My father taught me to love nature. As far back as I can remember, he educated my family on every animal species we encountered, planned camping vacations for us, and shared stories about the importance of preservation. He taught us…
Plump red tomatoes are popular with area gardeners and their friends who get to share the bounty when in season. However, the colors, shapes, and sizes seen in these gardens and supermarket produce sections barely scratch the surface of the…
It’s funny how reliably we humans gain animal emblems. One might say spirit animals or just those animals that seem to stick around in our brains. Case in point: Bats are my thing. When I was about 10 years old…
At first light in a Walton County forest, the air hangs damp and cool, heavy with the scent of pine and palmetto. A white-tailed deer slips through the trees. Somewhere overhead, a woodpecker taps. A father kneels in the sand,…
Most of us will never star in a Hollywood production, but a few miles off the coast of Panama City Beach, you don’t need to be an A-lister to grace one of Disney’s most iconic movie sets—you just need a…
Spend enough time around Destin and Fort Walton Beach, and you will probably meet Tina. Tina is a bit of a celebrity around the area, showing up at parades, visiting classrooms, talking it up with vacationers and anyone else. To…
Here on the coast, wildlife is never far from view: A sea turtle inches across a sandy expanse; an osprey surveys the marina from above; dolphins crest the waves offshore; and a deer slips quietly through the tree line at…
Captivated by the local charm of the Emerald Coast’s famed 30A, the homeowners knew this was the place when they chose the community of WaterColor as the destination for their family beach home. Located in Santa Rosa Beach on the…
Less than a decade after opening the award-winning George Bistro + Bar, Chef George Lazi and his wife, Luba, decided to expand their culinary footprint in 2021 with a second enterprise. And while they could have mirrored much of what…
Last summer, while visiting some biohacker-inclined friends in Southern California, I found myself inside a DIY backyard sauna. As a Floridian and hot Pilates enthusiast, I assumed I was built for heat. I took the seat closest to the furnace…
