Friends of the Polk County Parks Foundation, Inc.

06/25/2026

06/03/2026

Small cities have the most to lose.

06/02/2026

Here’s a guide to identifying Florida’s six native, venomous snakes and some non-venomous snakes they resemble.

06/01/2026

The legislature keeps ignoring the Public desire for Florida forever Funding.

The Florida Legislature signed off on a $114.5 billion budget Friday afternoon, even as some legislators worried it falls short of doing enough for schools, healthcare, and the environment. A handful of Democrats also sharply criticized a nearly $300 million tax cut package that they said does more....

06/01/2026

Data centers seem to be popping up everywhere in Polk County and the local responses have varied.Fort Meade officials agreed to take the money and run and let the details work themselves out late

05/16/2026

05/03/2026

Five snakes most homeowners remove on sight. Each one was eating the thing they actually wanted gone.

Of the 50+ snake species in most U.S. states, fewer than six are venomous — and most of them avoid human activity.

Garter snake — the striped one in a garden bed. Eats slugs, grasshoppers, and small rodents. Harmless. Will bite if grabbed, and even then it feels like a pinprick

Eastern rat snake — the long black one climbing a barn wall. Eats rats, mice, and squirrels. Doing the job most people would pay an exterminator for

King snake — the banded one people mistake for a coral snake. Eats other snakes — including venomous ones — and has natural immunity to their venom

Gopher snake — flattens its head and rattles its tail against dry leaves when startled. Gets mistaken for a rattlesnake often. Eats gophers, voles, and mice. Six feet of free rodent control

Milk snake — the red-banded one found near barns. Named from the myth that it milks cows. It was there for the mice. Non-venomous

The yard without snakes still has rats. It just lost the one thing keeping them in check.