A Full-time Life

Museum, Library, and a couple more towers

In the interest of trying to finish blogging about our June travel before the rest of the summer is over, I am combining three places we visited in Prague.  They each deserve more time and space, but there's lots of good sites at everyone's fingertips for further information.   I've been doing a lot of that kind of research these days to refresh my memory.

The Czech National Museum was  within easy walking distance of our Prague apartment.    It's located near  the top of Wenceslas Square, the main gathering/shopping area in the City.

Main entrance Hall

We spent most of a day in just one wing of the the main (Historical) building but also visited the New Building next to it.  The buildings are connected by a tunnel.   

The stunning main building is a major landmark for the city.  It was built between 1885 and 1891.  The main building underwent a major renovation between 2011 and 2019 and was even completely closed part of that time.  (It had been damaged during the war and again when the city metro tunnels were being built.)  During those years, exhibits were either stored or moved into the "New Building" next door which had been purchased both for that purpose and to eventually add exhibition space.  I'm glad we visited after the big move and reopening had taken place. In the main building the exhibits we visited were on Czech history -- ancient treasures.   No pictures included -- the ones I could take did not turn out well enough to bother.  

 

 Cupola from entryway

The exhibits in the newer building were where we learned more about recent history (during our lifetime).  There was an excellent photo and light display showing what it was like to be in Prague at the time of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.    This is when massive demonstrations (hundred of thousands of people at times) helped to force the end of the Communist regime in  Czech and Slovakia.  Some  major gatherings took place right here on Wenceslas Square in front of the Museum buildings.  A fitting place to learn about this incredibly important piece of history. It was after this time that the  former Czechoslovakia, which had been part of  the USSR, became two republics:  The Czech Republic and the Slovakian Republic.  This display was impossible to capture with my camera, but the contribution to our understanding will not be forgotten. 

 There are more stunning views of Prague from the top floor of the Main Building.  

On another day during our stay we took the Metro (underground) to Prague Old Town.   The famed medieval astronomical clock of Prague is attached to the Old Town Hall. 

 

It was first installed in 1410 and is the oldest astronomical clock still in operation.  The figures surrounding the clock are the apostles and other Catholic saints and a skeleton representing death (he shows up pretty clearly to the top right of the clock.)  The apostles and the skeleton do a very quick parade around the dial on the hour.  I forgive them for being quick about it, because they are probably tired of working that hard after all these years. 

 

The astronomical dial represents the position of the sun and moon.   HERE is a link to the Wikipedia page with more about the mechanism, history, and legends surrounding the clock. 

I think it was on the same day that we also visited  the different kind of tower below: 

    Idiom by Matej Kren

This art installation in the foyer of the Prague Public Library  includes hundreds of books stacked in a cylindrical tower.  Mirrors at the top and bottom give the tower the illusion of infinity. There's a tiny window that lets you look in and imagine what it would like to drown in an infinity of books.  The question  is whether that is a book-lovers dream or nightmare.  

Of course, I have family pictures from every single place we went with our grands, but those  from the children's section of this library  (bel0w) may well be my all-time favorites:  

 

It's never too early to introduce a child to the love of reading.  We all love libraries and I was so glad our  three "guides" took us to this one.  

 

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

MOSAIC MONDAY;    THROUGH MY LENS;   TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY   

Visit to Prague Castle

Prague Castle is actually a 1900 foot long series of courtyards, churches, and palaces covering 750,000 square feet.  Buildings include the seat of government of the  Czech Republic.

 

Our trolley stop took us to a short walk leading to the Northern entrance. We could see the impressive Cathedral spires as we walked along.   The first courtyard we entered is  where the offices of the President of the Republic are located.  Palace Guards in full uniform are stationed at the entrance.    The fountain marks the center of  this Courtyard.   

A passageway leads to another Courtyard where the impressive St Vitus Cathedral is located.

 

 

This Gothic Cathedral is the Czech national church.  A church has existed on this spot since AD 920.  

 

 Rose Window, St Vitus Cathedral

 

Restoration work still in progress.

 

 

Third Courtyard, Prague Castle -- Statue of St George (replica of 13th Century original).

 

 

We exited the complex by taking  the New Castle Staircase -- it's long, with many steps, but there  are wide landings with lots of stopping places -- viewpoints and even a place where we could stop for a cold drink at a table.  There are wonderful views of Prague along the staircase.    

 

Prague from the New Castle Staircase

The Staircase takes you from the Castle complex to downtown Prague.  We stopped at a small sculpture park for a quiet rest.

In town we found a good place to eat and just wandered a bit before heading home.    Although Prague Castle is a major tourist destination it hadn't feel anywhere near as busy and crowded as  downtown.   

I'm really a small-town person at heart, so am always a bit in awe of the crowds and hustle and bustle in major cities.

 

But I'm always happy to to visit because you don't get to visit  Castles (among many other treasures) in small towns.   Grateful for all we saw and learned.

 

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

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;     

 

River Elbe cruise, Part 1

We spent more days in beautiful Prague than all of the rest of our trip put together and we loved every minute of it.   Below is the apartment building where we stayed  (top row) and, in the lower row, a view from the side street next to the building.

 

Our grandchildren were staying in a small hotel on the other side of the river, but Prague's excellent public transportation made it easy for us to meet for our days of touring.      I'm still sorting and labeling Prague pictures and I will blog again later about all that we saw and learned during the week we lived in that apartment.  

But today I'm skipping forward to the part of our trip scheduled with Viking River Cruise line. We were still in Prague for a couple of days, but as scheduled  we moved to the Prague Hilton (below) for two nights.

 

That evening, the Viking tour was a trip by bus through some beautiful  countryside to an old barn/restaurant near the village of Cicovice:

 

We were served a typical Czech family-style dinner of farm-raised food and Czech wine and beer.   We  were entertained with a village gala featuring dancers, musicians and a singer performing traditional music.  We enjoyed both food and entertainment.  

The next morning, on our own, we visited Petrin Hill, one attraction we had not seen already.  We skipped the scheduled city walking tour  because we'd already experienced most of it with our family.    (Our grandchildren had gone home to Germany on the same day we left  our Prague apartment.)   Our guidebooks  said that the views from the Hill are some of the most spectacular in the city.  I think they were right.

At the top of the hill, there's a tower replica of the Eiffel Tower at one-fifth of the height.  We were not quite up to climbing the 400 steps, so we paid for an elevator ride.  Just that ride was adventure of a sort because (ridiculously)  I'm a little bit phobic about elevators.  The creaky old elevator car to the top of the tower held only three people plus an operator.  I told myself  if the lady operator wasn't afraid to ride the elevator all day, then I shouldn't be either.   

 

We rode the Funicular to the bottom of the hill.  As with all public transportation in the City, the funicular railroad was free to  senior citizens.  We ended up in a part of the city I think is called Lesser Town Square, where we enjoyed a good dinner before returning to our Hotel for the night.

 

Grounds around the tower

In real life, this was our last day in Prague.  The next day we traveled with Viking by motor coach to Bad Schandau on the River Elbe where the Viking River Ship Beyla was waiting for us to board.   However, here in Blogland,  we'll be traveling back to more about beautiful Prague as well as to further stops along the River Elbe.

 

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

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   

 

 

Home -- with memories

We're back in Oregon and happy to be home.    We took pretty much  the exact  opposite of a short-cut to get here and had a wonderful time doing it.    

 

Coming in for the landing

 I'm still sorting pictures and trying to "unjumble" all the information flying around in my head.   We learned so much -- now I just have to figure out how to put it in writing so that it will still make sense when we look at it in the future.     While I work on  all that,  here are a few sample views from the beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic where we spent a little over a week:  

 

 

The best part of Prague was having our own very special guides to the City --  Miss Olivia, our youngest great-grandchild and her parents, our grandchildren (grandson and his wife): 

 

 

We were so grateful that "the kids" had time to spend with us and we marveled at how adaptable and happy the baby was.   Jacob and Maya  are quite familiar with Prague.  (And   one of the family of three speaks the language fluently -- I'm sure pretty soon it will be two or even all three.)  With their help, we navigated the city like locals .. almost!

 

Prague Castle on the horizon

There's so much more from Prague that I want to remember and after our time there we joined a Viking Cruise during which we visited several cities in Germany (the former East Germany) culminating in a couple of days in Berlin and I want to  document that too eventually!   Meanwhile,  we are happy to be home and looking forward to enjoying summer days here in Oregon.  

