It’s amazing to me how well acquainted people become over the telephone. In dealing with my regular customers I’ve learned much about them. They share their thoughts and concerns, opinions, hopes and dreams. I hear about their families, their dogs, horses, and hobbies. It truly is wonderful to have this extended circle of friends across the country, most of whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face. On a few occasions I’ve been pleasantly surprised at a show when someone comes to my booth with the question; “Janis?....Hi I’m so-and-so.” What a thrill to finally be able to put a face with a name and voice that I’ve met only over the telephone.

It occurred to me the other day that if I enjoy learning more about my customers perhaps some of you would like to learn more about Jeff and myself. So here is a brief summary.

Originally from Philadelphia, I moved to Florida in the early 1980’s where I worked for a couple of retail pet stores. After a few years in retail I accepted a sales position with a pet supply distributor calling on pet stores. When the opportunity presented itself I went to work for the largest pet supply distributor in the state.

When I first moved to Florida I had one pet Amazon parrot; Coco. In short order my bird collection grew as finances and space allowed. Also I discovered the wonderful world of orchids and began collecting them as well. Throw in a small assortment of tortoises and turtles and you get a picture of my mini-zoo in Englewood, Florida.

I met Jeff at a Pet Industry Trade Show in Tampa in March of 1991. We were married 18 months later.

I enjoy gardening, particularly perennials and exotic grasses. I read constantly about birds and gardening and have accumulated a fairly substantial library on these subjects.

My latest undertaking is bead-working. I enjoy working with seed-bead embroidery. I find it relaxing. I’ve created ear-rings and bracelets for myself and as gifts for family and friends. I’m particularly proud of a cuff bracelet that I finished this summer. Currently I am working on a beaded hat-band for my “cowgirl” hat.

Some customers have asked about purchasing some of my beadwork. Click on the first picture on the left below for more information. 

As I have written earlier Jeff is my “construction engineer” and resident “handy-man.” The first thing he did when we moved into this house was to commandeer the attached two-car garage. He transformed it into his wood-working shop. Whenever he turns up missing, I know I’ll find him puttering in his shop.

He enjoys vegetable gardening and barbequing. Actually he makes the best barbeque sauce I’ve ever tasted and baked beans that are famous. These two items never turn out exactly the same because he never measures anything and gets creative with different ingredients. People have asked him for the recipes in the past so I convinced him to write down the basics. If you’d be interested in trying these at home, you can e-mail a request to him at cwfox200@aol.com I am sure that he’ll happily send a copy to you.

Two years ago he purchased a grill sized backyard smoker. His smoked briskets and ribs are out of this world. That is if I can talk him out of using his “special secret spice rub” and just stick to his sauce. His “special secret spice-rub” leaves my poor tongue and lips burning for days.

Jeff is a reader. He almost always has a book in his hand. History of the American West is his passion. He is also a writer and has created most of the articles on this website. Jeff’s latest work is a book he calls PET-ANTICS, tails of pets and their people. It is currently in the final editing stages and is the hands of a literary agency in New York. Hopefully will it get published some day. If you'd like to read a sample of this work, just click on Nikki's picture below.

Jeff left Sun Seed Company in April of 2005 to help me with Orchid Tree Exotics. He manages my warehouse and handles telephone sales. That summer he returned to school to obtain his Ohio real estate license.


Last but not least I’d like to introduce my napping buddy and perpetual foot warmer; Nikki