Miami Real Estate by Land and Sea

All over the country wildfires are raging.  To some this might be scary, a novelty, interesting or bizarre.  Here in South Florida, it is a seasonal thing.  Every year, in varying degrees, wildfires break out in the Everglades due to the dryness and the natural cycles of the environment here, some of the fires are natural occurrences,clearing out underbrush and allowing the Everglades to grow better, and some of the are due to man's carelessness. 

Most Miamian's, even as far East as Miami Beach, know when the Glades are on fire as a thick gray smoke rolls across the land and settles in.   The smoke can be so bad that we have advisories on the news warning people to stay indoors if they have sensitive lungs, athsma, etc.Here's a weather description from www.Wunderground.com -

            Miami Beach, FL. 80.3 °F / 26.8 °C. Smoke. at 10:49 AM EDT. (Click for forecast) ... Smoke and haze continue to affect South Florida this morning.   

It is a weird smoke, as the sun seems to burn through it and shadows will appear in what seems to be a very overcast day which can be a little odd and unsettling.   The smell of smoke is also a tell tale sign that might precede the visable smoke under the right conditions.  At night, you might be able to see the tell-tale orange glow over an area which is normally black vastness with no normal ambient light. 

Where we live, in the 8.5 Sq. Mi. Area, which is actually the a section just East of the Everglades, the threat of fire is not only interesting, it is a very real threat to our home.  We border the Everglades by ONE property to the North and ONE property to the South, so any fires close to us are of acute interest, especially when not only smoke, but the eerie orange glow is visible. 

Last Thursday morning (May 10th), the smoke was so thick in the morning that we could not see more than a car in front of us and the smoke burned deep in our throats.  I was on my way to meet a bus at 7 AM from my local real estate board, RAMB, (the all time BEST board in the country!).  We were taking a action packed trip across Alligator Alley to Naples, FL for the day to meet our Naples Realtor neighbors.  Since the fires were really in Collier County, which we would have to drive through and Alligator Alley had been closed repeatedly over the past few days, there was quite a bit of question and concern if the tour would even occur, but off we went!

We had a great morning and the well planned trip included a 3 hour continuing education class on 1031 Exchanges.  We saw TONS and Tons of gators in the canal that runs alongside the road (hence the name Alligator Alley), but surprisingly, we also saw quite a bit of deer, which normally don't come so close to the road, especially in daylight, and we realized they were being pushed by the fires.  As we passed the half way mark, we saw police lights up ahead and realized the bus was being re-routed due to the smoke.  Since Alligator Alley runs through the Everglades Park, there is not a large road system out there, so any rerouting was not just a few minutes out of the way.  We headed due South toward Everglades City, one of my favorite secret hide-aways and a must see for any Florida Traveler.  We passed the Panther Crossing signs, hoping to catch a glance of one as we did the deer, but no such luck.  There is a reason the Panther are so endangered, and their numbers are very low.  Onward we motored to Naples.

We had a beautiful day in Naples, met with the warm Naples Realtors, toured Quail West, a luxury estate community in Naples and had another continuing education class on International Real Estate.  

The way home was funny as we drank wine and tried, ever so hard, to listen to a class on Internet Marketing.  Our poor teacher finally gave in and realized that the wine was winning out.  The fires were so close to the road side, we actually felt like Evel Kniviel as the bus barreled through the flames. (No toasted Gator, don't worry!)

Here is an exert by Totch Brown (one of my all time favorite characters from South Florida History, on the burning.   

Janie Coffey
Owner/Broker, GRI, TRC, QSC
cell: 786-252-4970
email: janie@papillonllc.com

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We live on the edge of the Everglades, really the edge... (if you look at the map of the Everglades linked to the left, we are just North of Chekika just South of US 41)  walk about 300 feet up the road and there you are, prarie and hammocks of the Everglades Park, (per Websters - a hammock is a fertile area in the southern United States and especially Florida that is usually higher than its surroundings and that is characterized by hardwood vegetation and deep humus-rich soil)...

At night, after the mooing of the cows going home for the night or the whinny of the occasional stallion, things are pretty quite here.  The other night however, late into the night, the dogs started to bark, and bark...and bark.  The neighbors dogs were barking, our dogs were barking, we couldn't sleep.  My husband got up to check, but it is of course so dark that you can't see anything anyway out here, there is no ambient light or any other light here at night.  When he came back to bed he said, "it must be a python or bobcat or something" and we both slowly went back to sleep.

It wasn't until the next day (probably wondering why I was so sleepy) when i realized how bizarre that comment is.  The python "problem" is growing here in Florida.  They just announced they caught 95 in 2006 and for every 1 THEY CATCH, THEY ESTIMATE THERE ARE 1,000 MORE, that means a possibility of 95,000! pythons on the loose.  The problem with the pythons is that there are no natural enemies for them out here.  You may have seen a few years back the the Python that ate the Alligator!  Now that is a story! See if you can figure out where the python start and the gator stops in this pic to the right!

A skink is a slippery looking little lizard and we have a special one around here called the Five Lined Skink, which is absolutely beautiful.  The first time I saw one, I couldn't believe my eyes.  It had five bright red lines and a NEON blue tail!  It really is a beautiful little creature.  In the last year since we have lived here, we have had (No pythons!) a gator, a rattler, a pair of nesting red-bellied wood peckers, signs of a bobcat (but have not seen one), and many many beautiful birds and other critters.  It is surely wild and crazy, but for real Florida living at it's untainted and un-destroyed best, this is the place to be!  Some people might think this is crazy, but we love it!

Janie Coffey
Owner/Broker, GRI, TRC, QSC
cell: 786-252-4970
email: janie@papillonllc.com

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Did you enjoy this?  Donations always needed at the South Florida SPCA to Help the Horses (you can mention my name in the "purpose" section if you want)

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My office is in Coral Gables and I live in the protected area of the East Everglades called the 8.5 Sq. Mi. Area, which is west of Krome Ave and west of what most Dade County residents consider the boundary of civilization.  Most sound surprised when I tell them where I live, they do not realize the people actually live here!

This drive is a 45 min. drive on an early Sunday morning and easily 1 1-1.5 hour drive in normal traffic.  I gladly make it every single day. The moment I turn off of Krome time and civilization slip away.  The first mile brings a few homes ane rows and rows of crops and planted trees.  There is the bevy of crazy guinea that run around and the same ol local dogs.  Depending on the time, I might have to pass a local farmer on his John Deere to go on home. 

After just a mile I cross over the big canal that really separates us from the rest of the world.  The N31 canal is the Eastern Boundary of the 8.5 Sq. Mi. Area and it this is the ONLY place in Dade that has residents outside of the Canal and the flood protection it provides.  This is REAL Rural natural living out here. 

I pass more horse farms, possibly stop at the rural post box stand at the side of the road to pick up mail (or maybe I am lazy and hope my husband will do so when he follows me home later in the evening...) Another mile and I pass my favorite black shaggy dog, Leo's Farm with his goats, geese and cows and turn the corner to home.

Our street is the final mile.  I cross over the outer seepage canal, which is my reminder that we are not in the "inner envelope" of the protection afforded to the inhabitants of our area with the new canal project.  This means in case of a large rain, our home will face possible high water as we are out of the protection of the canal system.  The only thing protecting us from the watershed is the berm just north  of us.  My road brings more familiar sites, a few more nurseries, wild land and some funny animals.  My neighbors have horses, turkey, peacocks, buffalo, deer, long horned cattle, emu, chickens, and more.  It is crazy, wild and fun.

Our home is separated from the Everglades by only one 5 Ac parcel just to the north of us. 

Home, to me, is one of the most unique, most precious and most enjoyable places I can imagine, not only for Dade County, but for anywhere.

It is amazing to me that this wonderful area is just 25 miles from the hustle and bustle of Miami.  Life stands still here except for the constant and gentle breeze that blow through, here time stands still. We have named our home "Dragonfly Marsh" for the beautiful dragonflies that visit us during the year.  

Janie Coffey
Owner/Broker, GRI, TRC, QSC
cell: 786-252-4970
email: janie@papillonllc.com

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Did you enjoy this?  Donations always needed at the South Florida SPCA to Help the Horses (you can mention my name in the "purpose" section if you want)

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