A Full-time Life

PART OF OUR WORLD

 

 

Birding isn't really the only part of our world, but once again this week, it is the only part that got any blog-worthy attention from my camera. 

 

 

 

 

 

On an early morning walk around the RV Park, a red-bellied woodpecker played hide-and-seek with said camera.

 

 

 

I stop to check on the world-famous North Fort Myers' Eagles whenever I'm out and about and  have a little extra time.   (It's on the way to grocery shopping, the Library, and other vital every-day activities.)   This is Harriet on the nest.  Her two nestlings are doing well so far.  I hope to get some better pictures for a later post.        But the truth is, you can see all the "action" live and read all about it on the Eagle-Nest webcam or their Facebook any time you have a few minutes.  

 

 

 Six-Mile Cypress Slough is one of my favorite places to walk and, usually, take pictures.    I do  a weekly Yoga session there every Tuesday.  (Believe me, you don't want to see pictures of that activity).  Last year, I followed up almost every week's class by walking the boardwalk, camera in hand. This year it has been so wet and chilly  that I haven't yet been able to get all the way around the walk.    (We've had nice days, but they just don't seem to occur on Tuesday, unless I have another appointment and don't have time to hang around after class.  Then, of course, the weather is perfect.)  

The skies last week were just a little threatening, but it wasn't raining yet, so I decided to go early and walk before class.  I got as far as the first viewpoint and was able to get a few pictures of this Great Blue Heron.   Just as I was deciding whether I had time to walk a little further, the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down in buckets.    In case you wondered, soaking-wet clothing does not enhance the Yoga experience one little bit.     

 

 

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow

(It was beautiful the day after class and we haven't had any more rain since.  Things are looking up.)

 

 

LINKING TO OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; and to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.  

Thank you to the hosts:  Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy, Gattina, and Arija for OW and Stewart for WBW.  

 

THE TRUTH IS ...

Most of the time when I'm taking a sequence of sunset pictures, they look exactly like what my eye is seeing.   But there is always one particular moment when, for some reason I  don't understand, my camera shows the sky much redder than it really is.  

 

 

 

 This is that moment.  

There is no post-"processing" except for the added frame.    Maybe the camera doesn't lie, but in this instance, it definitely enhanced the truth.    That, I hope, makes it a good candidate for the DIGITAL ART meme.    This is part of the sunset sequence I took at Chokoloskee Island near the Everglades (this post) earlier this month.  (That post includes pictures taken just before and just after this one and they are true to what I actually saw.)

 

The picture below is the other end of another day from another place -- a sunrise from our deck at home.  

And it is truly just exactly the way it looked.  

 

And of course the truth is that I am also linking this post to SKYWATCH FRIDAY 

because I know it is perfect for that meme.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to Monica for DIGITAL ART and to Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy for SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 

BIRDS AND BOATS = BLISS

 

Really the only thing this boat picture and the bird photos below have in common is that they both make us happy.   Our poor boat has been in the "boat hospital" (the mechanic)  all season but now at last it is well and at home on our dock.   (And now the only thing that is poor is our wallet.)   We do hope we can use it often for the rest of the time we're here.   This picture shows the improvements we made to the dock -- that was one of our projects last year.   It's nice to have the step and rails to make it easier to get on and off -- and easier to dock when we get home from a trip.

 

The rest of the post  (all birds all the time) is more from our Everglades excursion earlier this month.  

 

 

 

This is the Gulf of Florida shoreline near where we camped at Flamingo.  And just part of the huge bunch* of Black Skimmers we spotted.

* I'm quite sure that "bunch" is not the term that a real birder would use.  But in spite of being able to help the people I met at the Osprey nest near here (HERE is that post), I am really an eternal amateur.

 

 

 

 

I am very happy with this close-up because it shows his (or her) eye.    Black on black makes them very difficult to see.   The first one I ever spotted  a few years ago was resting on the grass and I actually thought it had suffered some terrible injury and didn't have any eyes at all. (HERE is that post.)   

 

 

 

I  admit to being a little obsessed with Skimmers  -- but aren't they gorgeous looking?    Also, there really is something special about seeing a large flock of any bird.  It kind of makes me feel like there is something right with  the world!

