Days To Remember
MARCH
- 8 - ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, Picnic, Election of officers, Organizational board meeting
- 29 - 20th Annual College Greek Athletic Meet (Rain date: April 12)
- 31 - EVERYONE'S MEMBERSHIP EXPIRES
APRIL
- 03 - Full-Moon Bonfire
- 12 - Board meeting
- 26 - First monthly picnic
MAY
- 01 - First Full-Moon Skinny-Dip
- 02 - World Naked Gardening Day
- 17 - Board meeting (1 week late)
- 24 - Full-Moon Skinny-Dip
- 22-25 - Memorial weekend campout. Lake open Monday
- 29 - Full-Moon Skinny-Dip
- 31 - Picnic & memorials
General Information
- THE LAKE IS AVAILABLE EVERY WEEKEND ALL YEAR.
- Families with children are especially encouraged to come on picnic days.
- Meetings and picnics usually start at 2:00. If both are on the same day, we start at 1:00.
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Tallahassee Naturally is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of naturist recreation in north Florida and nearby areas. The club is an affiliate member of both the Naturist Society and the American Association for Nude Recreation. Bare and Free is the official Newsletter of the Tallahassee Naturally Club. Articles appearing in Bare and Free may be reprinted by other naturist publications, provided that credit is given. Photos, however, may only be reprinted with written permission. Club members are encouraged to submit , articles news items, and photos for publication. Please address all submission to: Tallahassee Naturally, P.O. Box 6866, Tallahassee FL, 32314 or info@tallahasseenaturally.org.
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Don't Miss the Annual Meeting March 8
Sunday, March 8 begins with a picnic at 1:00. (Daylight Savings Time also starts that day, so don't show up hungry at 2:00.) 2:00 is our Annual Business Meeting, with reports on attendance and finance, a bylaw proposal to be voted on, and election of this year's officers. (If you are willing to serve on our board of directors, let Grant or Paul know.) After that, there will be a brief organizational meeting of the new board.
This last year we got our Internet presence under control. Too many well-intentioned people had started web sites or accounts in our name that we didn't know about. We realized that we needed stronger wording in our bylaws to prevent that from happening in future. The slight changes are in italics.
Bylaw proposal: Keep control of the Internet by amending Article X-G-12 to read:
G. Grounds for expulsion from the club shall include, but not be limited to:
1. Theft.The statute of limitations on any act shall be one year from the time two board members became fully aware of it. Under no circumstances, shall polite criticism of the way any club officer is performing his or her duties be misconstrued as grounds for expulsion.
2. Repeated failure to sign in or pay fees in a timely manner.
3. Diversion of club membership list, mail, money, equipment, or land arrangements for personal or commercial use.
4. Violence of threat of violence.
5. Handling or removal from a vehicle of any firearm without unanimous consent of all board members present.
6. Introduction of any substance that could warrant police attention.
7. Abusive or reckless behavior--with or without the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
8. Overt sexual activity, solicitation, or harassment.
9. Racist remarks.
10. Photographing any person without that person's permission. (To avoid confusion with cell phone cameras, all telephone conversations should be conducted away from nude people.)
11. Distribution of names to non-nudists, or photographs to anyone, without the person's permission.
12. Unauthorized misrepresentation of the club to the press or others. This includes, but is not limited to, starting any unauthorized Internet page or account, that purports to represent the club. This also includes adoption of a name (on the Internet or elsewhere) so similar to the club's name(s) as to cause potential confusion.
13. Any act which threatens the very existence of the club or its continued use of lands. This includes visiting the land on days when it is not rented for club use.
Greek Athletic Meet Turns 20
Sunday, March 29 we sponsor the 20th annual College Greek Athletic Meet. This is the world's only authentically nude re-enactment of the ancient pentathlon (long jump, discus, 200-yard dash, and javelin—with stand-up wrestling if needed to break a tie). Little Tallahassee Naturally has the longest-running college event of any nudist club in the country.
Actually, anyone of any age can compete, but the victory wreathes are reserved for the top college student in each division: male athlete, male non-athlete, female athlete, female non-athlete. The Greeks did not emphasize athletics, so much as the well developed mind in the well developed body; every young person should give it a try.