 

Glad to be back to blogging again too.  LINKING THIS post to the following sharing opportunities with thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS;  TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY    

 

 

 

Fly Away Home

 

Yes, it's time to close things down here on the Canal and head back to Oregon.   So FullTime-Life is on a planned blog break for the rest of  June.  We're taking the long way home and doing some traveling,  but as is the norm most years lately, we'll be home in July.  With pictures I hope.

 

 

We leave the Canal Cottage in good shape and with fingers crossed that it will still be the same next season.    In spite of all the hard work, it hasn't been a bad season.  We enjoyed some good getaways and are grateful for all accomplishments.  (Although I hope we never have to repeat what it took to get to this point.)  

 

 

Hope everybody enjoys the beginning of the new season wherever you are.  

 

Comments for THIS post are closed.  

Potpourri ...

... Otherwise known as almost the end-of-the-season catch-all.

 

 

We had a lot of busy days here at the Canal Cottage this season and most of those days were filled with repair and renovation projects.   So there weren't a whole lot of photo opportunities in the neighborhood, but the morning skies almost always deliver, no matter what the rest of the day brings.

 

 

I kept up with the doings of our local Eagles again this season.  Just like  hundreds of other people locally and thousands all over the world because of the web-cam.   There wasn't time this year to spend hours waiting for the perfect picture, but we pass the Eagle pasture almost every time we leave the cottage, so one day earlier this month we made a quick stop.    

 

At the Eagle Pasture, 2023

It was quite a year for these neighbors.  Just a few days after I wrote about the two new eaglets back in  January  the matriarch Harriet  flew off  in pursuit of intruders.  Sadly, she never returned.   Besides mourning the mother eagle many have watched for years, there was fear  for the eaglets who, at that stage, were still totally dependent on their parents for food and all care.  Usually the pair of adult eagles alternate hunting for food and protecting the eaglets on the nest.   So it was amazing to see the male Eagle completely assume their care and feeding and to see the eaglets remain safe in the nest while he was out hunting for food to bring back to  them.  Both eaglets grew successfully to fledge and, as of this date, one has flown away to begin its new life.  The other remains in the pasture area, well past the nestlings usual departure time.   It is taking care of itself while the male parent has left the area the way that the adults normally do every year after their offspring leave the nest.     Eagle watchers  can but await the next season.     

 

We did manage one more mid-week getaway earlier this month. 

We didn't go to Cuba  (and I'm pretty sure if we did they'd spell their capital  city  with just one "n").  This Havanna (Cafe) is in  Everglades City  near where we stayed.  The food is good and there's a really pretty garden area with outdoor tables.   

 

 

This is a  Royal Poinciana tree in a neglected village yard  in the Everglades.  It's all gnarly and unpruned and un-cared for and some jungly palmetto plants have entwined themselves around it.    But it's still so bright and cheerful even in neglect.  Everything grows in this climate. 

 

We almost had to get out of town this year to give Bill a little respite!      He enjoys having projects but rest and recreation is important too.   I'm beyond grateful that he was able to accomplish so much.  The Canal Cottage is now actually better than back to pre-hurricane status.    Quite a few of the other small homes in our resort are still awaiting repairs because people haven't yet been able to get on the  busy schedules for the appropriate repair persons.

 

 

Sometimes on a morning walk, I remember to look down instead of up at the beautiful sky!

 

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; SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and  SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wakodahatchee Wildlife

This post is a wrap-up of our walks at Wakodahatchee Wetlands earlier this month and it's very picture heavy, because I just couldn't put my camera down.  There was so much  that I want to remember.

 

 

Wakodahatchee Wetlands is located at Delray Beach near Fort Lauderdale.  We had no idea on this beautiful blue sky day that this area would experience three days of heavy rain and severe flooding starting the day after we were there.  

 

 Florida Wood Storks -- adult and a nest full of young ones.

I can't find any information about whether the floods affected this wetlands.  I hope all the families who live there are still OK.  I suspect the birds knew how to manage.

 

Great Egret on a nest

We tried to decide if there was a baby in that Egret's nest or if that was just a stray feather.  Hoped a closer look at the pictures would show more, but still not sure.

We spent a longer time watching the birds in the series below, trying to decide what they were and what exactly they were doing.  

 

Any guesses?  (I do know the answer now, but it took us a while.)

They were very noisy and very engaged with each other.  At first we weren't even sure what kind of birds they were, but then a large black bird swooped into the picture and cleared things up.  Apparently these two were just a couple of hungry teenagers killing time waiting for dinner to arrive.  We recognized the adult  Anhinga immediately as we see them often here in Florida.    Dad flew right to the young ones and opened his beak wide:

 

 

He wasn't  much larger than his two nearly grown and very hungry offspring.   I didn't know this while we watched this behavior but read later that the parents feed new babies by dropping regurgitated food into their mouths.  It doesn't take long for the babies to learn where the food comes from and by the time they are as big as these two birds, they just reach right down  into the parent bird's mouth for the food.  That's what's going on in the picture above.   (I love learning first hand about bird behavior.  But maybe I should have added a "slightly gross" warning about the above photo for those of you learning it second hand.)  

 

 

Later, we saw a different adult with younger babies.  (This one's a female because she has a brown head and neck.)  Mom looks less frazzled than the dad in the other picture.  And the babies are cuter at this stage.  Although it doesn't demonstrate as much about their behavior,  it's probably a more suitable family portrait for sharing.  

 

Common Gallinule

We watched a whole family of these birds, also known as Moorhens, but they were hard to photograph in the vegetation where they like to forage.

 

 

Stork Spa!  Their wings are much cleaner and the black and white contrast is more noticeable than when they're in their nest.   (Click on the photo to admire their pretty feathers.)  

 The photo below is from a different place and a different time (but still from Florida).  I just wanted to end with a sunset.

 

Grateful for all we see and all we learn.

 

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

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

Fort Lauderdale Escape

We spent a few days over Easter weekend in Fort Lauderdale -- a perfect place for a Holiday escape.  

 

Florida wood stork -- adult and juveniles 

Friday and Saturday were beautiful days.  We walked all the lovely boardwalk trails at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, took a lot of pictures, explored the metro area and enjoyed some good meals.

 

Wakodahatchee Wetlands - Saturday April 8

We had reservations downtown for Sunday brunch and then headed to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, a pretty green space and beach that's pretty much right in the center of the City.  The weather was still fine,  but by mid-afternoon (as we were walking of course) the rain started so we headed off to our "home away from home."  By the time we got across town the rain was coming down in heavy sheets. 

 

Green Iguana

We had planned to come home on Monday anyway, so it really didn't feel like our get-away had been shortened by the weather. 

 

Whistling Ducks

 As we drove Monday, it rained until we left the greater Fort Lauderdale area behind,  but the rest of the trip back to Fort Myers was all sunshine and blue sky.    (And that's still what we have here, at least for now.)

 

Great Blue Heron

In Fort Lauderdale however, on Wednesday the storm that we had seen just the beginning of  turned into what is being called a thousand-year-storm.  The rain there just didn't stop.  The area got over 25 inches of rain in that one day and it continued.    HERE  is a link that talks about the perfect storm conditions, in case you haven't already seen enough about this awful flood on the news.  It's  deja vu to see pictures of the damages the rain caused that city -- some of the flooded homes looking very much like those damaged here in Fort Myers after last Fall's hurricane.

 

 

I'm glad we had decided to come home on Monday!!   We had thought we were escaping to Fort Lauderdale, but we can't help feeling as if we escaped from it -- getting away just in time.  And we are grateful.  

 

THANK YOU to the hosts of these sharing opportunities where we're linking this week:

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

 

 

Birds, trees and other delights

 

Sharing the water's bounty, Everglades

We spent most of our recent getaway in the different areas of Everglades National Park, but one day we drove from our campground in Homestead to Key Largo, the start of the Florida Keys.  It's less than an hour's drive but a whole different world.

We'd sort of planned on just a look-around drive and an early dinner, but then we passed a sign for this State Park we'd never even heard of, so we stopped.   Marked nature trails sounded good, so we  paid the small self-service entry fee and set off.   

 

OK -- so we didn't want to bushwhack through unmarked wilderness,  but the "trail" above was  too tame  for us!  It was  very odd, like walking down the middle of the highway.   But we persisted and eventually found some side trails that were more fun.  

