Day 104, Year 8: Quiet Day
Date: Friday, February 15, 2013
Weather: Temperature in the mid-60’s, Overcast with Periods of Light Rain
Location: Home of Mary Ellen and Lee French, Bonita Springs, Florida
The weather remains overcast with light rain here and there, so it was a good day for observing backyard birds, going shopping, and having dinner out with family. The high temperature for the day has gone from 80 something to 60 something. It still feels warm to me, but it is decidedly cooler than it was a couple of days ago. The intermittent rain today made it difficult to do much of anything, so early in the day we watched the backyard birds. Today those were white ibis and red-bellied woodpeckers. The Sabal Palmettos or Cabbage Palms are the Florida state tree and they are everywhere. Some people call these palms overgrown weeds with many edible parts. Obviously the birds enjoy the fruit. There is a clump of these palms between Mary Ellen and Lee’s home and golf course and early this morning the white ibis were gathering there to hunt for grubs and mole crickets. The ibis travel in ‘packs’ and homeowners are very grateful for the job they are doing. When I went out to photograph them, I heard a very loud bird in the Cabbage Palm above me. I looked up and there was a Red-bellied Woodpecker. He was talking to another woodpecker in an adjacent tree and both were very loud. They love the fruit of the Cabbage Palm, so there are lots of them here. My brother-in-law Lee showed me an ad from the local paper indicating the problem these birds are causing down here. They love to peck away at the artificial foam facades on some of the very ornately decorated homes, so builders have to advertise that their facades are guaranteed against red-bellied woodpeckers. Go, woodpeckers!
Later in the morning, Mark and I went thrift store shopping with Mary Ellen and Jeanie, Mark’s two sisters. Mark and I bought so many things that we had to stop at the post office to get a Priority Box to send things home in. The thrift stores here have lots of very nice clothes, so we took advantage. We can’t exceed the 40 pound limit on our checked bag without paying a lot of money, so sending a few things by mail seemed like a good idea. Then tonight we went out to dinner with family. Tomorrow we get together with Mark’s brother Steve’s two daughters. His oldest, Stacey, has two children, and his youngest, Kristie, who is Justin’s age, has two little boys. We got to see all of Mary Ellen’s children and grandchildren last weekend and tomorrow we get to see everyone else. On Sunday we leave here and head back to the East Coast of Florida to visit with some of my family. And on Monday evening, we fly back home to Windbird. We’ve been so busy we haven’t even called to check to see how she is doing. I think we’ll do that in the morning. Our friend Lee Kaufman was going to check on the boat periodically, so we’ll give him a call.
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| 130215 Day 104 Floridai Visit 2013, USA–Backyard Birds |
