(April 2012)
A balmy April, and excitement about the Northward journey!

Where are all the monthly updates?? I moved them to the Archive page to make more room here! Anyways April was a dry yet froggy month, with many new pictures waiting behind-the-scenes, as I frantically worked on my new "Timeline Treasures" page! A big project, and coming soon I'll totally update my "Homepage", and I'll trash all the old pictures (many have been there since 2003!), and will give it a fresh new look! Also on a work-note, if Florida is in the future for August, I will be leaving McD's to go someplace else. My last raise there was in April 2009, and since then they took away $1.50 per hour, and I can't survive on that, and have been struggling badly to make it, even to the point of asking donations to keep this Website operating..... but I won't do that, since it'd be thought of as "just another place asking for money" out there!

On a BRIGHTER-note, I'll be away from the heat and humidity in May, as I venture to the great North, to camp, and Quebec, and to be "Nature Joe" again. Also Flagler Lounge will have over 3000 songs in their collection for the summer! I'll be back in June with another update, as God wills! :-)

(May 2012)
A month of many changes!

May started as usual....... McD's, and longing for the Northwoods........ and by the END of the month, the longing that seemed so far away at the time became sweet reality! In between however came my little visit to North Carolina, where a lot of Fowler's Toads were encountered, and now that page in Fabulous Froggage totally ROCKS!! Again the N. Carolina visit was much-needed, since I was able to get some cool new snakes for the nature program, as well as a few more turtles.

The big highlight was when I ENDED the month! I was in beautiful Quebec when June arrived, and in my first moments after arriving there, I was greeted by the hugs and affection I truly long for there, and we climbed Mount Royal, and got many new images for the "Ghetto Paint" project, as well as lots of other cool stuff up there...... too much to mention! Check back in July for the June update :-)

(June 2012)
A Northwoods beginning...... then CAMP! :-)

The first day of June started off with a hefty round of frogging, and in the pictures here you'll see Georges filming an American toad, and you'll also see a frog fight! A clearer picture of the fight can be seen on the Fabulous Froggage project!



A LOT of cool froggage was encountered by the two of us there in Quebec, and after the best-ever time there, I was off to camp! June was a GREAT month, and new animals are being added to the nature center almost daily! A great summer is in the making :-)

(July 2012)
CAMP - The best summer EVER here!

Wow what a great month! Everything from the nearly-perfect weather, to the new "co-ed" Teen Camps worked out perfectly! Also some big changes will be coming to my Homepage - as it will be mostly dedicated to nature photography, and as it is now, some pictures on there haven't been updated since 2003 - and since then there has been countless new stuff! Another update will be done in my Music Blog, as I'll be moving my music to Rapidgator, to make more room here for pictures, since the Fabulous Froggage project is growing quite quickly, and Rapidgator isn't too fussy about bandwidth!

The month will end with a visit from the much-adored COS Adventure Camp, and they're my thrill and excitement, as well as much-needed affection, since the "hug police" won't be on the prowl the week they are there :-) Also I try to make it to Facebook daily, and updates there are immediate! Subscribers get instant info....... and a look at the cool pictures and things I post there!

(August 2012)
"Two different worlds".

August....... Its humble beginnings were spent at camp, enjoying Adventure Camp! Next year I would like to somehow be able to incorporate a cool picture presentation one night each week during camp, because with my camera, the cool pictures keep on coming! The videos as they are now center around only "faces", and I'm guessing it's because of the thrill of actually seeing yourself on the "big screen" in front of all your friends! It would be cool however to have a short slide show next year, set to music, showing many great nature pictures! I'll assure the kids during this time they will have a chance to see themselves somewhere later in the week :-)

The SECOND half of August was spent in warm, steamy, rainy Florida, and my early arrival here was because there were two big groups that normally come to camp that cancelled, and lacking the funds to go to warm, affectionate, much-longed-for Quebec, I returned to Florida, just in time for a vast barrage of frogs! The Fabulous Froggage project has grown by "leaps" and bounds, and also the addition of another new species! Even the "uncommon" species were much in abundance with all the rain, and it hasn't been this "froggy" since 2009, and even at the end of the month, the warm rains continue to fall!

(September 2012)
Work woes..... and vacation anticipation!

Weatherwise September has been a perfect month, and more or less a continuation of August, but just a bit drier, but the froggage continues to come in! The "big event" of the month has been the strangeness of work, and cutting the labor, and crew now having to pay full menu price for our food while on break, and even taking our drinks away! "Only water" they say - even on break, and after my 25 years of working there I have never seen such a thing, and September has also been a month of looking for a new place to work! After cutting my pay, taking my food and drink, taking away my help...... it's time to move on! I'll need to be trained in wherever I may go, since McD's is all I have known for so many years now, and I am looking to leave the restaurant business altogether! I really need out of there before my good name and reputation in the workforce is ruined forever...... and it will even hurt me at the Canadian Border to have a "bad reputation" in the workplace, or to be one of those who changes jobs. I have ruined their KVS (service) times there from running out of food, and that will follow me wherever I go...... so I really need to get out of there QUICK, with any "good" that I still have left!

On a much BRIGHTER-note, I will be on vacation in October..... and this will help ease the reality of things, as my beloved friend comes here to see me! This is a much-anticipated time, and hopefully I'll have a new workplace to come "home" to afterward! October looks like a very interesting month! :-)

(October 2012)
A split month of bliss and woes!

October....... and the most beautiful vacation of a lifetime! There was never a lonely moment, as Georges and I explored the Western side of Florida, and the weather was perfect, as was everything else! It was indeed a dream-come-true time! Conditions were also perfect for frogging, and there was even 15 at a time on the side of the RV we were staying in, and soon a new page "Frog Art" will be formed! It'll be pictures of frogs just being frogs - in some of the strangest places! The following picture shows two very happy people :-)



And now for the REST of the month! I'm on a desperate search to finally escape McD's after 25 years..... and never in my years have I seen them strip my pay, and my help, and so far have been rejected by three places (Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Chick-fil-A) because of my hair! I need someplace that seeks a diverse group of happy employees from all walks of life, rather than "clones". For those who know me, I'm not a very good clone, since I'm too freaky for "normal" :-) I seek a workplace that really cares for the employees, and a place where I can fit-in and join their happy team!

(November 2012)
Seeking new work, and changes coming to naturejoe.com!

Weatherwise, unseasonably-cool weather has kept the froggage down, and ever since Hurricane Sandy we've been trapped in a cool spell. but on a brighter-note, Flagler Lounge has nearly 4000 songs in their collection (not including Christmas songs), and I've been there once a week to get more tunes to them, and don't look for "Flagler Lounge" on the Internet, since they don't have a Web page! Also I'm seeking publicly for prayers for a new place of employment. I'm still at McD's, and I want a place where God Himself wants me to be! I want it to be by His guidance that I find someplace new, and I thank you for your prayers for me!

Concerning my Website, I'm working on changing a lot of things for the better! Some pages haven't been updated since 2003, and some pages will be removed altogether! Also the "Grand Tour" will be removed, and some of the pages that are either already gone, or will be gone soon are -

McD's ("McWords" will remain however)
Healing Waters
Family and Friends
Snakes
Thunder Over Louisville
Tom Boone
Don Williams
The Farm
........ and a few others.

Right now my most popular are "Timeline Treasures" and "Fabulous Froggage", and these are updated on a regular basis, and I'm updating many of the pictures on my Homepage, and the "critter pages" (Moths, turtles, possums) will remain unchanged for now, except to remove any "dead" links, and concerning my "Northwoods" pages (Quebec), these will remain, and there will be more coming! My music blog will remain, and I have other cool tunes to add to it as well! Anyways this will is a big project, and though it's slow to happen, changes are already being made here in the background.

(December 2012)
December - The year in review.

2012 was quite honestly the "perfect" year!! This was the very best year EVER at camp! God in His goodness held back the rain during the major outdoor activities, there was also a great mix of staff who served very well together, there was real teamwork there, God was truly at work, and the food was really good! :-) The only real bummer of the year was my work situation in Florida, and prior to August it was a lot of fun, and a great place to be...... but since then it's even been emotionally "frightful" at times....... and I seek diligently someplace new! Besides that, my time in Quebec was everything I ever dreamed-of, and a whole lot MORE....... and my October vacation was a much-needed break from "reality"..... and to this day I have missed and longed-for the adventure and affection of that time, and I actually draw strength from the memories of such a great time I had there!

