Manatee Park

After checking the location, that it was open (there had been so much destruction we realized we couldn't take anything for granted) and that there were Manatee there, we set off again.

Selfie with a Manatee statue.

 Manatee Park is a seasonal location for viewing non-captive Florida manatees in Lee County.  Manatees visit the park in search of warm water during the cooler days in winter when the temperature in the Gulf of Mexico is below 68° F (20° C).  The warm water in the Manatee Park canal comes from the Florida Power and Light Power Plant across the street and is created as a byproduct of cooling off their equipment. From the website.
 

The park was free but we had to pay for parking. 

A woman at a table by the entrance told us that the best viewing was by the fishing pier, so that's where we headed.

 

The spillway from the power plant enters the river at the fishing pier

and the water was over 90 degrees. Manatee should be happy with that.

It wasn't easy to get pictures of them. Just their nostrils would break the surface and you would hear a little snort. Their back might show for a short period and then they would sink below the surface again.

We had seen that you could rent a kayak but we decided to go and see the situation before doing that. As we watched people kayaking on the river, one girl suddenly screamed and nearly tipped out of here canoe. She may have hit a Manatee with her paddle or one came up below her but I knew, there was no way I was getting Cyndy into a kayak after that. 

They could be seen as brown shadows in the water and sometimes you could see the scars from propellers slicing their back. We watched them surface, roll, wave flippers, flip their tails and eat at the mangroves lining the river. However catching any of that on our phones proved illusive.

We walked up the power plant slipway

There were a few more along there and we watched for a while. You can clearly see the battle scar on this one.

We walked back to the entrance past this huge Southern Live Oak.

Back to the entrance

where the woman at the table had some Manatee bones. She let us hold a cow rib and a Manatee rib. The Manatee's was about 4 times heavier, to help them sink to the bottom.

Really hungry we drove to a nearby Tiki Bar

and shared coconut shrimp and crab cakes

while admiring the huge boats and

watching the lift bridge.

 The next day was a lazy one as it rained and thunderstormed. Time to read a book and paint the house.

 Then today, my last day here..

another trip to the market. (Bought Key Lime Pie this time!)

Oops, no beach.

 Cyndy and I planned a beach day and searching for shark teeth in the sand. We loaded up the car with the requisite beach chairs, beach towels, sand sifters, bathing suits, books, sun hats.....you get the picture. However

when we got there, there was no beach, just huge piles of sand and a closed parking lot

with heavy machinery dealing with the sand that had obliterated the roads, shops and residences along "the key"

We drove along the, now cleared, road and could see the destruction of homes, businesses and flora. It was mind boggling and so sad. The area was hit by 2 hurricanes in October of this year, Helene and Milton, and experienced storm surge and flooding.

So, change of plans. We returned home and researched another excursion option. Manatee Park in Fort Myers...

Birding, Port Charlotte

 Monday Cyndy and I drove to a section of the Florida Birding Trail. We had a leisurely morning so were later than Cyndy likes to go and, as predicted, the birds were hiding from the heat. 

The trail itself was very pleasant, soft underfoot and flat (actually everything here is flat)

Warm, blue sky, soft breeze and very little birdsong. We saw Pelicans, Vultures (Turkey and Black) and Bald Eagles overhead and a couple of Palm Warblers.

The area had flooded during the last Hurricane and much of the ground was still wet, the undergrowth roughed up by wind and waves.

Least Sandpiper explored back and forth along the shore. Alone and unconcerned with us.

A larger victim of the hurricane

with a stern notice stuck to its hull. "Must be removed within 24 hours" as it is on public property. Its owner probably has no idea where it is.

After the walk we did some shopping and returned home for our usual afternoon routine. At the house Cyndy has put out bird feeders and filled the birdbath. The squirrels and racoons have enjoyed these but we have also seen  Ground and Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Bellied Woodpeckers and have been waiting to see..

Painted Buntings. They arrived yesterday but are very nervous and fly away before we can get a phone focused. So this photo is one of Cyndy's from last year. The males are striking, they look like brightly coloured jewellery and the females are nondescript.

Speaking of bright I was surprised to see this here. Hooked and given to Cyndy in 2009 it has seen a couple of homes and traveled in their trailer. It is in surprisingly good shape for that amount of use and Cyndy says she has washed it, in the machine, on the gentle cycle!

The Bean Depot and a boat ride

Saturday we drove to Punta Gorda to check on the trailer. The area had been flooded and seen high winds due to the hurricanes, but the storage facility was largely unscathed, just some damage to the fence.

On the way back we stopped at "The Bean Depot Cafe" for some lunch.

 

It's a historic building, part museum

and

part

restaurant.

We sat outside even though the breeze was a bit cool and

perused the menu.

Not much in the way of vegetarian options but I had a grilled cheese on a brioche bun and coleslaw, with Sangria. The stage in the back ground had a lone guitarist/vocalist and we were entertained while eating.

They had live entertainment at lunch and dinner.

Later I painted it before the usual reading by the pool, swimming and walking Izzy that rounds out our days. I bought a very small, travel, paint pallet and needed to try it out. I found it was missing one colour that I use frequently for shadows and to darken colours, Paynes Grey, so will need to add that in.

Sunday we were taken for a boat ride by, Neil, a friend of Cyndy and Jim's who lives, on a canal, in Punta Gorda. As I was helped on to the boat I dropped my phone into the canal so all the photos to follow are taken on Cyndy's phone. It was a brand new boat and this was the first time Neil had taken it out into the Bay. Very high tech controls and design.

Cyndy and I sat out at the bow as we

spent about 20 minutes

making our way through the miles of canals

past luxury houses with pools and hot tubs, lush landscaping, docks and

boats of all shapes and sizes.

Tricoloured Egret.

After the residential area we went through an area of Mangroves that provide some protection from storms and surges.

Then

out a narrow channel into the Charlotte Harbour Bay. There are no pictures of our ride out on the bay as we were hanging on. Neil was trying out the boat, up to 50 miles and hour, crossing wakes etc. Great fun but not conducive to picture taking.

We re-entered the canals through a different

passage through the mangroves.

Great Blue Heron

and more Pelicans.

Coming back through the canals I went inside and Neil talked about his sailing and boating history and showed off the tech on this, his newest boat. It was a lovely smooth ride, powerful but quiet (although Neil did show how loud it could be if you push the "sport mode" button, which does nothing to performance, just makes it loud) and Cyndy and I were very thankful for the opportunity to get out on the water.

As we returned to the dock, I spotted my camera on the bottom. Fished it out with a boat hook and it now sits in a bowl of rice on Cyndy's kitchen counter. I am not hopeful that this will reverse more than an hour in salt water. I suspect I will be buying a new camera before my trip to Thailand.

Guest photographer: Christine

Who has been sending me pictures of

Rasta, who is, again, adapting to life with the twins, Donny and Marie.