Show Kindness to Island Wildlife

Our temperature today went from 73 to 86 and 60% humidity.  All in all, a nice day.  Mid-afternoon we went for a drive and eventually went to Captiva to check out the beach.  At the time, the wind was from the NW and very windy on the beach and also some pretty big waves.  There were no shells where we were.  I'm guessing because of the wind direction and the large waves,  there may have been shells on Captiva side of Blind Pass, but the parking lot was full and we didn't stop there.

We were across from Tween Waters Inn, and as we walked onto the beach, the first thing we saw was a little boy chasing the shorebirds.  I won't call him a 'bad boy', but I will say that his parent was obviously not concerned about teaching him to love and respect wildlife.  This child ran up and down the beach clapping his hands and yelling at the birds to scare them away.  He then watched until they landed in another spot, just to do the same thing again.  His family sat and laughed, the mother even got up at one point and ran with him through the birds, waving her arms and screaming.  This went on the entire time we were there.

 I know kids just want to play and the little ones aren't doing it to be mean.  I have to say it looked like a lot of fun for the little guy.  They may not realize they are scaring the birds, and some parents may even think it doesn't matter because they can't catch them, they only move down a little way to a different spot and their child is getting a lot of exercise. 

Some children I've seen are just curious, walk slowly toward the birds, not intending to scare them.  The birds actually don't seem scared, they just sorta move out of the way if they get a little too close.  To me there is a difference.

I just feel that even though a child is young, they can still have fun while you teach them to love, respect and have compassion for living creatures.  What better time than when they are young?  I think ultimately, it teaches them to respect all living things, including their fellow humans, and themselves.

We walked over to Tween Waters Inn Crow's Nest.  We visited with a couple of friends we hadn't seen for a long time.

After a while we looked around and realized that we had missed the sunset.  I stepped outside to get a look at the afterglow.

This is how the sky looked when we left.

And....the cool breeze on the way back to Sanibel

was nothing short of awesome!

Crow's Nest ~ Wednesday Dinner

Tomorrow will be busy for me, so have the last several days, since I am getting ready to go see family for a few days. We will celebrate Christmas a little early, in order for all of us to be together at one time. I am excited about it, but a little apprehensive, due to the cold weather they are having in Indiana with talk of snow. Brrrrr! I have a hard time dealing with that. :-) But, it will be worth it.

It was 68 degrees here last night and 83 today, which suits me just fine. It was still warm tonight when we drove to Captiva to have dinner with friends at the Tween Waters Crow's Nest. We had a very nice meal and then enjoyed walking around looking at the beautiful Christmas lighting. I only had my cell phone, which doesn't take great pictures in low light, but I'm sharing them with you anyway. If I don't get another post done tomorrow night, have a great weekend and I will try to get back to the beach for some pictures on Tuesday.

Sanibel Sunday Celebration

Last night, there wasn't a nice sunset view, from a window in the Crow's Nest on Captiva Island; this is what we saw.


There was water standing in the entrance, along with more threatening clouds moving in. While having dinner there with friends, we watched as heavy rain and wind came and went.

This afternoon we celebrated the return of the Snowbird's, now renamed, the Sunbirds. They are making Sanibel their full time home now. There will be no more migrating for them.


We were well taken care of at the Sanibel Cafe, which is a great place for a meal and also a cool place for a 'Welcome Home' party. As always, we were made to feel like we were special customers.

This sign seemed to be very appropriate for the occasion.
After lunch, our celebration continued as we moved on to the West Wind Inn for a cool tropical drink. It was very hot today and after a short time, the noseeums started bothering us, so we moved on to a cooler place, indoors. Next stop, The Sanibel Grill, where iced tea was consumed by most of us along with a little appetizer of Grouper Bites and Mozzarella Sticks. It was a fun afternoon and it was great seeing the 'Sunbirds' back here again.

Before going home, we drove over to West Gulf Drive and walked out to the beach, by way of resident access #4 at Mitchell's. I was hoping to meet a lady who is one of my Blog Followers, that is staying there this week. But, no such luck!









It had been sunny all day, but there were a lot of clouds to look at on the way home. We did get a little more rain, late this evening.