 

 

  Skim on over to OUR WORLD on TUESDAY;  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY and WEDNESDAY WATERS and click the links.  There are so many interesting stories and so many wonderful photographers who link to each of these fun memes.  SPECIAL THANKS to all of the hosts.  

 

FLAMINGO CAMPGROUND, BUT NO FLAMINGO

As some of you who follow Florida birding sites know, a wild American Flamingo has been spotted recently here in our area of Southwest Florida (Lee County).  Alas, we have not been lucky enough to see  it.   Staying in the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park is the closest to that elusive bird that we've come.    Definitely not quite the same.   

Of course, the Everglades is a different part of the State, so we weren't really looking for the flamingo and didn't expect to see it.  And we definitely weren't the least bit disappointed with the birds we did see.   Maybe not such exotic species,  but we were happy.    Today's pictures are of a couple of kinds of raptors.

 

 

 

 

 This handsome red-shouldered hawk posed beautifully....

 

 

 ... until he got tired of showing off and went to sleep.

 

 

 

Around this campground, it seemed like there were ospreys on every tree and snag.   

It's good to see them doing well.

 

 

 Someone came by while I was taking pictures of the nesting pair and asked if I knew what that huge bird was.   That made me smile to myself.  It  isn't often I can pretend to be an expert.   These guys are pretty easy to identify.  I'm sure those strangers won't have any trouble the next time they see one and then they can pretend to be a real birder too.

 

 

LINKING TO: SATURDAY CRITTERS (thank you Eileen);  to RATHER B' BIRDING (thanks Anni);   to MOSAIC MONDAY (thank you Judith) and to NATURE NOTES (thank you MIichelle)

 

 

A HAPPY WEEK

 

Happy Valentine's Week

 

We have more pictures from our excursion to the Everglades, but this post does not include any of them.   Since we returned, we've been busy around the resort with those infamous not-a-photo-opportunity-activities.  

 (Nothing that couldn't be pictured if only I were the kind of person who could have fun with people and take a picture at the same time.  But I'm not and I'd rather have fun.)  

Last week, our resort activities included a very good  musical presentation by a family band called Link Union (one of the professional entertainment groups who travel the winter resort circuits); the annual "Ladies Luncheon" (salad/dessert potluck with style show presented by a local clothing store).  (And for Bill, an informally organized guys lunch out with some of our friends while we ladies were busy).   

And Saturday night was the annual Italian dinner here at the park.  For us, that's a busy resort week,   but there were even more activities we could have chosen to do -- a lot of people keep busy right here in the park pretty much every night of the week during the main part of the season (January through March.)    Next week will be equally as busy and fun.

But just in case there isn't enough to do,  "we" are working on PHASE 3/4/5 (?) of our Canal Cottage remodel.    It's a very small house (park model RV), but we don't rush things (because there are all those other fun things to do.) 

In past seasons, we've redone the kitchen/living room, added a Florida room and screen porch, re-sided and re-roofed --  and now we've moved on to the bedroom.   Not nearly as disruptive as a kitchen remodel -- this is a piece of cake as far as living around the remodel goes!

For me  (as with the previous phases of this project -- and the many that went before it in other places, other times)  -- the work usually involves a lot of hanging around in case an extra hand is needed.  I'm pretty good at holding a board still while someone else measures and nails.  

The picture obviously is of the brains (and most of the brawn) of the operation.  

***

 

LINKING TO: Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday (hosted by Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy, Gattina,  and  Arija); and next weekend to Denise's TODAY'S FLOWERS.     Thank you to each of the hosts.

 

 

 

LIFE IN BIG CYPRESS

Big Cypress National Preserve is mostly fresh-water swampland -- about 730,000 acres of  it.     

All the water helps to keep the nearby Everglades alive and also supports estuaries along Florida's southwest coast.

The mixture of tropical and temperate plant life makes Big Cypress an ideal home for many species of birds and wildlife.

On our first trip to the Everglades, we found a little-traveled road through part of the Preserve and now we drive it on every visit to the National Park.     It's the road that has this warning as the pavement ends  -- we always ignore the advice.   (And maybe for that reason this is probably my all-time favorite sign.)

