Day 29 Captiva

Today is Sunday, so that means a trip to the Farmers' Market in Sanibel.  Since it was a cool morning - in the 60's - we dressed in long pants and long sleeves when we left at 9 am.  The market was very crowded and with even more dogs this week.  We shopped for strawberries, tomatoes, okra, green beans, arugula, onion, mushrooms, and fresh cut flowers.   Then made a quick stop at Bailey's Store for pastries, milk, juice, bread, and wine.  Now we had all the basics covered.

I decided that we should stop at Ding Darling at 11:30 to walk out on the Indigo Trail to the Wildlife Education Boardwalk and Al went along willingly  for the walk.  And it was worth the walk.

As we arrived to the boardwalk, we were told to look for a large  alligator on the side.  Everyone seems so fascinated by gators.  And yes we did find the gator on the bank beneath the bridge:

Al took this photo:

 An I took these shots from another location:

 And then a close up of Mr. Smiley:

But there lots more to see here than the gator.  We saw moorhens, ibis, tri-colored heron, roseate spoonbill, kingfisher, great egret, and most exciting yellow-crowned night herons and their nest.

To view video if you open this in email,  go to blog by clicking link at bottom of email. 

Click on arrow:

The kingfisher was quite away from the deck but we got fair photos:

The roseate spoonbill was very near the kingfisher:

Photos of the yellow-crowned night herons.  Al got the best shots of the nest:

 I shot this one across from the nest sunning with his wings spread out.

And this green heron appeared on the bank near the alligator just as we were leaving:

We enjoyed getting to photogaph some great birds but we had to deal with some rather rude photographers who bullied their way in front of other photographers and were very noisy and talkative (using their loud voices) as if they were the only ones there.
Back to the cottage by 1:00 for lunch of ham on rye sandwiches with chips and cold beer.  I blogged away the afternoon almost catching up with our Captiva Days blog.

Dinner this evening was Pork Stroganoff .....I just happened to have all the ingredients needed to go with pork leftovers to prepare that dish.  Served with arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette. Enjoyed with glasses of wine.

Day 28 Captiva

This morning was cooler temperatures and we began Saturday morning with a drive to Ding Darling at 8:30 knowing there was an early low tide.  We found a lot of birds feeding on the right side of the drive.

Some roseate spoonbills were feeding:

On the left side of the drive were white pelicans and cormorants:

Near the Cross Dike we saw some blue-wing teals:

Further down the drive, more birds are feeding:

 Captured this Pine Warbler on camera:

We had worked up an appetite so we went back to the cottage for breakfast of eggs, bacon, grapefruit and biscuits.  At 2:00 we went to the beach for a couple hours enjoying the warmth of the sun. We watched the boats sail by and a flock of sanderlings as they scurried on the beach.

Video of the sanderlings. 

To view video, go to blog by clicking link at bottom of email. 

Click arrow on video:

For dinner, Al grilled a pork tenderloin seasoned with garlic and peppercorns.  I made something new to us - braised radishes with shallots, bacon, and vinegar.  I never cooked radishes, have only served raw.  And they were different, but good.  Also served a side of sautéed zucchini with onion and roasted red peppers.  The pork tenderloin was delicious

Recipe for Braised Radishes here.

Day 27 Captiva

Very quiet day here at the cottage and on the beach.  I took a walk about 9:45 to the beach....no one there but me, some gulls, and some boats in the gulf. Already feels like it's going to be another hot day.

I made turkey sandwiches for lunch.  Al had problems with getting his email from AOL.  Looks like AOL had some serious problems.....was off most of the day.

We spent the day enjoying the pool and reading.  House cleaning was done by Edguardo and Norma at 3:00.  We just stayed out of their way at the pool.

We had an easy dinner tonight.  Using last night's leftover steak, I prepared a large salad of greens, radishes, olives, red onion, tomato, parmesan cheese, and steak strips served with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and hot ciabatta rolls.  Enjoyed this light but filling salad.

Day 26 Captiva

First day of March.  Four weeks already gone by of our six week stay. Every day has been beautiful.
Today was hot early on.  I walked to the beach about 8:20 and found only a few dead fish on the sand....looks like the Red Tide is coming to an end.  I saw even more red-breasted mergansers swimming in the gulf and again they all swam near the shoreline to feed in unison.   The pelicans were diving among them to feed but the intrusion did not stop them.  I also spotted a lonely black skimmer in a group of shore birds including some royal terns, the first ones that I have seen this year.  As I was leaving the beach,  an osprey flew over and dove into the waves and came up with a fish for his breakfast.

Counted 13 mergansers in this group:

To view video if you open this in email,  go to blog by clicking link at bottom of email.  

Click on arrow:

 Brown Pelicans flying in groups of 3:

To view video if you open this in email,  go to blog by clicking link at bottom of email.  

Click on arrow:

Lone Black Skimmer:

 Royal Terns are here this morning:

 Shorebirds flew away:

Al was off to Tween Waters Spa at 9:45 for his therapeutic massage and returned about 11:15.
We had bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with iced tea for lunch.  Really enjoying Florida tomatoes from the farmers' market.  Made up some fresh salsa to have later with gin & tonics.

For dinner, Al grilled ribeye steak and potato wedges that we enjoyed with sautéed mushrooms and spinach salad with strawberries and homemade vinaigrette dressing..