When we finished our walk we read the signs at the entrance more carefully and learned that the paved part of the walk is leftover from the early 1970s, back when the property was privately owned and slated for a large condo development.    The developers had big ideas, but failed to get financial backing (fortunately).   I'm glad they didn't get too far on their development before giving up.

Anna Dagny Johnson, for whom the park is named, was a lawyer and environmentalist who spearheaded the campaign to get the State to purchase the property.  It has been a State Park since 1982.    

 

 Both along the main trail (the street) and the side trails, occasional signage told us the names of some of the unfamiliar trees.    We learned that the park includes one of the largest tracts of tropical hardwoods in this country.  It was an interesting walk and the cool shade  more than welcome on this hot March day.   The Coquina wall is probably also left over from the planned development but it fit into the natural area.  

 

 

 We took a closer look at the wall and found that a lot of the stones  contained sea fossils.    This shows that some of the history in this park is a few centuries more ancient than the successful campaign to thwart over-development.   

The following pictures are from the Everglades part of this trip:

 

More shore birds and wading birds getting along together.

 

Birds-eye view of a smallish alligator.  

And back at  the campground where we stayed near Homestead, some more feathered friends:

 

Peacocks roamed freely through the old RV Park where we stayed and one evening we counted at least ten!  A few of them wandered over to check us out on the afternoon we checked into the park and then we'd see them every evening when we returned to our camp site.  We never saw them in the mornings.  They're loud and probably kind of messy, but it was a delight to watch them strut their stuff as if they owned the place.   (Who knows, maybe they did.  It was only the manager who checked us in for them.)   We definitely didn't eat on the picnic table however. 

Linking this week to the following with thanks to the hosts:

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

Two walks in the Everglades

I didn't know that we'd be driving on mountain roads when we left to spend a few days in the Everglades .  But this is what we saw at Rock Creek in Everglades National Park:

 

 Only in Florida

Here's a mountain pass that's definitely climbable without worrying about a lack of oxygen.  Only in flat-land Florida would three feet even count as elevation.  I'm not even sure people can count that low in some states.   

There's a short interpretive walkway at Rock Reef, but we didn't take it -- we were heading to Pa-hay-okee Trail where we walked on a boardwalk trail: 

 

Pa-hay-okee Trail, Everglades National Park

Pa-hay-okee is a Calusa word for "Grassy Waters".  There's an observation platform along the trail where hikers can view the Everglades Wilderness as it appeared to early inhabitants.    Calusa and Miccosakee peoples adapted to living in these rivers of grass.  A few early pioneer settlers settled here as well.  

 

This from a sign along the Pa-hay-okee trail is a great reminder.  We are grateful for The Wilderness Act and the wild places it protects.  I'm so happy that these exist.  I'm also thankful for walks like this one that allow us this glimpse at what is left of the real Florida.

 

 

We drove on to Flamingo Campground at the southern tip of the Everglades.  A  little more water and a few more birds.  We had three days of lovely weather while we were on this trip -- and missed at least one day of heavy downpour back home at the Canal Cottage.  Perfect timing for a perfect get-away.

 

Flamingo Campground area, Everglades National Park 

 

"Florida"  Cardinal

One of my favorite Southern birds practically hopped on my shoe as we were walking back to the car from taking the above pictures.   We couldn't decide if he wasn't afraid because he didn't see enough people to know better or if people feed the birds.  It was a very quiet area while we were there anyway. 

On the way back to the campground where we were staying we passed these beauties in a bit of water just off the roadside.   Roseate Spoonbills are always a treat to see.   What a great day -- and we still had more "vacation from our vacation" days to come.  

 

LINKING this week to the following with thanks 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

 

 

 

Ordinary weeks on the Canal

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 

 

Wonder Gardens

Last week we went with neighbor-friends to visit the Everglades Wonder Gardens. 

It's a combination Zoological Park/Botanical Gardens in the center of the town of Bonita Springs, less than an hour from us.  A local attraction, but one we'd never visited. 

 

We had a lovely day out.  But sadly I somehow managed to delete all but the first few pictures I took while we were there.   I wonder how I did that?

 The Wonder Gardens began in 1936 as a Florida roadside attraction and it featured the requisite local reptiles and some exotics.   Over the years, it fell into disrepair and  the City was poised to purchase the property and turn it into a parking lot.   Citizens raised an alarm and in 2013 the property was purchased by a local photographer/conservationist with an eye to saving and improving the historical attraction.   It is now run in combination with the City as a non-profit. 

 

 

We spent quite a while  watching the flamingos -- and those were almost the only pictures not to disappear into outer space.  They were my favorites, but I am sorry not to have photo memories of the other birds and the beautiful landscaping.   We saw many beautiful places before we even owned a digital camera and we haven't forgotten those.  So I am trying to remember that these memories will also be enough.  (I'm still mad at myself though.)

 

 

 One of the volunteer guides told us that the flamingos are "geriatric birds" which seems appropriate for Florida.  There are a lot of us geriatrics here.  They may be traced back to the original iteration of the Wonder Gardens.

 

 

All of the birds and animals at this park are here because for one reason or another they are not able to be released back into the wild.  There were tortoises like the ones I showed a couple of weeks ago at that other old Florida roadside attraction and many parrots and lorikeets -- pets that could no longer be cared for.  There was a sign suggesting it might be best not to buy these  but to visit them here or at similar facilities. 

Here are some sky scenes from even closer to home:

Mornings on the Canal

Thankful for the memories we are creating.  With or without pictures.

One more thing to mention about the Wonder Gardens.    Bonita Springs was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian back in September.  A volunteer told us how the animals and birds were taken care of  during the storm (some at the homes of staff and volunteers).    Also notable is what a wonderful job they have done in restoring the gardens and plantings.   Having seen some of the aftermath of the storm, it is easy for us to imagine the state that this park  was in.

 

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;  and  SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

Felts Audubon Preserve, Palmetto

We spent a few days last week grown-up camping in  the Palmetto-Bradenton area.  (We slept in our own bed in the Road-trek camper van and let other people cook dinner for us. )

Felts Audubon Preserve is in Palmetto.   Other Audubon Preserves we've visited have an Information Center and well-marked trails, boardwalks and so forth.  And they always have great birding opportunities.   This one definitely had the birds, but it was also less developed.  That was OK though because it was also far less crowded than we've come to expect during the "high season" in Florida.

 

 

Bill looking for the lost trail

We started off on a dirt trail along a creek where we saw a few nice turtles and some butterflies, but then the trail suddenly ended.  It had been a long time since we'd enjoyed bushwhacking our way on a hike.   (I'm not kidding about enjoying -- we did used to like that when we were younger,  but un-improved areas in the Pacific Northwest are quite different from here in Florida.)  

 

 

This vine was entangled in overgrowth all along that non-trail .  I don't know my wildflower IDs at all, but I can tell you that this one smelled wonderful.      In the interest of complete honesty and to show that we're not completely crazy, we did turn around shortly after I took that bushwhacking picture and retraced our way along the turtle trail.  

Back in civilization, we spotted female and male cardinals.  Always favorites  --  these guys don't live in the Pacific Northwest, so we never saw them until we traveled south in our RV years.   They aren't exactly common for me yet, in that we don't see them around where we live here in SW Florida, but we do most times we go to a birding spot.  I never get tired of seeing them.

Then we found the trail to the birding blind which we'd read that Felts Preserve had. And I was a happy birder:

 

Painted Bunting

 

 I am grateful to the Audubon people here at Felts for keeping the bird feeders filled so that we could see and photograph these gorgeous birds.  It would be fun to spot a painted bunting on its own without the help of feeders, but we've never been in the right place at the right time.   Seeing them here was great enough!  

 

 

It's a good thing we were there when we were because according to the Audubon Society's website, painted buntings  start to migrate North again in March.   

 

Here's a closer view of the little blue bird that was sharing the feeder bounty.  I would have thought it was a female bunting, but all my books  show her as a greenish bird.  There was nobody else at the bird blind but  us -- which was good in most ways, except I could have used an expert volunteer.  

 

SunRise on the Canal

 This is a closer-to-home picture -- but it is from February a year ago.  We're looking EAST early in the morning, standing at the dock at the end of our block.   That dock was destroyed during Ian, but the park is in the process of rebuilding it.  (You can still stand at the end of the street and look across the Canal, but to watch the sun rise you have to get up earlier than I've been doing this year.  Not the Hurricane's fault!)

