A Very Happy Valentine's Day

It's a two-cup of coffee morning. Our good friends, Mike and Mel, arrived on Friday evening and yesterday we had a busy, busy day. Bill is off to the flying field this morning - but the fog is thick so I doubt that he will be able to fly. Mike and Mel are sleeping in.

We took our friends to one of our favorite places to walk, Six-Mile Cypress Slough. This Small Blue Heron was looking for breakfast.


This is a Common Moorhen - also called a Mud Hen or Pond Chicken. They can certainly make a racket!


These cute baby alligators seem to be whispering sweet nothings to each other on this beautiful Valentine's Day morning.

We also saw a huge alligator off in the distance and a big snake swimming across one of the ponds. The turtles were everywhere. One of them had high centered on a log and was trying to get off - with no success. We also saw a number of Ibis pecking, pecking, pecking in the shallow water and heard the Osprey overhead shouting their need for love.

After our walk we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and a huge glass of ice tea. We've been there a couple of times and it is always very good.

Bill is recovering from a nasty cold - that I'm hoping NOT to catch - so he spent the afternoon napping while Mike, Mel and I headed to the pool. The afternoon started out with a clear blue sky - but by the time we turned into prunes, it had turned grey. It was still warm and we were chatting up a storm so we hardly noticed. After a quick dip in the hot tub to warm our core - we walked back to the condo.

Last evening Bill and I were treated to Italian at one of Mike & Mel's favorite places - Starz. They had told us about this great little Italian place just down the road - and we assumed they were referring to Il Pomadoro on Gladioulus. On what we thought was their glowing recommendation - we've been sending family and friends to the wrong place. Good thing they are both good!

Family Visit

The house is quite now after a wonderful visit with Laura, Cheryl and Zachary. Seven years ago I promised to take Zachary to Walt Disney World and I finally kept my promise. We spent two nights at Shades of Green at Disney and the entire day Friday was devoted to the Magic Kingdom.

When you first walk into the Park - with the castle ahead - you already know you are in for a special treat.

We headed to Tomorrow Land and Space Mountain to begin our adventure. Yes, I rode it and, yes, it was a hoot!!

Look closely and you will see Laura and Zachary on the Flume. Bill took this shot. Since they come down so fast, he took pictures of every boat until he got the right one - so if you were on the Flume on Friday - we probably have your picture!

While Bill and I were waiting for the "kids" one of the Disney employees stopped and took our picture. They want to make sure every single visitor has a great time (and we did!)

Mid-afternoon we secured our spot on Main Street to watch the parade.

While at Disney, every second is designed to keep you engaged. Sometimes you have to wait in lines for the rides - but there is so much to see and hear going from room to room, it goes quickly.

While we were waiting for the parade to begin, Disney people invited the children to join them on Main Street and they played games. There was no time for any age to get bored or antsy. They have thought of everything!

I love a parade! This one had all of my childhood heroes in one place and it was GREAT!

The arrival of Mickey and Minnie was a really big deal.

That night we returned to the park for the fireworks show. WOW - I've NEVER seen anything like it!

We wanted this trip to be more than Disney for Zachary so we took him to Manatee Park to see the manatees.

There were even more animals there than last time.

Manatees are mammals so they have to surface to breathe.

Laura, Zachary, Bill and me at Manatee Park. It was chilly early in the day.

We also spent a wonderful day at Corkscrew Swamp. Cheryl is an avid birder so this day was for her (and me!) I'm not sure Zachary anticipated much fun - but by the end of the walk he announced that he was a birder!

With Cheryl's help, we were able to identify many more birds than we had before. She can identify them by sight or sound, perching or flying. It was impressive.

We also saw a family of raccoons and lots of alligators. They had a special program on the Wood Storks and one on alligators (with a cute baby). There are over 600 nesting pairs of Wood Storks at Corkscrew now and you could see them flying back and forth - bringing back food. Their foraging range is approximately 30 miles in every direction. The naturalist had a stork wing - and it was amazingly light. Everyone is celebrating the return of the Wood Stork and we hope the weather cooperates for a very successful breeding season for this endangered bird.

At one of our stops we parked next to this car. Every square inch was covered with something - refrigerator magnets, stickers, statues, painted verses - you name it. Check out the license plate.

Zachary had to write a report about his trip for school. (Actually, I think he's playing Bill's flight simulator game in this picture) but the report got done. He wrote about his experiences day by day. I printed out lots of pictures and together we put together an album. The last line in his report read "...this is how old people live."

