cover the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. Over time, my colleagues and I have come to refer to these characteristics as Territorial Assets, the fourth T of economic development after Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (what I have elsewhere called the 3Ts of Economic Growth).Generally, one can think of quality of place as cutting across three key dimensions:
What’s there: the combination of the built environment and the natural environment; a stimulating, appealing setting for the pursuit of creative lives. Who’s there: diverse people of all ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations, interacting and providing clear cues that this is a community where anyone can fit in and make a life. Generally, one can think of quality of place as cutting across three key dimensions:
- What’s going on: the vibrancy of the street life, café culture, arts, and music; the visible presence of people engaging in outdoor activities—altogether a lot of active, exciting, creative goings-ons.Quality of place can be summed up as an interrelated set of experiences. Many, like those provided by the street-level scene, are dynamic and participatory. You can do more than be a spectator; you can become a part of the scene. But while the street buzz is there to be found if you want it, you can also retreat to your home or some other quiet place, chill out in an urban park, or even set out for the country. Creative-minded people enjoy a mix of influences. They want to hear different kinds of music and try different kinds of food. They want to meet and socialize with people unlike themselves, to trade views and spar over issues. A person’s circle of closest friends might not resemble the Rainbow Coalition—in fact, it usually
Creative-minded people enjoy a mix of influences. They want to hear different kinds of music and try different kinds of food. They want to meet and socialize with people unlike themselves, to trade views and spar over issues. A person’s circle of closest friends might not resemble the Rainbow Coalition—in fact, it usually doesn’t—but creatives want the rainbow to be available.
Authenticity—as in real buildings, real people, real history—is key. A place that’s full of chain stores, chain restaurants, and chain nightclubs is seen as inauthentic. Not only do those venues look pretty much the same everywhere, but they also offer the same experiences you could have anywhere.Many members of the Creative Class want to have a hand in shaping their communities’ quality of place. Years ago, I attended a meeting of a downtown revitalization group in Providence, Rhode Island. One participant remarked, “My friends and I came to Providence because it already has the authenticity that we like—its established neighborhoods, historic architecture, and ethnic mix.” He went on to implore the group’s leaders to make those qualities the basis of their revitalization efforts and to do so in ways that actively harnessed his and his peers’ energy. Or as he aptly put it, “We want a place that’s not done.”Quality of place does not occur automatically; it is an ongoing, dynamic process that engages a number of disparate aspects of a community. Like most good things, it is not altogether good: what looks like neighborhood revitalization from one perspective is gentrification from another. Rising housing values often go hand-in-hand with the displacement of long-term residents, a serious problem that demands a serious response.Interestingly, a counterintuitive trend in current research suggests that gentrification is less disruptive of some neighborhoods than it has been given credit for. According to a study by Columbia University’s Lance Freeman intended for publication next year by the Journal of the American Planning Association, even when controlling for factors like age, race, and overcrowding, gentrifying neighborhoods retain poor households at a higher rate than do nongentrifying ones. Obviously, his study will be tested and challenged; but even if its statistical findings hold up, it bears remembering that gentrification imposes other tolls on long-term residents, even if they are able to remain in their homes. An attractive place doesn’t have to be a big city, but it does have to be cosmopolitan—seething with the interplay of culture and ideas, where outsiders can quickly become insiders and anyone can find a peer group to be comfortable with and groups to be stimulated by. In her book Cosmopolitan Culture, Bonnie Menes Kahn says a great city has two hallmarks: tolerance for strangers and intolerance for mediocrity. These are precisely the qualities that appeal to members of the Creative Class—and they also happen to be qualities conducive to innovation, risk taking, and the formation of new businesses Some critics claim that jobs are the only amenities that truly matter. I point them to the Knight Soul of the Community study, which is an expanded version of the survey I began with Gallup years ago. “After interviewing close to 43,000 people in 26 communities over three years,” the Knight Foundation and Gallup concluded in 2011, “the study has found that three main qualities attach people to place: social offerings, such as entertainment venues and places to meet; openness (how welcoming a place is); and the area’s aesthetics (its physical beauty and green spaces).” - hierarchy of needs. Just as we want more from our lives than the mere basics of bodily subsistence, we also want more from our communities.
