Day 17

Today was another lazy day...just relaxing and hanging out. Al took a walk...up to 3 miles. Cooked in...made pasta with shrimp, asparagus, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Served with salad. That's all folks!

Day 16

Today is Valentine's Day. Al made breakfast of cheese omelet, bacon and toast. We then left about 10:00 to go to the Arts and Crafts Show....there was a crowd even though it was on the cold side. Dressed warm in jeans and jackets. Had a lot of jewelry and pottery vendors...not as diversified as in the past. We then went to Tahitian Gardens for the Farmer's Market that is held every Sunday through April. Bought some bread ....we were kind of late to come.....some booths sold out. Will have to come again but earlier. Tonight we prepared our Valentine's dinner instead of going out since restaurants are always very busy and often overbooked. We had beef tenderloin with wine sauce, asparagus with balsamic, baked potatoes, and caeser salad. Was very good..enjoyed the evening meal with Antinori Pinot Noir 2007.

Day 15

The rain has stopped and it is sunny today.  We had early coffee and drove to DDWR to take advantage of the sunny day. We then went into Sanibel for brunch at The Sanibel Cafe....Al had bagel with lox and I had tomato slices with tuna salad, fruit,and muffin. This is a great restaurant for breakfast and lunch. Shopped the stores here at Tahitian Gardens. New place, Adventures in Paradise, has beautiful clothes, books, and cigars but also sells boating excursions and adventures. Carries Orvis, Patagonia, Exofficio, etc. Al bought jacket and shirt for me for Valentine's. We then went to Jerry's for provisions for Valentine's dinner. Also went to H2O Outfitters where we bought Al's Valentine gift, shirt in a print with wine bottles, which we had seen earlier and he loved it.  Saw Wanda who has managed several stores we have shopped over the years. Has been with H2O outfitters for the past few years. Traffic was very heavy on Sanibel because of the Arts and Crafts Show at the Community Center.  Ended up going to Lazy Flamingo for dinner. Shared oysters on the half shell, caeser salad and ribs with fries. Was not that busy for a Sat night but we did go early...before 6:00.

Day 14

Today it rained all day...was not a great day to be outside. We spent day reading, watching old movies on TV, and on the computer. We had lunch of sandwiches. We cooked dinner of grouper coated with panko crumbs and pan fried. Was a uneventful day.

Day 13

Thursday, we went to Bailey Tract early for a walk. As we walked into the tract we were greeted by a huge flock of tree swallows...must have been hundreds of birds....sky was almost black with birds.....they stretched across overhead as they swarmed over the trees and water ponds. We saw only a few other birds...was in 40's again this am but warmed to the high 60's in the sun.  Spotted blue herons, tricolored herons, grebes, coots, vultures,and ibis. Was surprised by the many butterflies we saw. A large alligator, about 10 feet, was sunning near the path...too close for comfort.
Made stop at Timbers Fish Market and bought snapper, grouper, and shrimp.
Next we drove through DDWR...lot of people on drive.  On ponds, there were not that many wading birds...mostly ibis. Spotted yellow-crowned night heron in brush and group of roseates sunning on a dead branch in water.  Along the edge of one water area, we spotted a short billed dowitcher ...could see up close. First time sighting for this bird. They feed on the mudflats probing the ground with a sewing machine like motion. At another stop along the drive, we saw red-bellied woodpecker, catbird, cardinal, gnatcather, and unidentified warblers. Birds were scarce but still had eventful drive.
Home to enjoy peel'n'eat shrimp with drinks. We made dinner of pan sauteed yellowfin snapper with rice and salads. Very good.
Pictures of birds to follow on another post.

Pictures from Bailey Tract on Thursday

Some pictures from Bailey Tract.  As you can see we were very close to the alligator sunning on side
of path.

Pictures from DDWR on Thursday

Birds at DDWR

Short-billed Dowitcher

Catbird

Blue Heron

Roseate Spoonbills

Day 12

Another quiet day. Cold temps outside. In 40's early this am but warmed up to 70. Stayed in but I did go down to beach early about 7am to check for shells since it was very windy last night. I bundled up and layered with clothes to stay warm. But no shells did I find. Al took walk later when sun had warmed a bit.
Tonight we did carry out from Lazy Flamingo for dinner. Al had  mesquite grilled chicken sandwich with fries and I had a hamburger with fries.

Day 11

Drive through DDWR

We were up early this morning for coffee and bagels. We headed to DDWR about 8AM to check out birds. As we drove in to  parking lot, we spotted a hawk, 2 opreys, and red-bellied woodpeckers. One of pictures Al made there is the osprey in the tree. Lot of wading birds were feeding including ibis, blue herons, white and brown pelicans, woodstorks, roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, great egrets, great white herons, and great blue herons. Ducks we saw were grebes and blue winged teals. Lot more seen including sandpipers, gulls, kingfisher, opreys, etc.Was low tide so great timing for birding.  After drive, we went to Amy's Over Easy for brunch...Al had Bagel and Lox Plate and I had tomato stuffed with tuna salad. Made stop at Tarpon Bay to take at look of view. Was going to beach next but clouds started to  form. 
Dinner tonight at Doc's Ford. Shared some oysters on the half shell.  I ordered calamari salad and Al had Bahamian Stlye Roast Shrimp with skewered  pineapple, red peppers, zucchni, and red onions. Not very busy when we arrived about 5:30...we did call ahead but no waiting for a table.

Day 10

Another cool and cloudy day. Spent day inside. Al went into Sanibel to buy a few groceries and do some errands. I made some cards using Photoshop. We cooked salmon with rice and salad for dinner. Most of day spent reading and surfing the net, not the waves.