Worm Gruntin' Festival in Sopchoppy, FL

So OK, I guess Sopchoppy needed SOMETHING to put it on the map, and I guess this was the best they could come up with, under the circumstances.

Connie and I have been threatening to go to this affair for years, so we finally just bit the bullet and went this year. First time I heard of it I just figured there were some mighty strange earthworms in Sopchoppy, and made a mental note to never go there looking for them. But no, this is a technique the locals use to drive the earthworms out of the ground, and from what I understand was a major source of income for a lot of people in the area. I guess like anything else, a natural resource can get depleted, as it's not the thriving industry it used to be.

I think the kids there would have had a lot better luck had the area chosen not been so dry and hard packed. But still, they didn't do too bad at it, I suppose.

Lots of vendors there selling food items (no worms, however) and trinkets of various varieties. So if you have never been, maybe it's something you might want to put on your bucket list. Or not...... :laugh:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkF4fk3-ZXw

Looks like a fun day in the Florida sun. I have several friends in Michigan who are still shoveling snow. They have a different version of grunting.

Yeah, I'm seeing snow on the weather radar right now up in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Got down to 42 degrees here last night.

We are actually having a REAL springtime here in north Florida this year. Normally it goes from the usual mild winter directly into the blazing hot summertime with no transition period.

Now scientists have noticed a change in the Gulf stream due to melting ice caps. They say
the Gulf stream has slowed down to its slowest movement in 1600 years. Going to be interesting if we live long enough to see the results. I may have to plant more cold tolerant
flowers just in case.

Heck, I remember several years ago that they were claiming that the Gulf Stream had actually stopped. I believe it was right around the time of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. They were predicting colder than normal winters in the northeast and over in the UK, if I remember correctly.