Strawberry Shortcake, Fried Green Tomatoes
and Mullet with Hush Puppies.
Doesn't get any better.
Serving up the best Strawberry Shakes.
BBQ Mullet, people wait all year for this season to come around.
I said there was Strawberry fields as far as the eye could see, and up front here is a few rows of snapdragons that I will be back to show a picture of when they are in full bloom.
Here is a picture of a real Ruskin Tomato.
Fields as as as the eye could see have made us famous.
I'm back, and the snapdragons are not quite ready
but the Sunflowers are really close.
Remembering days gone by of mountains of strawberries and plump juicy tomatoes.
Affectionally known to this day as "The Red Barn".
Below, is a picture of some of the "original" Hwy 41, made of hand fashioned red clay brick.
by sitting with there wings out spread.
And these big guys, at peace with the world.
Oh wow, I acually caught one out by the road.
But he didn't say long.
I took this picture in our front yard on September 7th.
A sow, boar and 6 piglets.
Ya'no I stayed behind my car to snap this.
Fields of ripe hay rolled in bundles
Can you believe all this in our little ole' town of 3 stop lights?
Beautiful fish farms that grace the landscape of our home town.
On my way home this little guy came over and really hamed it up.
Our mighty manatee where our children have fished
among the manatee's, camped out on it's little islands
and collected stunning white sand dollars.
Your beautiful. Click to enlarge.
Tiny Ibis, flocks can be seen everywhere.
Storks that will just stand and pose for you all day long.
The local bait shop.
.
This is such a perfect reflection in the water.
You are looking down the dirt path
to underneath the railroad tracks on 7th.
The muck at the water line is naturally black.
The FAVORITE place to fish.
Click to enlarge.
Oh my,
This is a baby Manattee. When my son would
go out in his Johnboat,
he would pet them.
Look what I saw trott'in down the street. Was so tickled, I asked the lady if I could take her picture. Her and I struck up a sweet conversation, and she mentioned she shaved this zebra design on her horse. Cute.
This tour would not be complete with out a trip to our local private airport.
Picking Oranges.....
This picture probably doesn't really show how BIG this barrel is.
Large forklifts come around and pick these up.
Click to enlarge.
I can't believe I hear that whistle blowing.
This famous Tropicana train is usually 99 cars long
(I have counted that many)
and has run through town every morning.
The best food in the whole U S of A.
Our Local Barber.
The National Weather Station in our town.
A view of the snack bar that has served the best homemade burgers.
Good nitetime entertainment for a carload of kids.
A nice way to end the day.
MemoriesOh, I just couldn't resist, with new camera in hand, searching for icons of the past, or soon to be, of the sweetest town around. There is the Little Manatee River that flows through here where my son spent most of his teen years searching for sand dollars by the box full or petting the manatees or hooking up with Tarpons bigger than him. Where else on earth can anyone drive down the road and see Tropical fish farms teeming with tiny bright orange swordfish and Neon Tetras. My daughter all dressed up with ringlets galore in Our Ruskin Day Parades, complete with bed races down main street. And yes, maybe the last old fashioned out door Drive In in the whole USof A. Nice family movies and serving up the best hamburger in town. And nothing can compete with our Ruskin fish fries that fed the whole town, or close to it. Thank you Buzbees, Gaskins, Liles, Mobleys and Tidwells for a job well done. Not to be out done by the beautiful gladiolas and snapdragons passed out by the handfulls fresh from the fields by Mr. Hand. But I quess I'll save the best top two for last, because nothing compares with a red ripe real Ruskin Tomato or fresh strawberry fields as far as the eye can see. Hats off to the Morgans and the Goodsons.