Quality of place is not a frill; it is a necessity.
Two often-overlooked factors that go into quality of place are the thickness of the mating market (only 48 percent of U.S. households include a married couple today) and, seemingly paradoxically, quasi-anonymity. Most people don’t want to live in tightly knit communities, with neighbors figuratively peering over back fences into their lives. Life in modern communities revolves around a set of looser ties that allows us to admit a greater variety of people and information into our lives.
piece de resistance, the , best most important thing most exciting thing earth gis, terra, dirt
Jan 20th, 2025 and memories are stirring and flooding my brain thanks to Chris Moore who recently written a a story about me combined will inspiringl conversations about writing with my friends Judith and Larry who write and have returned to KW after 20 years. Here for a week escaping their home as the Trumps inauguration takes over DC. Of particular interest are memories from late fall 1969 concerning Land PARCEL A B and C Land Parcel C contained a big sink hole on it called a solution hole in Florida. Once famous and valued these two were the on;y two on the Island of Key West, . The other one was about a city blck away from Parcel C and was where the old coco cola bottling company existed. I stiil existed in 69 but was filled in shortly there after. Parcel A and B part of the sinlhole were adjacent lots whicl slpoped downward towards the actul hole in the groung. sloped downward towards the actual hole called solution hole sinkhole.
In 1969 my paternal grandmother died . the family assembled fo thr funeral in pa, after the funeral i my sister and our first cousin were all looking for alife parafym shift' trying to get out of situations . we jumped into my opel and mage it to Key west. we decided to buy a key west property bif enough to suit all are dreams,myi my sister and first coiusin where property hunting in Key West
I wanted to remember everything i could about me first impressiom of the place.
They found me and exuberance said You have to see this place, So I left my easel to see Parcel B I the entrance was at the end of a quit charming lane,called Free School Lane passing thre a tall
metal cyclone fence and stepping foot on to the land and looking up. There were 5 spectular massive five incenturion fruit trees Sapollily and Spanish Limes and Alvocado .
that spread their limbs overhead to create shade and col the Earth Once inside the temperatur dropped 19 degreesBraring. there was a fragrance of richsoiled composting. humans..Where patches of sun hit the soli tall grall grew. They went tall sculrtural tall grass plants that popped up in a few placec where the sun penetrated. the topagraphy
was not flat but sloping downhill ther appeared to be one path thru the parcl made by humans worn by humans. path by constant use by unknlwm animals.on the groung were
massive grass over our jead lone sculptutred of over our head on the ground everywhere wre tightly bunched clumps of snke plans growoinhg up andv around massive amoutyts
of human waste.Yhrer was evidence of massive long term dumping of human waste a predomanansce of gallon glass cloroxbottles clear and btown glass and The tress had massive vtrunks and limbs beutiful ot reaching brances sas the had no human structures to impeded thei overhead out reach. The ground went down hill in and I boel shapped depression
large original lime stone out cropings outcropings caued by nature and undisturbed by humans who trashed the surface as it got closer to the sink hole. solution hole I walked around on the firm earyh hard to walk around with all the dumping and snake plants. there was one wejj wornnarrow no some big stuff but mostly small items glass aluminum smallhouse hold items cans and tightly wraape bundles of newsparer tied so tightly that even years of rain path thru the place worm by some kind of animal.Large bundles so tightly wrapped that even year s of rain and c hed their shape with very little decomposition. excpt for the ground trash and one meandering path their was an auria about th place that I had reach a place where no human had been. their was wilderness here teaming with life other than the ground trach and narrow meandering path the over all feeling of the place was one oeven thoufht Even thoughe this parcel hed been denuded of all native plants except one and exotics from other lands had bee p;anted the pardel ecuded the enery out of Borneo wild untouched by human hands deepest darked wildest place s it exuded a powerful feelin of a land the place was impacted with tropicals from othe raw natural even scary landuntpugh like I imagined exished only in the remost part of head hunted borneions livesd. head hunters did not dare to live.It seems a little crazy to insill in a place of power relifios freak nut case My senses were blow awy I eas uvercome with feeling and curiosity about the place. In awe .b;own awy no words came to mind pround feeligs overwhelmed senses. Today try to put it into words with out soundin religious crazy or nutty. I feet priveledhge to to be waking on it. had much to teach even thoiught I sa no anima;s. David abrams Spell of the Sensious helped me with my sanitymany plants and animals. the nysterious frog mouth rimitive bird wiperwhill.
