Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Dash to Denver
Business took me first to Denver (Ft. Collins, actually) were I spent a few days working with some smart services folks--really good group. Here is a shot of one enlightened student that “gets it.”



Thursday evening, I guided my rental car down and around Denver to Parker, ending up at Grandson Austie’s place. I took him and his Mom and Dad out for an Italian dinner (I had the stuffed sole special) and got caught up over all that had happened since we were last face-to-face. While having a bathtub conversation with Austie, I continued my education, learning such things as it was OK for boys to take their shirts off but not girls, and that if you cough too loud you will probably throw up. These are valuable lessons that I will try to remember.

Birds and Pups
After a week on the road it was nice to spend Friday night and Saturday just hanging at home. We had time for a few golf cart rides, a few pics, and watching old British TV shows such as “The Grand”--a simple life we lead on the Island!

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning stages and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week!

Tags: Pine Island, pet photography, Bird photography

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Chilly Business
Business took me first to Chicago to start a consulting engagement with a new client--I can tell it is going to be a great relationship. The weather was a tad “un-Florida-like” though. I awoke Wednesday morning to 7 degrees! From Chicago it was on to Atlanta for a couple days working with another client. I took my little camera, but didn’t take any shots.

Chili Business
Some friends from Michigan who are staying in Southwest Florida came over to visit, and we took them as our guests to a Pine Island Boat Club outing--the first ever Chili Cook-Off. What a fun event! Twenty people brought their favorite chili and all of the 140 attendees served as the judges, walking around tasting the various chili and casting their votes.

Here is a pic of the start of the tasting…



Some of the chili was mild…



Some of the chili was on the spicy side…



Some of chili cookers were quite elegant, such as Chef-Buoy-Our-Dee…



Some of the chili cookers were quite sophisticated…



And some of chili cookers were just plain nuts…



Here are a few more shots of the chili participants...















In true Pine Island fashion (and just like the U.S. Congress), money talks--the judges voted with their pocketbooks. If people liked the chili, they put money in a bowl by their favorite chili chef, and the cook with the most money wins. Here is a shot of the officials tallying the votes…



And here is a picture of Commodore Ron putting the official apron on the first annual Pine Island Boat Club Chili Champ…



Quite a day at the Alexander’s--not everyone gets to sleep with a Chili Champ!

Pelicans and Pups
Here are shots of Mitzy and Jerry out on a walk and some young brown pelicans hanging out under the Sanibel causeway.

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning stages and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week!

Tags: Pine Island

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Home for the Week
No travel this week--I was busy with work, but had the pleasure of spending time with Janny and the Pups and good friends and neighbors. Lots of walks, biking, golf cart adventures, and one boat ride (early in the week).

Cloudy and Cold
Although the week started pleasantly chilly and sunny, as the days progressed the weather turned into cloudy and cold. Winter jackets were unloosed from their closet shackles and the dust was blown off our little-used furnace blowers. It was time to hunker down on the island!

Pelicans
Critters are pretty savvy, and the movement of our birds aligned with the movement of the weather--they got slower as the thermostat went lower. However, I was able to capture a little activity. Here is a shot of white pelicans in formation and a pic of a brown pelican getting ready to land.





Curbside Makeover
Jan was asked by a good friend to donate a piece of artwork for an auction to raise money for the Harry-Anna Trust Fund. http://www.floridaelks.org/whoweare.aspx

This fund provides the critical financial backing for all the wonderful projects sponsored by the Florida State Elks Association, including children therapy services and youth camp, among many others. Great cause. Jan gladly concurred with the request and with a little searching found an old shelf she had rescued at the curb along with some other knick-knacks discarded by others. You know the old saying, “One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.” Janny takes pleasure in making that happen. Below is the end result. Check out her other art at http://www.janalexanderart.com.



Good Morning Sunrise
While writing away one silent morning in my top-floor den, Jan broke the solitude hollering up, “Alex--look at the sunrise! I’m glad I obeyed her command, putting up the shade, opening the window, and setting up my tripod as the skies quickly shifted over 10 minutes, starting out as a teasing violet, morphing into pleasing pink, and then easing into to a bold orange that shouted, “Wake up”! Here is an out-of-the-camera shot taken from my window that only hints at the impressiveness of the actual sight. What a marvelous way to ratchet up the day.



Boardwalk Pups
From my perspective, it is never a good day or a good blog without pups! And as is our case when home, the Kids are with us 95% of the time. Here is a shot of Mitzy and one of Jerry coming down the dock to see what I’m up to.





