Catching Up With The Herr's

Sanibel, Florida (79 degrees, foggy morning clearing to blue skies)

Wildlife Drive (Ding Darling NWR)

With happiness and a great sigh of relief we have returned to beautiful Sanibel Island for the winter. Our "Crazy Christmas Kiosk" is completed and with just a little recovery time we are back volunteering at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  I have not written a blog in quite awhile so I'll quickly catch you up on what's been happening.  

Randy, Fran, John, and me

Crazy Black Friday

We spent the last two months managing a kiosk at Port Charlotte Town Center Mall selling sport related items.  This was our second year and by far the best thing about doing it was working with our friends Fran and Randy.  We all worked very hard and had little down time.  It was mostly work, eat, sleep, repeat. But, everyone kept their sense of humor.   Fran and Randy were great to work with and were definitely team players.   

We were all very tired at the end of it. So, will we return next year...not sure.  The owner of the company wisely doesn't ask you for a couple months.  You know the old adage...absence makes the heart grow fonder.  The hours are very long and it takes quite a toil working basically 61 days in a row without a break.  

We did manage to squeeze in a couple short birding trips to Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area organized by Randy to see the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker and another trip to  Celery Fields near Sarasota.  

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Celery Fields (near Sarasota)

Our daughter Jen, nephew Ben, and little Louie came for a visit over Christmas and even helped out at the kiosk. John was able to take them to Cayo Costa for two nights.  It's a Florida State Park located on a barrier island which can only be reached by ferry.  They stayed in a primitive cabin and enjoyed walking the beaches and collecting shells.  One of the special highlights was star gazing at night by the fire.  

Me, Jen, and Louie

Christmas day was our only day off and we traveled to Sarasota to enjoy a day on the beautiful Siesta Key.  We spent Christmas there last year and really looked forward to returning again.  Our friends, Eileen and John,  from our first NOMADS project stopped by for a few days and joined us too.  They also helped us obtain our first volunteer position with White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.  It was great to see them again.  Eileen worked one day too.  Beware, don't come visit us during this time unless you want to help out.  Just ask our friends J.C. and Bev from last year.  :)

Me, John, Jen, Ben, John, and Eileen

Toes in the sand...sure beats snow

Our favorite "snow" man

When we finished at the kiosk Fran and Randy arranged with a local Miami guide an exotic bird tour. Stop by soon for a separate post about this great tour with Paul Bithron.  We saw some beautiful parrots, parakeets, and other interesting birds in neighborhoods all around  Miami.  We had the best time and Paul was super guide.  

So, here we are in Sanibel and very happy to be back.  We are joined now with five other couples at the refuge and volunteer three days a week in exchange for our site.  John will continue to work in maintenance and I'll be in the administrative offices answering phones, helping with projects, and giving a program on alligator and crocodiles. 

Sanibel is very busy this time of year and there are lots of activities to become involved in.  We plan on joining the  very active Caloosa Bird Club.  They offer weekly bird tours and have great speakers each month.  Ding also has some great programs each day and an interesting Friday lecture series.  If you are in the area be sure to stop by and see us.  We'd love to show you our beautiful back yard.

Snowy Egrets