A Full-time Life

Rebuilding -- in nature and at home

 

We stayed close to home last week because we're busy rebuilding our own nest.  But one day we  stopped to visit our Eagle neighbors at theirs.  (We were on the way to the big-box home improvement store, as nobody will be surprised to hear.) 

 

Hurricane Ian completely wiped out their nest but the intrepid pair returned safe and sound, rebuilt in the same tree, and continued on with their lives.  A hopeful metaphor for the Fort Myers area, as the billboard above indicates.   Their two chicks hatched the first week of the year, on January 4 and 7 and seem to be  doing well.   

 

The top picture in this mosaic with the black border is this year's nest -- the lower two are from January 2022 -- a year ago and before the hurricane.

It was a lucky break last year to be there when Harriet (or maybe her partner) popped their head out of the nest -- most of the time one parent will be away hunting for the next meal and the other will be tending the hatchlings down in the nest bowl.  

 The new nest is much smaller  -- the pair will continue to add to it when they can this year and hopefully in years following.  The one that blew down was huge, the product of sixteen years of remodeling and adding on.  Harriet and Ozzie, her original partner, built that one in 2006.   

 

 

Here are pictures of the Eagle pasture on a cold but sunny day.   The people (strangers to us) are two of several photographers who spend hours waiting for eagle action and the perfect picture.    Nothing much was visible while we were there  -- and it really was cold (for here, I know).    At this stage of the eagle's lives,  no matter what the temperature is outside, it's really better to watch the action on the Eagle webcams because they can see down into the nest.     (Link)

 

The pasture is home to other creatures as well as the Eagle pair.   The horse greeted that photographer like an old friend, as I'm sure he is by now.  (This is the first time I've seen horses with blankets here in  usually subtropical Southwest Florida.  (Did I mention  cold? ) 

And finally, here are a couple of pictures taken earlier this month from our back porch:

 

 

 January 6 full moon (Wolf Moon)

 

The moon rises early here now -- about 6:30, so even early to bed people can get a few pictures.  I always like how it seems to be peeking through the tropical plants.  The next picture is an absolutely terrible one -- the product of  a shaky-handed photographer in too much of a hurry:

 

 

But as I started to push delete (as I do with about half of the pictures I take) I was struck by the accidental shape. I know people who collect  hearts in nature and I've found rocks and leaves and shells myself without really trying too hard.  But this is the first time I've added a heart-shaped moon.   

Here's wishing everyone a continued joyful New Year full of growth and love.   

Thank you to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities, where I'm linking this week:

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

All About the Birds

All about the birds today -- and our get-away to go see them.   We actually took a few days off from our restoration work at the end of last month.    It was a lovely time, made even lovelier because it had turned cold (for here) and heat on chilly mornings comes from the same presently non-existent source as air conditioning on hot days.  (We lost our heat pump/air conditioner and all the duct work as well as under the floor insulation because of  Hurricane Ian. ) 

 

Brown Pelican -- Chokoloskee Bay, Everglades  

 

We went to the Everglades/Big Cypress where it was beautiful and as birdy as ever  ... and the camper van was snug and warm whether we were driving or camping.  It was a wonderful birding trip.    If anything, we spotted even more than usual for this time of year.  Apparently the hurricane didn't  affect the birds much.  (That's an entirely unscientific observation -- I hope it is correct.)

 

Big Cypress National Preserve

The sign is a sign of good things happening.   The National Park Service is currently in the process of restoring many acres of land.    They are turning the Everglades back into the river of grass it is meant to be.  And the wetlands the restoration creates are definitely for the birds.   And birders.   

The other pictures in the mosaic really only go a little way toward showing the sheer number  of birds we could see all at once. 

 

Snowy Egret (yellow slippers)

I tried  several times to count but kept losing track.     It was more fun to try for pictures of the individual birds, although sometimes it was hard to focus because there were so many places to look.

 

?

Everyone will understand why I related to  the following from the National Park Service facebook page:

 

Me: “I’m an expert at identifying birds.”

Friend: “OK, what about those ones flying over there?”

Me: “Yep, they're all birds.

