Day 29 0n Captiva

Sunday morning is Farmer's Market time in Sanibel.  Al and I left around 9 to shop for the week's produce. Lucky enough to get parking at the library.  We purchased tomatoes...the best....okra, lemons, limes. lettuce, and more at the produce stand.  One of the busiest booths here.....one man said "the line reached Captiva".  We also had to buy more fresh made guacamole and mozzarella cheese. Al selected some flowers from the floral booth.

 

 Me on the left waiting for Mozzarella.

 

 I decided we should eat at the Deli on Palm Ridge but they close on Sunday so we went to the nearest place a few doors from the deli which was Rosie's (formerly Hungry Heron in past years). Not the best choice.....even though the food was not bad, the restaurant was a bit run down and did not seem to be well managed and maintained. The hostess seemed to be frazzled but the restaurant was not busy.  I ordered tuna salad sandwich with fries which was oversized and good but the sandwich was grilled which I did not care for or expect on a salad sandwich.  Al had Blackened Bleu Cheese Burger seasoned steak burger, bleu cheese, bacon with lettuce & tomato with onion rings which he said was very good.

We stopped at Ding Darling and checked out the gift shop and took a short walk on the Indigo Trail out to the Education Boardwalk near the school.  I took photos of an Osprey having lunch and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron from the observation deck.

We also spotted  a Roseate Spoonbill, Ibis, Anhinga, and Tri-colored Herons. There were tracks of an alligator crawling through the mud below the bridge.

 

We did a quick drive through the refuge but did not see anything out of the usual.  Most birds were inactive including the White Pelicans all curled up on the sand barriers.  I did take photos of an ibis and immature night heron as we leaving the trail.

By the time we arrived back at the cottage, clouds moved in and stayed the rest of the day.  Time was spent reading and relaxing.
I served Shrimp Linguini ( frozen dinner) with tossed salad of lettuce and veggies for the evening meal.

Day 30 on Captiva

Today begins  our last 2 weeks here on Captiva!  Time has gone so fast.  It has been a good time to be here since we have had the worst winter of snow and cold temperatures back home.

We went to the Farmers' Market in Sanibel early and parked in the theater parking lot since the library lot was full.  We bought our usual produce- tomatoes, lettuce, red pepper, radishes, strawberries and some scallops and triple tail fish at the seafood booth.  We also bought a bouquet of Yellow Spider Mums.....wanted some  alstroemeria but did not have.

 

We stopped for breakfast at Sanibel café and to our surprise, they were not busy at all, not like the usual Sunday morning crowd.  Al ordered the  Café Sampler – Two eggs, two slices of bacon and two pancakes (sorry, no substitutions) but they let him substitute sausage for bacon.   I had Salmon with Cheese and Onion Quiche of the day with parmesan tomatoes ....the quiche was a bit overcooked.

 

We made a quick stop at DDWR and took a short walk out on the Indigo Trail just to the Observation Tower.  I was hoping to see the Mangrove Cuckoo again but no such luck.   We did see a Tri-colored Heron and a pair of  Blue-winged teals feeding.  I think they were the same ones we saw on a earlier trip.

  

Scene from Observation Tower

 

 

We spent a couple hours at the beach in the afternoon....

perfect sunny weather  with a cool tropical breeze.

 

Al grilled some delicious Scallops and I served with lemon orzo and caprese salad. 

We enjoyed with glasses of wine.  Al even took a photo of dinner to share.

 

 

Day 25 on Captiva

This morning we decided to check out the Indigo Trail at DDWR...it has been several years  since we walked this trail and they have built a new boardwalk with observation tower in the last couple years. There was a slight mist as we walked the trail looking for birds.  We had sightings of a female Anhinga, Tri-colored Heron, and Blue-winged Teals along with several Ibis.  This area is a large roosting area for the Ibis.

 

 

 

                                    
 

But the most exciting sight of the day was spotting the elusive and secretive Mangrove Cuckoo in mangroves along the boardwalk  near the entry gate to the drive.  Al got the photograph below:

 

                                         

We were very excited to see this bird and it   was the fourth time we have spotted  him in DDWR.
After a lunch of sandwiches,  we spent a couple hours at the beach and saw more birds on the beach than in previous days.  There will more photos of shore birds in later posts.

Tonight I made Shrimp Scampi with red peppers, mushrooms, and garlic served over pasta with salad and hot rolls. We enjoyed this day of warmth and sun.