A Full-time Life

Category: Florida

Happy to be here

Happy to be back from an unintended vacation from blogging. We have been busy and well — the time away was caused by computer failure. My poor PC gave up the ghost! After several trips to the "not-quite-as-Best-as-it-used-to-be" store, my new machine is finally here. And installed and ready to go, thanks to the in-house computer person (the one in our household who is not me).

And now all I have to do is remember how to use it. I'm thankful to be back and to have new pictures to share. And very grateful that my old ones were safely restored.

Ruddy Turnstone

Except for the memory collage a little way below, the pictures in today's post were taken on Captiva Island last week. It was our first real boating excursion in over two seasons.

We stayed two nights (aboard our boat) at the historic Tween Waters Inn. It is located on Captiva Island be'tween' Pine Island Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Click on the sign to read some of its history.

It was kind of a bitter-sweet time because we went with good friends who have sold their winter home on the Canal and will not be back next season. They are the ones who really helped us get to know the good places to boat here in SW Florida.

Brown Pelican

We have had so much fun together, boating and ashore, during our twelve seasons here. We will miss them.

This collage is not from last week, but is just a few memories from past boat trips with these (and other) friends.

We didn't let the bitter over-rule the sweet on this trip and we had fun together. By this time in our lives, we all know that change happens.

Ospreys on historic Tween Waters cottage

Here's to happy times: Past, present, and to come!

More Sunset from Tween Waters Beach, Captiva Island (Pine Island Sound)

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

May 1, 2022
Catching up

It has been a quiet week at the Canal Cottage. But the weather here has been good, we have things to do, and I am always grateful for ordinary days. One evening, we had a little wander around at the nature area down the street from home. It used to be the nature area next door because we could walk there along a short path from where we live to the center of the park.

The nature area hasn't moved and neither has the Canal Cottage, but now there's a gate that prevents residents of our snowbird resort from using that path. (We think it was a management decision due to insurance or legal concerns.) It isn't safe to walk along the shoulder-less highway to the public entrance, so now we have to drive there. Which means we don't go as often. It's never been the best nature park for seeing birds and animals, so if I have to get in the car anyway, it feels like we might as well go somewhere else.

That's about it for pictures from the week, so this is a good time to serve up some planned-overs. (Not left-0vers, because I have always meant to use these before the end of the season.) Most of them are from our Autumn stay in Colorado, which was so picture-worthy that it is no wonder I'm still blogging about it.

On one of our mountain drives with our son, we stopped in downtown Ouray. There is a beautiful koi pond (actually kind of a man-made canal and pond) at the town park. It was a fun place for a rest-stop.

Ouray is a charming mountain town that looks like a toy village from the viewpoint above. The town nestles at the foot of the San Juan Mountains, not too far away from where our son and daughter-in-law live.

On another day we visited a city park on land that was donated to the town of Ridgway by the family of Dennis Weaver (Chester in the long-running western series "Gunsmoke" for those old enough to remember.) The Weaver family had a home in the area.

I believe the sculpture below was meant as a memorial to Dennis Weaver. As the sign says it is a bronze sculpture of the American Bald Eagle.

The Mountain and the sky are real. But the Eagle is NOT the real thing!

It really is quite a nice depiction of a soaring Eagle. And I think the pictures look like it could be a real bird taken with a good zoom lens! It would be a sub-adult because in the bright Colorado afternoon light, the white head didn't show up well. If I were at all inclined to cheat, it sure would be tempting to say I'd finally taken some good flight pictures!! (But I wouldn't do that. ) By contrast, below are the best flight shots I've ever gotten of the real thing:

These were from "our" Eagle nest (the one here in Fort Myers Florida) in 2018, the year I stopped by the nest on the very day that one of the Eaglets of that season took its final flight away from the nest.

And finally, one more picture which has nothing to do with anything at all that I've blogged about recently, but that I saved just because:

This handsome fellow belongs to a man who helps out at the property where we store our boat while we're away. He was keeping a close eye on us when we went to bring the boat home last Winter. Isn't that mask great? Unsurprisingly, his owner called him "Bandit." Definitely one of the most interesting random cats I've ever seen!

SHARING these random cats, birds, and wanderings with the following: Thank you to the hosts.

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April 3, 2022
An Eagle Adventure

The supermarket across the street from the Eagle Pasture isn't my favorite one, but sometimes I do our shopping there there just to have an excuse to check up on the Eagle family first. Last week, I stumbled on a bit of unexpected action when I stopped by. The picture just below, though, is actually the end of the story.

But it's a clearer picture than the action shots are, so it gets pride of place. This is Harriet, who along with her partner has almost completed raising two eaglets this season. The "babies" are now almost as big as their parents. They are their 19th and 20th offspring since the SW Florida Eagle WebCam has been in place.

It had been a couple of weeks at least since I'd stopped by, so when I saw a young eagle perched up above the nest, I thought it was one of the two.

(All pictures can be enlarged by double clicking on them.)

I wasn't too surprised, because I knew from the WebCam that they had started to make short hop flights out of their nest.

But then as I focused on the nest, I saw two heads peeking up. What??? In the picture above are both E-19 and E-20 in the nest and the one who does not belong perched up above. A lady who is almost always at the nest taking pictures told me that the sub-adult visitor had flown in a little earlier. She thought it was probably hoping to cadge something to eat when the parent eagles returned to the nest with food.

Suddenly as I focused on the nest, one of "our" nestlings flew straight up to the branch where the visitor was perched. There were lots of peeps from both and from the baby still in the nest! (And some low worried murmurs from the humans watching from below.

In the picture above you can see a little of the confrontation while the second eaglet watches from a safe spot in the nest. The other people there thought the brave Eaglet was E-20, the youngest of our two. Although I have no idea how anyone could tell them apart.

I pretty much lost the thread with the camera at that point.

Actually, I am surprised I got as much of the action as I did, because usually when anything like that happens, I get excited and forget that I'm taking pictures. This time, it was only a few minutes and there was no violence, just a lot of noise and flapping. The visitor apparently decided he wasn't wanted and he flew away. E-20 flew back to the nest branch. Job well done!

(S)he sat on the nest looking proud — and that was when Harriet (Mom) flew in from across the pasture to land on the branch above. I wonder if she had been keeping an eye on things from wherever she was, just to see if her youngsters could figure out how to handle an intruder by themselves.

She did not bring any food or reward at all!

It won't be much longer until the Eagle Pair are literally empty-nesters!

I'm pretty sure everyone can be divided in two about my little adventure story. Half (at least) will say "Oh, lady, get a life." The other people will say "I probably would have enjoyed seeing that." No doubt about it for me — I thoroughly enjoyed my hour or so with the Eagles and went on across the street to the supermarket feeling like it had been a very good start to the day.

Sky-shots taken right here at home.

So many reasons to be grateful.

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities where this post will be linked:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS and RATHER B' BIRDING

March 27, 2022
IT’S SPRING

Today it is officially Spring!

Here in SW Florida, we don't see the usual flowers that early Spring brings to much of this hemisphere. Our Spring gold is not fields of daffodils but this flowering tree that blossoms beautifully for at least a few days this time of year. (As with the flowering cherry trees elsewhere in the country, even a light wind can strip the beautiful flowers pretty quickly.)

So far, most of the blossoms are still on the branches!

Ibis in Spring breeding colors stroll around the lawn here at the Park. I counted at least 20 on this particular evening walk.

It's called either a yellow Jacaranda tree or a yellow trumpet tree , depending on which Google Image site you believe.

This guy stopped to stare at me on his way up the tree trunk.

As the World Turns!

Thursday evening I took pictures of the almost full moon from our back porch looking East across the Canal – the next day, early morning moonlight shining right through the window blind woke us up. (Our bedroom is on the West side of the house.) We never know what will await us in the morning here. Mocking birds, fish-crows, mourning doves, woodpeckers, or (now) morning moonlight have all served as our alarm clock. All of them start the day off with a smile. So much better than the kind of alarm you have to set the night before.

