Heatherann Cundiff and azaleas in bloom at Rainbow Springs State Park. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias

Yes, all the azaleas are blooming! That’s the good news from Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon.

Rejoice. Do not hesitate. Pack up the kids, the family dog and its leash. Alert your neighbors, get together and carpool or caravan. This is huge. The azaleas blooming at Rainbow Springs means spring has officially arrived to North Central Florida.

It is a sight worth seeing – masses of azaleas blooming along old brick walkways, meandering up the sides of waterfalls and cascading down the hillside to the headwaters of the Rainbow River.

In the Florida timeline there are two eras: BD and AD. Translation: Before Disney and After Disney. Rainbow Springs was a thriving private attraction in the BD era. A Wild West theme had cowboys and their horses – the old stable are still visible in the back area of the park. Glass bottomed boats glided on the Rainbow River. Overhead, gondolas went through the air on a suspension cable, going into tropical bird aviaries. And the azaleas, ah yea, they were here, by the hundreds, a blooming reminder that landscaping in Florida doesn’t have to be tropical to be beautiful.

When Interstate 75 arrived, everyone drove straight to Disney. In the AD era, old time attractions like Rainbow Springs died. The horses were sold. The glass bottom boats sank to the bottom of the river. And the azaleas? They stayed on, blooming in the fullness of Florida springtime, oblivious to the economic downturn.

A developer bought the headwaters and surrounding property. The Rainbow Springs residential area began to grow. Being able to go to the springs was a perk of having a home nearby. Some green thumbs noticed that under the jungle of overgrowth were beautiful azaleas and other plants. They formed a garden club called the Friends of Rainbow Springs and began weeding. In the fullness of time the developer decided to build condos at the headsprings.

Condos? The green thumbs thought not.  They fought to save the springs and won. A combination of county and state monies purchased Rainbow Springs State Park in 1990.

But there was no money at first for staff so the same homeowner volunteers became the Friends of Rainbow Springs State Park. They kept it open, kept it maintained and waited for improvements. For one dollar you could visit the park. The park has staff now, and many amenities including covered picnic, a swimming area, gift shop and restrooms. It is still one dollar to get in the gate. Such a deal!

Guided garden tours are given the first and third Saturday of the month through April. Tour starts at 11 a.m. No reservations necessary.  The walk around the gardens is about one mile. Some of the walk is on uneven brick surfaces with slightly steep grades going uphill.

You’ll go by beautiful manmade waterfalls leftover from the private attraction days, get a glimpse of the old stables, hear about the springs and how what we do with our lawns affects its water quality, see the Rainbow River Run and of course, lots of azaleas.

On the second Saturday of every month except June, July, and August, there is a guided bird walk that starts at 8:30 a.m. On your own, you can take a backcountry nature trail that meanders for 2.5 miles. The free trail guide is in the gift shop or ask for it at the main gate.
Dogs are not allowed on the bathing beach or concession areas. They may walk the trails of well behaved an on a six-foot hand held lead.

Want more? Ranger programs also include guided canoe/kayak trips, guided snorkeling trips and on the third Saturday of each month there is Music on the Grounds – open mike and coffee house at 8:30 p.m. Bring a chair, a mug a musical instrument, perhaps some poetry and hang out with local talented artists.

Rainbow Springs State Park address is 19158 S.W. 81st Place (off U.S. 41), Dunnellon, Fl. 34432, phone (352) 465-8555. Their Web site is under: www.floridastateparks.org

Admission is $1 per person, children under the age of six admitted free.

Lucy Beebe Tobias is the Authentic Florida Expert for VISIT FLORIDA and the author of “50 Great Walks in Florida.” Chapter 18 in “50 Great Walks” is all about Rainbow Springs. She lives in Ocala.

But not Maria Muscalo. She was in the kitchen at the family’s Tampa home, soaking up the vibes and loving it. Maria said she’d sit in a kitchen chair and ask lots of questions.

“I hung out in the kitchen with the old folks,” Maria says, her face glowing with good memories. Her grandfather and grandmother came over from Naples, Italy in 1890. There were eight boys and two girls. Aunt Phil (short for Philomena) taught her younger sister, who became Maria’s mom, the family recipe for biscotti.

I’m hearing the family history as we sit at a table under an umbrella at the Thursday Farmer’s Market at Circle Square Commons in Ocala. Two women approach the nearby kiosk loaded with packaged biscotti of different kinds and sample pieces. Their eyes cut to the free samples.

“Excuse me,” Maria says, gets up and heads for the potential customers. She’s wearing a white shirt with the name “Grandma Rie” in red on one side (the name her grandchildren call her) and the words “Bodacious Biscotti” on the other.

“Hello, would you like to try some bodacious biscotti?”
The two women stand rooted, interested but not moving forward.
“Our biscotti is famous for what is NOT in it,” Grandma Rie says, giving them her 100-watt smile that comes straight from the heart.

The two women look at each other. This is certainly different! They step up, get some free coffee and try the samples. One bite and they’re hooked. Biscotti means twice baked, that’s why it is dry and crunchy, just right for dipping in coffee.

“When I was 10 years old, I learned how to make biscotti,” Maria says. “I often made it with my Aunt Phil but my mom stopped making it after my brother was born when I was 11.”

Maria never stopped. She picked up the family recipe and ran with it.
“Over the years I’ve given at least 10,000 biscotti away to family and friends.”
Her full name is Maria Musalo Canerossi Buchman. She made biscotti growing up, during a first marriage, while raising two sons, all through working full time, then while divorced and remarried now for 30 years to Ralph Buchman.

Last year while making biscotti in her son’s kitchen in North Carolina, her daughter in law said, “Why don’t you stop giving away your bodacious biscotti?”

She came home, pitched the idea to Ralph, a retired CPA, and he said, “Let’s go for it.” And so the business was born. He took care of all the legal stuff.
Did I mention Grandma Rie is 73 years old? What a wonderful role model. Go Grandma!

She holds up a package of her biscotti and says to the two women: “You go to a grocery story and you need a magnifying glass to read the ingredients in biscotti. Not mine, it is very simple. There are no artificial flavors, no preservatives, no added fats.”

Here’s the ingredient list for her Classic Almond: Unbleached wheat flour, white sugar, whole almonds, whole eggs, baking power, salt vanilla extract, almond extract.

Underneath the ingredient list it says, “We only add Love!” I believe it.

The two women buy several packages and walk away smiling.

“I’m having a blast,” says Grandma Rie. “It is my turn.” Here is what she means by that: “I helped my first husband get an education. I helped my second husband with his practice. Now it is my turn. I never had anything I did on my own.”

As we’re sitting at the table, Ralph is helping more customers. He’s smiling. Looks like being at the Farmer’s Market beats being a CPA. Right now they are putting out 200 dozen biscotti a week, baking them under contract with a bakery. You can find Grandma Rie at Circle Square Farmers Market on Thursdays and Union Street Farmers Market in Gainesville on Wednesdays. They hope to expand to local coffee houses and later to national markets.

And now you can order Bodacious Biscotti on line. Her sons worked on a web site and it just went live.

“I love my sons, they are so smart,” Marie says, eyes sparkling. Marie herself had straight As and her dad wanted to send her to college. Instead she opted to stay home and went to work.

Here is this Italian grandmother, starting a new business at 73. She is vivacious and outgoing. I realize when I buy her biscotti (I’m VERY partial to Classic Almond) that I’m also getting a bite of Grandma Rie’s beautiful take on life.

We hug and I’m about to leave. Grandma Rie draws herself up straight, looks me right in the eye and says “You are never too old to start something new.”

Now that is truly bodacious.

©2008 Lucy Beebe Tobias. Her book “50 Great Walks in Florida” , University Press of Florida, February, 2008, is available here.