Day 8 on Captiva

Early to rise on this Sunday morning.  We headed to the Farmer's Market about 9:00 to shop for tomatoes and other fresh veggies. We bought green beans, garlic, oranges, arugula, mushrooms, and more mozzarella cheese (homemade by Pete).  Al bought me a dozen beautiful pink roses.

We had breakfast at Jerry's Café .. ..Al had eggs, sausage, hash browns, and rye toast and I had half eggs Benedict with fresh fruit.

 

The café entrance had been remodeled slightly since last year with the addition of a Coffee shop.  After all these years, we found it more convenient to park underneath the store adjacent to stairs and elevator and easier to access the pickup area.  We shopped at Jerry's for some supplies and bought prepared Crab Cakes at the seafood market ready to cook.  Traffic was very heavy on Periwinkle going both directions when we drove back to the cottage....typical for this time of the season.

 

We spent some time at the beach and this was the best day so far....not too hot, just right as Goldilocks might say. There were shore birds but not yet in the numbers as last year.  More people too but not at all crowded.  After a stay in the sun, we headed back to poolside and Al served gin 'n' tonics. 

 

 

 

While I was photographing birds, I caught Al photographing this bird with his phone camera:

  

Tonight we had a candlelight dinner on the porch.  I served Crab Cakes that I gave my own touch by coating with Panko Crumbs before frying.  I made green beans that I steamed and added a touch of olive oil and basil.  The dinner was completed with a Caprese salad of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic and oil dressing.   This was my favorite meal that I have prepared since being here.  Everything was delicious, even if I say so!

Day 26 on Captiva

I have been wanting to explore some new to us birding spots and I have been wanting to check out the Shipley Trail at the Bailey Homestead which has been opened only a few years.  It joins up with Pond Apple Park Trail to which we have never been.  So this morning we left about 10AM to explore.

Some Photos at the Bailey Homestead:

 

 

Back of the Bailey House

Rebuilt Windmill

Bench made from old tree and roof shingles.

Anhinga Hanging out in the Manmade Pond

Turtles Hanging out in the Pond with the Anhinga

Wildflowers on the Shipley Trail

 

Things became very exciting as we approached the Pond Apple Trail retention ponds.  We spotted to our delight a lot of wildlife including a group of Wood Storks, Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, Ibis, Anhingas, and more.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The Wood Storks were used to people....this one walked over to the bench where we sat.

 

Immature Wood Stork

Great White Heron

 As we were leaving a nice lady pointed out a Great White Heron ( similar to the Great Egret) which I was able to snap a picture after he flew away and landed on the other side of the pool.   Lillian Stokes says "This is actually a subspecies of the Great Blue Heron, not a separate species. and unusual for this location as it is usually found more south of here in Florida."  From her blog post go here.

 

Here are some videos of Pond Apple and the Wood Storks .

Remember to go to my blog and click on the arrows on the video to view.

 

                                       

 





                                        

I must say our birding experiences were great and we must return to this spot again.

 

We lunched at Jerry's Cafe....Al had a Reuben Sandwich with fries and I had a Seafood Salad served with tomato, eggs, olives and cucumber.   We did some shopping and then headed back to the house just as it began to rain.  No beach today but our timing was perfect for the morning activities.

 

For dinner, Grill Master Al cooked Pork Chops perfectly seasoned.  We served the chops with yummy baked Sweet Potatoes and a salad of mixed greens.

Day 9 on Captiva

We debated on going to the Farmer's Market this morning because of the wind and cool weather but finally decided to go after coffee and pastries.  Everyone was bundled up in jackets, parkas, and sweatshirts and the vendors were holding on to their tents to keep them from blowing away.   Parking was limited because the parking lot near the Schoolhouse Theater used by a lot  of the  patrons was mostly flooded and roped off.

We did buy a lot of produce including tomatoes, red peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, fruit, and more,  even some okra. 

 

  We then went for breakfast at Jerry's Café,  a popular spot with the locals.   Al ordered Cake & Eggs with sausage patties. I had Half Classic Benedict with fruit.

 This was not a good day for the beach even though it was sunny and bright.  Al tried to sit out at the beach but the 40 mile per hour winds prevented that.  I made some fresh salsa with ingredients from the Market and served it with warm chips for our Pre-Super Bowl drinks.  Al made Kim's Berry Delight with Strawberries, Lemonade, and Vodka which were a hit  with our Salsa and Chips.

