January 4, 2006 - Lovers Key S.P., Florida

Just got a call from son Doug, (Doug Jenkins Custom Hot Rods), in St. Louis.  Seems he's becoming the Toyota Land Cruiser restoration King.  Said he's had over a dozen or so already, and got another call today from some fellow who's going to be spending some real money to get yet another old one restored.  Check him out here.

Birds, Barb, sunset, moon rise, and then another sunrise.  What a boring life we lead.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  If it wasn't for the no-see-ums occasionally, I'd forget we're here on earth and not in heaven.

You know, having this place essentially to ourselves before 8 AM and after dusk is really special.  The mornings have always been sort of magical for me personally because the hectic day hasn't really gotten underway yet, the colors are different than at any other time of day, most people like to sleep in, and I've got the time to think.  The evenings are usually relaxing because whatever it was I was supposed to do either got done or it didn't and it really didn't make any difference because the day was over anyway.  In this series we're off to another minus tide with its surprises.  Like this lichen covered rock.  Don't see all that many rocks in Florida, much less on the beaches.  And those little shore birds just hanging out.

These sable palms are growing just beyond the edge of our awning, and we've been watching this vine growing up ever since we got here.  Barb finally had to take the picture so we could have some comparison of growth between now and when we leave.

Ah, the excitement never ends.  Elmer and Ann had stopped for lunch (they live across the street from us in their RV) and their E-Z Go wouldn't start so they could go back to work.  And as you can see, they're fun people and always up for something.  They (mostly Elmer) introduced us to a sinful place.  The Royal Scoop.  An ice cream place worth driving to.  Homemade quality, wonderful distinctive flavors, and generous servings.  After our first visit, Barb and I decided that we'd split a single serving from now on.  It's just way too good!!

Didn't know that the Ibis had blue eyes before this shot.  These funny little guys will often roost in the mangroves right next to the bridge when I'm driving the tram for an evening shift.  It's really fun to watch them work out who's going to sleep where.  They sort of push each other up the branch until the top guy has to fly off and start over someplace else.  And what's really funny is that the top guy will move back down the limb for the night if nobody else comes to push him off.  So, they get to the top without really wanting to stay there, but seem compelled to get to the top anyway.  Gee, that sounds a lot like the business world I used to live in.  Sound familiar to you?

The little kingfisher and I really have fun when I'm driving the tram.  Well, maybe I'm having more fun than it is.  It keeps getting scared off its railing.  But the heron on the ground is happy just checking me out.

Back on the beach, this first sea urchin looks like it must have sneezed, because all those shells laying around it might have been part of it's camouflage.  And we'd never seen an urchin with the pink cast to its quills (or whatever they're called).

A conch that got rolled over and is protesting it by extending its foot to get right side up again, and then some.......... well, worm poop.  It's called worm "casting," but it's really poop.  And from the looks of it, the worm has a rather boring diet of sand.  At least that's what the casting looks like it is.

Now I'm not sure what Barb took pictures of here.  Maybe she'll elaborate for us (the left photo is a pen shell with a "blob"--some kind of jell substance; the one on the right must be another urchin in camos).  Just more strange stuff that appeared at the low tide that day.

Just a few shots of stuff at home, including the little Christmas Cactus that Susie Price gave us last time we saw them.  Barb sure is an organizer, isn't she.

And this is our back yard.  More or less.  I've trimmed that sea grape by the canoe way back, and I've given the rocks that were the fire ring to our new neighbors so that's going to be a cleared area pretty soon.

This lady's ability to find "special" shells amazes me.  Constantly.  There's almost always something new laying around the place.  And then it must have been a cool day, because Barb's wearing her winter hat, long pants, and a sweatshirt.  And when she posed for this picture, she was convinced that these were Alo Vera plants.  Since then, we've learned they're a variety of Spanish Sword (or Spanish Bayonnet).  And here Barb spent a lot of time clearing the crud away from them so they could grow better and be more visible.  Oh well, they'll be happy anyway.