 

Thank you to the hosts of  these sharing opportunities

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

Day Trip of the Week

 

 

Starting out with the return portion of our week-day drive last week.   It's big sugar country east of us and coming home we drove past miles of cane fields.  They look pretty at this stage, blowing in the light breeze.  Sometimes in that area (and even at the Canal Cottage), you can smell sugar in the air --they still burn off the leaves before cutting the cane.

 

 

You can't always go to the Keys or the Beach to admire the beautiful Florida sunset -- but  it's a pretty good show even driving along the freeway at the right time of the evening.

 Now I'll share some pictures from the "Old Florida" attraction we visited earlier in the day.

 

Sulcata Tortoise

 Sulcata Tortoises are unique looking, smart and friendly and for this reason people often think they would make good pets.   But they can weigh up to 200 pounds, they poop a lot, and they can dig through practically anything.    The rescue portion of the facility  gets a lot of "adopt my pet" requests from people who can't manage them any more.

 

 

 Peacock

These exotic birds need a lot of room  and can be very destructive and noisy.   They roamed freely around the facility -- and this one made quite a commotion when it flew right over our heads into the trees..

 

 

Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos tortoises are one of the longest-lived land animals, living an average of 100 years. 

I have been secretive so far about the name of the place we visited for a reason.    Seems like many readers really, really don't like alligators --   and I wanted everybody to have some pictures to look at before the very name of the place scared them off.      Yes, we went to Gatorama in Palmdale  --  a place we hadn't visited for years.   Here is a link to that post which tells more about this old Florida roadside attraction.  (It was here before Disney World in other words.)   I didn't actually take too many pictures of the animals in question, because we see them pretty often in the wild.  

 

 

The place has evolved from a kind of cheesy reptile roadside attraction to a facility that actually cares for animals although there are still elements of the former.    It's  a rescue facility, an alligator farm (raising animals for meat),  and a kind of reptile zoo.      They also educate the public about the reptiles that are housed here and about co-existing with alligators which live everywhere in this State.   Kind of a mixture of the good, the beautiful, and the ugly actually.

 

 

Grandpa is the oldest alligator in captivity.  Brought here in the late 1950s, he was already a full-grown mature bull alligator and has sired many  generations.  He's a favorite of everybody who works with him and who sees him.   The sign goes on:

"This species, scientists say, is more than 150 million years old, managing to avoid extinction 65 million years ago when their prehistoric contemporaries the dinosaurs died off."   

That sentence explains pretty well why I think these animals are fascinating rather than repulsive.  They trigger my imagination!   Thankful to be alive now and standing near animals that easily could have been alive in prehistoric times.  (But not too near of course!)   

 

LINKING to the following sharing opportunities, with thanks to the hosts:

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

 

 

 

Good days in the neighborhood

 Mornings are beautiful here in the neighborhood.  Here's a look at one recent  walk around our (RV) Park:  

 

 

The sky changes rapidly most mornings.  The pictures above are all from the walk of less than an hour.  Sunrise is around 7 a.m.  

 

 

Good news last week was the re-opening of Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve, the preserve next door to our resort.  It had been closed for removal of fallen trees and limbs and other hazards caused by Hurricane Ian.     This was the last of the Conservation 20/20 Preserves to re-open in this county.   The picture above is along the nature trail that leads from here to the entrance to the Preserve.

 

 

The trail itself is kind of a no-man's land between here and the preserve; I'm not sure whose responsibility it is -- of course there wasn't much reason to keep it maintained when the park itself was closed.  The grass-covered trail was quite damp on the misty morning I walked it and besides it was time for breakfast, so I turned around when I reached the Preserve (lower left picture above).  I'm really happy to know this neighborhood walk option is again available for future mornings.   

 Ugly picture below but it announces more post-Ian news:

 

 Yes, here at the Canal Cottage, we have all our ducts in a row.  (And we're an equal-opportunity family in the bad dad-joke department.)   Bill has been spending his days lately in the crawl space under the house   (with occasional breaks for meals).  He's replacing ducts destroyed by the hurricane.  And while he is at it, improving the lay-out so that everything will work better.   (We're not quite an equal-opportunity family when it comes to doing the actual work.  My only contribution was to stomp on the boxes for the recycling bin.)

Installers will be here tomorrow (Monday) to spray new foam insulation .   We're working our way back to normal!

Below is a picture of some real ducks in a row (now I wonder what made me think of this  picture from last year):

 

 Wetlands in our park (not a very good row)

"To get your ducks in a row" is an idiomatic (and somewhat cliched) phrase meaning  to ensure all of the small details or elements are accounted for and in their proper positions before embarking on a new project.   So it is actually quite appropriate for the project Bill just completed, since it had to be perfect before the next steps could happen.     I was curious about the origin of the phrase and learned that there are a whole bunch of different versions.  Here's one link (of many).   

Below are some pictures from an evening walk step out onto porch.   We have had some beautiful evenings lately and I'm happy that the days are starting to get a little longer.

 

(Almost) Full Snow Moon, Saturday February 4

Because of it's current position in its orbit, February's full moon will appear as the smallest one of the year.  It's called a "micro moon,"  the opposite of a Super Moon.  

Morning, noon, and night, we are thankful to be here.

 

Linking to the following sharing opportunities with thanks to the hosts:

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

Saturday Special

 

We took yesterday off -- a rare thing on a weekend.    The weekend part is rare only because we usually choose to go places on weekdays,  leaving Saturday and Sunday for people who work the rest of the week  (as we used to once upon a time).  But the day off part (on any day of the week) is a little more rare this year than usual for reasons I've already mentioned probably too many times.  

 

Ann Olesky Park, Collier County Florida

So of course since this is Southwest Florida during the snowbird season, we were not alone in our getaway plans. September's devastating hurricane didn't seem to stop snowbirds from coming to this area for the warmer Winter.   Although we try to pretend otherwise after all these years of wintering here, we are  included in that number so we can't complain (too much).    Saturday traffic was seriously heavy and the lots at our original destinations, Corkscrew Sanctuary and CREW Environmental Area, were nearly full. 

     

 

We wanted to avoid the crowds, but we didn't give up.  First of all, we found wildlife along the canals on the way to Corkscrew.   After driving along that Canal we headed to Lake Trafford, another place where we always see birds.

 

 

The collage above shows how the area along the Canal near Corkscrew would appear to people in the cars that hurry by intent on getting to the "official" wildlife areas.  There are several spots along the road to pull off and the shoulders along the road are wide.  All it takes is a little time to look and focus and you will see wildlife.    Mostly birds, but also take a closer look at the top left photo above.   Or below:

 

 

Keeping a close eye on the passer-by (me),  our first alligator of this season was about six feet away as I walked along that shoulder.

 

Six feet away and about six feet long.

This is the closest I've ever accidentally come to an alligator (as far as I know anyway).   It was a  good reminder to look down as well as up.

Lake Trafford 

Ann Olesky Park on Lake Trafford was next on our itinerary and it was far less crowded.  The people who were there were mostly families fishing.  It was a beautiful day -- slightly overcast which made it perfect for walking and watching.    It was 70 to 75 degrees F, only a bit cooler than normal this month -- our cold spell seems to be over.  And of course that last sentence goes far to explain  why there are so many people here this time of year. 

  

 

Lake Trafford is more noted as a fishing place than a birding destination and the people we see there always seem to be locals.  And we always see birds.  Not as many this time as we have seen, but enough to make me happy!

 

 

Though we'll try to make the next outing on a less popular day of the week, we were happy with our Saturday.  We saw some good birds (and other interesting creatures).  And we were grateful just to be relaxing outdoors on a beautiful day.   It was a good one.

 

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; WILD BIRD Wednesday; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   SATURDAY CRITTERS   and  RATHER B' BIRDING

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

 

 

Christmas Memories

We're making a different kind of memories this Christmas Season here at the Canal Cottage -- not necessarily photo-worthy ones, but certainly days we will remember!

Meanwhile, here are some memories from the not-too-distant past -- Holiday getaways from other Christmases spent in Florida.

