January 28, 2007 - Lovers Key
Finally collected enough pictures to do another update. Between me playing with a vicious case of bronchitis and Barb having sympathy pains in the form of a decent winter cold, we (mostly me) took a couple of weeks off to just recuperate. Barb's back to 100% and I'm, well, on my way--thank goodness! Neither of us like just sitting/laying around very much.
Ranger Mike S. and Kahlua have a special relationship. Well, at least Mike likes to think so. Truth be known, Kahlua is anybody's dog who will give her a ride!
One day Barb and I walked over to the manatee viewing spot to see if anybody was home flossing their teeth on the roots, and this turkey vulture was watching us carefully. Or was it the other way around? We were both coughing pretty good at this stage of the game, and when you're not feeling well, these guys hanging around don't do much to cheer you up you know. And there were no manatees to be seen either.
Somebody (or somebodies--who shall remain unnamed - they're bigger than I am!) stacked up a bunch of these boxes (with sea oat seedlings) too high.....and a whole bunch of them fell over. Which means that all the seedlings either came loose or fell completely out of their compartments. And since the boxes had been left here for another state park, it was "our" responsibility to fix the problem. Each box contained two trays of 36 seedlings per tray--about 20 boxes fell over. Mathematically, that's about 1,500 plants that needed to be reseated. What a mess. But, hey, that's job security, right?
Barb and Ann worked for a couple of days at the kind of tedious job that would have me screaming out of my mind. Sea oats are important for the building (natural) of sand dunes which protect beaches from high winds (which Florida has been known to have occasionally). Sea oats in above left photo.
At sunset, lots of birds head inland for the night, and it's not easy to give you an example of just how many there are that do that.
Barb and I had just had showers and put on "going out" clothes when our neighbor across the street who was fishing began to yell for us to come see.
What fun!! It's a Bonnet Shark and a pretty good sized specimen besides. Took Ron (that's wife Raini holding the rod) about 10 minutes at least to get it close enough for me to net. And we were all so excited, we totally spaced on weighing or measuring before releasing it back into the canal. Darn shame, too, because after we read about the shark, we realized Ron had caught one at the upper end of the "normal" size range. Energetic animal. Put up a great fight on Ron's light tackle.
Not sure why Sonya wasn't smiling like she usually does, but Kahlua was having a good time, for sure. That's Ann on the bench. Ron's shark brought out the whole neighborhood, and some of the staff as well. By the way, Ron (with the shark) is Kahlua's owner, but she'll tag long with anyone that will give her a love.
Sunrise in the east and a perfect rainbow in the northwest. I'll take credit for the crummy stitching job, but there was no way I wasn't going to record the rainbow that Barb shot while shelling at sunrise for a memory jogger for us years from now. Actually a double rainbow as you can see part way up both sides. Both photos were taken from the same position with just an "about face." Left photo is sand and water, right photo is sand, sea oats, and trees.
The differences between mature sea grape leaves and the new guys on the block are fun. The mature leaves are leathery and, when dry, the Calusa people (Florida's original people) would use them for plates and bowls. Not good backyard trees, though, their thickness hinders rapid decomposition.
All kinds of ways to enjoy a beautiful sunset. Either here at home like these two old geezers are (sorry, Elmer), or at the beach.
Ron is a "U-per". From the upper peninsula of MI. Friend Maria came down to visit and enjoy some of the sunshine and fishing. She's back home with the cold, ice, and snow now. Hi, Maria!
Barb and I were dropping off material for a fence alongside the Black Island Nature Trail, when I spotted a recently shed snake skin. It's on that decaying log I'm staring at.
I'll clown around with the empty skin, but you won't catch me goofing off with a live one that's for sure! Park Assistant Manager Matt was giving a bicycle tour of the park for some of the Friends Of Lovers Key, and they liked seeing the skin as well. It's rare (at least it is for us) to find a complete specimen all in one piece. From its lips with the eye covers in place to the tiny tip of its tail. Usually by the time we find one, it's dried and very fragile.
Friends Of Lovers Key (or FOLKS if you will) is the civilian service organization that people join to assist in keeping the park nice. Many of them are volunteers, most of them donate money for use in the park, and enjoy knowing they're "giving back" something to the community they enjoy. There's monthly meetings and usually a drawing for some prize or other. Last year Barb and I won a gift certificate (worth $75!) for a nice restaurant in Bonita Springs called Wyld's Cafe and last month we won a big pot with a small Spanish Bayonet (a native plant), some planting cloth for weed control, a pair of gloves, a nice pair of lopping shears, and some gardening tools, all from Ace Hardware in Bonita Springs. Needless to say, we like going to the meetings! They have speakers from various outdoor disciplines, and we always learn good stuff.
Brie Jamison is the park volunteer coordinator (among other duties) and she put together a volunteer appreciation dinner for all of the park volunteers. There are only 6 "resident" volunteer RV sites, but probably about 120 volunteers from the local community. Some of them are snowbirds and only down here for the season, but many are full time residents of the area. She built a "Lovers Key Pictionary" game that was terrific. Normally, I'll go to any length to avoid playing party games. I make a fool of myself all together too often by mistake, why would I do it voluntarily? But I got snookered into playing the game. For those of you not familiar with the game, the group is divided into two competing teams. One member of the team looks at the card with some feature of the park on it, and then without letting the rest of their team know what's on the card, they draw something depicting what's on the card, with the team members guessing what was on the card. I can't write so anybody can read it, much less draw anything recognizable, so I deferred on the drawing bit, but was happy to guess what my team members were drawing -- or trying to draw! Well, it wasn't long before this old curmudgeon discovered that the real purpose of the game was for everybody to get up and make a fool of themselves, so I drew "Trail Trimming" and my loyal teammates actually guessed what I was attempting to draw! Amazing. I ended up having a ball with the whole thing. Maybe, just maybe, old dogs really can learn new tricks! The most memorable drawing was for "Black Augustus". Black Augustus was the pirate reputed to have escaped the law and lived out his life on Black Island (one of four islands which Lover's Key is composed of). Raini drew that card, and try as they might, her team couldn't figure out she'd drawn a Black Angus cow, hoping they'd make the leap to Black Augustus. Great fun!
The party was a real hit with all of us volunteers, and we truly did feel appreciated. Of course, we mostly feel that way anyway, but it sure was nice of Brie to go to all the work to show us. The expense for the fabulous catered dinner was handled by FOLKS. I've put together a slideshow from the party and, if you want, you can view it here.
Barb has become very active with the Bonita Springs Shell Club. They meet every Thursday to learn how and actually make things using the shells they've either gathered or purchased. They have an annual sale that serves as a fund raiser for charity and the cost of supplies that's coming up February 9, 10, & 11. She's taken her camera with her to several meetings and I've included a slide show of what the club members are putting together with shells. here.