Registration opens at 10:00. Perhaps the most interesting part of the day is the demonstrations and practice at 11:00. Competition starts at 1:00. In recent years, our young people have organized a little after-picnic of Greek food. Contributions are welcome.
Because of Easter, the rain date is April 12.
Everyone's Membership Expires March 31
It's renewal time again. Did you know that 86% of the money we collect in lake fees is paid annually? Only 14% is paid daily. People like the convenience and the savings. (And our volunteer treasurer likes the convenience too.) Also, remember that renewing members are expected to deepen their commitment by joining at least one of the national organizations. But which one? Many people join both.
The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) card gives you a 20% discount when you visit most nudist clubs. (Many clubs won't let you in the gate without one or the other national card.) You get a monthly newspaper, which has become more interesting than it used to be. And you get the satisfaction of knowing your money is going to AANR's continuing public relations effort to make nudity popular and acceptable.
The Naturist Society is fighting to protect free beaches by stopping bad laws before they get made. Their quarterly magazine brings you thought-provoking and sometimes controversial topics. Their card is accepted just about everywhere that the AANR card is. And you can join a free Special Interest Group of naturists nationwide who share your hobbies or concerns.
Fees for club members are:
Tallahassee Naturally—annual membership
$ 45 single/couple/family
$ 22 student
Tallahassee Naturally—lake fee for members (lake rental, use & upkeep)
$ 155 one year single / couple / family
$ 75 student—one year
$ 15 one day single / couple / family (pay on arrival)
$ 7 student—one day
The Naturist Society
$ 60 single / couple / family (or $110 for 2 years)
$ 50 student / senior citizen (or $ 90 for 2 years)
American Association for Nude Recreation
$ 68.50 couple (or double that for two years)
$ 38.00 single (or double that for two years)
$ 15.00 student
And of course donations to our Legal Fund or Land Fund are always welcome.
We Have a Full-Moon Bonfire April 3
The full moons come at awkward times this year: too early in April, and too late in October. Because swimming might be chilly or not at all, we are calling those two evenings Full-Moon Bonfires. We tried that early last November and got a fair turn-out.
The first guaranteed Full-Moon Skinny-Dip happens May 1.
We're In a Bird Book
Two years ago, a birdwatcher visited our club on his quest to discover how many species of birds he could see in a year, while nude. The answer: 594. It's a world record. Now, he has published the diary of his trip, and we're in it. Punning on the odd names of legitimate bird species, he calls it Boobies, Peckers, and Tits: One Man's Naked Perspective, by Olaf Danielson. You can buy it at Amazon, or order a signed copy through an ad in The Bulletin.
He visited 25 nudist clubs and half-a-dozen nude beaches, where he could be comfortably nude—plus lots of wildlife refuges where he had to be sneaky. Some clubs did not give a very friendly welcome to a man with binoculars. Others just let him do his own thing. At only one club, Tallahassee Naturally, did a member join him in birdwatching.
It was the day before Easter, and our road was flooded. (The road has since been fixed, and the toilet paper screened.) Water was high everywhere. We were eager to finish scouting out the new trail connecting the athletic field to the nature trail before the trees leaved out, obscuring our view. He helped in that. He visited us on his third of four Florida trips, so he had already seen much of what we have to offer. But it was spring migration time, with several kinds of warblers passing through.
Here is what he wrote about us:
© 2014 Sandbare LCLet me first say that Tallahassee Naturally was the first of four clubs from which I had experienced email and phone friendship. This club is a throwback to the ideals of naturism—naked man in a natural environment. They have been around for over 25 years and, due to their location close to Florida State University, had really worked hard on changing the hearts and minds of potential young naturists. Their website played back to me everything I believed in—in being nude in nature—and I wanted to visit. I even got a member to go birding with me....
Eventually I was east of Tallahassee and followed the directions I had been given to Tallahassee Naturally. I followed the first road to Turkey Scratch Road, which became dirt and was then underwater. I checked my mileage; I was only a tenth of a mile from the gate.... [The puddle] was just a pipsqueak, maybe a foot deep, and I bounced through it on momentum alone, and there I was at Tallahassee Naturally—a TN sign at a chained gate. I opened the gate, signed in, and had the place to myself. I found a spot and set up camp, hoping that I wouldn't be attacked by 'gators, bears, or nasty raccoons.
