Local City Tips

The publisher of the Pine Island Real Estate Guide asked me to provide an update of the 2nd Quarter real estate sales so far this year. There was substantial improvement over the 1rst quarter, with $18,378,000. in real estate sales in the 2nd Quarter of 2008 (so far) and $12,829,400. in real estate sales during the first quarter. That's an impressive 40% increase in dollar volume of real estate sales on Pine Island. There were 20% more sales during the 2nd quarter so far, compared to the... Read Full Story

One of the cool things about Pine Island is that you'll sometimes come across wild Indian peacocks. . .I see them pretty often. On my bike ride this weekend, I saw a peacock running down Helen Street in Bokeelia, and looking down, saw it had dropped four tail feathers. . .they are beautiful 3 1/2 foot plumes, the small feathers are kind of glittery red and green, and the "eye" is a fabulous shade of blue. I've heard they drop their tail feathers when trying to escape a predator and maybe... Read Full Story

I just found out that the Lee County public marina at Bowline Street now has kayak rentals offered by Tropic Star of Pine Island ( http://www.tropicstarcruises.com/ ) This is at the extreme northern end of Bokeelia and has excellent access to pristine local waters. Rentals are $30 for a single for a 1/2 day, $40 for a double. $5 additional for each hour over three. You can also rent a kayak and take it out to Cayo Costa for $40 single or $50 double, this is a full day rental. Consecutive... Read Full Story

Pine Island, Florida real estate sales starting picking up in January and have increased ever since. Here's a summary of what sold during the 1rst Quarter of 2009 on Pine Island: 16 Water Front Single Family Homes - Median Price $270,000. 13 Non Water Front Single Family Homes - Median Price $143,000. 11 Manufactured Homes - Median Price $100,000.00 9 Homesites or Vacant Land - Median Price $40,000. I think real estate prices, especially for waterfront properties, have hit bottom on Pine... Read Full Story

I hadn't been down to Matlacha Community Park in a while so the other day I took a walk thru. I discovered the County has installed a new, two tier floating dock on the water on the east side of Matlacha Pass. This is a great little feature, shady and easy to fish from. The day I was there, several teenage boys were enjoying the last day of school by fishing after school. There is also a long fishing pier into Matlacha Bay, that is a good place to fish from too. You don't need to live on the... Read Full Story

Mike Cavanaugh,  a freelance photographer with over 190 publishing credits brings us the beauty and wonder of Kauai through his artist’s eyes.  His subject matter is solely based upon his many interests and for this reason he did not concentrate or limit himself to any one area of photography.  His subject matter includes music, landscapes, travel, people, sports, still movie productions, and nudes. Mike’s clients include All Access Magazine, Music Connection, Strutter Magazine, San Gabriel... Read Full Story

Summer is here in all its stormy glory. We've had some long hard rains, and spectacular lightning displays and booming thunder. Which is one reason I haven't posted lately, I often turn off my computer during these storms. Also, lightning knocked out our DSL phone lines twice in the past week. Still we really need this rain to replenish our ground water and everything is lush and green. Also, the storms keep the temps down in the 80's and cool us off. Read Full Story

Credits to original posters Read Full Story

Another busy two weeks on Pine Island included: riding my bike, riding my horses, writing my paper newsletter Pine Island Times, picking up friends at the airport, showing real estate and two real estate closings...SO I have not posted to my on-line blog about Pine Island in almost two weeks. Here's an update: There were more than 40 closed real estate sales on Pine Island in April 2008. In April, the median Bokeelia waterfront home sold for $290,000; the median inland home sold for $229,000... Read Full Story

It's a breezy and humid Saturday in Bokeelia. I rode my bike up to Four Winds Marina to see if they had a copy of the boating magazine "Soundings" which has a big feature this month on the waters around Pine Island Sound, and things to do in the Pine Island area. They didn't have the magazine but lots of boaters were going out about 7:30 a.m. Here is one of them. I did get a copy of the magazine at West Marine in Ft. Myers. You can look for it at your local marine supply center. Read Full Story