Sanibel Toot's Lazy Days: May 2011

Pretty white, fluffy clouds as we left Sanibel last evening, to meet friends at a Pizza Pub on Winkler that, they said, had great food.

The friends were right! The Pizza Pub had good food, good service and friendly atmosphere. Excellent choice! :)

When we came out of the pub, the clouds had changed from pretty to ominous and were grumbling at us.

As we began driving home, there was a huge disk shaped grouping of dark clouds.

One small oval shaped cloud appeared to be hanging directly over the Sanibel Lighthouse.

We drove under these dark clouds all the way home and only saw 3 drops of rain on our windshield.

Right after we got home, we had heavy rain for a short time. It is dry here, so we could use more of that; and of course, I enjoy watching the clouds. :)

We arrived at Gulfside City Park around 6:15 this morning. We were surprised to see a beach wheelchair locked to the bike rack. If you didn't know what one looked like....this is it. I've never tried to push one of these on the beach, so I don't know how difficult it is. These chairs are readily available on the island at several rental places. They rent them by the hour or day. I haven't checked prices recently, but they were around $35 per day and $85 for a week.

If you only need one for a short time, you can call the Sanibel Police at 239-472-3111 to request an all-terrain wheelchair, which is available for four hours (maximum) to allow for use by others. Upon receiving a request for a wheelchair, the Police Dept will get all the information as to time and location. They will call Billy's Rentals, 239-472-5248, and relay the information.

Billy's Rentals will deliver the wheelchair and obtain a waiver of liability for both the City and Billy's Rental to be put on file. There is no charge.

(Billy's Rental would like user to come by for a lesson first, but this is not required. Rentals are available seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. There will be no outgoing rentals after 4 p.m., with delivery and pickup on Sanibel only. Must pick up a key first.)

We were worried that the no-see-ums and mosquitos would bother us a lot this morning because there wasn't much air moving. But about half way out the path, we felt wind. YAY!!! The temperature was in the mid 70's so that was good too.

The first thing I focused on was the moon. Next, it was the wave action going on. :) Maybe there were shells coming in!

There was only one person in sight.

I didn't see a sea turtle in either direction, but I nearly tripped over an alligator!

There were shells, but most were small or crumbs.

An Osprey was sitting on the nest in front of Island Beach Club this morning.

Right about here, I started thinking about an internet friend who said she was staying at Pointe Santo this week. We had tried to set up a time to meet, but so far that hadn't worked out. I knew they were leaving today, but I was hoping that maybe she would be out taking one last walk on the beach this morning. But, no such luck. There was no one around.

A white rubber fish. :) Looks like someone lost their bait.

Surprise!! We have a turtle nest in our zone and we didn't know it! YAY!

As I started to walk up toward the nest, I saw someone come around the end of that building, heading for the beach. By the time the person reached the sand, I first noticed hair color, style, then ...... she looked like photos I'd seen ..... but I wasn't sure. Should I call her name or wait to see if she might notice me? I decided to call her name, but just as I was about to, she turned to look at me, looked away and then back again. We both called out each other's name at the same time; it was.... my internet friend!!!! Now really, what are the chances of that happening? She said she had just jumped out of bed and ran out to take a few pictures before getting ready to leave. I felt bad for her, that her vacation was over, but I was very happy that I had the chance to meet her after all.

That meeting was the highlight of my morning! :)

When we reached the end of our zone, we saw another nest that hadn't been there last week. :) It isn't in our zone. That little white sign you can see in the background, is the end of ours.

Handsome, yes?

There were two beach towels left laid out on the sand, chairs set up and sand toys scattered. It was all wet from being out all night. I piled it all up, further from the water, and left it hoping someone would come back for it. I know most condo owners have these things for their renters to use. It's very difficult to keep them because they get left out on the beach. There are cards in the condos with info about not leaving things on the beach at night, especially during sea turtle nesting season. I guess they just don't bother to read it or don't care. In another place we found two beach umbrellas set up and left overnight.

My one shell of the day. A Coffee Melampus. These little snails are usually found around the mangroves where the tides keep the soil wet. When the tide comes in, they cling to the branches. They can breathe in air or water.

The end of another nice walk. :) Except for a little problem with mosquitos when we stood still. :(

The mosquitos have been annoying enough, that it prompted me to find this notice, that makes me very happy!

Weather permitting, the following area is scheduled for treatment of adult mosquitoes within the hours of sundown and 2:00 AM by ULV Spray Trucks:

Captiva Island - All of Captiva Island from South Sea's Plantation south to Blind Pass.

Sanibel Island - From Blind Pass south to Belding Dr., avoiding the Ding Darling NWR.

From the west end of West Gulf Dr. east to Casa Ybel Rd. including Rabbit Rd. and Tarpon Bay Rd. and the west end of Periwinkle Way.

East end, from Sanibel Lighthouse west to Dixie Beach Blvd. and the west end of Middle Gulf Dr. at Casa Ybel Rd.

This evening we went for a drive. The clouds looked so pretty that we decided to watch the sunset from the Sanibel Causeway.

Clouds looking toward the Sanibel Lighthouse.