Sanibel Journal

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...

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 ...