Pickle Ball, Air Show and Lots of Birds in the Yard.

On Top of the World (OTOW) is a very active 55+ community. Everyday, there are so many activities, it's hard to choose which ones to attend. Last Thursday, we went to a Get-Acquainted Coffee and heard a presentation on Pickle Ball. Neither of us had ever heard of it before - but we decided to go to the beginners class in the afternoon. Pickle Ball is a cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played on a badminton court with a tennis net. The balls look like plastic wiffle balls and you hit them with a wooden paddle - slightly larger than a ping pong paddle. We had a great time, got some exercise, and met some very nice couples. This morning we were back to practice our serves and volleys.

Yesterday, the OTOW RC Flyers held their annual air show. The turnout was phenomenal. Golf carts from all over the complex were parked in nice neat rows facing the flying field. Some of the flyers have built racks on the back of their carts to transport planes - but Bill will have to make do with his ManVan II for now. (ManVan I lives in Colorado.)

After about 3 hours of watching the giant (wingspans over 80-inches) gas-powered planes fly, they allowed the spectators onto the field to see the planes up close. They were amazing!

This bi-plane was one of my favorites.

So far, Bill flies only electric (battery powered) planes, but now that he has such a nice work space, maybe he'll try one of the gas-powered ones. His Delta needed some repairs after a not-so-smooth flight.

His other planes are hanging from the ceiling of the garage. Please notice the toilet to the right of his workbench. We replaced the toilet in the master bath and this is as far as the old one got. I kid Bill that now he has everything he needs so he can work out there all day.

The bird population here is very different than that in Fort Myers. We don't see the shore birds, heron, egret and ibis, but we do see - and hear - lots of beautiful smaller birds. Love is in the air and the males are sporting their colorful breeding plumages.

The Bluebirds are regular visitors to our feeder in the backyard.

This Bluebird looks more like a hummingbird here. Usually, they look for seeds on the ground under the feeder. His dinner companion is a finch.

The Goldfinches are also regular visitors. Sometimes we have dozens on and around the feeder.



This male is further along in his spring breeding plumage and is showing the black cap. Click on the image and you can really see how the bright yellow feathers are growing in replacing the duller winter colors.

At first, I was sure this was a Chipping Sparrow - but they don't have streaks on their breast, so I looked at Song Sparrows - but they have a central spot on their breast, which this bird lacks. One of my pictures shows yellow on his belly - which led me to the Palm Warbler. He should have more yellow on his face and breast - but his markings are closer to the Palm Warbler than any of the other birds I checked.

Next week, we head back to Fort Myers to spend time with my oldest grandson, Zachary, over his Easter vacation. We are really looking forward to it!

Blogging From Ocala

Here I sit in our new house in Ocala - the first chance I've had to blog in a couple of weeks. It's really starting to feel like home now. Bill loves his garage and is busy setting up storage for his planes. The last of the furniture we've ordered - a comfy recliner - should arrive tomorrow. There is still lots to do, but the rest of the big projects - and purchases - will have to wait until we return next year.

We will make just one more trip back to our condo in Fort Myers - to spend Easter week with grandson Zachery - before packing the last of our things and closing it up for the summer. The condo is for sale and people are looking, but no offers yet. To help it sell, we planted a statue of Saint Joseph in the yard - upside down and facing the building - but Bill broke his head off in the process - so that might delay things just a tad.

We had a nice visit with Bill's sister, Terry and her husband, Ray. I took this picture at Lover's Key. After a couple of standard posed pictures, I told them to do something fun and Terry decided to hug Ray. He looks startled - but it's a great picture of Terry! Ray scoured the beach for interesting shells to use in his art projects and jewelry.

Naturally, we took Terry and Ray to all of our favorite places. This young Yellow-crowned Night Heron has just snagged a tasty morsel for lunch at the Ding Darling Preserve on Sanibel.

My but that was good!

This is either a Common Merganser or its near twin, a Red-breasted Merganser - the first time I've spotted one on Sanibel.

There are lots of these beautiful Meadowlarks on Cape Coral.

