The Month of December

January 2, 2015

Where has the time gone?  It has been a while since I updated the blog so I will condense this entry and talk about the month of December.....primarily the visit with my buddy Jeff.


Jeff arrived on Saturday December 20th with sinusitus but he was a trooper and we did a lot while he was here.  Our first adventure was to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  Here is a link to their website.

http://corkscrew.audubon.org/


14,000 acres and 3 eco systems contained in those acres!   There is a two mile boardwalk where you can view the birds and the various trees and flowering plants from a distance in each of those ecosystems.   It was recommended to me by someone who lives in the neighborhood and volunteers there as a guide.  Jeff also discovered this beauty when he asked AAA for some things to do in the area while he was visiting.

 However, first we ran into this.....

What do you think it is?     It's bobcat scat or poop! 

There are many wild species in this place including alligators and water moccasins.  The photos didn't come out that great but here they are.

Ochefinokee Spider.  Not sure of the spelling but this little guy is venhemeous and could definitely kill you pretty quickly!.  We were not allowed to get too close to it.

The swamp

 If you are able to enlarge the phot you will see a 10 ft alligator on the tree trunk.   His buddy was in the swamp with just two eyes peering out of the green.  See if you can find him.

More wildlife.....no wait....that's my buddy Jeff!



On the Monday before Christmas Jeff had an interest in seeing the Edison Ford Museum in downtown Ft. Myers.  It is an interesting place and I have blogged about it before.  Here is the link for more information.

http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/


Here are some of the sites we saw while visiting the museum.   There is a holiday lights tour in the evening that starts after Thanksgiving but we were there too early in the day to see it.

There is also Edison's Laboratory but it was too expansive for me to get any worthwhile photos.  It's contained in a separate part of a building across the street from his home.


On Christmas Eve we visited Barefoot Beach Sanctuary.  The entrance is off of Bonita Beach Road but you have to drive at least a mile or two before you get to the lower section which is the sanctuary.  Here is one of the homes along the beachfront.  Jeff and I decided to stroll the beach and see the Gulf of Mexico.

Who knows how much this one costs!

Here are some other photos from our visit.

 Free life vests for the little people

A mob scene at the beach!  They were cute.



It has been a humid, muggy December with temps in the high 70's and the first few days of January are about the same.  Morning fog that burns off by 10 or 11 AM.   I never thought I would be talking about 70 degree weather in December in my life.


Happy New Year.  Wishing you all the best for a healthy and happy one!