frogs snakes spiders scorpions walking sticks, land mollusks, butterflys moths birds acoons opossums lizard skinks, anoles turtles PARCEL C
that was named Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden by Dennis Reeves Cooper editor of Key West The Newspaper a blue paper geatea plce tat defies developement Create a place that defies the develpemrnt
Chris's article about me and meeting with friends Judith and Larry after not seeing them for 20 years
In the fall of 1969, I my sister and first cousin were hunting Key West looking to buy a property for the three of us. My sister wanted a vegetable garden anda estaurant ,
my cousin wanted to raise a crocodile or two, i wanted an art gallery. One one of the few days I did not go hunting with them thay found it.day I did not go hunting I
stayed behing wotking on a painting.
.Today in trying to describe this state of feeking I says it this way Earth has magnetic fields .Science says Earth has magnetic fields and I think my body and mind was sensing the magnitic field on :Parcel D sink hol, And I was not the only person who had an awareness opf something powerful that was happening a this very spot. Magic Ray a magician with amensa out rageous genious a member of mensakep coming back to live he left key west in a pontoon caneo to go around the world. with me or stretch his hammock neat the pit. He saud it was the beginning of the bemuda triange Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the young man. He said it was the beginning of the Bermuda Trianle
and I was the keeper of knowledge.Late I saw another place that drew creative people to the land a plce where seelers and artistic naturalists and priritual creative artist congrated to screat a socialize. People who feel the magnetic fields are there magnetic fields that atract creativ people. George town Panang Describe the sink hole, layes of artifacts
Upon entering create an entrance of dense
MY PERSUASION Trust required First pay station unattended pay by honoe honor system step into the great grey green limpoo river all hung about with fever trees pay stations open ox to receive 6 Dollars on loc no one to receive you honor aystem, the chalange next challange three paths no directive as to where to go straight right left. Visitor has to chose a path or exit choice of right left or straight is required preference traing required hide the neighbors fences and houses. Crate a series of natural narror winding thru dence vetation non paved witnding pathes asthough made by the nonhiuman animals and small openings and a series of orenings pathes natural earthen pathes fences and house create a small entrance room that hint at what is to come that leads to three path choises straight ahead to the right to the left choice wit no signage or arrows direction which wat y to goLeft with choice so had to make decisionPfreference required no signs no directions offered Visitors vhoice. just pure nature in the sence of dence planting. paths overgrown so transversers come in physical contact with encroaching plants. . Exhidits alone the patheto the right Environmental scultptur all exhibits of trash presented along the path with environmental plant signs to reag including fack of devotional candles to light for the preservation o natural other topics along the pathes on the theme of money and other topic relevate to informing about paving over paradise a topics t create activists save the nayural world . Block out the city with fense foliage at times I succedded between huricanes. block it out so as once you entered and embarked on a path of you choosing you tltall lost your bearing as to how big Parcel c was or wher ethrehere the dwellins were. You could keep you sence of direction as to north east soth west was discernable but une would be disoriented with in the city. No inkling as to how big Parcel c was or that their were neighbors spell of the sensuous rainforest did that and as you moved along the pathe the types oy plants changedin type and in color textureYou could come and go never seeing another person, Once I had a person arriving who immediately left because this big booming gtreen biomass frightened her and she was afraid ofthe pathswhere is she walk might brush against her skin. I know I had succedded.
I did evey thing in my power to earn money to save the garden from development as property values rose and yearly Taxes I failed to pay, I went into forcloure when the Housing market fell in 2008. Three years ater as I stod to loose eveything my lawyer asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in the property. I said Pritam. I called him . He said yes, The deal was HE all three parcels granting me life tenancy at 518 Elizabeth my home and place of business since 1969,
In 1969 my paternal grandmother died . the family assembled fo thr funeral in pa, after the funeral i my sister and our first cousin were all looking for alife parafym shift' trying to get out of situations . we jumped into my opel and mage it to Key west. we decided to buy a key west property bif enough to suit all are dreams,myi my sister and first coiusin where property hunting in Key West
I wanted to remember everything i could about me first impressiom of the place.
