Before and During

It's Easter Sunday.  I haven't posted in 2 months, and I don't know why.  I've had nothing but time on my hands.  I think I've got a bad case of inertia.  Oh, right, and we haven't been able to go anywhere to do anything to write about.  So I'm catching up on some "before" COVID-19 activities as well as some about what we're doing during the PAUSE.  

BEFORE:
On February 19th we met Patti at the beach after she got out of work and enjoyed a late afternoon and evening sunset dinner on Bonita Beach.  Also pictured, the RV park when we got home that night, before it all changed.

Bonita Beach

Tamiami RV Park

On February 21st and 22nd we visited the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, FL.  The admission price was for 2 consecutive days, so we decided to get our money's worth.  It was a wonderful opportunity to see amazing flora and fauna.  Some things were hard to photograph.  I was thrilled to see Painted Buntings for the first time.  (Think rainbow colored cardinal.) And while I watched them with total fascination and joy, without a high powered zoom lens, they didn't photograph well.  We also saw an owl, a mother alligator with at least 8 babies and several juvenile alligators.  

Carol and Kelly

Boardwalk through the Corkscrew Swamp

Me studying the painted buntings, looking kind of like a painted bunting myself 😆

I took this photo by holding the binoculars up to my phone to get a close up shot of the alligator.

Quill-leaf air plant

Anhinga

Little Blue Heron

White phase of a great blue heron (I think.  Identifying white shore birds is complicated)

A couple days after we went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I flew back to New York for two weeks to help take care of my dad.  He had a fall and was in the hospital for a couple days.  He recovered quickly and it was a great chance to spend some quality time together.  

My dad, Ed Wight

Added bonus, getting to see Gregory and Alana!

and Maria!

DURING:
When I flew back to Florida on March 8th I had a heightened awareness of the virus, but my only concern was that in an airport and on a plane I'd have the potential to be in contact with people who had traveled abroad, so I used hand sanitizer. - a lot.  I thought about wearing gloves, but worried I'd look like a serial killer.  Little did I know how normal wearing gloves in public would become.

March 12th, Trivia at Palm City Brewing with Patti's son Emmet, Carol, Kelly and Freddie (Patti took the picture)

One of my favorite things to do is to go play Trivia at Palm City Brewing on Thursday night with Carol and Patti and Freddie.  For a variety of reasons we only got to go once this year, before it all shut down... So on March 19th, I started hosting FaceBook Live Thursday Night Trivia, Social Distancing Style.  It's been so much fun for me and it keeps me busy researching questions.  The first week there were about 15-20 players and this week (week 4) there were 30-35 players.  I've committed to continuing until we can all go out and play again.

Week 1, hosting virtual Thursday Night Trivia

On March 14th the pool was full and a week later all events of 10 or more people were cancelled.  We were reminded to keep 6 feet apart in the pool.  On March 28th the pool was closed.  

March 14th

March 18th

Our last trip to the beach was March 16th.  We went to Lover's Key State Park with Patti.  There is normally a tram shuttle from the parking lot to the beach, and that was closed due to social distancing.  By March 19th all Lee County Southwest Florida Beaches were closed.

On April 1st, we decided to venture out for a nature walk.  The Lee County parks were open and the boardwalk was marked one way to promote social distancing.  We went to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.  What is a Slough? (pronounced "slew") A Slough is a long, narrow wetland with slowly flowing freshwater.  We really enjoyed the walk and saw a wide variety of wetland life.  On April 2nd, all Lee County parks were closed. 

Map of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Gator Lake

Needle Nose Gar (I think)

Turtle 

Alligator

Iris

Fungus

Fungurls

Cool hollow tree leaning against the boardwalk

I don't know what these are, but I was taken by how much they look like a coronavirus cell 

Cypress knees

Two Fish 😁

Majestic trees

Male cardinal

It's very quiet at Tamiami RV Park now.  Many of the other snowbirds have gone back home.  We ride our bikes around the park several times a day.  We spend most of the day sitting under the awning of our camper, reading, playing games, doing crossword puzzles, scrolling FaceBook, reading the news, staying connected virtually.  Today it was so hot (NOT complaining, just explaining) that we spent much of the day inside in the AC.  It's pretty much the first time we've done that.  We still went out for our periodic bike rides to keep the blood flowing.  

View from our front door now.

We are so grateful for Zoom.  We've had virtual family gatherings, virtual happy hours, a virtual anniversary toast and virtual book club.  We leave to head north next week.  It will undoubtably be a surreal experience to travel. Like a turtle, we carry our home with us, which is a huge relief.  We will wear our masks, we will be very, very careful.  Please do the same.  We miss you!

Family Zoom: Alana, Maria, Carol, Kelly, Ryan, Alida, Jack, David, Peter

Stay safe everyone! 

A "Bird-iful" Day in Sanibel

Yesterday we spent the day on Sanibel Island "birding".  Our first stop was at Periwinkle Park and Campground Aviary.  Periwinkle Park includes mobile home park models and campsites.  In the center of the park is an aviary for rescued tropical birds.  These are birds that were taken into captivity as pets, and then after the owners could or would no longer care for them, were taken in by the park owner Jerry, as rescue birds.  This rescue aviary was started over 40 years ago. There are about 20 large birds and countless smaller birds.  There are also ducks, swans, ibis, egrets and doves that make the aviary and pond home.  Adjacent to the aviary there are monkeys, lemurs, and other exotic animals.

