A Full-time Life

Good Starts

We didn't cover a lot of distance last week but there still a lot of pictures.  All taken last week on early morning walks right here in the neighborhood.   May mornings are lovely but the days heat up rapidly here in subtropical Southwest Florida.  It's good to get outside early and work on  indoor projects during the heat of the day.

 

 

It looked like an approaching storm as the sun rose, but it didn't materialize in our neighborhood anyway.   

 

 

These flowering branches look prettier in pictures than they do in real life.    The Royal Poinciana tree across the front street from our house has been neglected for a long time.  The flowering branches are up so high that most people wouldn't even notice them.    The lady who lived in that house when we first lived here was a dedicated gardener, so we know the tree is there and we look for it every year around this time.  All of the pictures were snapped within about six seconds -- it's interesting to see how the sky was changing at that hour of the morning.

 

 

It doesn't take a whole lot of water to attract wildlife  around here.  This retention pond is part of a relatively new addition to the  neighborhood.   I've enjoyed keeping an eye on it all season, but it is even more active this time of year -- partly because of the season and partly because so many human residents have already gone back to their homes "up North"  for the summer.   

 

 

I'm pretty sure these are Red-Shouldered Hawks and I'm also pretty sure there must be a nest in one of the larger trees near here, since this is the second week in a row I've spotted at least one on my morning walks.   I swear I saw this one turn its head in a complete circle.  Can that be possible?  

 

 

Back at the pond on another morning -- and I think this is an immature Little Blue Heron.  

 

 

Not a lot of water, but enough to share.

 

 

This is a different hawk -- and I know this because I could see this one and the one above at the same time.  They were perched across the street from each other.  They both look young to me and that's why I think there must be a nest somewhere nearby.  I'll keep watching (through my lens from an appropriate distance).

 

 Grateful for good starts.  

  

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

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

At home with camera ...

 

.. and a computer on which to download its contents. Life is good.

 

This morning  ... looking East from the back-porch: 

 

SUNRISE:  Like sunset in reverse, but without the wine.

 

 Osprey seen on a hot day's drive in the Babcock-Webb wildlife area.

 

Red shouldered Hawk seen on a crack-of-dawn walk here in our neighborhood.   I guess he'd already had breakfast because he made no move  toward those little birds perched right below.   I walked around the block and hawk and (I think) mockingbirds were still perched in exactly the same place when I got back to this point. 

 

The Kildeer skittered around  leading me away from its ground nest even before I even got anywhere close.   I always wish I could tell them that I wouldn't dream of hurting their babies.

 

The bunny's defensive strategy, on the other hand, was to freeze in place also before I got anywhere close.  There is a reason why rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain.  But I always like spotting them.  This grassy area borders the wildlife walk next door to our resort and I've probably taken pretty much the exact same picture every season we've stayed here. Except of course this bunny is at least the 12th or 13th generation of wild rabbits over that number of years.    

 

Florida Spring flowers are anything but subtle.   

 

The rainy season arrived early this year.    That's good for flora and fauna.   Here in subtropical Florida, the mornings are almost always sunny --   the rains come later in the day.  They move in  fast and furious and then are completely gone for the day, with not a drizzle left.   We need more  English words for rain, because it's very different here than in our home state of Oregon.  

 

Great Blue Heron (leftover from beach trip posted last week)

It was an ordinary week and in our family we have always been grateful for ordinary days.   But when I think about how nice it is to sit at my nice new speedy computer to write these words, I can't help but think about how different an ordinary week is nowadays.    I'm glad for that because I like this way of saving our memories.   

 

Linking this ordinary week to the following sharing opportunities, with thanks to the hosts:

 

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

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    

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. 

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    

 

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

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  

 

 

 

    

 

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  

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

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;

 

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:

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