There weren't as many birds this time as there were on our last season's visit because that was in the Spring.  But the birds (and animals) we did see were great.  Here are a few samples. 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowy Egret showing off its finest attire -- beautiful yellow slippers and lacy tail feathers.

 

 Cypress Trees (not such big ones)   

 

 

 

 Little Blue Heron 

 

 

Little Blue and its upstairs neighbor Snowy Egret

 

 

And when we took our eyes off the birds we saw this smiling resident.  Just the first of many, many alligators we saw this time.  You know you love him!    Not?    But, at least you must agree that it really wouldn't be a Florida blog without at least one alligator per season.  (We're careful not to get too close of course, but I actually enjoy seeing these creatures --  their prehistoric appearance and the way they live are fascinating to me.)

 

LINKING TO:  SATURDAY CRITTERS; RATHER B'BIRDING; NATURE NOTES; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; and SIGNS SIGNS

 

Thank you to Eileen, Annie, Michelle, Stewart, and Lesley for hosting these fun sharing opportunities.

 

CHOKOLOSKEE ISLAND EVENING

The first night of our getaway last week we camped in the overflow area at an RV Park on Chokoloskee Island.   We were in a parking lot really, but the view was amazing.

 

 

Chokoloskee is one of the 10 thousand islands in the Gulf of Mexico.

The picture above was the early evening view across the street from where we were parked for the night.

 

 

And  when I turned around I saw these fellow campers  on our side of the street.  

(We were RoadTrek camping, but we always seem to end up near the water, even when we're not on the boat.)

 

 

This is almost a Wordless Post, because the beautiful sunset speaks for itself.

 

 

 LINKING TO: SKYWATCH FRIDAY (thank you to Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy) and to SCENIC WEEKENDS (thank you to Gemma).

AN AIRBOAT EXPERIENCE

 

Dozens of places in the areas surrounding Everglades National Park offer Airboat experiences.  But we have resisted the temptation every time we've visited the Park until last week.  

 

 

And we enjoyed the ride!   

 

I chose the picture above because the hammock (that's what they say here in Florida -- we would have said hummock) gives some perspective to the picture... but there are other hammocks that look just the same -- and there are huge areas that are nothing but sky and grass.  It would be SO easy to get lost.

 

 

 

 Many of the people on the boat were most excited for the chance to see alligators in the wild.  But we've seen hundreds and hundreds of them -- quite a few earlier on this trip in fact (and don't worry, I'll be showing them later).  The best part for us was being somewhere out in the middle of all that grass with no land in sight (everything looks the same)  -- and realizing that the Everglades really and truly IS a Sea of Grass.

 

Besides that it was just plain fun.

 

  Because it has rained so much more than usual this winter, the glades are wetter than usual, but there were enough places that had very little water so that we got the idea of gliding over the grass.   

Airboats are used for more than tourism -- ecologists go out in them to get rid of invasive plants and they were even used to rescue people during Hurricane Katrina.   

I forgot to take a picture of our boat -- the one on the left is from Coopertown Tours which was the Company we used.    

Our boat was longer than this one .... I did turn around to take a picture of the pilot up on his high seat (below).

Here is a brief explanation of an airboat (taken from Wikipedia) and you can go to this link to read more.  

 An airboat is a flat-bottomed vessel propelled forward by an aircraft-type propeller and powered either by an aircraft or automotive engine.  They are used for fishing, hunting and ecotourism in marshy or shallow areas where a standard engine with a submerged propeller would be impractical.  The engine and propeller are enclosed in a protective metal cage that prevents objects, wildlife (and passengers) from coming in contact with the whirling propeller.  Stopping and reversing direction are dependent on good operator skills.

 

Our driver (pilot/captain) is stopped in the middle of the sea of grass to answer passenger questions.  The other pictures were taken over the edge of the boat during calmer times on the ride.

 

Sharing the ride with OUR WORLD on Tuesday; with MOSAIC MONDAY; and with WEDNESDAY WATERS

Thank you to Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy, Arija, Gattina, and Jenn for OW;to Judith for MM; and Gemma for WW.