This Florida Softshell Turtle is one of the oddest creatures I've ever seen! Look at his snout!

I always enjoy the cardinals. We have lots of them in Ocala - but we don't often see them in Ft. Myers.

This is the Ovenbird that lives at the Corkscrew Swamp Preserve. It's a terrible picture - but at least it proves I actually saw it!

Last year we saw quite a few Florida Scrub Jays - but they have been more illusive this year.

Bill and I are starting to think more about the mountains in Colorado and plan to head north towards the end of April. We might have to stop along the way for the annual Fayette Flyers RC Show.

Epcot and Ocala

Okay, okay - it's been over a week since my last blog and my "regulars" are getting antsy -- well at least one is. You know who you are.

And quite a week it's been! A week ago Friday, Bill and I met daughter Pamela, husband, Orlando and my handsome grandsons, Gabriel and Sebastian, at Epcot for the day. Bill earned his ticket volunteering at The Bridge - a non-profit center for at-risk youth in Fort Myers.

Gabriel had his face painted like a tiger. He was very proud and scary.

He really wanted to make sure the artist did a good job and I was exceptionally pleased that he sat so very still the whole time she was working. Afterwards, we went to lunch and he found a mirror in the restaurant. He kept going over to see how he looked. It was very cute!

Pamela and Sebastian. I wish it had been warmer but the kids didn't seem to mind the chilly weather. Pamela is wearing Gabriel's "ears." They just did not go with his tiger face!

Sebastian was a little young for most of the rides but he seemed to enjoy the sights and sounds of the park anyway. Bill got him to take a short nap while mom and dad went on the rides with Gabriel.

Here we are - Pamela with Sebastian, me, Gabriel and Orlando. Mickey and Minnie are in the background - along with an unnamed couple who was in the wrong place at the right time.

We had a great day and enjoyed the kids before heading north and dropping off another load of furniture at our storage unit in Ocala.

On Monday at 11:30 a.m. we made settlement on our new house in Ocala. At 1:00 p.m. Stanley Steemer came to clean the carpets, at 2:00 p.m. the guys arrived to measure the floors for new carpet and flooring, at 2:30 p.m. Jeremy arrived to set up the Internet and after that our new bedroom furniture arrived so we could spend the night in our new house. It has been non-stop - buying, fixing, adding, assembling new, etc. ect. We actually made friends with our sales-person at the furniture store and purchased some new furniture she had stored in her garage. I'm waiting for the last of it to be delivered any minute.

This is an endangered fox squirrel and we took this picture across the street from our new house. The locals call it a raccoon squirrel because of the dark face mask. It is the largest species of squirrel in the U.S..

One of our priority jobs was putting up a bird feeder in our open backyard. Our first visitors were Bluebirds followed by Chickadees - lots of Robins, Cardinals and Blue Jays. This is going to be fun!

This is our new bedroom...

And living room...


eating area in the kitchen...

and Florida Room. A Florida room (I learned) has both screens and windows under air and heat. We had a lanai in Fort Myers - which is an outdoor room with screens. In Colorado we have a patio. Regardless of the name - it's where we spend most of our time.

Hawk

The other day while we were driving past our local shopping center I caught a glimpse of a long tailed bird out of the corner of my eye. Bill was stopped at a red light and we both tried to figure out what it was. He thought maybe it was a kid's kite but I said no one would fly a kite over a grocery store! The Swallow-tailed Kites are due back any day from their winter in South America and other areas south - had they finally arrived? Or were we seeing something else - another exotic rarity? Bill was taking pictures out of the driver's window when the light changed. He drove across traffic and into the parking area to get a better look - but it had disappeared.

Looking at his pictures, we realized it was just the resident grocery store Osprey carrying a long streamer for his nest. They build their large nest on top of a light post in the parking lot - same place every year - and raise their chicks.

The flying field has been closed all week for runway repairs so several mornings this week we have been on the road at o'dark-thirty, arriving at some of our favorite birding sites at dawn. Today's pictures were taken at Six-Mile Cypress Slough, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Harns Marsh.

