News flash … there’s a quartet of new kittens at the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum.

Don’t head over to the property, the Key West home of the legendary author throughout the 1930s, expecting to see the tiny bundles of fur just yet. Born on Valentine’s Day, they’re living in a secure and secluded corner with their mother until they get older, well away from the crowds that flock to the literary mecca every day.

The friendly felines that inhabit the Hemingway home have become almost as big an attraction as Ernest's legacy. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

After all, the house may be the place where Hemingway spent the most productive years of his life, writing 70 percent of his classic works — but at this unique spot, the cats come first.

According to Dave Gonzales of the Hemingway house, that’s nothing new; Ernest himself was fascinated by felines.

“Hemingway was very much a cat lover,” said Dave. “He preferred the polydactyls — the six-toed cats that are world famous and sometimes called Hemingway cats.”

Hemingway lived in the Key West home, a Spanish colonial villa at 907 Whitehead St., from 1931 through 1939 with his second wife Pauline and their two sons. During that time he worked on many of his best-known novels and short stories — among them “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and the Key West-based “To Have and Have Not,” his only novel set in the United States — in a small second-story writing studio behind the house.

Fittingly, the property was recently designated a literary landmark.

Today, visitors touring the home-turned-museum are likely to find a cat or two unconcernedly sprawled on the studio table or napping on Hemingway’s former bed. Scores of them roam the grounds, seemingly secure in the knowledge that they belong there — and probably aware that they’ve become as big an attraction as the legacy of the author himself.

Toured by large numbers of visitors daily, the Hemingway property became a museum in 1964 and was recently designated a literary landmark. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Most are named for Hemingway contemporaries or noted personalities (for example, Spencer Tracy, Gertrude Stein and Emily Dickinson) and many of them have oversized, slightly comical six-toed paws.

They owe their extra digit, Dave explained, to Snowball.

Snowball was Hemingway’s first polydactyl cat — given to the author’s sons, Patrick and Gregory, by a sea captain after the boys ran some errands for him. Captains, it seems, had a particular fondness for six-toed felines.

“They were thought to give the captains calm seas, prevailing winds and safe passages on their journeys,” said Dave. “They were considered lucky cats or mystical cats — therefore, captains being very superstitious, they had the cats on board the ship for their mystical or magical powers as well as their ability to catch mice better with that extra digit.”

Did Snowball’s “magic” have anything to do with Hemingway’s literary prowess during his Key West years? Who knows — but, for Ernest and family as for many other island residents, one cat led to another. Eventually, according to Dave, some 50 cats roamed the property.

Felines loom even larger at the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum today than they did in the legendary author's day. (Photo by Andy Newman/ Florida Keys News Bureau)

About the same number live at the Hemingway home today, and they’re pampered as befits the descendants (whether actual or honorary) of a literary giant’s muse “meows.” Their lives consist of good food, naps in sunny spots, admiration from an unceasing stream of visitors, and health care from a veterinarian who makes house calls every Wednesday.

Naturally, the birth of a litter of kittens is an occasion for great joy.

“We average one litter a year, and that litter carries the bloodline of Ernest Hemingway’s original clan of cats,” said Dave.

The mama cat is still very protective of the property’s four newest arrivals, so it’s hard to tell if their tiny paws have extra toes or not. But either way, their place in the world is assured — as members of the famed feline family at Key West’s Hemingway home.

Topics: Animal Ambassadors, Arts, Highlights, Key West, Local Color, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

Influenced by her parents’ love of the outdoors and her mother’s creative background, Valerie Fecher picked up a camera and began taking photographs at an early age.

"Sunrise in Big Pine" showcases both Valerie Fecher's talent and passion for the natural world. (Photos provided by Valerie Fecher)

Her inspiration to become a shutterbug came from her mother, a painter, who also passed her artistic drive down to Valerie’s sisters. One became a sculptor and the other a craftsperson.

The natural world also has exerted an ongoing influence on Valerie, dating from a 1967 family camping trip in Alaska. These days, she goes regularly to the Everglades with her lobsterman father, where they ride around on their airboat capturing images that she uses in her shows. On one of their treks, she was lucky enough to spot and photograph a rarely seen Florida panther.

Valerie grew up in Miami but, by the time she turned 14, her parents had chosen to move farther south.

Valerie is influenced by her family's creative heritage and love of the outdoors.

“In 1971, my parents decided to leave the rat race behind and move me and my two sisters down to the Keys,” said Valerie, who lived on Big Pine Key and attended Marathon High School. “Big Pine was a small rural area back then and they liked that.”

After graduating from high school, she attended Florida Keys Community College, where she honed her darkroom skills in the medium of black-and-white photography. She later received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from Miami’s Florida International University.

Valerie eventually built a darkroom in her home that she used to develop her photos until it seemed the right time to embrace digital photography.

Nature and the water play a large role in her work, so she often takes off in a kayak right from her property on Big Pine to seek compelling images.

Valerie's "Clouds Out Back" contrasts the stillness of the water with the light-drenched energy of the billowy clouds.

While photographing outdoor subjects is her primary passion, portrait photography is Valerie’s second love. She even enjoys shooting portraits of local kids dressed up for Halloween.

Today, she’s a member of Big Pine’s Artists in Paradise Gallery, where her mother is a founding member, and happily displays her work in the gallery’s shows.

“I’ve been with them about a decade, and the photography I show is mostly images from the Everglades and the Keys,” Valerie said. “The gallery has grown tremendously over the years from its original 13 members.”

Her husband, a fishing guide, shares her love of the outdoors. Most of their vacations are very active, generally including kayaking or snorkeling.

It’s hardly surprising that Valerie’s life and photos are inextricably entwined. Each reflects her passion for the beauty of the natural world she finds in the Florida Keys — the island chain that is both her home and her inspiration.

Topics: Arts, Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Environment, Local Color, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

Drag racers don’t usually wear hot-pink feather boas, sparkling silver gowns or feather-trimmed boots — unless they’re contestants in Key West’s Great Conch Republic Drag Race, a madcap marathon that takes place each April.

In the Conch Republic, "drag racing" is not for the faint of heart -- or weak of ankle. (Photos by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

That’s because this rowdy race isn’t designed for high-octane dragsters, but for high-heeled drag stars — female impersonators strutting their stuff complete with big hair, pancake makeup, false eyelashes and elaborate gowns or mini-dresses. (According to race organizers, however, tiaras are optional.)

Each year, more than a dozen daring divas compete in the offbeat event, which is presented by Key West’s Bourbon Street Complex to benefit the Florida Keys’ nonprofit Helpline organization.

“Officials” in black-and-white dresses designed to resemble checkered flags direct the action, while contestants race down a portion of Duval Street, the island city’s aptly nicknamed “main drag.”

In past years, they’ve even had to navigate an obstacle course of tires and trundle unwieldy shopping carts past the crowd. That crowd, by the way, usually numbers several hundred people (and they can get downright fierce about championing their favorites).

Navigating the course along Duval Street can be pretty "tiring" -- particularly for racers in towering heels.

The lively lovelies, handicapped based on the height of their heels above the regulation minimum three inches, are judged on their speed. Judges are also influenced by style (such as it is) — and generally aren’t above accepting a bribe or two to benefit Helpline.

While the energetic entrants TRY to sprint down the course, footwear malfunctions can slow their pace to an uneven stagger. (Sandals and stilettos are carefully prepped for the event, but it’s a rare race that doesn’t include at least one crash.) And a broken heel, the ultimate tragedy, can end a contestant’s dreams of victory.

Past years’ “athletes” have included a Lady Godiva wannabe with towering patent-leather boots, a perfectly-coiffed Barbie Doll clone and a goddess-sized diva whose purple grass skirt didn’t quite match her magenta curls. My personal favorite was a 2009 entrant fetchingly attired in a flowing pink gown, filmy wedding veil and full beard.