 For Super Bowl Dinner, Al grilled Rib-eye Steak and Potato Wedges.  I sautéed mushrooms, onions, and red peppers and made arugula salad with my special vinaigrette dressing.  Dinner was delicious!  The grill master done well!!
 



We watched the Super Bowl 50 between the Broncos and Panthers which resulted in a win for Broncos 24-Panthers 10.
Happy that Peyton Manning won the game!

Day 10 on Captiva

Another early morning....I slept later than Al who was up very early because he was having trouble sleeping because of noises that  he heard.  Nothing wakes me up!  The weather is cloudy and rainy today.
This morning Al had an appointment with a Massage Therapist to get a massage and get some relief for shoulder pain he has.  The therapist at Massage Time, Joan, who I found online, is from North Jackson, OH and has been in Sanibel about 15 years.   While Al was having his massage, I began reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which my friend Rita loaned me and recommended.  It is a great book and I am enjoying it.

We had a late lunch at Jerry's Café ...Al had a crunchy grouper sandwich on a grilled Kaiser roll with coleslaw and onion rings.   I  had Taco salad on a bed of tortilla chips...did not like the artificially colored chips of green, red, and black. But overall the food and service was good, but not the wait to be seated.  Hostess was too busy being cashier to sit the waiting customers.

We shopped for some provisions in Jerry's Food Store and stopped  at  H2O Outfitters and Footloose to window shop.  On the drive back we stopped at Ding Darling Education Center to buy some Stokes Bird Books.  It began to cloud up again so we headed home and beat the rain which started just as we unloaded the car  around 4PM.

Since we had a late and somewhat large lunch, we decided to have a light supper tonight.  I prepared a Frittata with roasted red peppers and leftover Angel Hair pasta and a grilled Andouille sausage served with tomatoes slices topped with mozzarella cheese and basil with toast.  This quick and simple meal was just right and more delicious that I thought would be.

It was a quiet night with some TV.  That's all, folks!

Day 4 on Captiva

Wed, Feb 5, 2014

We began our day early with coffee in order to be at Ding Darling Wildlife Drive around 8:00 to check out the birds.  It was not low tide so not many birds were feeding along the drive but we were happy to find some great photo moments.  At the first pool there was only one white pelican and a few shore birds.  At the next pool we saw more white pelicans, a  reddish egret, green heron, cormorants, mergansers, several shore birds. and a yellow crown night heron. There was also an alligator swimming here.

As we drove the drive, we saw a Great Egret and several Ibis up close on the side of the road.  At the Cross Dike there were several Wood Storks feeding along with the herons and egrets and one beautiful Roseate Spoonbill.  Beyond this point were a lot more White Pelicans and several shore birds including a lot of Willets and gulls.

After our drive, we went to Jerry's for breakfast/lunch and then shopped for some more groceries. We were going to the beach for the afternoon but it was a little overcast so we hung around the house instead.
I served shrimp cocktails with drinks made  by Al at 5:00.  Tonight, Al grilled a steak and I made a fresh portabello  mushroom and wine sauce.  We enjoyed this with a mixed green salad with red onions and tomatoes and baked potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream.

I hope who ever reads this blog enjoys being part of our Captiva stay.

Day 22 on Captiva

Sat, Feb 23

Today we went to Jerry's for breakfast....this grocery has a restaurant that serves a very good breakfast and is very reasonably priced compared to other breakfast spots. After eating we shopped for groceries buying for tonight's dinner.  The pictures below are of amazing South American birds scattered about in the atrium of  Jerry's Shopping Center.

 

We spent the afternoon on the beach and were surprised by 2 adult eagles landing in the tree behind us and spending almost 2 hours in the tree.  I took these pictures with my point and shoot camera.

 

This is the tree that the eagles frequent on the beach.



 We were excited today that our friend and neighbor, Mike, arrived for a visit with us before he goes to Marco Island for a visit with his sister.  He arrived on a flight from Akron-Canton airport to the Ft. Myers airport this evening. We decided to cook in tonight rather than trying to get into a restaurant.  Al cooked at his best tonight preparing some delicious beef fillets and asparagus on the grill.  I served the meal with iceberg salad with bleu cheese dressing and hot rolls. We enjoyed wine with dinner. For dessert, we served Key Lime pie from Jerry's.  We had an evening of great food and wine, conversation, and wonderful company. It was so great to have Mike here for a visit. Our only disappointment was that his wife, Pam, was unable to join him for the trip because of her work.  Mike retired in January so we will be looking for Mike and Pam both to come next year.