Zoe and Phaedra here from beautiful Sanibel:
How can this be? We only have 3 more weeks to live in the mangroves by the sea. Then again, we got to Skype with our little best friend, Parker, a few nights ago, and it made us homesick for our family. Soon we'll be home, and we wonder if then we will miss our Sanibel home? Too bad our family doesn't have on-demand vacation and then they could be here with us!
Last night the Papa and Mama dashed home
from the Ding, gathered us up, and tore off to the
Wildlife Drive. The Tower monitors had shown hundreds and hundreds of birds. Well, guess what - it was a bit of a disappointment because most of the big white birds had gone and there were only about 30 American White Pelicans, 3 Roseatte Spoonbills, and hundreds of little brown jobs which we loved seeing and wished we could be chasing all of them. There was something that no one liked, though – the No-see ums! Those pesky little midges give us a bite that is so ugly you can’t imagine it. They love to get into everyone’s hair so unlike Papa and Mama, we can’t wear hats on our bodies. But those of you who know Mama, “the spider saver”, know that she always tries to find something to like about everyone and everything. Well, she might not be wrong in this case. Even though we don’t get to eat it, CHOCOLATE is the main thing that comes from No-See-Um pollination! They pollinate the Cacao Trees so don’t kill them all – just the ones who are biting you.
So, you ask, what’s been happening since the last time we wrote: just daily living albeit in paradise. Of course, the Sanibel Bean takes up at least three mornings for the folks. That is where they have met so many of their Sanibel friends like Vicki and Allan or Eddie and Nancy or Barbara and Ed. One person we really like is Phillipe. He speaks to Mama and Papa in Spanish only, so we can’t understand him when we visit on the porch. There are so many dogs who get their morning fix with a “cup a joe” while they are with their parents, but we only get there only once in a while. (BTW, we don’t mean the urban dictionary definition of "cup a joe", either!)
Did you know that Papa celebrated his 29th birthday for about the 115th time? I had lots of fun at his party. It wasn’t about food that night, though. There were 16 people who would throw my ball so I could chase it. If only one or two people are around they get tired of tossing it. But, imagine me in "Zoe's hog heaven"! Speaking of throwing things, when my friend Tug comes to visit with Jen he brings the best toys with him. I got caught, though, stealing his rope tug. I loved that so much that Mama sent away for one for me. It took her only 23 minutes to throw the tug up on top of the camper cover which is almost 20 feet tall with a flattish roof. I circled and circled Woody’s RV and it never came down. A whole week later, Woody got out the Ding “Cherry Picker” and finally my tug is back! Mama is not allowed to throw my tug anywhere near the RV covers anymore.
Sometimes it seems like we are left alone too much.
Papa and Mama play cards, eat out, have picnics at sunset on the beach, and ride the Wildlife Drive ALL THE TIME. You know what Mama says when she leaves us? “Guard the house. Listen to your sister. Don’t get into any trouble.” So, I wonder what she expects will happen to the house inside this gated community. No one is going to get in here. I think she is just saying that so that we think we have a job and won’t get into trouble. At least, I still have my friends to throw my tug or ball for me! After all, we are herding dogs and need work. Phaedra herds me around all the time! And, she bites my ankles! Mama always thinks I’m the one who does bad things – not true at all!
Friends of ours, Marc and Sherree from Madison and Jody, Zoe, and Dov from New York City visited us a while back. Papa took them out kayaking and Mama had to stay at home with a workman. At least we weren’t left alone again. It’s funny that these long-time friends they knew in Durham now meet up with us here on Sanibel. You know, they say the whole world ends up on Sanibel. Guess it’s true.
This week, there was a Prescribed Burn at Ding Darling. It seemed like hundreds of Firepeople and many, many, many fire trucks and equipment moved into our community on loan from other refuges across Florida. You see, when you are in an area that has lots of vegetation which of course dies and becomes a fire danger you need to get rid of the foder for a wildfire. We never saw the flames (right across the street from us) but we did smell smoke! It is only half done, but the next burn will be after we leave Sanibel.
With only two weeks left to be here there is so much to do yet. We have to see more Burrowing Owls on Cape Coral. We hope to help our friend Rachel find and band the Mangrove Cuckoo. There are so many people who want to throw the ball for me, too. We’re running out of days.
Well, maybe this will be the last time this year we write to you from Sanibel . Who knows what next year will bring us, but we're happy we get to travel with Papa and Mama to places like this. In the meantime, I think we are heading for Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and California this summer so maybe we’ll have a few things to send to you then. I hope there will be some new people to throw my tug for me!
I think the best way to tell the rest of the story is with our pictures. Hope you like them.
