Sanibel Journal

February 26, 2016 -- Signs are taking over the island of Sanibel.  My husband and I refer to the island as "Signibel" when we wish to express our exasperation over this phenomenon. Tourists like some of our unique signs, such as "Watch for Low Flying Owls" and "Alligator Crossing."  Maybe those signs are okay.  Or do they create hazards when tourists pull off the road to photograph them? Now Periwinkle Way is peppered with so many signs that it is impossible for drivers to read them all without being reckless. Even on the outer edges of the island, like at Blind Pass, are signs that are unnecessary, even unreadable -- such as the one pictured below. Obviously this one is a maintenance issue.  Perhaps if the City (or County?) cannot maintain the signs adequately, it should begin to remove them.  Signs like this are eyesores.  If such a sign is needed for public safety, then maintaining it in a readable state should be a priority. I know how t

A Great Blue Heron at Blind Pass Beach February 22, 2016, I sat in the sun, my eyes closed, for several minutes, blissfully unaware of the gruesome sight just a few feet away from me.  I contemplated the past weekend, a whirlwind  of dinners with friends, four nights in a row!  Many domestic chores were completed, too, including the partial installation of propane service so that soon, we'll be cooking with gas in our kitchen.  I moderated the first in a series of new programs called "This is My Story" at church.  Tom played at his first outdoor jazz concert this season.  The weather has been stunningly beautiful.  So on this Monday afternoon,  I decided to take advantage of it by moving the lawn chair into the sun on a patch of shell path in our backyard, near the dock. For some reason, I opened my eyes, and turned my head far around to my right.  There lay a dead cormorant on a flagstone next to the house. "Tom, there's a dead cormorant out here,"

Sunrise on January 31, as life was beginning to ease. February 20, 2016 -- We weathered yet another storm.  During Christmas weekend, Tom suffered from fevers; when Monday morning came, we went directly to the doctor's office, and from there Tom was sent by ambulance to the hospital near downtown Fort Myers. This time his stay was longer -- two weeks, altogether.  The hospital and its parking lot became very familiar.  I noted the mature, luxuriant coonties in the parking lot's "islands."  So these are what our baby coonties will grow up to resemble!  Cute little cycads, they are. The baby coonties I told Tom about the mature coonties in the parking lot, and a host of other outdoor sights that I witnessed during those two weeks.  He was not only indoors for that entire time, but he was in the ICU for four nights and five days of those two weeks.  The ICU is a wild and crazy place, with all the alarms sounding and people coming and going. The care Tom rec