They found me and exuberance said You have to see this place, So I left my easel to see Parcel B I the entrance was at the end of a quit charming lane,called Free School Lane passing thre a tall
metal cyclone fence and stepping foot on to the land and looking up. There were 5 spectular massive five incenturion fruit trees Sapollily and Spanish Limes and Alvocado .
that spread their limbs overhead to create shade and col the Earth Once inside the temperatur dropped 19 degreesBraring. there was a fragrance of richsoiled composting. humans..Where patches of sun hit the soli tall grall grew. They went tall sculrtural tall grass plants that popped up in a few placec where the sun penetrated. the topagraphy
was not flat but sloping downhill ther appeared to be one path thru the parcl made by humans worn by humans. path by constant use by unknlwm animals.on the groung were
massive grass over our jead lone sculptutred of over our head on the ground everywhere wre tightly bunched clumps of snke plans growoinhg up andv around massive amoutyts
of human waste.Yhrer was evidence of massive long term dumping of human waste a predomanansce of gallon glass cloroxbottles clear and btown glass and The tress had massive vtrunks and limbs beutiful ot reaching brances sas the had no human structures to impeded thei overhead out reach. The ground went down hill in and I boel shapped depression
large original lime stone out cropings outcropings caued by nature and undisturbed by humans who trashed the surface as it got closer to the sink hole. solution hole I walked around on the firm earyh hard to walk around with all the dumping and snake plants. there was one wejj wornnarrow no some big stuff but mostly small items glass aluminum smallhouse hold items cans and tightly wraape bundles of newsparer tied so tightly that even years of rain path thru the place worm by some kind of animal.Large bundles so tightly wrapped that even year s of rain and c hed their shape with very little decomposition. excpt for the ground trash and one meandering path their was an auria about th place that I had reach a place where no human had been. their was wilderness here teaming with life other than the ground trach and narrow meandering path the over all feeling of the place was one oeven thoufht Even thoughe this parcel hed been denuded of all native plants except one and exotics from other lands had bee p;anted the pardel ecuded the enery out of Borneo wild untouched by human hands deepest darked wildest place s it exuded a powerful feelin of a land the place was impacted with tropicals from othe raw natural even scary landuntpugh like I imagined exished only in the remost part of head hunted borneions livesd. head hunters did not dare to live.It seems a little crazy to insill in a place of power relifios freak nut case My senses were blow awy I eas uvercome with feeling and curiosity about the place. In awe .b;own awy no words came to mind pround feeligs overwhelmed senses. Today try to put it into words with out soundin religious crazy or nutty. I feet priveledhge to to be waking on it. had much to teach even thoiught I sa no anima;s. David abrams Spell of the Sensious helped me with my sanitymany plants and animals. the nysterious frog mouth rimitive bird wiperwhill.
frogs snakes spiders scorpions walking sticks, land mollusks, butterflys moths birds acoons opossums lizard skinks, anoles turtles PARCEL C
that was named Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden by Dennis Reeves Cooper editor of Key West The Newspaper a blue paper geatea plce tat defies developement Create a place that defies the develpemrnt
Chris's article about me and meeting with friends Judith and Larry after not seeing them for 20 years
In the fall of 1969, I my sister and first cousin were hunting Key West looking to buy a property for the three of us. My sister wanted a vegetable garden anda estaurant ,
my cousin wanted to raise a crocodile or two, i wanted an art gallery. One one of the few days I did not go hunting with them thay found it.day I did not go hunting I
stayed behing wotking on a painting.
