Thursday, April 14, 2016

Florida Nature Art, Beach Burrow

My love of the seashores here in Florida is endless.
Beach Burrow, Gíclee on aluminum plate, signed, limited edition

Gopher tortoise beach burrow with dune vegetation, including railroad vine, dune daisy, gaillardia, coral bean, saw palmetto, prickly pear cactus, sea oats and more.

Do you see the beach mouse?

Gíclee on aluminum plate. Signed limited edition.  Inquiries to kssonger@gmail.com

Monday, April 11, 2016

Updated my Obituary! Have You Written Yours? #Aortic #Dissection

I updated my obituary this week.  Yes,  it seems mostly what is written here lately has been focused around disease, dying or death.  But I am trying to get all things in order so I can turn to the fun stuff on my bucket list.
Kevin Songer's Obituary
Blah!  Who wants to write their obituary?  And the process was actually quite depressing, especially as I was trying to get started.  But the obituary writing process got easier as I wrote and thought and thought and wrote.

In fact, at first I initially felt an overwhelming and revolting sense of 'why even do this?' sweep over me like one of those big, unexpected Flagler Beach waves that crashes over you, sloshing salty water up into your nose, eyes and down into everything else attached to or part of your body.

'Yuck! Ugh!'  My right knee started it's shaking up and down while I sat trying to paint words on the blank screen with the Apple keyboard. 'Where do I start?'

Thank goodness for Google.  Type in 'SAMPLE OBITUARY' and right away a number of free self-help sites come up on the screen.  Cutting and pasting was easy and there it was - my roadmap outline to my own personal obituary.  All I had to do was fill in the blanks.

The other day I posted a note about visioning our lives as a mural we are painting each day with our actions and deeds. I was hoping my life's mural would be filled with love and joy.  As I was writing the obituary I could see that the words being penned were actually a reflection of my life's mural, but created with a pallet of words instead of paints.

My first thought was to fill it up with all the details of my accomplishments, all this this and thats that no longer meant a whole lot.  Turned out all the theses and thats was way to boring.  So I deleted all the accomplishments and focused on family and friends.  The obit was looking better with the 'family and friends' approach, but with a 'his' and 'hers' Brady Bunch clan there were a lot of names and I did not even get to the grandchildren.

As I wrote I began to feel a big sense of relief, like finally coming up out of that salty wave and taking a deep breath of fresh air and feeling the warm sun across my skin.

And I was so proud of myself!  I had to tell everyone about what I'd done, including my mother and father and even asking my teen daughter, Jincy to read over it!

Does that should way too morbid?  Maybe so, but somebody has to write an obituary for us.  In my efforts to try and have everything organized before I go, the obituary was just another item I can check off of my 'to do list' so I can get to my bucket list's fun stuff.

Just like a will and a funeral plan, everyone should go ahead and take care of their own obituary.  It actually may help keep your children, or spouse, or whoever you leave behind from having to tell all those little white lies when they try to think of what to say about us.  Ha!

Minor edits have already crept in and I am sure that over time the text content will evolve and does my life.  And I certainly hope not to use it anytime soon!

But the words have kind of fashioned my time here on this planet with these people into a manageable mouthful of verbal art that hopefully reflects my life's mural, something tangible I can carry around with me like my name.  Something that can help guide the rest of my life maybe and give me cause to stop and consider how people will really remember me, something right out of my Facebook page - lol!

So here is my draft (Yes!  DRAFT - not to be used anytime soon I hope) obit.

