The detention basin project "brings water back to Bay Street". It also adds charm and ambiance to the Fort Myers waterfront.

My favorite home made soap lady wasn’t at the market today so I decided to trawl the shops. At the Open Door Shoppes on Hendry Street, I saw this Mickey Mouse toaster. See? You can have a Disney day wherever you are!

"The Firewalker" keeps on keepin’ on while about a bazillion dragonflies swarm on the lawns behind it. Yes, the sky really is that blue.

I remembered that today is Thursday, which is the day the farmer’s market installs itself beneath the shade of the Tamiami bridge, near Centennial Park. What a glorious morning it is for a stroll downtown – not too hot yet, and a breeze is coming off the water to keep things cool. Lets go see what they’ve got at the market!

The Margaritaville Marauders won the July 4th road rally! The Optimist Club is about to award the prizes at Sanibel Grill. Can you say EXCITED?!

Several nature lovers have reported panther sightings in the Slough this spring – and one was right around this spot! I’m seated in a rocking chair in the shade, back porch of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve visitor center. Breezy back here – nothing but the sounds of the wind, the birds, insects humming and singing, and the occasional plop of a fish jumping. I could be persuaded to nap…

The slough is indeed enjoying a fullness unusual for the beginning of the summer. A few more days of epic rain, and that sign is going under!

At the very beginning of the boardwalk trail, there were several post-tops sprinkled with black sunflower seeds. On conservation land, I’m pretty sure this is a no-no. The squirrels were having a feast and some may think that’s cute but bears eat these too – and they’re a bit more risky to have on the boardwalk!

I parked in a shady spot and strolled across the parking lot to the boardwalk entrance, where I spied an armadillo on a mission. They have the cutest, trumpet-vine shaped ears! Their ears nearly rival the cuteness of hippo ears. He paid me no never mind and continued on with important armadillo matters.

We had a solid week of epic rains – truly, they were of biblical proportions! So I wanted to stop by Six Mile Cypress Slough and see the effect on water levels there. Are you ready? Let’s go!

We ended the rally feeling more confident than the answer sheet is telling us we had a right to be! No way are we "contendahs" but we had fun. We’re currently at Sanibel Grill, and need to discuss our fireworks options for this evening.

There was an Independence Day parade earlier today on Sanibel – I guess this was the American Legion Hall’s float. You can tell which cars are in the Road Rally because they are festively decorated and there is a number soaped on the back windshield.

We have already solved more than 70 riddles n the Sanibel-Captiva Road Rally, and we are now stopping for a rest. Gonna pass on the hot dogs.

The Sanibel-Captiva Optimist Club runs an annual Road Rally every July 4th and I’ve been invited to ride with the Margaritaville Marauders. We head out at around 12:10 PM from Timbers. Will blog as time/circumstance allows.

We decided on burgers at the Grille at Disney’s Yacht Club. They were yummy! Pretty much time for me to start driving now…

We are going to pick from the resort dining available in the Boardwalk area. We’re starving!

…gardenias! I’ve never had any luck growing them, but Disney sure has. These lovely and fragrant shrubby plants are blooming everywhere you look right now, often with nearby magnolias. Olfactory feast!

It’s just so photogenic! The new balloon looks like something from the time period of Oz; probably intentional! I miss the old red and yellow balloon but this one is pretty too.

Today I didn’t do a run around Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. Instead, I took a little nature photography hike along the river and ended up poolside. Here’s a little treat left by the Cast Members – or maybe that chaise is reserved for Mickey ;). Now for some coffee…

We were beyond stuffed when this came around but we made a valiant effort !

My main course at The Flying Fish was Maine scallops with a risotto that included English peas. Amazing!

At the Flying Fish on Disney’s Boardwalk – at some point during the wine pairing meal, you get a palate cleanser that "soothes the soul". This is lemon sorbet with a Limoncello/Absolute chaser. Thoroughly enjoyable!

My brother and sister in law had two courses while I picked away at this salad. Bib and red oak lettuces were grown in EPCOT’s own gardens in The Land.

Various tidbits from the sea with ramps and other veggie things – I have never had ramps before so this was a treat!

Flying Fish makes a drink called Boardwalk Bay Breeze. I highly recommend it.

When I checked into The Flying Fish on Disney’s Boardwalk, I received a badge. Apparently, I frequent a lot of seafood restaurants.

We have been eating our way around the festival kiosks in World Showcase and now we are relaxing in the cool shady cavern known as Tutto Gusto. Glass of muscato + canollis = heaven!

I had some work to finish this morning and let me tell you, if you have to work on vacation, there are worse places to do it. I enjoyed having the terrace doors open and listening to the birds sing while I worked. Now I am off to EPCOT and lunch!

Here is another scene from the morning run at Disney’s Saratoga Springs. It’s awesome to get a different perspective on old familiar scenes.

We’re picking up the walk around Pineland where we left off. Here’s a bird who’s got a lot in common with that guy who still lives in his mom’s basement. He sure looks like a grown-up osprey, but he was whining like a baby. “Feed! Me! Feed! Me! Feed! Me! he cried, in clipped, rapid succession.
Meanwhile, an adult in a tree some distance away flatly refused to bring food. Instead, she ocassionally called out encouragingly, “Get a job, you slacker – go out and hunt! The free ride is OVAH!” 😉 I have encountered this sort of stand-off before, at the Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel. Coaxing the young adults out of the nest seems like hard work, and it probably is – but in the case of the osprey, we cannot blame the economy!

On a mound that overlooks the water, we found a spot where a rabbit had been shedding (there wasn’t really enough of it to assume there had been a “circle of life”-type struggle).

This sign looks melted. We’re wondering if fire came through once upon a time and also wondering why no one has carted it away.

This made me laugh. Yes, OBVIOUSLY, one can hike in either direction, but more to the reason for laughter, it reminds me of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. “Of course, some people do go both ways.”

We came upon an entire osprey family on their nest, which had the most unfortunate piece of lumber sticking straight up, bisecting the tableau. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it was nailed up there on purpose to keep the nest from toppling over. At first, I didn’t see the two chicks in the center, and thought it was just a parent and a juvenile. Then the chicks popped their heads up, all staring curiosity, and the whole family posed nicely for me. I think the one on the right is from an earlier brood; he doesn’t look quite adult to me, but he’s clearly more mature than the two in the center.

Osprey chicks – faces only a mother could love. Despite their scrawny little heads with large staring eyes, they are somehow still every inch adorable!

This dead tree was riddled with line after line of perforations – must be a real favorite of the local woodpecker population. The air plant attached to the side looks like it’s still got a few buds left to bloom for the season.

Once we’d done the loop, we decided to take the shortest way back to the parking lot and get into some air conditioned goodness. Pineland is a very interesting place, and I’d like to take another tour sometime with a knowledgeable guide. However, since the trails don’t have a whole lot of shade, I think my return will be next winter, when the weather is kinder.

After a hike at Conservation 20/20’s Galt Preserve and lunch at the Lazy Flamingo, we explored the Calusa Heritage Trail at Pineland. This site is on Pine Island off the Lee County, Florida coast. It was once a part of the Calusa nation in Southwest Florida. The remains of several shell mounds still stand here, as well as part of the Calusa-built transportation network of canals. It was a hot afternoon – unusually hot for April – and we probably made quicker work of our self-guided tour than we would have in more pleasant weather. Still found beautiful things to see and wonder about. Let’s go!

At least six feet tall, this agave rises impressively from the base of on of Pineland’s shell mounds.

The view from the top of the mound. There are lots of theories – they’re burial grounds, they’re ceremonial, they’re sacrificial. But one thing is clear – this is pretty far up for storm surge to get you. My money is on the practical purpose – shell mounds are hurricane evacuation points.

Along about the beginning of June or so, the entire top of the mound is going to be bursting with the orange glow of royal poinciana.

Whelks were by far the most common shell I saw on the mounds, but there were ocassional other types of gastropods, such as this tulip and the fighting conch by my toes. Of course, these shells are antiquities and therefore NOT candidates for collection.

We found wild native poinsettia plants growing on the ascent to another mound. These are great for attracting pollinators to your garden. Notice how small the red leaves are, as compared to the cultivated variety.

We also found some fiery lantana setting fruit. Lantana is not a native plant, so this was something of a surprise for us. I think we can conclude that Pineland is not under a native-only mandate when it comes to planting.

Frilly, yet functional – egg capsules of the true tulip, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Every so often, the southwest Florida beach comber will run across a
delicate, bouquet like mass tossed upon the beach. If it’s a
particularly frilly-looking mass, chances are pretty good that you’ve
stumbled upon the egg capsules of the true tulip. I found this one on
Bunche Beach in Fort Myers, Florida. Click here for a page that shows a
row of empty true tulip shells –

mymobileadventures.com/2008/01/tulips-tulips-tulips – now,
imagine them smaller than the head of a pin, and encased in a
tough-yet-bendy (something like a finger nail) substance. When you pick
up the mass and shake it, a rattling sounds means that the young snails
are still in there, waiting to hatch. Return it to the beach and let
Mother Nature do her thing. 🙂

egg mass of the true tulip snail, bunche beach, fort myers, florida

When is a pear not a fig? When it’s a whelk!, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

It has the graceful arc of a paper fig, but it’s a whelk. It’s not
left-handed, like the lightning whelk, nor is it beaded, like the
channeled whelk. I’ve been calling it a pear whelk lo these many years,
but now I find that the genus name, busycon spiratum, derives from
busykon, the Greek word for "fig". Meanwhile, the other fig is ficus
papyratia or "paper fig", but it has been renamed to ficus communis,
"common fig". I think I would object, if I were a fig – identity crisis
galore!

This particular pear whelk was found on Bunche Beach in Fort Myers,
Florida, tangled in some thread-like seaweed. After liberating it from
the mess, I placed it on one of hundreds of pieces of coral that had
recently washed ashore. They made a good pedestal for showing off the
whelk’s shapeliness, but I could not later identify them from the
photograph. After asking around and speculating, I’m settling on pillar
coral that has taken a beating in the surf.

pear whelk, Bunche Beach, Fort Myers, Florida

Dunk City!, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

Sign was seen not ten minutes ago as I sat at the light there. In case anyone was wondering – if you get off I-75 at the Alico Road exit in Lee County, Florida, you have arrived at "Dunk City", home of the Florida Gulf Coast University basketball team that surprised everyone and messed up their brackets when they won a place at the Sweet 16. GO, EAGLES!

Three FUNky facts about the black skimmer, originally uploaded by Erin *~*~*.

During a recent walk on Bunche Beach in Fort Myers, FL, I observed a
number of black skimmers among a hundred or so birds collected on an
exposed sand bar close to shore. Back at home, I did a little research
about the colorful birds with the freaky beaks. Here are my top 3 FUNky
facts about the black skimmer:

1. There are three different types of skimmer; the black skimmer is the
biggest.
2. The lower part of the black skimmer’s red and black beak is
significantly longer than the upper part. This enables the birds to
"skim" food off the water as they swoop down low across the surface.
3. The beak is not the only unusual thing about the black skimmer. They
have vertical pupils, which is not unusual in the animal kingdom as a
whole, but it’s unique among birds.

black skimmers bunche beach fort myers florida