Sanibel Journal

October 31, 2014 – Many people in southwest Florida put cages over their swimming pools.  These metal frameworks support screen panels that keep bugs and other critters out of the pool area.  The screen also blocks some sunlight, enough to make it difficult to get a sunburn inside a pool cage.  Since the screen blocks light, it also obscures the view a bit; that is I something I do not like at all.  Fortunately, the two community pools in our neighborhood are not caged.  They weren’t even fenced until several years ago, when an insurance company insisted on fencing.  My husband Tom was president of the homeowners association when that happened. Our neighborhood, which has traditionally prized its natural landscape and setting, resisted fences for aesthetic reasons.  Scholar that he is, Tom studied other pool fences on the island and, together with the groundskeeper, Ray, came up with a plan for an almost invisible fence for each pool. Some of t...

October 28, 2014 – Even the short and routine walk down the street to the community pool can yield surprises.  Several days ago, a small alligator (4 or 5 feet long) was sunning itself on the grass between the lagoon and the dirt road where I walked.  The alligator’s mouth was open, giving the impression of the gator smiling, or perhaps getting ready to bite something.  But that’s not the case; gators usually do this open-mouth thing to cool off.   What surprised me was that the weather was not hot; the temperature was a comfortable, dry 72 degrees F.  I didn’t think the gator should be that hot.  I hope he/she is okay. After I swam my 2 kilometers, I walked back to the house.  On the way, I noticed that the gator was gone. Alligator sunning in the grass in March 2011, in about the same spot where I saw a smaller gator with mouth open last week . The next day (Friday), I decided to run in the deep end of the pool.   Su...

October 23, 2014 – Bailey’s General Store is at the heart of Sanibel.  Literally, it is in the middle of the wide part of the island.  Functionally, Sanibelians go there often to acquire the basics for everyday life – namely, groceries and hardware. Bailey’s is in a ground-level building that pre-dates hurricane code, and it has a long covered sidewalk in front, part of which is decked out with rocking chairs, a few small tables, and other chairs.   The other part of the covered front walk is where all the doorways into the grocery and hardware store are located.  The center doorway is the most frequently used entrance, and that’s where the manager/owner Richard Johnson (married to Mead Bailey Johnson) often permits nonprofit organizations to set up a table from which raffle tickets are sold or information is dispensed. Turtle on a log on Chowder Pond, in our back yard. My friend David and I were scheduled to sit at a table there on Monday, for tw...

October 21, 2014 – My friend Phyllis conducts tours of the grounds at the Sanibel city hall, where numerous native plants grow.  The tours are not about city government; they are about what grows well on this fragile barrier island – plants that do not need fertilizer and that can survive droughts. The tours are free and no reservations are needed.  For property owners, it is a bargain and a joy to listen to the information that Phyllis provides.  In her sweet voice, she tells little stories about each plant.  She needs no notes; she knows it all by heart. Phyllis is the chair of the city’s vegetation committee.  She devotes much time to this volunteer job.  The committee's members inspect properties that are being developed; they help to ensure that native plants are protected and replaced when necessary. A firebush bloom. That committee also does much to educate new property owners as well as longtime residents like me, who have forgotten what ...

October 17, 2014 – Introducing someone to Cooley Hammock delights us.  We gave Jim H. a tour of the hammock on Tuesday afternoon.  His reaction?  “Oh, this is SO COOL!” True south Floridians know I’m not talking about one of those woven-rope things that you can fall into for a perfect nap on a warm afternoon.  I’m talking about a tropical hardwood hammock – a type of woods found throughout south Florida. You could say that hammocks are found around, or next to, wetlands, or you could say wetlands are found around hammocks.  It makes no difference.  Hammocks are just a few inches higher in elevation than their neighbors, the wetlands.  The term “upland wetlands” can include hammocks, and so can “uplands” – some of what defines a “hammock” is the soil drainage. A thicket of native snowberry on Cooley Hammock. Jim H. unwittingly had a role in our finding this hammock for sale.  He’s a realtor who had a home listed for sale in a west-end S...

Post by Dave Thornton . Post by Dave Thornton .

October 13, 2014 -- High noon on Sunday – that’s an hour before the weekly farmer’s market closes.  That’s the time I ceased working at the computer and dashed out the door.  We did not “need” anything from the market.  But I was thinking about Sunday dinner, and how nice it would be to have some of those gorgeous green beans I saw at last weeks’ market.  I did not know what main course I was going to cook for dinner, but perhaps I’ll be inspired by something at the market, I thought.  If not, I could follow up with a trip to Bailey’s General Store. Crab on a mangrove in the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel. From among the many produce vendors, I found the one with the most beautiful green beans.   For some reason, the beans were placed far back in the booth.   They should have been right out front, like last week, to entice shoppers like me!   Several people worked in the booth, but one man in the back corner was ...

October 12, 2014 -- My husband Tom is a travelling man.  He doesn't travel far at all without me, but because of his hobbies and avocations, he leaves this island more often than I do. Yesterday, he had a gig.  The Blue Dirt Dixieland Jazz band, for which Tom is percussionist, played at lunchtime at Fleamasters, an indoor flea market on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fort Myers.  For this gig, the band was in its “strolling” mode, so Tom played the washboard instead of his drums. Tom has customized his washboard so that it includes a cowbell, a little cymbal, and other things.  He uses extra-extra-extra large thimbles on his fingers to play this contraption.  He needs more huge thimbles, so if you see any, please let me know. Later, at home, he said, “You know, I think I’m even better at playing the washboard than the drums.”  Clearly, he had a great time. When the gig was over, he engaged in another of his favorite past-times:  shopping....

October 11, 2014 -- Florida is often mocked for its historical role in national politics.  But much of what is critical to life in this state is determined by our state and local elected officials.  Tom and I take voting very seriously. Great blue heron, flying through the back yard. For years, I've been involved with the political process although I have not run for political office.  My past involvement and attention to these matters means that a number of people who know me will ask me how they should vote. Some choices are so obvious, and some are so partisan, that choices are made by those individuals without any advice from me.  But there are those seemingly "obscure" positions on the ballot, like hospital board representatives, mosquito control district representatives, judges, and even school board members for which people seek my opinion. Regardless of their requests, I put plenty of time into researching these options, and making my choices. The r...