Hope it inspires you to write one too. -

----

Kevin Shea Songer, (Age)
Kevin Shea Songer, (Age), died (Month and Year, 20xx), in his home in Fort Myers, Florida.
He was cremated. A service was held Friday at Lovers Key State Park in Lee County, Florida.
Kevin was born March 24, 1957, in Atlanta, GA., to Louis and Paula (Morrow) Songer.  He grew up in Hialeah, Florida, attending Meadowlane Elementary and Palm Springs Junior High in Hialeah.
He graduated from Leon High School, in Tallahassee in 1975 and Judy Marie Songer on April 5, 1995, in Crawfordville, Florida.
He held an undergraduate biology degree after attending Florida State University and David Lipscomb College and also a Juris Doctor of law degree from Florida Coastal School of Law.
Kevin experienced an unexpected aortic dissection in November 2011 and spent the rest of his life medically managing his descending dissection and related Marfan Syndrome challenges and participating in daily adventures outdoors despite his debilitating challenges.
He enjoyed art, illustrating Florida's wilderness, nature photography, Florida’s state parks, hiking and cycling with his wife and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
He actively blogged about green roofs and life with Marfan Syndrome.  His blogs are located at http://kevinsonger.blogspot.com and http://aorta-tear.blogspot.com
He leaves behind his wife, Judy Songer of Fort Myers; brother, Scott; sister Leisa of San Antonio. brother Brian of Indiana; children and step-children include; Jincy Songer and Ruairi Songer, Sesha Castagna, Kyndra Griffin, Melissa Cummings, Leslie Ferguson, Laura Griffin, Adam Griffin and numerous grandchildren, and many friends across the world who share a passion for green roofs and also those challenged with connective tissue disorders like Marfan Syndrome.
Kevin was preceded in death by, his sister Janna, a granddaughter, Heidi Ferguson; (and if any others).
XXXX Funeral Home ofFort Myers, Florida was in charge of arrangements.  Remembrances can be made to The Marfan Foundation, http://marfan.org 

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Florida Nature Art, Native Shrub and Tree Mandala Square

Native shrubs and trees are amazing as are the different ecosystems these plants make their home within.
Nature Art, Native Shrub-Tree Mandala by Kevin Shea, Gíclee on Aluminum Plate, limited signed edition
My Florida Native Shrub-Tree Mandala Square is comprised of three separate and unique mandala triads; one for uplands, one for wetlands and one for the seashore.

Assembled together they represent the nine trees and shrubs I've grown to love and adore here in Florida and together create the Native Shrub-Tree Mandala Square.

The upland mandala triad is illustrated with beautyberry, Callicarpa americana; saw palmetto, Serenoa repens; and winged sumac, Rhus copallina (aka lemonade bush) all framed with a coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens vine.
Native shrub Upland Mandala by Kevin Shea, Gíclee on Aluminum Plate, limited signed edition
Wetlands are represented by bald cypress, Taxodium distichum; red maple, Acer rubrum; and wax myrtle, Myrica cerifera enclosed in Carolina jessamine vineage.
Native shrub Wetland Mandala by Kevin Shea, Gíclee on Aluminum Plate, limited signed edition
Seashore mandala is created using sea grapes, Coccoloba uvifera; dune daisy, Helianthus debilis; and coral bean, Erythrina herbacea embraced by railroad vine, Ipomia pes-caprae.

Native shrub Seashore Mandala by Kevin Shea, Gíclee on Aluminum Plate, limited signed edition
Native plants are now being recommended and specified by both local and state governments for landscape projects, such as FDOT's wildflower and right-of-way native plant programs as well as used by private developers for commercial projects.  Of course, native plants are very often found in residential landscapes.

As word spreads of the beauty and sustainability characteristics of native shrubs, trees and wildflowers usage within the urban and created landscapes hopefully will continue to proliferate.

Florida's wilderness is filled with amazing texture, color, and importance to all life.

Florida's native plants are truly a wonder worth learning of and preserving.

Gíclee on aluminum plate, high gloss, limited editions, signed by Kevin.

Inquiries to kssonger@gmail.com.


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Florida Nature Art, Alligator Springs

Florida's swamps and springs are amazing places.
Alligator Springs, A Lazy Florida Afternoon

Providing habitat for many plants and animals alike, Florida springs are tunnels down into a limestone subterranean aquifer from whence cold, clear water rushes to the surface.

If you've ever visited one of the many Florida springs - most of which are protected through state park designation, you will understand my fondness for these unique ecosystems.

Alligator Springs is a limited edition Gíclee on aluminum, signed production by Kevin Shea and features many native species typically found in and around a clear blue Florida spring.

Inquiries to kssonger@gmail.com


Saturday, April 2, 2016

Florida Nature Art, Red Drum, Sciaenops ocellatus in Mangrove Flats

Redfish, or red drums as otherwise known, Sciaenops ocellatus are some of Florida's most exciting fish to encounter on a trip to the flats with rod and reel.
Redfish, Sciaenops ocellatus, gíclee on aluminum plate limited edition by Kevin Shea

Enjoy your favorite game fish each day with this limited edition gíclee on aluminum plate, signed by Kevin.

Inquiries to kssonger@gmail.com