.Today in trying to describe this state of feeking I says it this way Earth has magnetic fields .Science says Earth has magnetic fields and I think my body and mind was sensing the magnitic field on :Parcel D sink hol, And I was not the only person who had an awareness opf something powerful that was happening a this very spot. Magic Ray a magician with amensa out rageous genious a member of mensakep coming back to live he left key west in a pontoon caneo to go around the world. with me or stretch his hammock neat the pit. He saud it was the beginning of the bemuda triange Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the young man. He said it was the beginning of the Bermuda Trianle
and I was the keeper of knowledge.Late I saw another place that drew creative people to the land a plce where seelers and artistic naturalists and priritual creative artist congrated to screat a socialize. People who feel the magnetic fields are there magnetic fields that atract creativ people. George town Panang Describe the sink hole, layes of artifacts
Upon entering create an entrance of dense
MY PERSUASION Trust required First pay station unattended pay by honoe honor system step into the great grey green limpoo river all hung about with fever trees pay stations open ox to receive 6 Dollars on loc no one to receive you honor aystem, the chalange next challange three paths no directive as to where to go straight right left. Visitor has to chose a path or exit choice of right left or straight is required preference traing required hide the neighbors fences and houses. Crate a series of natural narror winding thru dence vetation non paved witnding pathes asthough made by the nonhiuman animals and small openings and a series of orenings pathes natural earthen pathes fences and house create a small entrance room that hint at what is to come that leads to three path choises straight ahead to the right to the left choice wit no signage or arrows direction which wat y to goLeft with choice so had to make decisionPfreference required no signs no directions offered Visitors vhoice. just pure nature in the sence of dence planting. paths overgrown so transversers come in physical contact with encroaching plants. . Exhidits alone the patheto the right Environmental scultptur all exhibits of trash presented along the path with environmental plant signs to reag including fack of devotional candles to light for the preservation o natural other topics along the pathes on the theme of money and other topic relevate to informing about paving over paradise a topics t create activists save the nayural world . Block out the city with fense foliage at times I succedded between huricanes. block it out so as once you entered and embarked on a path of you choosing you tltall lost your bearing as to how big Parcel c was or wher ethrehere the dwellins were. You could keep you sence of direction as to north east soth west was discernable but une would be disoriented with in the city. No inkling as to how big Parcel c was or that their were neighbors spell of the sensuous rainforest did that and as you moved along the pathe the types oy plants changedin type and in color textureYou could come and go never seeing another person, Once I had a person arriving who immediately left because this big booming gtreen biomass frightened her and she was afraid ofthe pathswhere is she walk might brush against her skin. I know I had succedded.
I did evey thing in my power to earn money to save the garden from development as property values rose and yearly Taxes I failed to pay, I went into forcloure when the Housing market fell in 2008. Three years ater as I stod to loose eveything my lawyer asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in the property. I said Pritam. I called him . He said yes, The deal was HE all three parcels granting me life tenancy at 518 Elizabeth my home and place of business since 1969,
Memories arising, their topics still appropriate, still important and more relevant than ever before
Timeline
In 1969 I and family members bought 3 parcels of adjoining land PARCELS A B and C in historic old town Key West, in district one. .
These Parcels as well as a considerable number of other properties adjoining them existed within a large shallow bowl shaped sink hole. A depression in the land sculpted by undergroung water that took eons to make. Hundreds of feet in all directions were involved in the gradual downhill sloping that occurred leading to the hole itself. This type of depression in Florida is know as a solution hole. There were only two of these on the island of Key West both located near Solaris Hill, the highest elevation on of the island, eighteen feet above sea level.
This special topography existed on Parcels A, B and C. Geologically this was of great importance to me. These parcels had something else that is rare on the Keys deep deposits of rich black soil made from accumulated trapped detritus. It take 500 years for nature to make one inch of soil, this fertile bowl had deep pockets of ancient humus. Parcel B had the most rich black soil something rare on the Keys.
All three parcels were teaming with an astounding variety of animal life.
Parcel A (address 518 Elizabeth Street) had a historic two story house which was carved up as a cheap rooming house .where seven people lived. In the back yard was a small historic building called the Cook House This building was where meal preparation took place to keep heat out of the main house
.
Parcel B was a double wide vacant lot accessible off of Simonton St via a seldom travelled lane named Free School Lane after a long gone two story wooden building called Free School. Parcel B sported the most dramatic part of the topological display, the steep sided hole itself. It was a startling hole 20 ft wide by 18 feet deep At the bottom was. grey clay good for making pottery. It was exposed for the taking and just beneath this layer was the islands fresh water lens, where plenty of good tasting pure drinkable water was accessible. I had it tested. I used this local water for the toilets and gardening rather than the water piped down from thr mainland.
