Tuesday, Saturday, what day is it??!!

I can never seem to remember what day it is!  It’s just one beautiful day after another!

Today was Saturday though, so Tom and I got up early to go to the Farmer’s Market in Bonita Springs.  It seems to get bigger and more crowded every week!  He wanted to get some fish for this week, so we headed straight to the “fish guy” first.  There was a line, but he was able to get some corvina and some tilapia, so he and Nicolas will have 2 fish dinners this week.  We also picked up some vegetables, and strawberries, and honeybell oranges (Nicolas loves them!).  There was a new “German Bread” booth this week, so we bought soft pretzels to bring back for the boys.  They were pretty good . . . not quite Jo-Jo’s, but similar to the ones at the bakery in Tecumseh.

After a quick stop at Publix for a few groceries, we were back at the park by 10 . . . and the boys were still sleeping!!  We got them moving, and I went for a walk on the beach while Tom got ready to go on a motorcycle ride with the neighbors.

Along the walking path, I spotted a group of kayaks going out on the canal for a paddle.  I thought the variety of colors of kayaks made a nice picture . . .

The turkey buzzards were out in full force this afternoon, even on the tram bridge, where I’ve never seen them before!

As I walked along the shoreline, I was amazed at the number of sunstars out of the water.

I must have put 30 of them back in the water!  Bryce caught up with me as I walked along, and helped toss some back in.  I also found an area where there were tiny little baby shells . . . I picked up several that were just too cute to resist!  We also saw a couple of new birds on the beach.

I think the first is an American Oystercatcher, which I have seen here once before.

We thought this one might have been a juvenile spoonbill, but after looking at the board up by the tram stop, I think we decided it was a willet.

Bryce said Tom was almost ready to leave for his ride, so we started back so I could give him the phone.  We made a quick stop at the manatee overlook to see if any of our buddies were there, but we weren’t sure if we’d see any – they haven’t been around much lately.

We were surprised to see three of them right in front of the overlook.  We stood there, waiting for them to surface (they can stay under water for a long time!), and quickly snapped some pictures as they momentarily stuck their noses out of the water!

They are pretty easy to see in the shallow water, but they don’t come out of the water very far, or for very long!

They retreat quickly, barely giving me time for a picture!

We heard Casey barking, and then the motorcycles starting up, so we knew Tom was getting ready to leave.  Bryce hurried back on his bike to give him the phone, and I followed on foot.

Nicolas was busy washing the layer of dust off the car (he had washed the truck the day before!),

and when he finished he was ready to go to the beach.  We had a quick lunch, and then got changed and headed to the beach.  Another volunteer’s grandson, Nick, was here for the weekend, so he went with us.  Nicolas and I worked on our tans, while Bryce and Nick tossed a football around.

 

It was a beautiful day at the beach – not a cloud in the sky, upper 70s, and a nice breeze to keep us cool.

 

The boys all went in the water (even Bryce – I was surprised), but they said it was a little chilly.  I guess the last few cooler nights have cooled down the water some . . . maybe that’s also why we’re seeing the manatees back in the canal!

 

 

It was a wonderful afternoon at the beach . . . maybe we’ll go back again tomorrow!