Bill took Zachary to Seahawk Park to see the planes fly. They had a great time and came home and convinced me that they had seen the endangered Burrowing Owls. I was excited - and ready to head back to Cape Coral right away - but Zachary had to finish his report. I tried to get Zachary to include them in his report - so he had to fess up and tell me it was just a joke.

Bill also took Zachary with him to the barber and they both got haircuts.

Just before we left for the airport, I got one last picture of Cheryl and Laura.

I hope they all come back soon to visit.

Another Great Bike Ride

Yesterday, we rode our bikes to Lakes Park and all around and I'm still new enough to bike riding that I didn't want to take my camera even though I have a basket. We rode about 10 or 11 miles total and I wasn't anywhere near as sore and tired as I was on our ride to the beach. I'm still nervous riding on the roads - although we have great bike trails almost everywhere.

On the way home I stopped and got my hair cut. Boy is it short! I can comb it with a wash cloth.

We also stopped at the Biggar Farms outdoor vegetable and fruit market and got ripe red tomatoes and a couple of green tomatoes for supper. Bill went out into the field and picked the tomatoes himself. Last night he made chicken, corn (also from the outdoor market) and fried green tomatoes. YUM! I want to stop today and get strawberries - lots of sweet, juicy, red strawberries!

Laura, Cheryl and Zachary arrive today just before noon. Tomorrow we are going to Orlando and Walt Disney World. I'm excited to see them - but they must have sent the cold weather on ahead. I can't believe that when my children come to visit we have some of the coldest weather on record. It happened when Pamela and family arrived and now it's happening again! Oh well - it will still be much warmer than where they are coming from. Good thing I learned to layer in Colorado.

Lakes Park

Today was a combination of sun, rain, wind and clouds - but it was in the 70's so even the rain was warm. During a partly cloudy spell we went to Lakes Park just down the street to walk. We've been there before but this time we really explored and saw just how big the park really is.

This is an Anhinga - also called the "piano bird" because of the white stripes on the wings. I've posted pictures of Anhingas before but I thought this one showed the white even better than the others.

A Little Blue Heron. I love the blues and purples on their feathers.

Check out this alligator on the bank. Remember, this park is just down the street from us!

There were a lot of other people enjoying the break in the clouds.

The park rents bikes and paddle boats.

They also have a train that runs about 1 1/2 miles through the lake side.

This bronze statue sits on a small island. The child's face is streaked with white from all the birds that have perched on him.

There are lots of places to stop and rest or just enjoy the peace and quiet. They have an outdoor amphi-theatre and hold concerts, fairs and special events.

This is a Tri-colored Heron. I realized that I had not yet identified one so this was my goal for the day. I'm sure I've seen them before - but probably just thought they were Little Blue or Great Blue Herons.

The Tri-colored Herons have a white stripe on the front of their neck and don't have the same blue and white patches on their head as the Great Blue.

They are dark blue and stand just over 2 feet tall - about the same as a Little Blue.

The Great Blue Herons can stand over 4 feet tall. They are still my favorite.

We had an early dinner tonight and will probably turn in early as well.

Bike Ride to Fort Myers Beach

I'm exhausted. Bill and I left the house at 7:30 this morning and rode our bikes to Fort Myers Beach and back. The "to" was a lot easier than the "back." The beach was beautiful and we walked up to Bowditch Point picking up shells before we headed home.

Let me tell you about our bikes. One day while driving through Parker Lakes, we saw a sign - "FREE." The two bikes that it was sitting on were ours! We rode them home. Bill's is great with just some rust on the back - but mine had some problems with gears, so I purchased another bike at a garage sale with a basket, speedometer and bell for $20 and we are set to go!

After our day on the road, we relaxed in the hot tub before enjoying one of Bill's fabulous dinners.

On the beach, these cute Sanderlings run back and forth with the waves.

This is a Double-crested Cormorant. Apparently, the double crests only show during the breeding season and even then, they are hard to see.

This is also a Double-crested Cormorant, but it is a juvenile with slightly different coloring.

The Super Bowl just started. As a former Pennsylvania resident, I should be routing for the Steelers - but I can't help hoping the Cardinals win.

On Wednesday my oldest grandson Zachary arrives. I can't wait! We are taking him and his parents to Orlando to see the Mouse.