Christmas, at least by our advanced age,  is surely the most nostalgic time of the year.   Our photo albums at home in Oregon are filled with older Christmas memories.  (In the days when snapshots were more carefully rationed because the film had to be developed, family Holidays were when everybody's camera came out.)  Although I never actually get around to it,  every year I think about  scanning those  old pictures and making a real Christmas memory post (it would be very long!).   

 

 

I hope everybody is staying warm, cozy, and well during this crazy winter storm season.   We have had cooler than normal temperatures for here in SW Florida -- and that is actually a very good thing for us.  It's better working weather and perfect without needing an air-conditioner.  

 

 

The Christmas pictures are from  a trip a few years ago to Mt Dora -- a sweet town in Central Florida that really goes all out on decorations.  Pictures in the collage below are from a New Year's Holiday spent at the beach.  Sadly, the resort where we stayed that year is gone because of the hurricane.   Many of our favorite places are reopening though and we hope and expect that we'll get caught up enough to visit some of them later this season.  

 

 

Comments on this post are closed for the Holidays. 

and for catch-up time 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

 

 

 

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! 

  #

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

 

It's good to be back again ...

.... both  at the Canal Cottage in real life and posting all about it here  in blogland. 

Our calm and peaceful Oregon backyard, early October

(around the time we were learning about the hurricane damage to our winter home in Florida)  

Thank you to everybody who reached out with good wishes as we found out about  the mess that Hurricane Ian left behind here in SW Florida.  The rest of the pictures today are postcards I could have sent  while we were on our  cross-country roadtrip to get here.

Mt. Shasta California 

There were so many trucks on the road -- it is hard to believe there's a shortage of anything anywhere!  

 

Sidewinder Grade -- Just past Oatman Arizona on Route 66

That's our car/camper in the background

Because of the hurricane, we left Oregon about a month before we'd originally planned and we drove and camped across the country in our Roadtrek van.     

 

Oatman Arizona -- wild burros come into town a couple of times a day to be fed and admired.

(Here's one of many reference sites for more information).

It was even more fun to spot the donkeys who chose to stay up in the hills:

We've never enjoyed drive-till-you-drop road trips.  We do enjoy the journey, even when we're anxious to reach our destination.    

Just a few people, some of whom you might recognize, doing what you do in Winslow Arizona.

(More information here  -- and many other places)

We drove 3,775 miles in just over three weeks.  Because there had already been a snowstorm in Colorado, we sadly missed visiting our family there.  We especially missed thanking them in person, because our son was able to spend some time at  the Canal Cottage as soon as people were allowed back into our neighborhood after the mandatory evacuation (well before we even left Oregon).    He did a lot of the necessary cleanup and hard preliminary work  to save our house from most mold and water damage.   We are beyond grateful.  (I'll share some more information and  pictures  in a later post.) 

 

 

Window Shot -- the roads were mostly flat -- the scenery sometimes more interesting.

Instead of  our preferred route through the mountain west, we took the flatter route -- from our Oregon home, we stayed at least overnight in California, Arizona, New Mexico, a small portion of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and home to Florida.   

 

Sunset from our campsite somewhere along the way. 

This is one reason why we like a camping road trip.-- you seldom see sunsets  from a freeway motel room.

We are in our winter home now and doing fine, although it will still take a little while and a lot of work to whip the Canal Cottage back into the shape it was in before the hurricane.   Many people were not as fortunate -- we count our blessings.     

 

Linking (with thanks) to the following:

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

In-between

 

We can't quite decide here in Eugene whether it is Autumn or late Summer.   

 

Stella de Oro Daylily

Colorful flowers are still blooming in the neighborhood ...

 

But the squirrels are busy gathering as many acorns as they can.

 

Skies are smoky some days ...

 

And bright blue on others.

 

 It's a beautiful time to be in Eugene and we're always grateful to be here, and especially this year.   But we are personally feeling very in-between seasons too.  It's hard to enjoy beautiful Eugene when we're worried about our winter home in storm-damaged Fort Myers.

So we're thinking we'll spend a shorter time here this year than we'd originally planned.  We know there will  be  lots of work to do at the Canal Cottage.   And oh so much in the area that we will miss.  The pictures in the Mosaic below are memories of   happier years at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island and  Six Mile Cypress Slough.  Both are among the many nature areas that are closed because of hurricane damage.    

 We remain hopeful -- and, no matter what,  grateful for the memories.

 

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;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

 

  

Meanwhile in Oregon ...

Here at home in Oregon, the sun is shining, temperatures are still late summer-like and flowers are still blooming.  

But my head has been in Florida thinking about the after-effects of Hurricane Ian.    

So many people in the Fort Myers area where our winter home is lost everything.   We are incredibly fortunate that our winter home is still standing and did not sustain wind or water damage inside. 

We know this now because our son, who lives in Colorado, was able to drive to Fort Myers to assess the damage, take pictures,  and do the awful job of outside cleanup.   We are so grateful.   

 

So Geoff is camping out in our Florida house -- there is no electricity but the water has been turned back on (with boil drinking water warnings).   No air conditioner either and in Florida this time of year that really is a necessity.   I am sure  he is not sleeping very well.

The hurricane left all manner of debris  around the cottage (and the whole neighborhood).   Some of that is from the storage area under the house (basement crawl space) but much of it is from other places  -- it could have blown in from other houses in the resort or the Canal could have washed it in from who knows where.  It's very sad -- and a lot of cleanup work.    

 

Nobody who lives in our resort was injured, not  even the people who are permanent residents. But there was a lot of damage from the terrible winds and from water surge from the Canal and River.  Our next door neighbor's home was just about totaled,  They will not be returning and we will miss them.     We do still plan to return later -- but it won't be the same.     

 

 

Meanwhile though, as we plan for our return to a changed Florida, we continue to enjoy this  beautiful Pacific Northwest Autumn.  And we never forget to be grateful.

 

 

The Dahlias are from a garden at our Lane County (Oregon) Fairgrounds.   When we stopped to take pictures I talked to a garden-club volunteer who was cutting flowers.  She told me that September was their prime blooming month and that I should put the Club's annual Dahlia Show on my calendar for next year.  I will try to remember.

Blue Sky - Oregon October

 

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

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

What happened last month?

Happy October!

Oregon October 2022

 What in the world happened to September?      I missed a couple of weeks here in blog land for no particular reason --  we were busy with appointments and family.  And we read books and watched TV and ate good meals and went for walks in places that I've already blogged about a million times.   So not-exactly-boring....just nothing much that seemed blog worthy.  And then of course there was this past week ...

Please note:  (This may be a confusing post because the pictures are all from last week here in Oregon, even though all the rest of the words are about Florida.)  

Oregon -- October 2022

We spent a lot of time last week watching Hurricane Ian destroy much of the area where our winter home is located.    I prefer not-exactly-boring any time.    Our winter home is all the way across the country but we mostly watched local Fort Myers TV while sitting here in our Oregon living room.  It gave us a slightly better picture than national news.

 

McDowell Park, Linn County Oregon October 1,  2022

We have been notified that our Florida Canal Cottage is still standing, but don't really have detailed news about its condition yet.  The problem will probably be  storm surge damage (water, mold etc.).   There is still no electricity or water for the houses along the canal.  Neighbors who live in our resort year-round were under evacuation orders and have been told not to return yet.  (The majority of the residents are snow-birds like us.)  

 

Majestic Falls, McDowell Park

No matter what we learn, we are  fortunate to be where we are (and to have another place  -- out of  the hurricane zone -- to call home).  As everyone knows by now, many people in the Fort Myers area were not so lucky.   

Majestic Falls

Many homes and businesses in Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach were destroyed.   The beach front as we knew it   is pretty much gone.  Two of our favorite places to visit when we're living in Florida, Sanibel Island and Matlacha on Pine Island, have also suffered devastating damage.  From what we've seen, it is hard to imagine  exactly how they will ever be the same. 

McDowell Park

So right now it's a waiting game.  Waiting to hear from Florida, waiting to see when we will go back to Florida, waiting to see what the damages are, waiting to see what we can or should do about it all.  But while we're waiting we are here and safe and Autumn is a beautiful season here in Oregon.  

 

 

 

 

End of September Eugene Oregon 2022  

 However, right now at the beginning of October it still feels like late summer here in Eugene.  It hasn't been cold enough to add much color and in fact most trees in our neighborhood are still fully-leaved and green.   No doubt  we'll  still be here to get pictures when they turn.  