Fixer-Upper
Strolling back from a morning photo walk through the neighborhoods, I stopped and studied this vacant house. The abandoned mower gave me a feeling of incompleteness: Will the owner ever come back and finish the job? I added a NIR color treatment to this image to give it this stark, infra-red look. What do you think?



Python Sighting
Early in the week we received an e-mail alerting its readers that a Burmese Python had been found a few streets from our home. Sadly, this is not too surprising because over the years a lot of “losers” have let loose exotic pets in Florida, especially in the Everglades. Here is the picture (not sure whom to credit) of this ominous looking fellow taken right before he/she was released upon the lot where we keep BERT our motorhome! Needless to say, it was the talk of the area--depending on the day or the mood of Pine Islanders, one could see citizens stalking around with shotguns or wielding razor-sharpened machetes.



Any Excuse Will Do
Pine Islander’s actively look for any excuse to hold a party and this was a good one. Within 24 hours of the sighting, we received an invite to a “Python and Coyote” party (yes, there had been a recent coyote sighting here as well). Saturday night, Guylynne and Wayne hosted this event in their reptile-adorned home. Wonderful people and wonderful event.

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning stages and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week after my trip to Chicago and Atlanta.

Tags: Wildlife photography, pet photography, Pine Island

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Saturday: Off to the U.S. Virgin Islands!
Janny and I flew out on New Year’s Eve to spend a holiday with good friends. After an uneventful trip (meaning a really good one) we landed in St. Thomas to be greeted by our hosts, Phil and Kim, along with our buddies, Patrick, Frizz, and the Mers. Phil and Kim have a spacious home atop the mountains with an easterly view of the British Virgin Islands and the Caribbean green waters.



Boring Weather
While a large part of the U.S. mainland was “enjoying” cold temperatures and snow (including a freeze-threatening, very chilly Southwest Florida), we were “stuck” with ongoing temperatures in the mid 80s, sunny skies, and soft breezes. Fortunately, we were able to endure this temperature torture for the entire week.

Sunday: New Year’s Day on Megan’s Beach
Just five minutes from Phil and Kim’s home is Megan’s Beach, a world-class beach with white sand and gorgeous waters. After a leisurely morning start, the seven of us hung there most of the day, sunbathing and walking the beach. Surprisingly (at least to me), it was not crowded at all, making our stay all the more pleasant. I waded out waist to chest high and was able to catch a few brown pelican pics along with a brown boobie and spotted ray. Lots of fun.













Monday: Virgin Islands National Park
By 8:30 our group was dressed, fed, packed, and out the door. Phil took us down to the ferry station where he drove us aboard, and we took the car ferry to St. John, enjoying the scenery and a bonus rainbow on our short voyage.







Once on St. John, we drove into the Virgin Islands National Park. After a few minutes at headquarters, our group, now expanded to 14, took an open taxi through the park to the Reef Bay trailhead. Here, Ranger Don explained a little about our hike, and soon we were in line heading down the trail. Although only steep in a few areas, the 2.8 mile trail was uneven, quite so in some areas, rocky, and slick from the morning rain. Hence, good footgear, patience, and a watchful eye were mandatory to prevent slips and slides. Don has been employed by the Park Service on St. John for 27 years, and thus was a wealth of information. We learned the interesting history of the island, its shameful period of often-cruel slavery, and a lot about the flora and fauna of the park.

If interested in learning more about this hike or the National Park, check out this link: www.nps.gov/viis/





After snacking by a rocky pool carved with hieroglyphs, we visited the remains of an old sugar mill, then went down to the beach, boarded a dinghy, and then climbed aboard a trawler to return us to the park headquarters. Soon we were back on the ferry, into Phil’s van, and back to the homestead.

Tuesday: OMG!
As you probably know, St. Thomas is a popular place. For example, on this day, six cruise ships were docked in the harbors spewing out 20,000 folks or so for a daylong exploration of the island, filling the downtown and the most popular beaches. Hence, savvy locals stay home, go off-island, or take the road less traveled, which was our approach. After a morning and early afternoon lounging by the pool, we went down to the St. John Yacht Club* for both libation and a wonderful view of the water.

A Very Unexpected Connection
A mature gentlemen at a nearby table asked us where we were from. When he heard someone from our group say “Michigan,” he appeared to take interest. He said that he had an old girlfriend from Fremont. Jan said that that was where she was from. He said his old girlfriend’s name was Nancy Mullet. Jan replied, “That’s my mother!” OH, WOW! Sixty-three years ago they met at Camp Echo, and it appears that both had a crush on each other. He gave us his card and asked if Nancy would call. (Later she did--is the old flame being re-lit?)



