On Tequesta, and later Seminole, lands was opa-tisha-wocka-locka, or “high ground amid the swamp on which there is a camping place.” Then the Roaring Twenties and great Florida Land Boom came, and it was swallowed […]
A Brief Look at Florida’s Black Heritage
Ponce De Leon–lauded for his “discovery” of Florida at a time when it was populated by complex societies with vast social, political, and economic networks–took an arrow though his armor a few days into his […]
Great Florida Trees and When to See Them
Florida’s got trees, y’all. Big ones, small ones, and even some of the largest and oldest of their species worldwide. (Well, there’s one less of these since some meth addicts tried to start a fire […]
A Case for the Scrub-Jay
The Florida Scrub-Jay is a striking blue and slate colored Florida native that relies on Florida’s distinctive scrub habitat for survival. It’s intelligent, friendly, and altruistic, and it’s the only endemic species of all of […]
FloWriter’s Best Stories of 2019
The end of the decade is upon us. The fledgling FloWriter was only around for the last two-ish years of this decade, but it’s come a long way. We covered a lot of ground and […]
Gallery: Monarch Butterfly Festival, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Florida sees around 120 million visitors every year, but for the Monarch Butterfly, our peninsula is flyover country. The Monarch is the only butterfly species to make a two-way migration (like birds), traveling en masse […]
#GatorGood2019: Austin’s Trip to The Swamp
This past Saturday, the Florida Gators took on the Vanderbilt Commodores at Steve Spurrier Florida Field in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium AKA The Swamp™. At least one of these teams was playing the sport of […]
Courting Count Kidnaps Corpse: An unusual story with a familiar end.
Happy Halloween, FloReaders! Today, I’m going to share a story that is usually featured by other, less interesting blogs and news outlets during Valentine’s Day. You’ll soon learn why this is a problem. Be warned, […]
Get Outside: Leon Sinks Geological Area
The Leon Sinks Geological Area lies in a small corner of the eastern border of the Apalachicola National Forest—the largest in Florida. Boasting about five miles of well-kept trails year-round and just 10 miles south […]
Sovereign State of Mind: How “America’s Escape” Escaped from America
The Conch Republic is an archipelagic state situated in the Florida Straits, dividing the Gulf of Mexico to the west from the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its nearest neighbor is the United States, sharing […]
Adelantado Iconography in Mérida, Yucatán
I recently traveled to Mérida, Yucatán to vacation with some of the best people in my life. To spare you all the mushy friends-on-vacation-in-an-incredibly-beautiful-place-with-amazing-food-and-sights talk, I’ll get straight to the part about a Spanish conquistador […]
EVENT: July Book-of-the-Month: Florida by Lauren Groff
Come talk with me about Groff’s newest and greatest (my website, my rules) work, Florida. I’ll be hosting the next Book-of-the-Month gathering at Midtown Reader! See the information below from their events page: Wednesday, July […]
The Remarkable Career of the Fastest Woman on Earth
I posted this LOOK Magazine cover and a short blurb on Twitter back in 2017 B.F. (Before FloWriter). But I knew immediately that the short-form post just did not do justice to the amazing career […]
Fight the Power. Craft Refugia: How to help local and migratory wildlife weather the storm.
The climate is changing. We are responsible. It seems like the people who wield the power make any real change are busy denying, or, only slightly less worse, delaying. The news to that effect is […]
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all my lovebugs out there! And for those who may feel a little extra lonely today, just remember that manufacturing desire is essential to the success of capitalism, and Valentine’s day […]