Ruby Tuesday-Twins in Red

My twin grandsons turned 4 this past Sunday. I did a post on their birthday but found a bunch of pictures of them over the years that are perfect for Ruby Tuesday so here goes.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 lives in paradise 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

Four Years Ago Today

This is what I looked like 4 years ago today. My daughter was about to deliver twins and I was the "official photographer". After it was decided that she wouldn't be having an emergency C Section, things loosened up a bit and I was allowed to shed the mask.

Ethan Caleb made his appearance first. I can't believe he was ever this little. The pacifier looks like it was made for a giant.Luka Benjamin apparently decided that he was enjoying all that space in there too much and wasn't born until about an hour and 10 minutes later. Since they were 6 weeks early, this is where they lived for two weeks before they were allowed to go home. It was pretty incredible the first time I got to hold both of them at once.It was amazing how much these two little guys grew that first year. Here they are Christmas Day just 5 days after their first birthday. Can you believe that when they were born we actually thought they might be identical!!! That's Ethan on the left and Luka on the right. Since they moved to San Diego, when they were 8 months old, we don't get to see them very often. This was taken when we visited them when they were a little over two. Both boys love the computer and fights have ensued when they both try to use it at the same time.But I bet if you asked Luka if he had to choose between the computer and Lambie--his choice would be Lambie!Since we were busy selling the house this summer, we didn't get a chance to go to San Diego so I haven't seen Ethan, Luka and their big brother Noah for a year now. I can't wait until we get to go see them in January. I know they have grown a LOT since I last saw them.

So guys, Beyuh would just like to wish you both a very Happy 4th Birthday. I wish I could be there to help you blow out your candles, although I'm sure you won't need any help. I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you.

Case of the Week

This appeared in this week's issue of The Island Sun. Pg 18
http://www.islandsunnews.com/Read_the_Island_Sun.pdf

ISLAND SUN - DECEMBER 18, 2009
CROW Case Of The Week: Great Blue Heron
by Brian Johnson
On November 8 CROW received the first of a series of calls about a great blue heron flying around The Landings, a residential neighborhood in Fort Myers. “When we saw a cord wrapped around his beak, we knew he was in trouble,” said John Grande, one of the callers. The bird was so well-flighted that it was impossible for any of his would-be benefactors to capture him. Grande discussed the situation with the clinic’s receptionists as well as Tom Allen, a CROW volunteer with a great deal of expertise in capturing wildlife. “When Tom puts his mind to getting an animal rescued, he gets it done,” said CROW Veterinarian Dr. PJ Deitschel.

Grande generously offered to pay for a Mist Net, a specialized net used by conservation agencies who capture and place bands on birds. The threads are invisible to the human eye past five feet. CROW, with the proper licensing credentials, ordered the Mist Net, and the rescue operation moved into its next phase. On December 2, when the Mist Net arrived, Allen met Grande at The Landings and together they put the plan in motion. Grande took them to one of the bird’s favorite haunts near a lake, where they stretched the net between two stakes, creating a target zone measuring 20 feet wide by eight feet tall. That was the easy part. Now, how would they get the heron to go into it? The two walked the grounds at The Landings, and within the hour spotted the creature. “We found him at one of the lakes, and then we chased him from lake to lake,” said Grande. “He could fly very well.” The two men ran on either side of the lakes to steer the great blue in the direction of the net. Grande waved his arms, discouraging the bird to come in his direction. At last, as Grande was out of breath, the bird flew unknowingly into the nearly invisible net, which collapsed around him. The heron swooned into the water, and Grande dashed in after him. He got hold of his beak and pulled his body out of the water. Allen came up behind with a sock and slipped it over the bird’s eyes. “It worked out absolutely perfect,” said Grande. “I can’t tell you how elated I felt to see him fly into the net. I thought, this is wonderful, we got him.” The 24-day seige had ended, and amazingly enough, the bird was still in pretty good shape.

They took him to Coral Veterinary Clinic, where two CROW volunteers picked him up and drove him to Sanibel Island. “It’s beyond comprehension how he could have lasted that long with the cord around his beak,” said Dr.PJ. “It was wound very tight. Perhaps it had been looser at an earlier point. The bird was feisty as could be -- very vocal -- and was not happy to be here.” By now, one can imagine, the great blue had had enough of these strange events. CROW staff gave him a sedative to relax him while they removed the cord, which was imbedded in the serated edges inside of his beak. They noticed a gash with a scab under his right wing. They put him in the spacious walk-in cage, where he “rested the entire night without a peep.” In the morning, though, as the sedation wore off, the heron made his wishes known. “This bird was up, feisty, full of life,” said Dr. PJ. “He was ready to go.”

The receptionist called volunteers Chuck and Nancy Runta, explaining they had a volatile great blue heron who needed to go back to the wild at once. The Runtas came over to CROW immediately. On the way to The Landings, Chuck drove while Nancy held the bird, eyes covered, in her lap. Grande, who had been called by CROW, was waiting for them. They released him together. “It was wonderful to see him fly across the lake, put his head in the water, and then shake his beak,” said Grande. “He looks absolutely stunning, his plumage is fabulous. We see him behind our house every day, walking around.”