 

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; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS   

Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

We have been under a smoke advisory  here in our part of the Valley and by Friday I had reached the point where I just needed to get outside.    The smoky  conditions here are because of the Cedar Creek wildfire which is burning east of us.  Oakridge, a town in our county about 45 miles away has been evacuated and the highway to it is closed.   

Hoping to get out from under the smoke, we headed to the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge around 55 miles   North of us.  

 

     

We are not in  danger here in Eugene and staying indoors because of the smoke drift is a small sacrifice, but it did  really feel  good to see some blue sky.

 

Pintail Marsh

And seeing wildlife is always a bonus.     We stopped to walk around at the  Pintail Marsh Trail and overlook.  

 

There were lots of birds, but they were pretty far away from shore.   It was also hot and quite windy.  It's not good to even think about wind during fire season.   

 

 

In fact, there were windy conditions here at home also and the day after our drive, utility companies in our county shut down power in rural areas as a safety precaution.  

 

 When we left the wildlife refuge, we drove to the village of Buena Vista where we took this small ferry a distance of 720 feet across the Willamette River.    Ferry service has existed here since 1852.  Back then this connection provided  settlers a much easier way to cross the river.    Nowadays, there are other ways to get from Marion to Polk County, with not too much more effort.  But for the $3.00 crossing fee, this electrically-operated modern version was much more fun than driving.  

 

We watched this Osprey nest while we waited for the ferry to cross back to where we were the first (and only) car in line to board.  Actually, I barely had time to get out of the car and snap a couple of pictures.   

 

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

September Days

 Country Road - Benton County Oregon

We took a backroad drive one day last week with no particular destination.  We're still having hot summer days and  walks have been limited  so it was good to get outside.   There's some smoke in our valley from fires in the hills up the Willamette River  (not dangerously close to us).  Summer means fire season here in the west -- more than ever nowadays.

 

 Pied-Billed Grebe

Like magic, our unplanned destination turned out to be the Finley Wildlife Refuge.  (But really because the person driving the car knew where he was going all along.)   We arrived in early afternoon, not the optimal time for birding, but we saw a few in the Marsh.  

 

 Great Egret

That's a fish at the Egret's feet.   He must have already eaten his fill.

 

 

 It's good to see green especially at the end of  a summer that's been hot and dry in most of our area.  

September is my month to feel nostalgic.   Probably because our life revolved around the school year for so long, it really seems more like a New Year to me this month than does January.   So with nostalgia in mind, this week's collage is  a look-back at early September days from a few past years:  

 

 

The top two photos are from roadtrips in 2019 -- Fall color in Portland Oregon and the hawk at Arcata Marsh California.   2021 and 22 were the Covid years -- we did some self-isolated camping  during that time, but we were home in Oregon in September of both years.  I photographed the bushtits in our daughter's yard  in 2020; it  was a new bird for me (I had ID help from  wonderful  bloggers  when I first posted about them).  The other two photos in the bottom row are from our grandson's backyard at a family gathering last year. The center photo is California Redwoods in the mist -- another road trip to the state south of us in September 2018.

And back to the present (well, last week anyway):

 

Just a beautiful blue sky with  a few fluffy clouds for interest -- on the way home from our  weekday drive  last week.   September really does start a new year for our older great-grands and their parents (several of the grandchildren teach as well as parenting)  and for our daughter and son-in-law who are helping out with their not-old-enough-for-school grandbabies.   For us, there's really no regular schedule to keep, but it still feels like new.  

September mornings still can make me feel this way!

Links this week with thanks:

 

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

More from the South (Oregon) Coast

Same ocean, same trip as last week.... but we didn't spend quite all the weekend gazing at the beautiful Pacific.

 

 

 (A lot of it though -- and who could blame us?)

 

Shore Acres State Park is where I took most of the ocean view pictures last week (and the one above).  We also walked through the acres of gardens at this park.  We were kind of between seasons for flowers, but there were still a few perfect ones (either early Fall blooms or late summer ones still hanging on.) 

 

 

This is one of our favorite places to visit on the Coast and I've written about it before.  (You can Click right here for a link to a post I wrote a few years ago that gives more information on the history of this park.  

 

 

Just a couple more from the Gardens.  

 

 

And next for a complete change of pace, the more industrial side of Coos Bay, the seaside town where we stayed:  

 

 

 The ship is in port to load wood chips that will probably go to Japan.   Coos Bay used to be strictly a lumber and shipping town.  It still has those things,  but tourism is probably catching up as a major source of income for the area.   When we first moved to Oregon, there were really no places in the city to enjoy nature.  It was always interesting to see the action at a busy working port.   But since people go to the Coast to walk along the beach or gaze at the Ocean,  Coos Bay was just a drive-through place.  They've been working on it lately and there are many more places now to do the things most tourists want to do.

Everybody also wants to eat, drink and shop of course and the area has added  several of those places:

 

This is not the fancy birthday dinner.

 We had a lovely dinner in a  "fine restaurant" the first night -- the above pictures are not from that night. 

I don't usually take pictures of what we eat, but couldn't resist this interesting ambience.  And the food was delicious too.  The pictures are from Claussen's, a commercial  Oyster Farm.  It  has a small deli serving the crop they grow, plus a small menu selection.  We shared a plate of oysters on the half-shell,  along with Caesar Salads and Oregon wine.  All while sitting outside, practically on the piles of discarded oyster shells.  Our meal couldn't have tasted better.   

 

A view of one of the Coastal Lakes -- along the  Highway as we drove home.   Beginning to end, it was a beautiful blue-sky weekend.  

 

LINKS this week -- thank you to the hosts:

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

 

It's Been Verified

Yes it is absolutely true -- the Pacific Ocean is still there.  We can personally verify it since we just returned from a lovely weekend getaway  to Oregon's South Coast.  There was sunshine!  

We stayed in Coos Bay -- at a Hotel!  The first hotel stay in how ever many centuries it has been since Covid restrictions began.  Really, we visited the ocean several times during those years, because we could use our camper trailer and not worry about other people.  

 

 

I love camping, but of course it is a treat not to have to pack food or make up our bed.  This was a birthday trip -- we are both August Leos.  But thanks to the Travel Planner the trip happened on my actual B-Day.   I'm lucky.  And grateful.

 

The Oregon Coast is special because of the way trees and greenery grow right down to the sand.   The above pictures are from Shore Acres State Park.

 

 

Weird and wonderful rock formations on the beach at Shore Acres.  They look like a giant's playground.

 

Driving from Shore Acres to Simpson Reef.  The fawn crossed  in front of us -- his mother followed .

 

Simpson Reef is home to about a thousand sea lions -- give or take a few hundred.  That dark line at the edge of the sand is solid sea lions.  Sadly, my good camera ran out of juice before I got pictures.  They were too far away for my little one.  (But I certainly was glad to have it.)  The next picture is from an earlier trip (and the bigger camera).  But it is from the same place.

 

Shore Acres and Simpson Reef are two of our favorite spots on the Oregon Coast.  Although I really can't think of any place along "our" Coast  that does not meet that qualification!  

 

Linking this week to the following.  Thanks to the hosts:

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

River Walk, August

What is as rare as a perfect day ... in August!  

 

 

We had a couple of 75 degree afternoons last week.  Even a walk along a city sidewalk looked good.   But it's even better when that street leads to the River Path . 

 

 

 It's hard to realize walking along the river that I'm actually only a few blocks away from home.    We've been busy with appointments and routine so I feel lucky to be close to this nearby-nature getaway.  Especially on a perfect August day.  

 

 I'm seeing more dragonflies than birds these days.  Guess I need to work on my identification skills.

 

 

 Here are a few more.  They love the River too.

 

Perfection found in a tiny wildflower.

 

Linking to the following with thanks to the hosts.

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

Day trip to Florence

Last week we drove to the Coast,  just for a day trip.  It's only about 60 miles from home to Florence and from there just a few miles either North or South until you (usually) get a good view of the Pacific.   Here's the bridge over the Siuslaw River at Florence.  

 

Our plan was to get a coffee in Old Town Florence and then drive North until we  made sure the Ocean was still there.  

   

 

The coffee shop has a lovely little patio and  a great view of the Bridge. Then just a few steps away, there's a viewpoint where we watched some harbor seals but didn't get a good picture.  We checked out the Purple Martin apartment complex and that population seemed to be thriving.    Can you see two  of them in the picture? 

