Farewell NM...Until Next Time

After a trip to the farmer's market where Don and Gracia stocked up on some fresh fruits and veggies, they finished packing and started their return to NM.  It was such a nice visit and although we enjoyed their company very much, we were happy to be just the two of us again.  

Fresh Florida oranges are the best!

Bill and I spent three glorious hours at Charlotte Harbor Beach Park and had Chinese take-out for dinner.  

Life is good!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

NM Joins ME at Corkscrew Swamp

Hooray, it was another spectacular day in SW Florida with clear skies and a temp. topping off around 77*.  We were up early and after a quick walk with Titan along 41, we headed to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  I have blogged about this wonderful place before, here and here.

It never fails to impress us and Don and Gracia seemed to totally enjoy themselves as well.  We walked the 2.5 mile boardwalk and saw tons of animals...

Turtle yoga

A pod of baby alligators enjoying the sun

Gold crowned heron

Kingfisher

Red winged hawks

It was so nice of them to pose so we could see the front and back at the same time.

We can still see you!

*Great Blue Heron

*Snowy Egret

*I can't find my FL nature book so I'm not positive if these two are identified correctly ;o(

Our best find of the day was the painted bunting, which we didn't see until we were ready to leave and one of the employees told us there was one at the feeder right outside the door.

(photo by Gracia Coffin)

Bill, Kathy, Gracia Coffin, Don Gettemy

This is such a great place; I can't wait to go again.  You never know what you will see.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

NM Meets ME in FL

The last time we saw my cousin, Donald and his wife, Gracia was in 2007 when we exchanged houses for two weeks.  They came East a little early so we had some time to visit before we headed West.

Visiting Quincy Market

They arrived in FL with their camper/van late Tuesday afternoon and we explored for the next several days.  The next morning we walked the dog, much like we did when Wendy was here.  Bill and Titan took the sidewalk, while Don, Gracia and I took the Harborwalk, meeting at the hospital.

Birds enjoying a snack at low tide on the Peace River

Three Amigos

After lunch and the announcement of Pope Francis, we took a walk over the Peace River bridge to Fisherman's Village.  We got an ice cream at the coffee shop, walked around the shops and watched the pelicans.

Statue of Ponce de Leon in Gilchrist Park

Keeping their eyes on the fish, really big fish

We returned to the car and visited Bocca Lupo for dinner, then to Bayshore Park to watch the sunset, which was beautiful.   There was also a comet visible to the naked eye, the PanStarrs comet.

Seriously, if you look closely with a magnifying glass you can see it ;o)

They dressed to match the sunset colors!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)