Chase Sanctuary Otter swim

Posted on by Ian C.

Today we returned to Chase Sanctuary to enjoy a special “swim with otter” special event (which may be repeated in the future, I don’t know). We met the 4 month old baby otter “Daphne” and her keeper (and seemingly best friend) Brody, and spent more than half an hour in a big pool interacting with Daphne – she in turn was so very entertaining and shared her time with all four of us! Here of course are some photos (and a couple of videos too):

Here is video of “Daphne” playing with a stick:

And here, Daphne was fascinated by my Crocs, reaching in through the holes and when I took one off, running away with it as a trophy!

Tucker Ranch Wellness Park

Posted on by Ian C.

Tucker Ranch is an undeveloped area a couple of miles from our home, it once was a cattle ranch and Winter Garden purchased it some time ago (?2011?); we walked there back in 2020 (a not-crowded place, during COVID) – at that time there was a children’s playground and restrooms, and little else …

Back in 2021 the city developed a plan with backing from local health care providers to develop Tucker Ranch into a “health and wellness park” – see this article at West Orange Observer:

The city purchased the 209 acres of land at 100 Avalon Road in 2011 from Corinne Tucker. Judge C.M. “Pete” Tucker and his wife, Mary Matilda Thurmon Tucker, operated a cattle ranch beginning in the 1940s … “When she finally decided to sell her land, she was concerned about the beautiful space being developed, so she approached the city of Winter Garden about purchasing the property for a city park,” City Manager Mike Bollhoefer said. “We didn’t want to miss this opportunity.” … The city spent $2.1 million for the land and obtained a state grant for $900,000 to preserve and develop the property as a legacy park …

Twenty acres will be transformed to a regional park with trails, fitness areas, multi-purpose buildings, canoeing, camping and a state-of-the-art working and teaching farm that will function as a regional food hub … Key partnerships … are working together to bring this first-class health and wellness facility to Winter Garden … Healthy West Orange, Advent Health, Orlando Health, Shepherd’s Hope, American Heart Association, Community Health Centers, American Diabetes Association, UCP of Central Florida, Mental Health Association of Central Florida and others …

It’s taken quite a few years to design and develop this project; I found this article from 3. Fromme Design that describes the design (did they win the bid?) and earlier this year the historic West Orange Country Club arch was relocated from street side into the new development.

Today thanks to Bloom & Grow, we had a chance to preview the new “wellness park set in a botanic garden”; here’s photos I took: