Nature walks have taken a back-seat the last couple of weeks as we work on the Canal Cottage. We now have air-conditioning, a new washer/dryer and a rebuilt laundry area. All wonderful additions to the good life here on the Canal. I'm thankful for ordinary days.
The bird of the week is this cranky-looking Burrowing Owl. It was an errand day for us in Cape Coral, with a little owl-hunting thrown in as long as we were over there. The Cape (as we locals call our neighboring City) is home to quite a few colonies of these diurnal owls. It was a windy day, not exactly pleasant outside, and we didn't see many birds. I imagined that this adult owl just needed to step outside for some fresh air. The babies have hatched and it might be a little crowded and noisy in that underground burrow.
Sunrise is the color of the week.
I snapped a bunch of morning walk pictures with my brand-new IPhone. The camera feature now is so much better than on the phone I had to replace. But for years, we have been downloading all our photos to Picasa, which is now an out-dated editing program. It didn't work at all well with the new phone. Oh no, I think I'm going to have to learn something new. And I'm sure it will be better. And probably someday I will be glad that I learned it. Probably.
The background for the collage above is cropped from one of those sunrise pictures -- the color itself is NOT edited.
(Older photos -- not this year)
How much do I love that morning color? Enough to paint the Canal Cottage walls in shades of it. (And apparently enough to wear sometimes while I'm living here.) I think the paint cans called our colors "apricot" or "peach" or something like that, but to me it's definitely "Florida Sunrise."
My friend Kathy texted the picture below. It's from a couple of weeks ago when the four of us visited Bonita Wonder Gardens. Afterwards, we enjoyed an early dinner at Coconut Jack's, an old favorite water-front restaurant.
The restaurant had only recently reopened after completing hurricane repairs. The signs behind us show the high-water marks reached during 2017's Hurricane Irma, and -- way above our heads -- where it reached during Ian last September. The restaurant looked about the same as we remembered from previous years -- they did an amazing restoration job. And our table view of the now calm water was as lovely as ever.
It's so good that things are getting back to normal at home and in the area. Grateful is the word of the week (and of the season, really).
Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities where I will try to link this post. (We are on the way to a camping trip destination for a few days of rest and relaxation.)
MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS and RATHER B' BIRDING
The waterfront Restaurant sounds perfect, especially after all this strong days before, dear Sallie. My brother-in-law had an italian Restaurant in Augsburg and yes, sometimes, I helped. It's really doing a hard Job being in the Gastronomie.
Nice to see you, read about the good forwards.
Hugs by Heidrun
Posted by: Heidrun | March 23, 2023 at 01:23 AM
I like the burrowing owl. I think they are fascinating creatures. There is a lot to be said for ordinary days. I am glad to hear you have made such good progress on the cottage. Thanks for linking up.
Posted by: Michelle Keltner | March 20, 2023 at 10:03 AM
Love the burrowing owl!!!
It's great that you shared this post with us at IRBB, thanks!
Posted by: Anni | March 19, 2023 at 06:50 AM
It sounds like you are making great strides. Peachy/apricot colors are a favorite of mine, so warming. Very rewarding to see those renovations completed. Things sound like they are getting back to normal. All splendid photos and that owl 🦉exciting to see these beautiful birds. Happy Sunday to you!
Posted by: DeniseinVa | March 18, 2023 at 09:19 PM
Burrowing owls are so cute. Love the FL sunrise color on your walls. Enjoy your camping trip, looks like you've earned it.
Posted by: Gaelyn | March 18, 2023 at 08:52 PM
Camping trip that sounds like too much work for me. You guys are amazing what you can still do. Love the sunrise photos. If your phone is an Apple iPhone you will have "Photos" program which syncs with all your apple devices like iPad and Apple computer. So you have all your photos on all devices automatically. In the program "Photos" there is an edit function and it is very easy to use either automatically or manually. Good luck.
Posted by: Diane | March 18, 2023 at 06:54 PM
Burrowing Owl is wonderful. To the best of my recollection the last one I saw was in Florida, at the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
Posted by: David Gascoigne | March 18, 2023 at 08:40 AM
Hello Sallie :=)
Such a cheerful post, we certainly have a lot to be grateful for. Your sunrise images are lovely, and also the colour of your walls. The Burrowing Owl was a super sighting and I love your capture. I have never had the pleasure of seeing one in the wild. Now that your restoration work is finished, enjoy your trip, I know you will!
Take care
All the best.
Posted by: Breathtaking | March 18, 2023 at 08:39 AM
Nice pic of the Burrowing Owl. Good to have your update/remodel work done in the cottage.
Posted by: Judy | March 18, 2023 at 07:59 AM
Burrowing owls are wonderful little creatures and I was vastly relieved to learn that many of them survived the hurricane. They knew what to do! Lucky you, to see them now. I visited them a few years ago and loved them.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Posted by: mae | March 18, 2023 at 07:28 AM
I'm so happy that you are getting things done in your home to make it more comfortable. What an ordeal you've had! And it's nice to be able to do some of the normal things you've missed too. Love the little owl of course! What a beauty!
Posted by: Lavender Dreams | March 18, 2023 at 07:27 AM
Hello Sallie,
Wonderful photos of the Burrowing Owl, they are cute owls and always a treat to see. The restaurant looks nice, I am glad they have recovered. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend.
Posted by: Eileen | March 18, 2023 at 05:31 AM
Love owls we don't have them here but we have moreporks which are similar.