This little purple flower has a nice story to it.  It's called a mimosa, we think, and when it's dried from the dew on it, it'll be like a little puff ball.  And the leaves--the ground cover from which the flower blooms--will curl its leaves at the slightest touch--much like a Venus Fly Trap, only the leaves don't catch anything.  Barb got such a kick out of it that every time we're in or near the butterfly garden where the flower lives, and there's kids around, she'll go show them how to make the leaves curl up.  They go right back to normal, so no harm done.  We found the flower when Jeffrey showed it to us.  He and Norm are the caretakers for the butterfly garden here.  Both volunteers and both real dedicated to the garden.  There was a huge damaged sea grape tree at the edge of the garden that was causing some concern, both for the safety of the visitors as well as the garden.  Sea grapes have thick big round leaves that don't deteriorate very quickly, and they block water from getting to the ground when it rains or the sprinklers in the garden are running.  Pretty messy tree but nice for shade.  When/if you want shade--which a butterfly garden needs very little of.  So, no love lost on the tree, and Barb and I spent a full day trimming it up nice.  You'll see pictures of that later, I'm sure.

I asked this guy to stop for a moment so I could prove Santa comes to Florida too.  He was a driver of the "trollee", spelled that way because it's the Lee County Transit System.  For a week or so we had a trial of them coming into the park as a stop, thinking more people would enjoy the park and the concession stands.  Didn't work out, so it's good I caught him when I did.

Even weeds here are pretty.  This morning glory (at least that's what we think it is) starts life off kind of ugly, but when fully opened, it's certainly one of the more striking colors on the trail.

Another lesson day.  This time it's fishing.  Marci, the ranger on the left, is giving the class.  It was a light crowd, and you can see by the jackets why it was.  Marci was showing us knots to use here and, fortunately for me, they're the same knots I already use, so that part of the lesson was easy.

The other ranger is Brie, and new to the park service.  While Barb was taking pictures of us fisherpeople, she caught a real fisherman gliding by.

Al and Audrey stopped by on their way home from doing some work, just to see what was going on.  Since then, they've left to go watch the finishing touches done on their home in Leighigh Acres, about 40 miles from here.

One of the people in the class is a photographer/reporter for one of the local newspapers, and he was taking it all in.

Seems there are several ways to hook a live shrimp, and try as she might, Barb didn't get the picture she really wanted.  I'd taken this shrimp out of the bucket and got stabbed in the finger by it, dropped it, then had all kinds of trouble catching it again.  I'm not sure it was alive by the time it finally got back in the water.  The ibis didn't care, it was rummaging along the water's edge, doing ibis business, ignoring the hilarity above on the bridge.

The strangler fig is an interesting plant.  It starts from the top (from bird droppings), grows down to get a root in the ground, and then grows back up again.  And it doesn't really strangle anything, it just looks like it does.  The only way it will kill its host is by producing a canopy that will block the sun from the leaves of a tree that needs the sunlight to live.  It's almost sensual the way these grow, and we find them quite beautiful.

It was a chilly day, but we're going canoeing anyway.  I wanted to test my ability to paddle and fish all at the same time.  Learned it was best to not do both at the same time, even with a little rod holder clamped on the side.  In the first picture, I'm hanging onto some fishing line caught in the tree, so we could dispose of it properly.  The ospreys may or may not build a nest there.  There are some sticks in the middle, but eating that fish seemed to be the priority.  The cormorant was just scooting further up the branch as we got closer, not getting ready to leave.  Amazing how close we can come to the birds when we're in the canoe.  And it really IS hard to wipe that grin off my face.  Can it get any better?  Yeah, I've got long pants and shoes on because it was a little cool, but hey, who's complaining, eh?

And we'll leave me out in the canal in back of our home, enjoying life as much as any one person can.  Is this a great lifestyle or what?????