To say this place is primitive is an understatement. They have a storage closet, an aluminum canopy to protect in case of rain, an outhouse that was more PVC [pipe] and tarp than privy, and a damn fine sunning and skinny-dipping spot. There is something about mouse-chewed toilet paper that makes me really feel like I'm back to nature, but it beats using leaves. This place didn't seem very woman-friendly, but maybe their members were more back-to-nature than most women.
In essence, what they have is a skinny-dipping spot for sanctioned nudity. The place could have been a movie scene where the main characters get lost in the woods and happen upon a nude volleyball game or, even better, the Nude Olympics, which were scheduled here next week. Shoot, I was a week early. I was eventually told that Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, forbade the naturists from swimming in sink holes in that county, so they moved to Jefferson County where they leased this land.
I ate my McDonald's salad and then spotted a Blackpoll Warbler. It was a good start. I spent the night listening to the sound of frogs and traffic from I-10, just a quarter-mile through the woods. I awoke at 7:00 to a dewy morning of 40 degrees and had a birding outing scheduled for 7:30 a.m. I ate and spotted an Eastern Towhee in a tree behind my tent while I was on the way to the privy and the mouse-chewed toilet paper. I then met Paul, who is a semi-retired college professor from Florida A&M University and a long-time nude advocate. We walked the trails and soon spotted a Least Bittern fly by, adding a tough bird to my list.
We looked over the ponds and walked the trails on the property and adjoin¬ing tracts. We saw the sandy field that would be the home of the big athletic events the next weekend. Paul pointed out the course for the sprinting contest, and we also walked most of the path of the Trynudethon (a race of swimming, biking, and running nude), but we skipped the trudge across the pond. Despite our efforts, I added nothing new after the bittern, so we just ended up chatting. I heard the history of the place, saw the trails, and we enjoyed each other's company.
It became a really nice day. A few people showed up after we burned some brush, and then I helped mark a potential new trail. I was worried about biting snakes, but Paul walked barefoot through the swamp. I took my scratches as souvenirs. Fortunately, Paul told me about an incident with an alligator after I had been walking near the pond.
Apparently, a family was enjoying the beach when a doe and a buck were observed drinking from the pond. As the family enjoyed nature, an alligator grabbed the doe by the head and dragged her into the water. The buck, instead of fleeing, tried to attack the 'gator with its hooves. Unfortunately, it was in vain, and the laws of nature were fulfilled. I was glad it wasn't me that the 'gator grabbed.
I started talking with a pleasant local couple while sharing a bottle of wine and decided to go on one last birding jaunt. I had decided to keep moving, find new territory, and hopefully see more birds. It's called grinding. I figured I had seen what this piece of land had to offer me. It was then that I saw a bird by the volleyball net. At first I thought it was another Yellow-rumped Warbler, and then I looked more closely. It was mostly blue, had a white eye-ring and a gold cape on its back, and a yellow throat. It was a Northern Parula, a colorful little warbler; in fact, there were two of them there. Again, one has to look at every bird. This was a bit of a surprise, since the club members had not seen one here. That made four additions for the location and 26 total birds for the club property....
After seeing the Parula, I left and safely negotiated the big puddle. It would have been nice to hang out naked but, by evening, I would have been there alone; had nothing to make a fire with; and I needed a shower. I scanned my road atlas, and St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge looked like my best bet for a visit....
I was glad I had moved on from the skinny-dipping swamp of Tallahassee Naturally, but it would have been cool to witness their Greek nude athletic pentathlon. Maybe I would have thrown the javelin—and hurt myself. It was probably good that I was leaving. The many bites on my body [from the wildlife refuge] and the scratches on my arms and legs from blazing a trail were enough. But they would heal.
Announcement
We have just learned that AANR-Florida has abandoned its scholarship program, and abolished the education committee. This came as a surprise, and we do not know if the hasty decision can be undone. In the past, the board has been very reluctant to admit that they ever made a mistake.