UPCOMING LOCAL TOURS

Downtown West Palm Beach Historic Trolley Tours: 3, 4 p.m. Fridays; 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. Saturdays, leaves from Richard & Pat Johnson Palm Beach County Museum, North Dixie Highway & Third Street. $5; ages 10 and younger free. RSVP 561-833-8873.

Boca Raton Historical Society Hotel Tour: 2 p.m. Tuesdays at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. $15; $9 valet fee. RSVP 561-395-6766 ext. 100 or bocahistory.org.

Boca Raton Historical Society Trolley Tour: 10 a.m. second and fourth Thursdays of the month leaving from Boca Raton Historical Society, Town Hall, 71 N. Federal Highway. $20; members $15. RSVP 561-395-6766 ext. 100 or bocahistory.org.

Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach: Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History. Registration 10 a.m., departure 11 a.m. Feb. 27 from Delray Beach Library, 100 W. Atlantic Ave. Adults/seniors $15; under 18 free. delraybeachbustours.org, 561-243-2662.

West Palm Beach Antiques Show: Early buyers 9 a.m.-noon March 5 ($25); regular hours: noon-5 p.m. March 6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 7 at South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Boulevard. Adults $7, seniors $6, under 16 free. 561-793-0333, wpbaf.com.

Lake Worth Parrot Cove Home and Garden Tour: Includes nine homes/gardens, two bed & breakfasts and St. Andrews Episcopal Church 2-6 p.m. March 7. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 day of event. 561-586-8612, parrotcove.org.

Arts & Crafts Trunk Show: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 13, 12-5 p.m. March 14 at Art-Sea Living Gallery, 1628 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. 561-737-2600, art-sealiving.com.

Spady Museum Ride & Remember Trolley Tour: Leaves 10 a.m. March 13 from Delray Beach Parking Garage, NE First Street & NE First Avenue. Cost $15; $10 children; $12 members. 561-279-8883, spadymuseum.org.

American Orchid Society: 16700 AOS Lane, Delray Beach. "Orchid Design Clinic" 1 p.m. Feb. 27. Members $5, non-members $10. 561-404-2031. Orchid Judging 2 p.m. Feb. 27. Orchid Doctor 1-4 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays; 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesdays. 561-404-2000.

Gardening Classes: "Landscape Design Techniques Used by Professionals" 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays, through March 1; "When Your Garden Misbehaves" 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays, March 15-29 at Community Center, Boca Raton. Residents $38, non-residents $48. 561-338-5436.

Boca Raton Garden Club: Clubhouse, 4281 NW Third Ave. "History of Boca Raton" 1 p.m. March 2 Free. Rummage Treasures ‘N Plants Sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. March 13. Free. 561-395-9376.

Mounts Botanical Garden: 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach. "Designing, Creating & Maintaining Your Home Landscape" workshop series 6-9 pm. March 3-27 (Wednesdays). $50 members, $60 non-members. Bonsai Society 7 p.m. March 2. J.harman2006@yahoo.com. PBC Beekeepers Association 7 p.m. March 5. 561-686-6557. Begonia Society 7 p.m. March 8. 561-434-3745. Herb Society of PBC 9:30 a.m. March 9. 561-640-7943. Orchid Society of Palm Beaches 7:30 p.m. March 11. pottedorchid@aol.com. Rare Fruit Coucil 7:30 p.m. March 12. 561-495-4694. Enchanted Garden Spring Benefit/Auction 4:30-7 p.m. March 14. Tickets $75. General info: 561-233-1757, mounts.org.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens: Art of Bonsai classes begin March 7 (9 a.m.-noon Sundays through April 11) at 4000 Morikami Park Road, west of Delray Beach. Members $81, non-members $91; additonal material fee of $35. 561-495-0233 ext. 210, morikami.org.

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens: 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach. Marino Marini Sculptures, Etchings and Lithographs on view through March 8. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sun. 561-832-5328, ansg.org.

SEA TURTLE DAY AT GUMBO LIMBO IN BOCA RATON

On March 13^th, Gumbo Limbo will celebrate their 5^th Annual Sea Turtle Day from 10 a m to 4 pm.  Included in the celebration will be marine life, our oceans, terrestrial species and habitats along with a fun-filled day of environmental education.  Learn about conservation to help make our world a better, cleaner place, and how all species and habitats are interconnected.  This year’s focus will be on responsible fishing.  Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

CBS Channel 12 will feature on their morning show on February 21^st a live broadcast from Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, from 6-9 am.  CBS recently showed surgical treatments for 35 green sea turtles affected by fibropapilloma, a virus which manifests in fleshy tumors on the turtles skin.  It is contagious among turtles, but does not affect humans.  Currently, only surgery can remove the tumors.  After surgery and a short recovery period, the turtles will be released to the ocean.  There were 5000 “cold-stunned” turtles rescued during 2 weeks of abnormally cold temperatures in Florida. 

Come to Gumbo Limbo and stroll around the butterfly garden, climb the observation tower on the boardwalk through coastal hammock, sit in a hut, see saltwater tanks brimming with marine life and take photos of the 7 giant turtles in the sea turtle garden. 

Wiggy, the Kemp’s Ridley turtle pictured about was captured as an adult in 1971 and is presumed to be born about 1960. 

The turtle pictured here, FeeBee, a Loggerhead, survived pneumonia and was hatched in July 2002 in Spanish River Park in Boca Raton.

Above is Milton, another Loggerhead, hatched in July 2002 south of the South Beach Pavilion in Boca Raton.  97 out of 102 of Milton’s eggs hatched.

You can adopt a sea turtle, including FeeBee or Milton, to help support their care and feeding.

GOING THROUGH END-OF-LIFE ISSUES WITH FAMILY MEMBERS?

Head over to the CARING INFO website.  Find out there about caring for someone, planning ahead, living with an illness.  You can download an advance directive form, fill it out and add it to your google health profile so it will always be easy for a family member to find.  There is hospice info there and a legal guide for the seriously ill.  There is also information on grieving a loss and using community outreach resources.

BOCA WHISPER WALK COMMUNITY GUN CLUB VERY ACTIVE

In order to get a Florida state gun permit, according to the Treasurer of the Whisper Walk Gun club in West Boca Raton, you need 6 hours of intense coaching and a final period of shooting the gun at a range. The club is 14 years old and has 50 members including retired professionals, a few ex-law enfocement officers, neighbors and people from other communities. They meet monthly in the community clubhouse. 

During class you

·        see a 10-minute NRA video about the safe and responsible use of firearms

·        go through the NRA training manual, “The Basics of Pistol Shooting

o      pistol parts

o      operation

o      ammunition

o      using a pistol safey

o      operating a pistol

o      shooting basics

Three fundamental gun safety rules are mentioned:

·        always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction

·        keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot

·        always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use

The group learns how to shoot and care for their weapon.  They go to a Pembroke Pines shooting range a few times a month.  
 

For more information call 561-483-5636.  Cost of course is $40.

MORE NEWS ABOUT HOME SALES...

The median single-family home in Palm Beach County sold for $238,000 in January – 9 percent higher than in 2009, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. Inventory in January was down to eight months, less than half of what it was in January 2009.  Are we experiencing the start of a seller's market?

Realtors say part of the problem is that people hear the hype about the down market and expect to find a steal in a great neighborhood.  Last year, more than 500,000 Florida homes received some type of foreclosure notice, according to RealtyTrac who charts foreclosures.  But while foreclosures are usually priced low, they’re not always good deals. They could be tagged with liens, have missing appliances or be in general disrepair.

Buyers have said banks will sometimes set a low asking price on a short sale to attract buyers, but with no plans to actually settle for that price. While short sales have traditionally taken months to settle, new federal guidelines that go into effect in April require banks to respond to short sale offers within 30 days.

WHY IS RIGHT NOW THE BEST TIME EVER TO BUY A PROPERTY IN FLORIDA?

LATEST FLORIDA HOME SALES NEWS: Florida single family home sales in Florida were up 33% for the month of JANUARY 2010  compared with the prior year, and condo sales gained 91%.  REALTY TIMES reports that Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors which conducts the pending sales survey said the swings from month to month are "masking the underlying trend (in housing) which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels."   Yun also predicts that that the two home purchase tax credits -- the extended $8,000 credit and the new $6,500 credit -- will have a significant impact on closed sales in the coming several months.  He forecasts that the two credits combined will stimulate 2.4 million sales in 2010, and most of that activity will be compressed into the first six months of the year. December's pending sales contracts were 11 percent higher than December 2008's.