 

 

Next we drove North and almost as soon as we left the city limits of Florence we hit fairly heavy fog!  We were almost disappointed in our quest to actually see the Pacific for the first time this year.  (The umpteen-millionth in our lifetime but it never gets old).  I've never seen the turnouts along this stretch as empty.  No  cars and no photographers.  We  did get a  glimpse or two of the ocean, but always on a curve where it was impossible to pull over.   The picture below is one from last year -- same stretch of the highway, better viewing day.

 

 

But after all these years and in spite of  our annual "checking out the Ocean"  tradition, we actually know that it will still be there when we come back -- sooner this time!  

 

 

The fog was really a surprise because  it was a beautiful day in Florence.  Lovely walking weather (cooler than at home in Eugene, which was a good thing.)    When we could turn around we headed back to the blue sky and spent some time walking around Old Town Florence.   There are fun little shops and windows to browse and summer flowers always seem to bloom more brightly in the cooler coastal weather.   

 

 

Great restaurants too, but I didn't get a picture of the delicious early dinner we enjoyed .  We didn't have to look as hard for ours as this pretty Great Egret did.  

 

 

It was a good day.  There's never a bad one on a visit to the Oregon Coast.   

 

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

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

 

 

 

xx

We're having a heat wave

We have been living under a heat dome lately.  So hot!   But it is supposed to be moderating a bit this week.   I took the screen shot below from Thursday's local paper:

The line under the icons reads:   Thursday Sunny and Hot;  Friday Very Hot; Saturday Very Hot; Sunday Colder; Monday a shower......

Temperatures over 100 are definitely not summer normal here in western Oregon (or at least they haven't been up until the last couple of years. ) But I laughed at the five-day outlook when I noticed that under the icon for Sunday it says "Colder" (with a temperature range of 89/62).   I don't think that's quite the right way to describe a day where the high is expected to be 89!  (I'm writing this on Sunday morning and it is more pleasant outside than it has been, but I'm not wearing winter clothes just yet thank you.)

Because of the heat, we didn't get outside to play much at all last week.   We've spent some quality time with our Oregon family and loved it, but somehow the camera never remembers to come out of hiding on those days. 

 

Geoff's picture from their Colorado backyard

So this week I'm blogging a a few Oregon pictures from earlier this month and interspersing those with some lovely (and cooling) pictures from our Colorado family.  Colorado is our "third State."    

 

Lisa's picture from Colorado

Above is Lisa's picture of Geoff with Max the big white dog on an early summer hike.  Morning or evening, Colorado skies are beautiful.   

The pictures in the next mosaic are mine from a week ago Saturday before it got so hot here:

 

 

Just some random people showing some of the ways to enjoy the beautiful South Willamette River Trail   (and on that river as viewed from the trail).  Walking, kayaking, bicycling, walking with the dogs, tending plots in the two community gardens along the path, fishing, and just chilling in the park and along the water's edge.  The trail offers something for everyone on a perfect summer's day.   I'm pretty sure we'll have more good days before summer's end.     

 

Green Heron

This is also my picture but from three years ago.  A couple of weeks ago  I showed a distant shot of another green heron and then I remembered this old picture.  It's the best one I think I've ever taken of this particular species of heron even though we see them often both here and in Florida.  Like the more recent picture, this one was also seen at the Delta Ponds and also in July.  

 

 

We've been watching this big apartment complex going up along one of the streets on our way to the River paths.   It's interesting to watch the progress.   At this stage, the buildings didn't look like they were ever going to be finished, but now they look more like people will be able to live in them someday soon.   The already finished building is, I think, going to be the office.

And here's one more Colorado picture:

Geoff's picture

And it's another one taken from their deck.  They have magical views from their new home.  

 

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

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

 

ROSES, 2022

 

 

We should have visited the Owen Rose Garden last month because June is the height of the season for these beautiful flowers.   But even in mid-July  and with all the hot days we've had, there were still some perfect blossoms on view last week.

 

The gardens are well cared for and beautifully designed -- a peaceful place.  It's not  far from where we live here in Eugene.  Just  a tiny bit out of hot-day walking range to get there.

 

So I drove a couple of miles to park at Valley River Center, our area's primary shopping mall.  From there it's a short  walk across a pedestrian bridge  to the South Bank Trail (on the Willamette River).

 

 Then the walk to the Gardens is less than a mile along the trail.  The pictures in the collage above were taken from the bridge.        

 

Eugene has a great trail system.   Most of my walks along the river are from our house -- no driving.    I love  being able to "go outside to play" with no driving (or very little) even though we live in a metropolitan area.  

 

The Cherry Tree in the mosaic below has been growing in this spot from  the mid-1800s.  It's on the edge of the rose gardens.   Because it lies within the original land claim of Eugene Skinner, the founder of our fair city,  it is believed that it was planted by Skinner himself. 

 

Whoever dug the hole, the tree is beautiful and I'm thankful for the arborists  and volunteers who work hard  to keep this living bit of history in prime condition.

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:  Thanks to the hosts.

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

Delta Ponds, Goodpasture

 

The (best) walk of the week started at the Goodpasture Island Road entrance to Eugene's Delta Ponds.  Great walk for photos, not for exercise -- I stop a lot!  

 

Great Blue Heron

That's OK  though because I'd rather take pictures.   It was cooler than it has been since we got home and slightly overcast.  I haven't yet been able to motivate myself  to walk early in the morning.  On hotter days, by the time I get  out there the birds are wisely hiding out.   

 

Pied Billed Grebe

So this day was pretty much perfect because the birds were happy with the cooler weather too.   

 

 Green Heron

Guessing on the photo above, but I think it's a green heron.  Too far away for a better ID   (highly cropped obviously).

 

Scrub Jay

The 2022 World Track Championships are currently taking place here in Eugene. an estimated  60,000 to 100,000 visitors are here watching these world-class athletes -- and spending time and money.  It's  a big deal for our small city!   No coverage on this blog because we aren't really track fans and we are still trying to stay away from crowds.  But it's impossible not to be interested and we are following coverage on-line and in our local newspaper (which is also on-line these days of course.)    

 

Real Oregon Ducks

 

We are on the other side of town from the University and Stadium area so haven't noticed much increase in traffic.  The area's largest shopping mall is within walking distance and it is being used as a park and ride shuttle for ticket holders.  Like most malls these days though there's tons of extra parking, so I don't think even shoppers will be inconvenienced.

 

They're everywhere!  Canada Geese.

All said and done, I'd much rather  watch birds than sit in a crowded arena watching people, no matter how talented they are.   But there is something for everyone here in Eugene this week -- and that's a good thing!  

 

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

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

 

Home Again

It's been five weeks since my last blog post and it's good to be back.

 

Morning Sky on our last day at the Canal Cottage

 One busy week  to close up the Canal Cottage and prep for our cross-country trip.

The  Mississippi looking not so mighty from our RV Parked on the River

Two weeks of travel with the tiny trailer   -- 3500 miles (a night or two in ten different states). 

 

Oregon summer flowers 

And now it's almost two weeks since we arrived  here in Eugene.   It's just beginning to feel like we're home!  Seems like it takes a little longer to get "Oregon-ized" than it used to.  I might be getting older.  

 

The "street" in an RV Park where we stayed somewhere in Missouri or Kansas.     No storms while we were there thankfully.

What with the price of gasoline these days, we could have flown home  for less money, but we already had the tiny trailer  in Florida.   And of course there are problems with air travel these days too.  So it was the best choice this time.   

Rawlins Wyoming -- a rainy day

I didn't take  many more pictures on this trip than I would have if we had flown.  We did only incidental sight-seeing as we drove or in the RV Parks where we stayed... no  touristy stuff this time.  We wanted to be home by the first week in July.  

Glenn's Ferry Idaho

Fortunately we like road trips -- it's fun to think about what's different and what's the same in the different places we pass through. 

Terrible "through the window" shot,  but I always like to document the first mountains we see as we travel west from the flatlands.  

We always get away later than we plan to, so the first night we stayed in Ocala Florida.  Then somewhere in Georgia (lost the name of the town); Montgomery Alabama; West Memphis Arkansas; Cuba Missouri (in the Meremac Valley); Marshall Missouri; Salina Kansas; Oberlin  Kansas; Kimball Nebraska; Cheyenne Wyoming; Rawlins Wyoming; Brigham City Utah; Burns Oregon; and Blue River Oregon. 

