Sanibel Journal

October 10, 2014 -- I am honored when I see snakes like this in our back yard.  This is a southern black racer, and its favorite food is rodent, although it also will eat frogs, toads, lizards, birds, and fellow snakes.  Because I dislike palm rats, I have come to love snakes that prey upon them. This racer was catching the last few rays of sunlight in our back yard yesterday evening.  Its scientific name is coluber constrictor priapus , but it does not constrict its prey; it swallows the prey alive. This past April, in my butterfly garden I saw a racer like this in the act of swallowing a black-throated green warbler alive.  I'd prefer this snake would keep to a steady diet of rodents instead of having the variety of the occasional precious songbird.  But I don't mess with nature; I did not attempt to save the bird. My copy of Florida's Fabulous Reptiles and Amphibians  says, "This slender, graceful, and fast-moving snake is often found near human ...

My friend John Cassani has an editorial/commentary in today's local newspaper, the News-Press .  John is a friend whom I've known for years, but rarely see face-to-face, because we live 50 miles apart.   The first time we met was at a South Florida Water Management District meeting about nine or 10 years ago, I think, when our estuary was being slammed with discharges of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee; harmful algae blooms abounded as a result.  Since then, we both have been and still are part of a group that receive regular emails on the subject of those awful discharges. Our back yard in 2013:  Chowder Pond The subject of John's commentary today is the importance of wetlands in south Florida.  As he explains, "Wetlands are the natural kidneys that filter pollutants from surface runoff. They attenuate flooding and recharge drinking water aquifers, key functions that help protect Florida in more ways than they are generally given credit for. For some,...

Looking east The weather radar map looked clear first thing this morning, so I donned walking attire and headed for the beach, on foot, before dawn.  The beach was practically devoid of human beings, although I could see a few in the distance.   Sea squirts , on the other hand, were littering the beach all along the mean high tide line.  Recent weather and tidal conditions had washed them ashore. Shore birds were busily cleaning them up.  But until the birds finish their work, the beach smells a little funky. My usual walk takes me through Gulf Shores and out to the beach, then eastward on the beach to a point just beyond my friend Judy B.'s house (with the thatched roof).  Then I turn around and head back home via the Gulf Pines beach path.  The big loop takes about an hour to complete, at  moderately brisk pace, with a couple pauses for photographing. Looking west All of Sanibel's beaches are beautiful; but my favorites have always been t...

Today felt like the first day of the rest of my life because I did not attend the Sanibel City Council meeting.  My term limits as president of a nonpartisan political organization were met last spring; that organization's leadership is in very good hands.  One thing I've learned from years and years of community activism is that there comes a time when it is best to step back and let others take the lead.  A healthy community needs many leaders, and stepping back so others can step up is a good thing to do when the right time comes. There wasn't much that was terribly important on the council agenda, except for a discussion about possible compensation for council members.  Right now, they serve as volunteers. A half an hour after the council meeting began, I attempted to log on to listen to the live audio streaming of the meeting.  This live audio is something I and that political organization mentioned above have been requesting for years.  Now it i...

That glorious day usually comes sometime in October.  The humidity drops, and so does the temperature, for the first time since May, it seems.  The glorious day was yesterday, a Sunday -- the first day of the Farmer's Market for this season. The Farmer's Market has been a huge success, so it was started up a month earlier this Fall.  The earlier start date is a recognition of the fact that the locals enjoy the Farmer's Market; it is not a touristy event. Even though we didn't particularly "need" anything, I looked forward to the Market because I wanted to see people.  I miss Sanibelians after being away from the vast majority of them for three months. First came church, during which we celebrated World Communion Sunday and I was the person designated to say "Welcome" in French at the beginning of the service.  We heard "Welcome" in French, then German, Spanish, Kurdish, and finally, English. I usually sit with Peter, my friend who...

I started my Paris Journal 15 summers ago, before the word "blog" had been invented.  From time to time, my readers have asked, "Why don't you write a Sanibel blog?" Today is the day.  Barbara Joy Cooley's Sanibel Journal has begun. My husband (Tom Cooley) and I live in Sanibel.  It is our only home.  But we do go to Paris every summer for three months.  We don't have a home of our own in Paris; we simply rent an apartment from friends. The Paris Journal is not a travel journal; we live in Paris in the summer, but we are not tourists.  My husband and I are writers.  We work at our computers until about 3 or 4PM every day when we're in Paris. Likewise, the Sanibel Journal is not going to be a travel journal.  It is not meant for tourists, but tourists might enjoy it, especially if they're interested in the perspective of the locals. I'm a community activist by nature, and a science writer by education and work experience.  I firs...