Happy New Year from Sanibel!
Phaedra here wishing ya’ll the best for the coming year. For Zoe and me it’s the same ole stuff. Walks, food, play and sleep…
Geez, it’s the same for the folks except their time does not include US going with them all the time! Plus, they get a lot more time to play.
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| Relaxing on the sand. |
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| Buried in the sand. |
Parker was down over Christmas with Anne and Dov, and we had a great time. The weather was nice when they got here, and they spent a little time at the beach. Then, the weather turned cold, and we actually had frost one morning. I really missed it when the whole family went to the beach. The first two nights, Parker talked Papa and Mama to take her to the beach to look for Ghost Crabs. I guess they didn't see any of those, but Parker and Mama went bezerkers with collecting shells. Parker loved the "Mother Pearl" shells just like Mama. I think Mama can't wait until Parker attends "Nana Camp" this summer at Myrtle Beach and they can fill the whole camper with beautiful shells! Me, not so much. They hurt my feet when I step on them. But, I do love to be on the beach. Dogs are allowed at any beach on Sanibel. All I have to do is make sure I wear my leash and Papa has the bags!
They slept in a tent next to the camper, by choice, except for the last night. Zoe hated the time when they went outside because her playmates weren’t inside anymore. I don’t think Parker missed her too much, though. Parker was always trying to hide the ball from Zoe so that she didn’t have to always throw it for her! In addition to beach time, they spent time at the Center, out on Wildlife Drive, and drove to Cypress Swamp near Naples to see alligators.
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| Fire Ants!!! |
Parker is really good with the binoculars. Sometimes, she even turns them the wrong way and chases after Zoe who doesn't know what to think but loves it! Binoculars come in really handy when out on Wildlife Drive. Parker was able to call birds by name after the first day. She'd say, "There's a Roseate, or look at that heron. Papa didn't learn as quickly as she did, but don't tell him I said so, OK? She's really observant, too. When we visited the Citrus Grove in Naples, she was the one who told her mom to watch out for the fire ants! Glad I wasn't there!
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| Baby Manatee |
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They did drive over to Manatee Park on the north side of Ft. Myers where a power plant is located. Parker kept saying she wanted to see baby manatees and I heard Mama mutter under her breath that she was really worried there wouldn't be any babies to see. Well, I heard that as soon as Parker got up to the waterway, the first thing she saw was a baby manatee. She and Anne and Dov really enjoyed seeing the manatees in the wild. The reason they are at the power plant, you know, is that it produces warmer water, which they need. The gulf is 55*, which is 13* less than the manatees need in order to survive. So, up the river they go. So far this year 700 have died because of the cold weather and its only January. How sad!
Papa and Mama drove Anne and Parker down to Cypress Swamp to see alligators while Dov had some time to himself and went kayaking on Tarpon Bay. In Cypress Swamp, Anne counted 27 alligators along the canals on the main road. There were lots of them on the swamp loop road, too. I never hope to see an alligator up close and personal. They can move really, really fast and I'm just an appetizer for a big 'gator, don't you know!
Peace and quiet returned on Friday. Mama and Papa went out in kayaks getting fishing lines out of the trees. We, all, spent the afternoon in the sun outside the camper and brought in the New Year in our sleep!
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| All loaded up to start working. |
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| Looking for lines. |
I don't know if I want to go kayaking with the folks. It looks peaceful, but I think I'd want to go for a swim and they wouldn't let me. This is a really good job for them what with being out of doors! They think they are going to like Ding Darling a lot.
May you have health and happiness in the new year. Happy 2011!
Parker was down over Christmas with Anne and Dov, and we had a great time. The weather was nice when they got here, and they spent a little time at the beach. Then, the weather turned cold, and we actually had frost one morning. I really missed it when the whole family went to the beach. The first two nights, Parker talked Papa and Mama to take her to the beach to look for Ghost Crabs. I guess they didn't see any of those, but Parker and Mama went bezerkers with collecting shells. Parker loved the "Mother Pearl" shells just like Mama. I think Mama can't wait until Parker attends "Nana Camp" this summer at Myrtle Beach and they can fill the whole camper with beautiful shells! Me, not so much. They hurt my feet when I step on them. But, I do love to be on the beach. Dogs are allowed at any beach on Sanibel. All I have to do is make sure I wear my leash and Papa has the bags!
They slept in a tent next to the camper, by choice, except for the last night. Zoe hated the time when they went outside because her playmates weren’t inside anymore. I don’t think Parker missed her too much, though. Parker was always trying to hide the ball from Zoe so that she didn’t have to always throw it for her! In addition to beach time, they spent time at the Center, out on Wildlife Drive, and drove to Cypress Swamp near Naples to see alligators. 
Parker is really good with the binoculars. Sometimes, she even turns them the wrong way and chases after Zoe who doesn't know what to think but loves it! Binoculars come in really handy when out on Wildlife Drive. Parker was able to call birds by name after the first day. She'd say, "There's a Roseate, or look at that heron. Papa didn't learn as quickly as she did, but don't tell him I said so, OK? She's really observant, too. When we visited the Citrus Grove in Naples, she was the one who told her mom to watch out for the fire ants! Glad I wasn't there! 
We made some new friends, too. Right after Parker and her folks left, Mary and Mike arrived from Chapel Hill with Kay and Bill, Mary’s sister and nephew. We already knew Mary and Mike, but Kay and Bill were really nice, too. Bill was so good to Zoe and threw and threw her ball over and over again. She loved that. They stayed in Ft. Myers but spent a lot of their time on the island. We had a great visit with all of them. Everyone went on a drive through the refuge plus had a sunset cruise on Tarpon Bay. Of course, we stayed home. Mom always tells us to “guard the house” and for me to keep track of Zoe. She tells Zoe to do what I say. As if that would ever work!!! I think she really feels guilty about leaving us and thinks that a job will make it better for us.
