Local City Tips

After a very mild winter, a cold front blew in yesterday...not real cold but very cool and windy.  We had a little rain and I enjoyed going to the 40th annual Matlacha Art Fair with friends.    Then, it was fun watching my more athletic friends go windsurfing in Pine Island Sound off of Pineland.  They really were flying in about 25 mph hour winds, they can zip from Pineland to Captiva Pass in a matter of minutes!  There are so many great activities to enjoy on Pine Island, even for those of...Read Full Story

February has arrived with mild weather and light winds.  There are many acres of vegetables grown on Pine Island, in large part because a hard freeze two winters ago killed many palm trees.  Now those fields are growing peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, cucumbers, star fruit and papaya. I took this picture this morning as farm workers picked peppers off Harbor Drive. Did you know Pine Island is the most agricultural island in Florida?  If you are interested in Pine Island real estate, here...Read Full Story

   This morning on my usual bike ride around Bokeelia, saw lots of interesting sights, including a Kingfisher on the pier at Batty's Landing, and going out on the pier, Pine Island Sound looked like indigo glass.   Then up in Bokeelia, I noticed there is a new sign for Jug Creek Cottages, which I guess is part of Cayo Costa State Park.   There are six rustic cottages there, a place to park your car and boat, and a place to put in your boat or kayak and head out to Cayo Costa State Park...Read Full Story

  Yesterday was an excellent day for bird watching on Pine Island!  I started out on my bike ride just before dawn and noticed  not one, but two, beautiful great horned owls just across the street from my home in Bokeelia. Then I biked down to Pineland, and went out on the pier on Batty's landing and found these two wood storks fishing on a low tide. Then I continued on my bike ride to back bay Bokeelia, Jug Creek, and found a small flock of beautiful White Pelicans. Later in the day, I had...Read Full Story

   I heard about the Great Backyard Bird Count this week on WGCU public radio.  This is a nationwide effort to count birds in every zip code.  I looked back on records of previous bird counts (visit the website http://www.birdsource.org/ ) and was disappointed no one has submitted a bird count from Bokeelia in a few years. So I hope everyone on Pine Island will be part of the bird count this coming February 17 - 20.  There is also a bird count photography contest...maybe I will enter one...Read Full Story