Posted by: Amy | March 17, 2023 at 11:51 AM
The owl is quite a handsome fellow. Have a grand weekend!
Posted by: Cathy | March 17, 2023 at 09:31 AM
I'm a bit overwhelmed with what happened last year and all I wish for 2023 is ordinary, boring days just so I can recover.
The restaurant looks very inviting. Such a lovely painting. Luckily, it could be rerstored.
Have a nice weekend and a safe trip!
Regula
Posted by: Regula | March 16, 2023 at 09:44 PM
I'm glad things are getting back to normal but I can tell you have done a bunch of work on the repairs and renovations.
Kudos to for getting up early and taking photos. They are wonderful.
What to do with old photos is vexing. Keeping them on hardware is risky, and keeping them in the cloud can be interesting. I now have about 86,000 photos on flickr. Maybe 20 of them are worth keeping.
I got a new phone also. I have about 5000 photos on it. I had them auto synching to flickr which is great but on the new phone it thinks they are all new so. I am thinking about deleting them all since I already have them in the cloud.
Posted by: Alan | March 16, 2023 at 07:28 PM
Ordinary days are the best. I love the owl. Beautiful photo. Very nice to hear things are getting back to normal!
Posted by: Peter B. | March 16, 2023 at 04:38 PM
Beautiful
Posted by: Jim, Sydney, Australia | March 16, 2023 at 02:52 PM
I've never seen a burrowing owl; don't even think we have them here in Newfoundland, Canada. But I do love owls in general.
Posted by: Sandy D | March 16, 2023 at 01:34 PM
Sunrise walls. How awesome. Wow, the signage tells a remarkable story of the depth of the damage. With weather extremes becoming regular events, the most lucrative industry will be restoration.
Posted by: Penelope Notes | March 16, 2023 at 01:09 PM
Sorry for late comment. Now, I'm back from my surgery...
...and it's again a great pleasure that your post being part at
MosaicMonday
Greetings by Heidrun
Posted by: Heidi | March 16, 2023 at 08:58 AM
How wonderful! This is the life! Enjoy!!!
Amalia
xo
Posted by: handmade by amalia | March 16, 2023 at 06:57 AM
Great capture of that little owl! Such a pretty bird with its white brows and spotted feathers. The color of the skies are the exact shade of your walls - so beautiful. So nice to see the recovery progress from the devastating hurricane. You must love having a new washer/dryer and air conditioning. Enjoy your camping trip! x K
Posted by: Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie | March 15, 2023 at 10:06 PM
Great image, I always love seeing the other side of the world :) I liked Picasa because I could tag the photos without interrupting the order they were in. Now I use Photoscape ( http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php ). It's quite east to use and there is a free version that does a lot of editing.
Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!
Posted by: My Corner of the World | March 15, 2023 at 03:43 PM
Love the owl!
Posted by: Villroses hage | March 15, 2023 at 03:29 PM
Looks like some beautiful days out there.
Nice to know that the area is recovering well. :)
Happy Spring!!
Posted by: dee Nambiar | March 15, 2023 at 03:07 PM
I finally saw my first burrowing owl on Marco last November. I wish you could see the photos of them in an Arizona magazine in our rental. So cute! Thanks for your wonderful comment from your last visit. So heartwarming!
Posted by: Sharon Wagner | March 15, 2023 at 07:47 AM
...Hurricane Inn, what a name!
Posted by: tomthebackroadstraveller | March 15, 2023 at 07:10 AM
Such a beautiful owl!
I am delighted to hear that things are getting back to normal.
Hugs and blessings, Sallie.
Posted by: Veronica Lee | March 14, 2023 at 06:20 PM
Wonderful Sallie, both the news of your home repairs finished and news of your wanderings. I loved seeing the owl.
Posted by: Barb | March 14, 2023 at 11:02 AM
A beautiful owl.
Posted by: William Kendall | March 14, 2023 at 10:17 AM
Sallie, there was a lot of good news updates in this post and so nice to read. The wall color is really nice and does look like the sunset views no matter if the color is apricot or peach. Congrats on the new iPone too, which model did you get? Picasa was a great little program and I too was sorry that it's no longer supported. There are other free ones available, so sure you will find one to replace it, but it's always another project to do.
Posted by: Beatrice | March 14, 2023 at 08:44 AM
Sallie - so glad to hear things are getting back to normal. I can't imagine being a business owner and having to (regularly?) repair or even rebuild. I love your "Florida Sunrise" color! Enjoy your R&R!
Posted by: Angie | March 13, 2023 at 09:07 PM
Beautiful photo of the owl. He's a handsome fellow! Have a grand week!
Posted by: Cathy | March 13, 2023 at 01:48 PM
Glad that things are getting "back to normal". Sounds like you have been very busy. Love the owl picture. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by: Sharon | March 13, 2023 at 01:01 PM
Ordinary is underrated. It really is a necessary part of life, me thinks! :) Glad you are enjoying some of the renovations. How nice that the restaurant has recovered. Have a beautiful week!
Posted by: ellen b. | March 13, 2023 at 09:07 AM
I love to see that owl. Very nice. Have a good week.
Posted by: Aritha | March 13, 2023 at 08:47 AM
Hello,
Love the cute Burrowing Owl. It is nice to refresh the home with some colorful paint. Pretty sky images. I am glad the restaurant was able to renovate and reopen for business. Take care, have a wonderful week!
Posted by: Eileen | March 13, 2023 at 08:09 AM