*Most yacht clubs around the U.S. and many around the world “reciprocate,” meaning that if you are a member of one yacht club, you can show your credentials and be allowed in to enjoy the amenities of another yacht club. Of course, you are expected to do the same when your comrades visit your club. Since both Patrick and Phil are yacht club members in Michigan, we were welcomed with open arms.

Wednesday: Clouds and Biting Fish
Wednesday saw clouds and rain darkening the sunny sky every now and then. We did a few excursions by van and enjoyed the change of pace. Later in the day we headed back to Megan’s Bay, and I once again got into the water to try my luck photographing fast-diving, low-flying pelicans and boobies. It was hard to concentrate, though, as schools of fish seemed to take pleasure nibbling on my toes and legs.















We did some serious nibbling ourselves, as our day ended with an absolute feast at Phil and Kim’s. No one starved this trip.

Thursday: BVI Boating
The morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise, an omen for a beautiful day.



By 8:30 we were on the dock, boarding the powerboat we had hired (along with a captain) for the day to explore the nearby British Virgin Islands. Our first stop was Tortola where we cleared customs, and then we cruised through a hard chilly rain on our way to Virgin Gorda. Soon the skies cleared and our wet clothes dried as we continued our journey south. Docking at Virgin Gorda, we walked, sloshed, climbed, and shimmied our way through The Bathes, a rock conglomeration formed at water’s edge. Fun experience, but a tad more challenging than we all had expected. From here we visited Jost Van Dyke before re-tracing our trip back through customs, and then back to St. Thomas.















Friday: Birds and Rain
Phil was kind enough to drive Jan and me to meet the 6:30 ferry to St. John.





We arrived a little before 7:00, had a bite to eat, and then took a taxi to the Francis Bay trailhead. Here we met seven other people for our guided birding hike. Our NPS guide was a very knowledgeable birder, as were many in our group. However, “Young Audubon” had the best ears, the best eyes, and maybe the most birding knowledge. Only 12 years old, his goal is to go to Cornell and become an ornithologist. The birders had a great day, identifying 27 different species. We had a good time, but the best moment for me was photographing a young brown boobie by the water’s edge. This handsome young fellow (or gal) was not afraid at all and seemed to pose for us as we admired his beauty.



After the walk, we took a taxi back to the ferry station and did a little browsing/shopping before ferrying back to St. Thomas. Here we took a taxi back to meet our group for lunch. The rest of the afternoon we did a little exploring--jumping into stores, restaurants, and bars to avoid the sudden downpours.

Old Stone Farm House
That evening we had a special treat--we had reservations at one of the nicest restaurants in the USVIs.

Our personalized menus displayed a dozen appetizers ranging from escargot to Maine lobster to ceviche to beef carpaccio. Jan had the Grapefruit Salad and I had the Fire and Ice Chilled Soup. The main courses included kangaroo, wild boar, West Indian Pumpkin Thaibbean Curry, Pad Thai noodles, sea scallops, Mediterranean Sea Bass, local wahoo, Angus filet, and shrimp. We all went back to the kitchen where the chef showed us our choices. The nice thing was that you could combine things into any combination you wanted. Jan had the sea bass and scallops, while I had the wahoo atop the Pad Thai noodles--very, very good. For desert we shared a couple Banana’s Foster flambes. Wonderful evening.

Saturday: Back Home
For our last morning, we went up to Mountain Top to enjoy the view from the highest point on St. Thomas. From there we started our journey home, arriving back home greeted by a pair of tail-wagging, wide-grinning pups.

Headlights

See you next week.

Tags: Wildlife photography, Bird photography, U.S. Virgin Islands

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

(Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Christmas on the Island
We were fortunate to have a “boatload and a half” of relatives down to spend the Christmas holiday with us on Pine Island--a total of 16 people and 5 dogs. The weather was magnificent, so we were able to spend a lot of time on the lanai, on the boat, or on the golf cart.







Christmas Pups
As you might have surmised, this is a dog family. Here is a picture of Jerry observing the activities, Mitzy checking out the opening of presents, Millie just being Millie, and Jessie, the pup, awaiting the next opportunity for mishief.









Wildlife
Here are a few shots of birds and one of a dolphin that followed us forever on a boat ride on Pine Island Sound.















Time for a Tub
Yes, it was great seeing everyone, but it is always good to get back to normal (whatever that means). Here is a shot Jan took of me during re-adjustment.



Mystery New Year’s Eve
Saturday, Jan and I flew off to…(to be continued)

Headlights

See you next week with pics and a report back from our mystery trip.

Tags: Pine Island, pet photography, Wildlife photography