The Gray Catbird is more often heard than seen, hiding in thick shrubs if anything moves nearby. They are smart birds and can mimic other birds' calls, but the thing I like most about them is they do not let parasitic cowbirds leave eggs in their nests for the catbirds to raise. I wish the endangered Summer Tanagers were as smart! My Florida bird book says the Chippewa Indians named the Gray Catbird "Bird That Cries With Grief" because of its raspy call.

I've been trying to get a picture of this bird all winter! This is a Carolina Wren and their loud, melodic songs taunt me each time we go to Corkscrew. They sing year-round and can have as many as 3 dozen different song types. The image isn't the best and really doesn't show his warm brown back and bright yellow chest. It was still dusk and the light was not good - so I'll keep trying.

One of my favorite warblers - and the easiest to identify - a Black and White Warbler. It's not difficult to see how they got their name.

I know I promised no more pictures of the Great Egrets, but this one, taken at Six Mile Cypress, was so pretty I couldn't resist.

Another stumper. I think it's a Northern Parula but would happily be corrected by someone who knows more than I.

One of our favorites! There were several Painted Buntings on this trip to Corkscrew. This, of course, is the very colorful male.

If you look closely, you can see he has a band on his leg. Isn't he beautiful?

A Savannah Sparrow. This picture, as well as the next ones, were taken at Harns Marsh.

We haven't seen many Roseate Spoonbills this year - just a couple here and there - so I was delighted to be able to photograph these beauties in such a gorgeous setting.

You can click on any of these images for a larger view.

It was still a little foggy over the marsh - but taking that into consideration, I am pleased with the pictures.

My sister has been putting me to shame with her beautiful pictures of the great variety of ducks and geese in upstate New York. These Blue-winged are not as magnificent as her Oldsquaws and Mergansers - but it's what we have!

Our unusual cold weather has adversely affected the birds, fish and animals, killing many - much to the glee and delight of our huge buzzard population. The Ding Darling resident American Crocodile was recently found dead, her body washed up on the bank of the lagoon. I never did get to see her. She was old and apparently could not handle the freeze. Sadder still, our endangered Wood Storks will not nest this year, hurting their already diminished population. On a positive note, the cold also killed some of the invasive species like the Monitor Lizards on Sanibel and huge Pythons that have been flourishing in the Everglades. Guess there is a reason for everything.

Our condo in Fort Myers is finally on the market, but I am not optimistic it will sell quickly. I've packed up most of the items we will take to Ocala on Monday when we settle on our new house. Since people can arrive to look at the condo on a minute's notice - I have to keep it spotless and have all of our personal items stowed in drawers and cabinets. It's only been a couple of days - but it's already getting old - wipe the counters, close the lid, mop the floor, close the lid, clean the kitchen, hide the dirty clothes, close the lid, etc. etc. It's like living in a model home. Hopefully, it's worth it.

Tomorrow we are meeting Pamela, Orlando, Gabriel and Sebastian at Epcot and I can't wait to see my kids and grandkidlets. Later this year, we were planning to take our older grandson to Sea World to see Shamu - but I guess that's out now.

Gotta go - the Realtor called - they are showing the condo - gotta close the lids...

Critters

The cold ugly weather finally broke (along with my cold) and we have had several beautiful warm, sunny days in a row. We even went to the pool yesterday afternoon to freshen our tans. Bill is out with the boys today and I'm getting caught up with some of my pictures.

This cute little fellow was walking on the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp before jumping down to fish in the water.

Mr. Lizard was enjoying the sun as much as we were.

Just before I took this picture, this black snake had eaten a bird. Guess he was digesting. We've seen this snake before at the same location between the boardwalk and the main lake at Six Mile Cypress Slough.

I know just how she feels! This is a female Florida Soft-shelled Turtle. We know it is a girl because she is so big - 15 - 20 inches across. The males are much smaller - 6 inches across maximum. She can sit on the bottom of a pond and extend her neck almost 2 feet to reach air. I've never seen one before and I was glad there was a naturalist on the boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough to help.

I have lots of new bird pictures to share but I wanted to see if I could actually complete one blog entry without any birds. Here it is - now I'll work on another entry.