The vegetation on Parcel B was all exotic with one exception, a beautiful massive red shaggy barked Gumbo Limbo which grew at the center of the area and near the edge of the hole as if to guard the hole and all the exotics that ringed it I called it the high spiritual tree. because represented the value of native vegetation as opposed to exotics.
At sunset rays of sunlight hit large pieces of peeling but still attached transparent red bark This shaggy tree became so ablaze in red it hurt to look at it.
Parcel B had massive fruit trees which created a shaded place. The shade was so dense that the temperature dropped 10 degree when you entered it. These exotics trees were a testament to the needs of the early settlers who defoliated the island of natives to plant edibles for survival. These massive trees led to conversations about native verses exotics.
Parcel B had zero midstory and a monsterous understory of packed tight snake plants.
PARCEL B Its hole was used as an undesignated dump by the citizens of district one and had been since the first settler threw something into it. The hole was filled up with trash which over flowed onto the whole lot. In some instances the snake plants locked their tuberous roots onto the trash and hid it. Key West residents were lazy about getting their refuse to the dump on Stock island. Dumping on B was still going on when we took ownership. Neighbors threw refuse over the fences daily and locals backed trucks down the lane to unload their trash. It took awhile to stop this centuries long tradition of dumping. We had nicknames for the neighbors according to the type trash they threw over the fence, like the shoe people or the Beef Hearts who kept throwing real beef hearts over the fence. We had a bizarre beef heart war with people we never saw. Both sides slinging hearts back and forth until finally they gave up.
Parcel B was an undesignated city dump christened by the first settlers of the island. At the time of our purchase Key West residents had to drive their refuse to the next island to dunp it. This was a nuisance for lazy people who preferred to sneak it into the downtown vacant lot with the hole.
Parcel B had an useful antique round well that went down to the fresh water lens. Perhaps it was used by the fabled missing school. The well was filled with rocks so no one could take ta long fall. This well had great value. I had the rocks removed. I continued its circular wall above ground, installed a hand pump, built a roof over it and sealed it so no one could fall in.
PARCEl B Next to the well was a well travelled path. It was a short cut to Fausto's Food Palace the neighborhood food store. Winos congregated by the well where panhandling was lucurative.
PARCEL C was a large vacant lot adjoining B that had been filled with "nasty stuff" called marl to level the ground and get rid of the downward slope.
We cleaned up the trash our selves, stopped the dumping and panhandling, discouraged shortcut use in favor of our privacy. During this time we were planting dense foliage along the fences to hide the fences, the houses, the city.
!975 I became the sole owner and opened a gallery at 518 Elizabeth. Nancy Forrester Botanical and Zoological painting, I sold paintings, original antique prints and sculpture by artists committed to the environment.
Late 70ies I had the Cook House moved to Parcel B. I remodeled it to a tiny dwelling with an added screened in porch. I rented it as a transient rental to help meet the rising costs of living in Key West.
At age 50, I stopped painting in search of a medium to attract a larger audience for my urgent sustainably message.
About 1985 my discipline became a type of Land Art know as Site-Specific Art. I wanted to create a lush jungle, I began the rainforest installation. I choose rainforest material for its beauty, lushness, allure, mystique. I created a bio mass from which I could stage all the things I had in mind.
Timeline
In 1969 I and family members bought 3 parcels of adjoining land PARCELS A B and C in historic old town Key West, in district one. .
These Parcels as well as a considerable number of other properties adjoining them existed within a large shallow bowl shaped sink hole. A depression in the land sculpted by undergroung water that took eons to make. Hundreds of feet in all directions were involved in the gradual downhill sloping that occurred leading to the hole itself. This type of depression in Florida is know as a solution hole. There were only two of these on the island of Key West both located near Solaris Hill, the highest elevation on of the island, eighteen feet above sea level.
This special topography existed on Parcels A, B and C. Geologically this was of great importance to me. These parcels had something else that is rare on the Keys deep deposits of rich black soil made from accumulated trapped detritus. It take 500 years for nature to make one inch of soil, this fertile bowl had deep pockets of ancient humus. Parcel B had the most rich black soil something rare on the Keys.
All three parcels were teaming with an astounding variety of animal life.