Here's a golden memory from last March, when we were in Oregon:

Thankful for Spring, wherever we are.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS



March 20, 2022
EXTRAS from the archives

We stayed at home all week mostly working on our home improvement project (or watching others work). The room conversion is progressing well. On Saturday we waited through a storm warning that happily didn't amount to much at all. The wind blew all morning and it rained hard for a couple of hours. Wouldn't have wanted to be out in a boat or walking in the swamp, but not a problem snuggled in the house. Temperatures dropped last night to the mid-30s, the coldest it's been here all season. What a strange day — we had the A/C on in the morning and heat in the evening. All that in addition to the time change this morning and I am no longer even sure what day, what time, or what season it is.

The pictures are from the archives. Mostly last week's walk at the Bird Rookery. I found a picture that definitely identified the Egrets we saw in the trees:



I overlooked this picture when I put last week's post together. The yellow feet and yellow around the eye both show up well here. Both are definite ID markers for the Snowy Egret.

We spent some time trying to imagine which bird could have built this odd looking nest. Then we walked just a few yards further and found a sign explaining it was something else entirely:

Click to enlarge for the fuller explanation, but it is called a "Witches Broom" and is a tree mutation usually carried by sap-sucking insects.

This grove had good examples of pink and white lichen. I used to worry when I saw these spots on tree trunks, since they look like patches of paint on the trunks. But they are lichens — a combination of an algae which produces food and a fungus which provides physical support. Mostly we see white, but they can also be green, gray or pink. They do not harm their tree and are actually an indication of a healthy forest.

Another Tri-Colored Heron at the foot of some nice old cypress trees and newer cypress knees. Since we mostly stayed home this past week, I'm especially grateful for all the picture opportunities from our hike the week before. You've gotta' love a walk like this one that gives you enough nature to last at least a couple of weeks for blog photos (and even longer in memories).

Sunflowers have been much in the news lately. Here is a bouquet from our archives:

HOPE

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

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

March 13, 2022
Bird Rookery Swamp

We drove to the CREW Bird Rookery on a beautiful blue-sky day last week.

We couldn't have had a better day for a nature walk. Perfect walking temperature, not too hot, not too bright …. and lots and lots of birds. There can never be too many birds.

?

There were birds in trees.

(I would have guessed this was a snowy egret but I couldn't see the yellow feet. So maybe an immature great blue heron? Or ???)

Cormorant, snowy egret ….

Different species shared the same branches. I always like to see this.

Wood Stork

Storks shared the same trees, but the other birds gave them more room. They're pretty big compared to everybody else.

And then there were birds in the water:

Snowy Egret (I think) and Immature Ibis

And there were Great Egrets everywhere.

Including the one in the center photo who owned that path and was not afraid to let everyone know it. He walked back and forth several times while the humans who were using his path waited patiently on both sides. That beautiful green color around the eye is part of the bird's breeding plumage.

Tri-colored Heron

And there were other birds in the wetlands.

We used to see Great Blue Herons all the time but the Tri-Colored seems to be more common this season. I think I've seen at least one on every nature walk we've taken.

And then there were the other guys — more than a few sightings of wingless wildlife:

Hard-shelled turtle, soft-shelled turtle, and … Ta-Da:

Our first Alligator of the season (you know I have to do it!). Doesn't he look happy?

We are grateful to CREW (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) Land and Water Trust for what they do to save some spaces in our State for earth and wildlife – and for making parts of it available for the rest of us to visit. Click to enlarge the informational poster below:

… and then look at that map on the right. So many places to explore. Thank you CREW!

