Camera Critters-Anhingha

Awhile back, I found this great meme called Camera Critters. I love the pictures and decided that with my wealth of critter pictures down here in SW Florida, I would join in and I have for several weeks now. I would like to have you hop on over to Camera Critters. There you can either sign up for your own post for Camera Critters or see lots and lots of other great critter pics. So, now that you've done that--here is my critter for the day.

Here on Sanibel, we have lots of water and shore birds. The Anhingha is one of them. The first time I saw one with it's wings spread, I thought it was hurt. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought this. The Anhingha has no oil in it's feathers so it has to to spread them out to dry so that they can fly. The Anhingha is also called a Snake Bird because when it dives and comes back up, it's very thin neck looks like a snake. We live on a creek and near a pond. Today I caught these shots of an Anhingha. This guy decided to go back in the water after spreading his wings.

I Love This Picture

This picture was on the front page of the Fort Myers News Press this morning. Obviously I didn't take it. A man by the name of Mark Beaudin from the News Press took it. But it was such a great shot, I just had to share it. It was too good to keep just amongst us locals.

The President Comes To Fort Myers

President Obama came to our neck of the woods today for a Town Meeting. The Fort Myers area is like the epicenter for foreclosures. Obviously every TV station in the area had live coverage of his arrival, his trip to the Convention Center, his speech, the questions from the audience and his departure. We watched it all until we had to go to Lehigh to pick up a patient for the Wildlife Hospital. Our usual route to get there goes by the airport and we figured this could be a real mess so we went I75. We had no problems but did see a few police cars sitting in the median on Lee Blvd. heading into Lehigh. We picked up our patient and headed back the way we came. All of a sudden traffic came to a dead halt. Luckily we were able to turn around and take an alternate route. We decided to go down Gunnery Rd. (our usual route) which goes right by the airport. We figured we could probably get beyond the airport before he arrived. I guess he beat us because getting close to the airport, I saw a huge plane taking off. It didn't even dawn on me that this was Air Force One until it was quite a ways up in the air. I was able to get a couple of shots but I sure wish I had figured it out when it was taking off. We had an amazing view! Anyway, I didn't get to see the President but I did get to see Air Force One. Cool!!

Ruby Tuesday--Goodies from San Diego

What could be better than chocolate covered strawberries for or from your sweetie on Valentines Day.

Or a big red heart.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

OK, I know you are all busy checking out everyone's Ruby Tuesday but take the time to bookmark me and drop back to check out my blog. I am a retired Special Ed teacher who now spends most of her time on Sanibel Island, Florida which is a Sanctuary Island for wildlife. I volunteer for a wildlife hospital. I am also the proud grandma of 5 wonderful grandkids and brag about them often!! I also have a blog called Branches and Roots where I talk about genealogy and my ancestors. OK, enough about me. So if you really want to see red go to Work of the Poet

Crawling on a Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday we went crawling with our Blogging Buddies from Sanibel, Lehigh and West (By God) Virginie. Gary, Tootie, Tink and the Snowbirds were joined by Kim who was visiting from the frozen north. We started out at Biddles, one of our favorite watering holes. You can't beat two for ones all day Sunday in the bar.

Mr. Snowbird chose the Baker's Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell. Apparently they threw in an extra so he actually had 14 of the slimy things! I can hardly look at them, much less swallow one. Ugh!

After lunch, we headed to another favorite watering holes, the West Wind Pool Bar. It was finally warm enough that we could sit outside and enjoy the view. Kim, of course, loved it since she is from the frozen north--or did I mention that already? We enjoyed drinks and pizza and since three of us had had recent birthdays, Tink bought us our drinks. Thanks again Tink!

And of course, when you are at a Pool Bar, you have to take a walk on the beach before you leave. No shells to speak of but Kim did get to dip her toes in the water one more time before she had to fly back to the frozen north.

From there we headed to McT's for our official Sanibel Crawl drink, the Yellow Bird. For some reason, mine tasted a bit salty. Must have been the left over salt from the Margarita I had at Biddles. Or--it was just a bit salty!! It was still good though.

I stole this picture from Tink's blog. I just wanted to show my daughter that I am wearing the shirt she gave me for my birthday and yes, I was blogging it!

Anyway, we had a great time with our Blogging Buddies and look forward to the next time. Hey guys, we have a friend coming down from the frozen north the end of February and he would love to join us. How about another crawl on March 1st??

Manatees

It has been really cold here lately--much colder than it should be in southern Florida. When this happens, we don't only worry about the crops and citrus trees freezing, we worry about the Manatees freezing also. But, luckily the manatees around here have a place to go when it gets cold. They know to head up the Caloosahatchee River to the power plant which discharges warm water. They have been showing on the news pictures of lots and lots of Manatees so we thought we would head over to Manatee Park today and check them out.


Manatees are called the Gentle Giants but thanks to us humans, they are endangered. Many of them have been hit by boats. There are Manatee Zones all over down here but it still doesn't keep them from getting hit. Most of the Manatees have propeller scars on their backs.


We weren't the only ones who decided to check out the Manatees today. There was a huge crowd there.

The Manatees didn't disappoint us. They were everywhere. There is a canal that goes under the highway from the Power Plant. The Manatees swim up the river and into the canal. Then there is a small cove where they all seem to head to. Obviously the water is warmer there.



There were three staff members from Mote Marine in Sarasota today taking pictures and making notes. Apparently they try to identify each of the Manatees.

I did get a few decent shots of some of the Manatees especially Mamas and their babies. Following are some of the better shots. Let me just say that it was pretty amazing to see so many of these wonderful mammals in one place. Up until today, I was lucky to see one or two at a distance.

More Family Pics

Since my daughter didn't copy any of the pictures I took when we visited her, I thought I would post a few more for her viewing pleasure--and for yours if you are so inclined. No words, just pictures.