During my spare time I have been doing a lot of frogging, since the much-needed rains finally arrived, and until now, it has been dry here since 2009, and I have taken some stunning photos of frogs - since August especially, but even before then, this has been a "froggy" year, and I have been adding new pictures to "Fabulous Froggage" literally every week! Also the Flagler Lounge music project is going quite well, and there's not another place in this town where such an "eclectic" mix can be heard...... and I'm wondering if ANY place out there has such a unique mix of songs!

Again, as 2012 comes to a close, I have so much to be thankful for, and may 2013 be a blessed year as well! :-)

(January 2013)
A strssed-out month at work.... and a great month for pictures!

January was very rough at work, and I'm totally convinced that I need to step down after my nearly 26 years there! Things have never been as bad as they are there now, and despite all my very best effort, and even making extra unpaid trips in there late at night to assure a smooth start to the following day...... the first hours of the day can be brutal, and I find I cannot keep up! Because of this I will be going elsewhere following camp..... and McD's after all these years will be in the history books for me.....

On a much BRIGHTER-note, January was truly a great month for pictures! Some stunning images have been captured, and a few are shared here! No frogs are included here, but many have been added to Fabulous Froggage, including something NEW there - "Ribbiting Ringtones" for your phone! Here you will be able to download croaking frogs for your ringtone if you'd like! Many more ringtones will be added as the season allows.





(February 2013)
A rough month at work.... and Fabulous Froggage (temporarily) closed!

My work-situation isn't getting any better, only worse! Even this close to camp I'm once again looking...... looking for ANYTHING to deliver me from there! For the rest of my life there I'll have rough openings - where they expect 110% of effort, when compared to my already-100%, plus all my extra effort of going in there on my own time to set things up, just so I'll have a decent day the following day. Things aren't too good in there, despite my very best efforts!

Now for Fabulous Froggage! This has been my most popular page, and thousands of hours were put into it, and it has now come under attack from the "scientific community", saying I'm trying to use it to steal viewers from the "main" frog-site out there. It's been described as if I went out there and created a "Joe's bird page" for example, and it gained fame and popularity, and it wouldn't be too long after that I would hear from the Audubon Society, telling me that I have "infringed upon their page" by attempted to steal their paid members! Fabulous Froggage was never meant to be a scientific page, but a photo gallery showing the frogs in their natural habitat, and was never in any way meant to compete with the more-conservational/environmental pages out there. If it goes online again, it will be under a whole new address, and will only be available HERE - for the viewers of my pages.

...... and now, for February's finest! Here are my top choices for the month! :-)





(March 2013)
Record cold, "Froggage" returns, and no more McD's!

Wow..... after struggling since August in the "new and improved" McD's, with changes (of people there) that added misery to my happy little world, after over 25 years I finally make my escape! I'm at Arby's now.... and life is much better there in the happy environment under the big red hat! :-) Also Fabulous Froggage returns! I made some cool little changes there..... and of course added lots of new pictures, and changed the address! It won't be long before it's re-discovered by the scientific community..... but this time I won't remove it despite their unhappiness over it! After looking at the "other" frog site out there, it's NOTHING like mine, and mine is exclusive to the frogs I have met in person, with all pictures taken by me, as I wander out there among the frogs, silently approaching them in undisturbed fashion, and getting "larger-than-life" pictures of them living in the wild and unafraid, and doing the things frogs like to do the best! :-) To see the updated Fabulous Froggage, simply click on this cool little toad!



Fabulous Froggage (Updated!)


Otherwise March has been very COLD here! A narrow band of polar air has dominated Florida's weather the entire month, and January-like temperatures dominated the entire month - following a very balmy Winter! In fact no cold weather was seen until the month of March began!

...... and now..... for the best of March! Here's the "top-twelve"!

Back to Archives