Linking to the following sharing opportunities, with thanks to the hosts who provide them:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; SIGNS SIGNS;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

March 6, 2022
In the Jungle

In the jungle, the urban jungle …

the monster sleeps tonight

You never know what you might find in the jungle. But things aren't always what they seem, especially when seen through a zoom lens. Here's the way the monster (an anole lizard) looked with the naked eye.

Points if you can identify the acrobatic bird in the first picture (or if you can even tell it IS a bird). More points if you even see the bird in the center picture. (Against the jungle background, the anhinga's wings look disembodied.)



The same heron as in the collage above — in a more normal (and more attractive) pose.

Waterways wind through the jungle.

Common Galllinule (Moorhen)

There were several moorhens, but they all refused to turn around for me. I did like this picture because it shows its weird feet. I've heard a lot of people call this bird a "duck", but those feet prove otherwise. Yes, it's a swimming bird. But not a duck! Things are not always what they seem.

And this whole post is really not what it seems … this jungle is really part of a County Park, within the city limits of Fort Myers. And within sight of these condo towers. All pictures were taken on a walk at Lakes Park — another nature fix on a run-of-the-mill errand day.

Ending with another beautiful SW Florida sunrise (from our backdoor). Grateful for the daily reminder that every day is a new beginning.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

February 27, 2022
Nearby Nature

It's a pretty sure bet that everyone who sees this post already believes, as I do, that spending time in nature pays huge benefits. But it's always nice to know that the experts agree with us! So I loved seeing this beautiful BBC Earth video and wanted to share it. Even better, studies show that just watching nature on a screen will significantly boost your happiness. Here's the link to our happy place video:

"Appreciate the outdoors! Studies show that spending time in nature—or even just watching it on a screen — will significantly boost your happiness. (Click here to learn more)"

Watching it on a screen might be the only option for those of you "up North" as we Floridians say.      Our weather is of course Florida good, but for other reasons we haven't gotten too far away from home lately. It is OK though, because we are lucky to be able to spend time in real-life nature right here in our neighborhood and we're grateful. (But I still enjoyed that video!)

Above is from my latest grocery-trip stop at the Eagle pasture. The two eaglets have reached the awkward pre-teen sort of phrase — they are getting big (and, to be honest, are no longer baby cute). Harriet and her partner continue to teach them the many skills they will need. I caught one of the "babies" peeking over the edge of the nest, perhaps thinking about the big wide world out there beyond home. (The more you watch this family, the more difficult it becomes not to anthropomorphize.)

One day last week I walked a path behind our Library and a County recreation center, not too far down the street from where the eagles live. There's a small retention pond — very small compared to all the watery places in this area — but big enough for this Tri-Colored Heron:

At least that is what I think hope am fairly sure that this is. But more than willing to learn differently if I'm wrong.

The pond is just sitting there behind a Frisbee Golf Course and near the tennis and pickleball court. The Rec Center doesn't even advertise nature walking, my favorite leisure activity. But the possibilities are there anyway.

I stood there for quite a while waiting to see if any other birds would appear. They didn't, but this one kept busy and on the move.

There were several very large turtles on the other side of the pond. Something apparently scared them and they all slid into the water at once. (Or maybe it was just bath time.)

Most of them climbed back out while I was still watching.

Last Sunday morning, we drove a few miles up the highway for a friend's birthday luncheon. We were too early, so we went a ways further — that particular stretch of the highway is one where we always see birds and on this day we even found a couple of safe places to pull off.

Wood Storks

It's not a very scenic place to hang out, but these Wood Storks didn't seem to mind. I couldn't see it, but there must have been some water in that ditch. It worries me a little that the birds would choose a place like this when there are better spots to live. But who knows how storks think? (There were about ten storks hanging out in the general area.) We must also have seen at least a hundred cattle egrets in the pastures as we drove. Then, a little further up the road, we spotted the large clean-up crew seen below. These guys do a good job of what they are supposed to do, so I took a picture or two, even though they are even less beautiful than the storks:

Black Vultures

I don't really want to know what else was down there in that part of the roadside ditch. That's really all I have for this post, but I can't end on this note, so here is a little more natural beauty taken from the end of our canal (right here at home):

Grateful for ordinary days!