 

Whoever does the NPS page has a great sense of humor, but provides good (serious) information too.   The page is well worth checking out often.   Here's a link:  National Park Service

 

 

So yes, as usual IDs were not easy for me.    But whether I know their names or not, observing the birds is the important thing.  The wildlife, the water, the nature -- that's really why we keep coming to Florida.   

 

Tri-Colored Heron ? Night Heron?

 

 White Ibis

Playing a game of peek-a-boo maybe?

 

Great Blue Heron 

It didn't matter whether you looked in the marshes, in the water, or up in the Cypress trees, birds were everywhere.

 

?

We stayed at Midway Campground in Everglades National Park but most of the birds we saw were on loop roads in Big Cypress National Preserve -- the two Parks adjoin.  

 

Little Blue Heron

We enjoyed our little break from reality.    Our cottage and our snowbird neighborhood are almost back to normal (pre-Ian).  But it's still a bit of a construction zone around here so we are reminded daily of the damages that storm caused.  But it was not nearly as bad for us as for much of the Fort Myers area. 

We drove a different route on our way home coming back along along the recently reopened road through Fort Myers Beach, the area that was most devastated.  So very sad still.   A full three months after the storm there is very little recognizable about this seaside town.    

 

Wood Stork

 

It was quite a contrast -- from the  beauty of the Everglades area which seemed unchanged to the beach which may never be the same.   We were glad to get away from it all but glad to be home too especially with the reminder of how fortunate we really were.  

 

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

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

 

 

Our Canal Cottage update

Just one pretty picture from the road before we get down to business:

 

Most of the time this blog is my happy place and I don't have to work hard at all to find the joy.    There's lots of blog-worthy life going on.  And a review of past posts is always a good reminder to practice gratitude. But of course the blog also serves a second purpose as a journal of our "Full-Time Life."  And today, that journal needs to record more about Hurricane Ian and the effect it had on the RV resort where we have our winter home.  (As a review, the Category 4 hurricane happened here in Florida in late September when we were at home in Oregon.  Water in our Canal surged several feet above the sea-wall and caused much damage.)

The picture above is the view we had from our porch on November 20, the day we arrived back at Upriver.  That's what's left of the two houses directly across the Canal from ours. The yellow one is probably going to be removed also.

So yes, we are in our winter home now and doing fine.  But many of our neighbors along our Canal were not so fortunate.  Almost all the damage in our neighborhood was  from the water surge rather than wind.  Here in Florida, most homes do not carry water damage insurance.  About a third of the homes along the Canal were total losses, including our dear next-door neighbor's home.  

Ruined park model next door to us -- You can see the roof line of ours through the arm of the excavator.

Below is the now-empty lot right next door to us.  The yellow house (next door but one to us)will be renovated but is now completely stripped to the studs because it had water damage inside.  

 

 

Our house sits higher off the ground than either of these did -- we had water damage underneath (in the storage area/crawl space)  but nothing inside.    I wrote last week about all the work our newly-retired son Geoff did for us when he came from Colorado before we were able to get here.  Below is the first picture he sent  when he arrived, only a few days after the mandatory evacuation order had been lifted:  

 

Like most winter-residents, we put  hurricane shutters on all the windows when we leave Florida every year and then take them down when we get here for the season.  They  served their purpose this time.

Most of that debris on our side yard  washed in from elsewhere.  But the surge also soaked our under-the-house  insulation,  ruined a lot of stored items from our own "basement", and (most expensively) ruined the air-conditioner and its duct-work .  Thanks to Geoff all of the debris was gone by the time we got here.  Bill is doing a lot of the work  on  renovation of the damage himself.   He is replacing plumbing drains, fastening water lines and wiring because most were knocked loose, and eventually will need to replace all the skirting.  We will have to have all the insulation replaced as well as the ducting and the air-conditioner itself.  

    (Old snapshots of inside -- all the same today except for no fresh flowers right now)

Because the crawl space got opened up and all of the wet insulation pulled out, there was no damage inside our "Canal Cottage" -- it is the same as ever.  The floors need a good scrubbing by now and the windows need to be washed, but I don't think I can get away with blaming Ian entirely for that.  

Old (better) times on the Canal   (about ten years ago)

So "we" have a lot of work to do, a whole lot to be grateful for, and much to look forward to.    We will return to the usual blog programming soon! 

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LINKS:   THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY