As a Home Watch provider, we want each of your return trips to Sarasota to feel as refreshing as the first. Our "Piece of Paradise" newsletters provide a brief glimpse into Florida homeownership, followed by a featured activity for your next visit.

Homeowner Insight

We love Florida critters - when they stay outside. One tip for preventing a bird, squirrel or rat infestation in your attic is to install screens over your roof vents. What's that, you say? Not familiar with a roof vent? Many Florida homes have roof vents to release hot attic air and control moisture. This helps keep the home cool and dry, and extends the life of the roof. BUT the vents provide an entry point for small animals. A variety of screens are available at home improvement stores.

What makes camping in Florida different from other parts of the country? Read on to find out!

If you're thinking about tent camping in the northern U.S. during the month of February, our advice is: don't do it. We assume that your love of cold temperatures was not a factor contributing to your decision to buy a seasonal home in Sarasota. But if you enjoy camping and you stay in Florida during the winter months, then you're (probably) in luck! Chances are 70/30 that you'll have amazing weather for a weekend outdoors.

Foreground: the trees show off their winter coats of Spanish moss. Background: flats and wetlands are typical scenery in Florida campgrounds.

Although there is no shortage of campgrounds within a two hour drive from Sarasota, finding an available campsite during the winter months can be a challenge. It helps to know the variety of public lands on which camping is allowed - starting with Florida State Parks, Florida Fish and Wildlife Management Areas, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences lands, and county parks. There are unique opportunities like beach camping at Sarasota County's Turtle Beach Campground, camping with the monkeys at Silver Springs State Park, or exploring the caves at Florida Caverns State Park (this one is further away and on our to-do list for April...) In preparing photos for this newsletter, we recounted past camping trips at Silver Springs State Park, Lake Louisa State Park, Highlands Hammock State Park, Oscar Scherer State Park, Koreshan State Park (also home to the Koreshan State Historic Site, where a community of "middle earthers" made their home in what they believed to be the center of the earth), the Babcock-Webb Campgrounds, and, one recent weekend, Hardee Lakes Park.

Not our best photo of a monkey we spotted while kayaking Silver Springs on a camping trip.

If you're hoping to get more familiar with Florida's flora and fauna, campgrounds usually do not disappoint. We always love spotting an alligator or gopher tortoise. Roseate spoonbills are another favorite. Not so much fans of the snakes and spiders... Winter is a less miserable season for encountering "Florida's State Bird," the mosquito.

"Big" is a relative term. This gator in Highlands Hammock State Park was definitely a big guy - but the Banana Spiders there were HUGE!

It was a treat to see fields of Pampas Grass in bloom at Hardee Lakes Park.

Of course there are the opportunities for all the traditional camping activities. A few are pictured below - follow our Facebook account between now and mid March to see photos of our other favorite camping traditions. Our YouTube video this month is a night ride on a Florida camp trail.

Fishing (license required), watching the flames of the fire, and S'mores are standard for any camping trip. Most recently we swapped out graham crackers with Ritz crackers for a saltier version of the campfire treat.

Learn more about our Home Watch services, Florida homeownership, and activity ideas in and around the Sarasota area on the Coastal Haven website. For additional photos and information on this month's featured attractions, follow our Facebook or Instagram accounts.