Some lively lovelies wear sporting attire with their heels -- a smart choice given the course's peculiar challenges.

The drag challenge is part of Key West’s annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration that commemorates the Florida Keys’ 1982 secession from the United States — a symbolic action prompted by a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint improperly erected at the head of the island chain.

The 10-day celebration also features a gaggle of other events showcasing the Keys’ independent and eccentric spirit.

Highlights include a sea battle with tall ships and weapons that range from water cannons to flying vegetables, the so-called world’s longest parade down Duval Street from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and an open-air bed race billed as “the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on.”

The 2010 Conch Republic Independence Celebration is set for April 16-25, with the drag race Saturday, April 17. If you’re in Key West at that time, “drag” yourself over to Duval Street and check out the action. Chances are you’ll have (ouch — wait for it) one “heel” of a good time.

Topics: Events, Festivals, Highlights, Key West, LGBT, Local Color, Quirks

For award-winning writer Brad Bertelli, life is about noticing the little things — especially when he’s hovering over coral heads offshore. His book, “Snorkeling Florida: 50 Excellent Sites,” reveals many of his favorites, and the reefs of the Florida Keys (renowned as North America’s most accessible dive and snorkel destination) best represent what the water has to offer.

"Snorkeling Florida" spotlights author and underwater aficionado Brad Bertelli's favorite Florida Keys snorkeling spots.

Brad’s favorite snorkeling sites include coral reefs, seagrass beds and shipwrecks. Luckily for aquatic enthusiasts, the Keys provide easy offshore access to each underwater environment. Water depths are typically shallow, and water temperatures range from the 70s in winter months to the 80s in summer — practically guaranteeing a safe and enjoyable trip.

If you’re a snorkeler, kicking from shore just beyond the seagrass beds will bring you to structures such as coral heads, rocks or outcroppings where you can see a variety of fish.

“Fish look for these ’condos‘ to live and dart in and out of,” Brad said.

Sightings increase, he advised, when the tide is changing or at low tide, and when there’s low wind — usually in the early morning hours before afternoon clouds build up and create surface chop.

Snorkeling sites in the Keys are shallow, allowing for maximum light (and color) exposure along the reef line. (Photo by Pat Taylor)

Keeping a slow pace is important as well. Snorkeling is not a race, so take your time to examine the reef, soaking it all in. The ease of snorkeling is what makes it so appealing for people of all ages and experience levels.

Key Largo is brimming with fine snorkeling spots — many of them in or near John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. They include the north end of Molasses Reef, a beautiful and shallow strip of reef lush with schooling blue striped grunts and Florida favorites like sergeant majors, horse-eyed jacks and Bermuda chubs.

Just off Founders Park on Plantation Key is a group of coral heads between three and four feet tall. For a family with little kids, cruising down the jetty is great for spotting nurse sharks, rays, starfish and seahorses.

Off Islamorada’s Cheeca Lodge, Brad often hovers over “Cheeca Rocks,” a shallow, healthy cluster of robustly populated coral heads that aren’t heavily dived.

Shown here above water, Brad Bertelli offers informative insights on the Keys' underwater world based on his first-hand experience.

Indian Key, accessible by boat or a 25-minute paddle by kayak, is home to small critters like banded shrimp, damselfish and juvenile angelfish that crowd around lime-colored brain coral heads.

In the Lower Keys, though Looe Key is legendary for its glorious finger reef seascape, Brad said his all-time favorite shore snorkel is the untouched and uncrowded beauty at Bahia Honda State Park. In shoreside waters only four feet deep, you can spot “babies” from a variety of species including starfish and conch.

“What is so remarkable about snorkeling the Keys is how much you can see offshore without having to be on a boat,” stated Brad. “You can wade in off the beach and it’s truly breathtaking.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Environment, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Local Color, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive