Closer to home

I have been writing about the joys of travel and I love remembering those. But we’ve been home at the Canal Cottage for a while now so it’s time to share some everyday smiles. We don’t have to go far for them!

I love waking up to peach-colored skies — the top picture is blurry for a reason (besides my shaky camera hand). I took it through the screen on our porch about five minutes after I got up one morning. Bottom left is a reflected sunset and the moon also from the porch.

Even living in a warm and bright climate, it’s good sometimes to bring a little sunshine into the house. One way to do that is by visiting the traveling produce market that visits our snowbird community weekly.

The “haul” on this particular Tuesday was definitely a day brightener. I like visiting Farm Markets, but it is wonderful to know we have one visiting us — it’s about a city block length away to the front of our clubhouse, where these lovely people set up shop every Tuesday morning.

Here’s a sunny kitchen bouquet — these are supermarket flowers and they last forever!

On the way to that supermarket one day, we stopped at our local Eagle nest, just across the highway from the store. It’s interesting to visit occasionally. Their nest tree is located in a horse pasture next door to a welcoming churchyard which has plenty of parking — quite a few photographers and nature-lovers spend long hours there. You can actually follow the eagles from anywhere however as they have become internet famous on the SW Florida Eagle cam.

But it’s nice to take at least a couple of pictures every season. If you squint at this one, you can see one of the adult eagles on the “attic” branch, while the eaglet looks out over the edge of the nest, practicing independence for a not-too-distant future when it will fledge and eventually fly away.

The top picture is one of the adults (I have never been able to tell the male and female apart unless they are right next to each other), while the little one surveys the wide world below home, These pictures were taken a little over a week ago. Sadly, the mother eagle has died since these were taken — the male is doing a good job of caring for junior until it no longer needs him. Find more of the story by linking to SW Florida Eagle Cam or searching Facebook or Google.

We saw some more Florida birds last week, when we ventured across town driving to Sanibel and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

It was the usual suspects on the wildlife drive. But I never get tired of the usual. Here are white and brown pelicans looking as if they’re bored or as if they’re babysitting assorted shorebirds.

An osprey surveys his kingdom.

I did a double take when I looked at this downloaded picture and hesitated to include it , but it is the craziest thing. I am absolutely positive that the pelican(s) at the right are an illusion somehow, but eek, where is the other pair of legs? (I cropped the photo, but it is otherwise un-edited.)

It was a lovely day for a drive and short walks on the island, but as we drove home across the busy bridge we could see rain moving in. That’s OK — in fact that’s perfect. SW Florida needs it and evening is a good time for rain — we’re almost home by then and ready to stay there for the next few hours.

We are grateful.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities, Thank you to the hosts:

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY;  THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;