Parcel A (address 518 Elizabeth Street) had a historic two story house which was carved up as a cheap rooming house .where seven people lived. In the back yard was a small historic building called the Cook House This building was where meal preparation took place to keep heat out of the main house
.
Parcel B was a double wide vacant lot accessible off of Simonton St via a seldom travelled lane named Free School Lane after a long gone two story wooden building called Free School. Parcel B sported the most dramatic part of the topological display, the steep sided hole itself. It was a startling hole 20 ft wide by 18 feet deep At the bottom was. grey clay good for making pottery. It was exposed for the taking and just beneath this layer was the islands fresh water lens, where plenty of good tasting pure drinkable water was accessible. I had it tested. I used this local water for the toilets and gardening rather than the water piped down from thr mainland.
The vegetation on Parcel B was all exotic with one exception, a beautiful massive red shaggy barked Gumbo Limbo which grew at the center of the area and near the edge of the hole as if to guard the hole and all the exotics that ringed it I called it the high spiritual tree. because represented the value of native vegetation as opposed to exotics.
At sunset rays of sunlight hit large pieces of peeling but still attached transparent red bark This shaggy tree became so ablaze in red it hurt to look at it.
Parcel B had massive fruit trees which created a shaded place. The shade was so dense that the temperature dropped 10 degree when you entered it. These exotics trees were a testament to the needs of the early settlers who defoliated the island of natives to plant edibles for survival. These massive trees led to conversations about native verses exotics.
Parcel B had zero midstory and a monsterous understory of packed tight snake plants.
PARCEL B Its hole was used as an undesignated dump by the citizens of district one and had been since the first settler threw something into it. The hole was filled up with trash which over flowed onto the whole lot. In some instances the snake plants locked their tuberous roots onto the trash and hid it. Key West residents were lazy about getting their refuse to the dump on Stock island. Dumping on B was still going on when we took ownership. Neighbors threw refuse over the fences daily and locals backed trucks down the lane to unload their trash. It took awhile to stop this centuries long tradition of dumping. We had nicknames for the neighbors according to the type trash they threw over the fence, like the shoe people or the Beef Hearts who kept throwing real beef hearts over the fence. We had a bizarre beef heart war with people we never saw. Both sides slinging hearts back and forth until finally they gave up.
Parcel B was an undesignated city dump christened by the first settlers of the island. At the time of our purchase Key West residents had to drive their refuse to the next island to dunp it. This was a nuisance for lazy people who preferred to sneak it into the downtown vacant lot with the hole.
Parcel B had an useful antique round well that went down to the fresh water lens. Perhaps it was used by the fabled missing school. The well was filled with rocks so no one could take ta long fall. This well had great value. I had the rocks removed. I continued its circular wall above ground, installed a hand pump, built a roof over it and sealed it so no one could fall in.
PARCEl B Next to the well was a well travelled path. It was a short cut to Fausto's Food Palace the neighborhood food store. Winos congregated by the well where panhandling was lucurative.
PARCEL C was a large vacant lot adjoining B that had been filled with "nasty stuff" called marl to level the ground and get rid of the downward slope.
We cleaned up the trash our selves, stopped the dumping and panhandling, discouraged shortcut use in favor of our privacy. During this time we were planting dense foliage along the fences to hide the fences, the houses, the city.
!975 I became the sole owner and opened a gallery at 518 Elizabeth. Nancy Forrester Botanical and Zoological painting, I sold paintings, original antique prints and sculpture by artists committed to the environment.
Late 70ies I had the Cook House moved to Parcel B. I remodeled it to a tiny dwelling with an added screened in porch. I rented it as a transient rental to help meet the rising costs of living in Key West.
At age 50, I stopped painting in search of a medium to attract a larger audience for my urgent sustainably message.
About 1985 my discipline became a type of Land Art know as Site-Specific Art. I wanted to create a lush jungle, I began the rainforest installation. I choose rainforest material for its beauty, lushness, allure, mystique. I created a bio mass from which I could stage all the things I had in mind.
I Would Love to Have You Visit Soon!
Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden
Home of Key West Parrots
518 Elizabeth Street, Key West, Florida 33040
HoursEveryday: Including Holidays 10 am - 3 pm
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Telephone305-294-0015
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