 

The McKenzie River -- just a couple of hours from home

 

For people who drive more than five or six hours a day, both the last two places are within a day's drive of home.  But we have always preferred to take our time.   The last day of the trip we stayed in Blue River, less than two hours from home.   Both because we enjoy being on the beautiful River in this sweet little park AND because we don't like getting home when we're tired from traveling all day. 

 

It's good to be home again.   

 

 

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

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

 

 

Winding Down and Wrapping Up

Our season in Florida is drawing to a close.  This week we'll be getting ready to close up the house and getting the car and tiny trailer ready to head for Oregon -- and then we'll be doing exactly that.  

 

 

I didn't even get to take advantage of the last normal week at the Canal Cottage  photographically because our weather didn't cooperate.  We had a lot of rain.  And gray skies.  But we're grateful that we missed the terrible rains that hit further South.   Our area just caught the tail end of the Florida monsoon that hit last week.    

 

Red shouldered hawks, Eagles, Osprey

So none of the pictures in this post are new.   They are all from this Season however.  Even though we were busy doing a lot of non-blogging work on the Canal Cottage and didn't do nearly as much Florida exploring as we have in the past, there were still many photo opportunities.    All of these birds of prey were seen in our own neighborhood. 

 

Ibis, Little Blue Heron (immature), Tri-Color Heron, Northern Shrike, Ducks, Kildeer, Blue Jay, Red-Bellied Woodpecker,  Snowy Egret

All pictures in the collage above were taken right here on the grounds in the resort where we live or at neighborhood parks or ponds.   All were accidental sightings -- none were from special birding trips.  You never want to go anywhere here without a camera.    Normal activities like morning walks or short errand runs  frequently turn into great birding opportunities.

 

 These are frequently seen roadside birds.   Almost every time we drive anywhere we  see Egrets on the ground or in trees,  Wood storks in roadside wetlands or even in water-filled ditches,  vultures doing what vultures do, and Ibis  everywhere.    

 

Grateful for our season in the sun.  For the views, the warm winter weather, and the many accidental birding opportunities right here at home.  (But not-so-secretly hoping we'll have time for a little more Florida exploring in another season.)  

 

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  

 

 

Venice Audubon Rookery

 

May really is a pretty month here.  The moods of the sky are fascinating and every morning walk is different.   

 

Last week's morning walks at home

We stay busy indoors during the hot (and sometimes rainy) part of the day, but sometimes you've just got to get away in spite of the heat. 

So one day last week we drove about an hour North of us to visit the Venice Audubon Bird Rookery.  From their website: 

"The Rookery island’s deep lake is small enough so that from the shaded pavilion benches you hardly need binoculars for a clear view of the birds. Tangled invasive plants have been replaced by Florida-friendly vegetation so you can easily walk around the edge of the lake and watch bird activity on all sides of the island." 

 

Green Heron

May is the end of the nesting season, so there wasn't too much activity in the rookery itself.   But there were some very nice birds around the edges of that small Lake.  One of my favorites, the Green Heron was the first bird I spotted on that walk.  

 

Great Egrets and Great Blue Heron

 

 At the nests, which are on a bird island in the center of the Lake, we caught glimpses of a few big babies poking up their heads to be fed, but I think most of the nestlings had left home already.  The ones we saw (I didn't get pictures) were as big as the parents. 

There were a couple pairs of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks on the opposite side of the Lake from the parking area.   

 

Whistling Duck

There's just something about these guys that makes me smile.  Maybe it's the pink legs?  

 

Or the Mohawk Hair cut?

 

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks

Or their pretty eyes?  Or what seems like their curious nature.  Whatever it is, they are a joy to watch.  We've seen these ducks before, but not this close to home.

We spotted this high-density neighborhood on the edge of the Lake:

 

Purple Martin Condominium

 

And a condo tenant (Purple Martin)

 

He looks a little cranky.   Most of the residents didn't want their picture taken at all.  (The picture is highly zoomed.  I really don't think he even saw me.)

 

 Here's some more Spring color from walks in our own neighborhood:

 

More Florida Spring Flowers

 

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

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

Total eclipse of the moon --

 -- and other news from last week. 

The bird of the week at the neighborhood pond was this Little Blue Heron.  Early in the week when it hadn't rained for a few days, the pond was almost completely dry, but then we had a few rainstorms.   It would be interesting to follow the birds to see where they go when their feeding spot dries up!   They always seem glad to be back. 

 

 

One of those storms, I think on  Wednesday,  was a literal eye-opener.  Rainstorms are common in late afternoon this time of year, but that one woke us up before dawn  with loud claps of thunder and lightning briefly turning our bedroom into broad daylight.  There's nothing like starting the day off with a bang! 

Earlier last week though the weather was good.  And on Sunday (a week ago) we were blessed with a beautiful day and  evening without a cloud in the sky.  So we stayed up late for the total lunar eclipse.   We couldn't have had better seats for the show than we did from the dock area in back of the  Canal Cottage.  

 

Lunar Eclipse, May 15, 2022

During a full eclipse, the moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth's shadow (the umbra).   According to NASA, the reddish hue happens because orange and red colors remain visible while blue and green light get scattered by dust particles in the atmosphere.  Because of the color, lunar eclipses are sometimes called Blood Moons.

Tuesday, May 17

I hardly ever stay up that late these days, so that long night meant no early morning walk happening on Monday.  But the next morning, the  moon was visible on the street side of our house -- and it still looked full.  Although certainly not as dramatic, especially with the point-and-shoot camera which is all  I carry on my normal walks. 

 

 

 

Great Egrets are common around here -- this one was standing perfectly still on a corner island in the middle of the supermarket parking lot.  For a minute, I thought the store had installed a statue.    But he was there hunting for food (just like all the rest of us).

 

In other news of the week for which I'm exceedingly grateful, we were both able to get our second COVID booster shot.  We're still masking up in public places, but the booster provides a nice margin of safety. 

 

And also (TA-DA) the bathroom project which has kept us (uh, half of us) busy all season is finished and it is beautiful.  We (both halves of us, for sure) are delighted with the way it turned out.     I'm   amazed that Bill's talented design and skill  incorporated a roomy walk-in shower, corner sink cabinet with storage,  a wall-hung toilet, and space to maneuver in an area only 7 by 8.     

 

 

 

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; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

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:

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 

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.

#

LINKING THIS WEEK TO THE FOLLOWING:

Thank you hosts!

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;

 

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;

 

CYPRESS DOME TRAIL

 

 

 

Real  moon and fake stars (fairy lights) from our screen porch

(Last Sunday)

It was cooler last week with some rainy days, but no more bad storms.   There are home improvement projects going on here so the rain is OK and so is the cooler (for here) weather.

But we chose a sunny day on Friday for a short hike  on the Cypress Dome Trail, part of the CREW Watershed.   It's a few miles from home, well out of my comfort zone for driving through city traffic, so I was happy that Bill (who is  the one actually doing the home-improving)  was willing to take the time.

 

 

The particular trail we walked was part of the CREW Caracara Preserve.    It was an interesting area --   a mixture of palms, palmettos, and hardwoods surrounding prairie-type lands.  

 

 

 

It was a perfect day for being outside. We saw a couple of woodpeckers and  spent a few minutes watching a murder of crows chasing a couple of much larger hawks, but no Caracaras.    So no good sightings of the bird the preserve is named for,  but also no sightings of the Florida Panthers or bears for which this is also a habitat.          

 

 

 

We did see panther tracks though!!  You could see where the big cat had been bounding along the trail we were on.   I would really love to see a panther in the wild, but would just as soon be in a car or shelter of some kind when I do.   

 

 

CREW stands for Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed  and the CREW Land and Water Trust is a private non-profit conservation organization dedicated to preserving wildlife as well as the watershed.   The organization maintains public trails and some camp spots in several different areas in Collier County.   We hope to visit more of them this season.

Although we didn't see Caracaras on this day, we have seen them a few times in other places in Florida.  Here is one of my archived photos:

 

The Crested Caracara is Mexico's national bird.  (Some people call it the Mexican Eagle.)  It is a raptor with a face that looks like a parrot.  In the USA it is seen only near the Mexican border and in Florida. 

 

Grateful for the work of CREW and happy that they open the trails to the public.    

 

Linking this week the following sharing opportunities:  Thank you 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;