"Pumpkin"; Catalina Macaw in her cage

Swans and more on the pond

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am Libby gives a free ("The only thing free on Sanibel" she quipped at the beginning of the show) talk about the birds.  Libby is a park resident who took an interest in the birds and has been doing her bird talk for over 25 years.  Her self-taught knowledge of the birds, their breed, region of origin, and stories of their life in the park was astounding.  She sends a clear message that exotic birds are not meant to be domesticated and if you want a pet, get a cat or dog.  

Libby with Cockatoo (whose name I don't remember)

Libby with "Dusty Rose"

A conure from South America

Libby talked non-stop for an hour, taking each bird out and giving information about the bird and often offering the chance to have the bird sit on your arm or shoulder to folks in the audience.  

Libby with "Rico", a male Eclectus parrot from Australia

"Rico" on a young girls arm

"Rico" on my shoulder

One of the stories Libby told, which I found remarkable, was how the Australian subspecies of Eclectus parrot was only discovered in 1913.  These birds are dimorphic, meaning the male and female look different, and in this case so different that when the first of this breed was taken into captivity they didn't breed for 75 years as the breeder had put the males together (green) and the females together (red) not realizing that the very different colored birds were mates.  

This is a stock photo of a pair of Australian Eclectus parrots.   I wanted you to see the magnificent coloring of the female.
"Ruby", the female mate of "Rico" is not fond of being handled, so Libby did not bring her out of the cage to show her magnificent color and the pictures I tried to take through the cage didn't come out well. 

Carol and "Woody"

Being a Green Bay Packer's fan, Carol was delighted to get to hold "Woody".  It was hard to tell who was more excited, Carol or this little guy holding "Axel".  "Axel" is one of the talking parrots in this bird sanctuary.  His repertoire included, "Hi pretty bird", "Hello", a catcall whistle, "Come on" and "Hi Axel".

Carol and "Woody" ~ little guy with "Axel"

Magnificent in size and coloring were two different Macaws.  I don't remember the name of the blue and gold one.  I do remember Libby talking about how she only puts him with men because his owner of 40 years was a man and since he died, the bird is only comfortable with men.  

"Pumpkin" a Catalina Macaw

Carol and "Pumpkin"

Blue and gold macaw

It was delightful to get to meet all of these birds up close.  But it was also sad to know that they were all going back into cages for the rest of their lives.  Libby explained that once tropical birds have been taken into homes as pets, even if returned to the wild, 90% don't survive.  They need to remain captive to be kept alive.  

"Peaches" a Moluccan Cockatoo from the South Pacific

"Peaches" mate "Piper" and Carol

I'm only including a couple pictures I took through cages because the pictures aren't clear.  Suffice it to say that this was a very memorable and enjoyable place to visit.  For the most part people learn about the park by word of mouth.  The park is located at 1119 Periwinkle Way.  If you go, there is a small area to park on the left, before you reach the park gate.  Guests are asked to walk or bike into the park, not drive.  You can leave a donation for the cost of feeding the birds and Libby sells post cards of the birds for her time teaching about the birds.  

Miniature monkey in the primate exhibit

Ring-tailed lemur in the primate exhibit

Blue Crowned Pigeon from New Guinea

Our second destination was JN "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  This is known as one of America's birding hotspots.  Home to more than 245 species of residential and migratory birds, this is another gorgeous spot to spend an afternoon.  There is a beautiful Visitors' Education Center, which is the perfect spot to start your visit.  Pick up a free map and get suggestions from one of the guides on where to stop during your visit.  We were pleasantly surprised to discover there is a Clyde Butcher photography exhibit in the center at this time.  Known as the Ansel Adams of the Everglades, the exhibit featured magnificent black and white photos of the beauty of the Everglades.  

Butcher looked to nature for solace after the loss of his son.

Butcher photographs exclusively in black and white.

While associated with the Everglades, Butcher photographs landscapes throughout the world.

Visitors to the JN "Ding" Darling Nature Preserve travel a four mile one-way road, by car ($5), bike ($2) or foot ($1).  The preserve covers half of Sanibel Island and the nature trail runs along Pine Island Sound.  There are side trails, overlooks and a tower to view the various waterways.  Sadly, we forgot to bring our binoculars.  It was still a tranquil setting and we did see multitudes of water birds.

Roseate Spoonbills 

Pied-billed Grebe

White Pelicans

Little Blue Heron

Hardworking Bayou

As you may have gathered from reading this blog, we do love a good nature walk, also known as a "nature bath". The idea of nature baths comes from a Japanese concept called shinrin-yoku, which means “forest bathing” or “relaxing in a forest atmosphere“, "bathing” in the energy and clean air of the woods.  Like meditation, you’re relaxing and reflecting while improving your focus and immune system in a soothing setting. Studies increasingly show the health benefits of "forest bathing".  There really is nothing like it.  I never regret a day spent in nature!  As a little girl, the woods was my favorite place to spend time.  We had a "crick" in our backyard, and I'd cross the little bridge and be in nature's playground.  It was the place I felt most comfortable, it knit me back together when I needed mending, it delighted me when I needed entertaining and most of all it held me while I figured things out.  It still does.

As with most of my blog posts, I should give photo credit to Carol.  She's got a great eye and often captures better pictures than I do.  When I sit down to do a post I go through her pictures and mine to find the ones that best showcase our experience.  She's also my first reader and editor.  It's a team effort and I'm grateful for the assist. 
💚💛💜