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

SATURDAY CRITTERS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS

February 18, 2022
Beautiful Beginning

Here's a look at last week's sunrise from our dock:

We had a couple weeks of "Winter weather" in Florida, but it seems to be over for now. Days are warm and sunny.

On the same morning, just a few steps away from the Cottage, this red-bellied woodpecker was doing his best to make sure the neighborhood was awake. Next is a picture of what's keeping us close to home these days.

The multi-talented travel planner in the family is wearing another hat these days as he adds a new bathroom to a corner of the Cottage. Photographs are to show him where the infrastructure is located when he needs to know after the walls are finished. I'm including just this one picture for our own memories. The rest of these pictures are follow-up from a nature walk the week before last.

Hickey Creek Park is a mitigation park originally established to protect the endangered Florida Gopher Tortoise.

Environmental mitigation is an attempt to offset the detrimental impacts of development on native plants and animals. The land for this park was purchased through a conservation trust. Usually, a walk in this park is a serene almost jungle-like experience (but with established trails). And indeed, most of the time last week it was exactly that. Except for a while during the first portion.

I knew there had been a prescribed burn early in November. This sign at the entrance explained the benefits of the burn. One section says that the burn reduces overgrown vegetation, resulting in a more open landscape, including for keystone species like the gopher tortoise. It says the burn will increase soil fertility and vegetation re-growth. Controlled burns also reduce wildfire danger by reducing overgrown vegetation. Controlled burns mimic the natural process that existed before population growth required them to be suppressed. I understand all this and I'm glad it happened. But even so …

… I almost turned around and gave up on my walk before it really even started, because this is what it still looked like almost three months after the burn. I was glad to read that the fire had been monitored closely by trained burn professionals, because it is scary to think of it being out of control.

It seemed like longer than it was as I walked past the burned area before again seeing the beautiful woodsy landscapes that I remembered from other years.

Here's one more beautiful morning from our dock:

Winter morning, Florida style.

Thankful for good weather and beautiful views, even when we don't really go anywhere.

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February 6, 2022
An Errand Day walkabout

I headed off for the Farmer's Market one day last week because I was missing a couple of ingredients for a recipe.

It was sunny but not too hot. A good day for a walk-about and it was early enough. So I drove right past the Farmer's Market and on to Hickey Creek Park.

This county park has over 800 acres of preserved land and includes pine and scrub flatwoods, marshes, swamps, and palm and oak forests. Even staying on the walking paths, it feels like hiking in a jungle. Hickey Creek Park is less well-known and much quieter than some of the other nature parks in this area. I like it that way. I walked an hour or so.

As I turned the car around I realized that while I'd enjoyed the quiet jungle, I hadn't been able to photograph any birds. So I decided to stop at Franklin Locks Park, where I'd be sure to see at least the usual suspects. And that was all I did get pictures of — nothing special, but fun to watch on an ordinary errand day. Next stop finally was the Farmer's Market — the real reason I was out and about.

There's an enclosure for a few farm animals. There to entertain children and photographers. What is it about goats? Especially miniature ones. I can't walk past them without taking a few pictures. This mama didn't look old enough for all that responsibility.

The Market sells a few starters and potted plants — almost as good as visiting a nursery for photo ops. And then it was inside the barn-like structure for the whole reason I was out and about on that lovely day:**

On that day, I really wanted to make a watermelon/cherry tomato salad. Both of those major ingredients are in season here right now. I swear we go through a ton of these little beauties a week.

The walk was great, I got some pictures, dinner was delicious. We are grateful.

** These pictures were all taken Wednesday. Friday and Saturday nights our temperatures dipped into the mid-30s, so I have to hope that flowers and fruit (and birds and beasts) all survived the Florida winter weather. (Which I don't even like to complain about, because it's so much better than so many places. And the sun is still shining.)

LINKING to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

January 30, 2022