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| Yellow-Crowned Night Heron |
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| Sweet Ibis |
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| Three Whites |
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| Twelve Foot Alligator |
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Yellow Rat Snake Eating
Palm Rat |
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
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| Sunset on the Causeway |
Phaedra and I hope you have a beautiful spring with lots of squirrels to chase. We hope it’s the same for us back in Chapel Hill, too.
Wags and Hugs from Zoe and Phaedra!
Zoe and Phaedra here from beautiful Sanibel:
How can this be? We only have 3 more weeks to live in the mangroves by the sea. Then again, we got to Skype with our little best friend, Parker, a few nights ago, and it made us homesick for our family. Soon we'll be home, and we wonder if then we will miss our Sanibel home? Too bad our family doesn't have on-demand vacation and then they could be here with us! 
Wildlife Drive. The Tower monitors had shown hundreds and hundreds of birds. Well, guess what - it was a bit of a disappointment because most of the big white birds had gone and there were only about 30 American White Pelicans, 3 Roseatte Spoonbills, and hundreds of little brown jobs which we loved seeing and wished we could be chasing all of them. There was something that no one liked, though – the No-see ums! Those pesky little midges give us a bite that is so ugly you can’t imagine it. They love to get into everyone’s hair so unlike Papa and Mama, we can’t wear hats on our bodies. But those of you who know Mama, “the spider saver”, know that she always tries to find something to like about everyone and everything. Well, she might not be wrong in this case. Even though we don’t get to eat it, CHOCOLATE is the main thing that comes from No-See-Um pollination! They pollinate the Cacao Trees so don’t kill them all – just the ones who are biting you.
So, you ask, what’s been happening since the last time we wrote: just daily living albeit in paradise. Of course, the Sanibel Bean takes up at least three mornings for the folks. That is where they have met so many of their Sanibel friends like Vicki and Allan or Eddie and Nancy or Barbara and Ed. One person we really like is Phillipe. He speaks to Mama and Papa in Spanish only, so we can’t understand him when we visit on the porch. There are so many dogs who get their morning fix with a “cup a joe” while they are with their parents, but we only get there only once in a while. (BTW, we don’t mean the urban dictionary definition of "cup a joe", either!)
Did you know that Papa celebrated his 29th birthday for about the 115th time? I had lots of fun at his party. It wasn’t about food that night, though. There were 16 people who would throw my ball so I could chase it. If only one or two people are around they get tired of tossing it. But, imagine me in "Zoe's hog heaven"! Speaking of throwing things, when my friend Tug comes to visit with Jen he brings the best toys with him. I got caught, though, stealing his rope tug. I loved that so much that Mama sent away for one for me. It took her only 23 minutes to throw the tug up on top of the camper cover which is almost 20 feet tall with a flattish roof. I circled and circled Woody’s RV and it never came down. A whole week later, Woody got out the Ding “Cherry Picker” and finally my tug is back! Mama is not allowed to throw my tug anywhere near the RV covers anymore. 
Sometimes it seems like we are left alone too much.
Papa and Mama play cards, eat out, have picnics at sunset on the beach, and ride the Wildlife Drive ALL THE TIME. You know what Mama says when she leaves us? “Guard the house. Listen to your sister. Don’t get into any trouble.” So, I wonder what she expects will happen to the house inside this gated community. No one is going to get in here. I think she is just saying that so that we think we have a job and won’t get into trouble. At least, I still have my friends to throw my tug or ball for me! After all, we are herding dogs and need work. Phaedra herds me around all the time! And, she bites my ankles! Mama always thinks I’m the one who does bad things – not true at all! 
Friends of ours, Marc and Sherree from Madison and Jody, Zoe, and Dov from New York City visited us a while back. Papa took them out kayaking and Mama had to stay at home with a workman. At least we weren’t left alone again. It’s funny that these long-time friends they knew in Durham now meet up with us here on Sanibel. You know, they say the whole world ends up on Sanibel. Guess it’s true.
This week, there was a Prescribed Burn at Ding Darling. It seemed like hundreds of Firepeople and many, many, many fire trucks and equipment moved into our community on loan from other refuges across Florida. You see, when you are in an area that has lots of vegetation which of course dies and becomes a fire danger you need to get rid of the foder for a wildfire. We never saw the flames (right across the street from us) but we did smell smoke! It is only half done, but the next burn will be after we leave Sanibel.
With only two weeks left to be here there is so much to do yet. We have to see more Burrowing Owls on Cape Coral. We hope to help our friend Rachel find and band the Mangrove Cuckoo. There are so many people who want to throw the ball for me, too. We’re running out of days.
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