Swamp Images

Our first full day in Fort Myers was cool and a little drizzly - but it didn't stop the kids from enjoying the ocean and the beach. Bill and I dropped them off then headed to Sam's and Publix to stock up for the rest of the week. Feeding 4 adults and 4 teenagers was a challenge!

We couldn't wait to share some of our favorite places, so after the beach, we took the family to Six Mile Cypress Slough to walk the boardwalk. There weren't many birds out, so about half-way around, I handed Bill the camera and headed back to the restroom. On the way, I spotted 8 to 10 wild pigs routing in the weeds. They were right beside the boardwalk - I could have taken some great shots - but my camera was a half mile back and by now I had to hurry ahead. Bummer.

The next day was sunny - but still on the cool side, so we went south to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. This is a Zebra Longwing Butterfly.

Our most exciting sighting of the day was this Black Racer snake. The wildlife must have not liked the weather because they certainly were not out-and-about!

As we were leaving Corkscrew, we spotted two Sandhill Cranes in a fenced-in pasture on the side of the road..

As I was walking up to the fence to get some pictures, one of them started jumping around.

Next thing I new - he threw a snake in the air and jumped on it! It was quite a show.

By now, Hannah had had just about all the swamps she could handle in one lifetime so instead of going further south to the Everglades, we grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds and headed for the seashell beach at Lovers Key State Park where we walked from one end to the other collecting shells.