CROW (Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Inc.) is a non-profit wildlife hospital providing veterinary care for native and migratory wildlife from the Gulf Coast of Florida. The hospital accepts patients seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mail donations to PO Box 150, Sanibel, FL 33957. Call 472-3644 or visit: www.crowclinic. org.

Celebrating the Holidays

When it comes to holidays, my 3 grandsons are lucky. They have the best of both worlds. Their mom is Christian and their dad is Jewish which means they get to celebrate all the holidays. I'm borrowing/stealing these pictures from my daughter. They were taken yesterday.

Ethan putting the star on top of the Christmas tree.Luka lighting the Menorah.

Ruby Tuesday-A Visit With Santa

When my daughter and her family visited her in laws last weekend, Mima, the boy's other grandma, took them to see Santa. She emailed me their picture. 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 lives in paradise 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

Mellow Yellow Monday-Mickey Cookie Jar

I love this meme called Mellow Yellow Monday. Lots of yellow pictures to brighten up a Monday. After you look at mine, hop on over and see lots more.

I found this in one of the Disney stores in Disney World. I would imagine it would be very difficult to keep kids out of this cookie jar.

Living the Sanibel Life Style

I have found since I moved to Sanibel that I am far more active than I was up north. I volunteer at CROW at least 3 days a week and am usually ready to go on rescues on other days. I have met many people through the Best of Sanibel Captiva Message Board as well as through my blog and often get to meet these people who become my new friends. And of course I always have my deck and the beach to chill out on. In the past few weeks I have experienced all of these things so thought I would share.

First, I have done some rescues recently but can't share those with you--sorry. But CROW did have a fund raiser called the Giving Tree Festival held at The Sanctuary. Very talented people decorated and donated trees and wreaths to be auctioned off with the money going to CROW. Plus there was a giving tree where people would buy an ornament and in doing so would buy something the hospital needed. We also had a Boutique Unique with really neat wildlife related gifts which people could buy. I worked the Unique Boutique and was able to take a few pictures of the trees.

The Giving Tree

Here are some of the trees and wreaths that were up for auction.

It seems that now that I live on the island I don't go to the beach all that often but when I do I soooo enjoy it. Yesterday we went for a walk and came across these two squaring off.

And this guy was hysterical. He looked like he was just waiting for a handout.

As I mentioned, I have made lots of new friends since I've been coming to Sanibel. We all have a love of the island in common. This week Barb from St. Louis contacted me and asked if we could meet for dinner. Since Gail was here too I invited her and of course Tootie was included. Had Cheryl been in town or Tink hadn't had to work, they would have been there too. Anyway, we all met at the Island Cow for dinner and had a great time getting to know each other.

We had a LOT of rain last week and the creek behind our house, which at this time of the year is usually pretty low, filled to overflowing.

Looking straight down--the water is under the deck.

And of course now that it is Christmas time, I have to get my poinsettias. I can't believe how cheap they are down here. I can buy 5 for what I would pay for 2 up north. So, this is what my deck looks like now all "decked" out.

I love this poinsettia. It was a little more expensive but I "had" to get it.

So there you have a little bit of my life--Island Style.

Ruby Tuesday Disney Style

When we were at Walt Disney World a few weeks ago, I was on the search for red things and obviously with Christmas decorations up I found quite a few things to photograph. Here are just a few.

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 lives in paradise 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

Corkscrew Swamp

Today is not one of your typical sunny Florida days here--in fact it is dark, dreary, and pouring. Don't get me wrong, we NEED the rain. So, being stuck inside, I decided to blog about one of the trips we took last month to Corkscrew Swamp. I love Corkscrew Swamp. It has a 2.25 mile boardwalk which winds through a pine upland, a wet prairie, a cypress forest, and a marsh. Along the way you can spot wildlife and flowers. Corkscrew is also a huge Woodstork nesting area. The Woodstorks weren't back yet so we didn't see any of them. In fact there wasn't a lot of wildlife this time but it was still a beautiful walk.

A view of the boardwalk.

There are many very old Bald Cypress along the way.

There are always lots of beautiful flowers along the way.

The red lichens are kind of interesting.

There are lots of bromiliads.

We didn't see a lot of wildlife this trip but did spot an Egret and a Little Blue Heron. We did see a HUGE alligator but it was way back in the swamp and we couldn't get a good picture of it. One of the most interesting plants down here is SW Florida is the Strangler Fig. It starts it's life as a seed at the top of a tree. The roots grow downward toward the ground and then it twines around the host tree until it finally kills it. Some of them make beautiful patterns on the trees.
Anyway, that was our walk through Corkscrew Swamp. Just looking at the pictures helped brighten up an otherwise really dreary day here.