Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

This was not our first visit here, but the amount of water in the preserve was a first for us. March is often a drier season here in Florida, and the last two times we have been to Corkscrew, it has been very dry in the open grassy and Savannah areas. This time, there was water everywhere. 

The Sanctuary is run under the protection of the National Audubon Society. There is a 2+ mile boardwalk that takes visitors to the various areas of the preserve. Audubon volunteers are at several spots along the way to answer questions. Near the end of the loop one is almost sure to see an alligator and a red shouldered hawk. We saw both this time as well. We didn't see the often sighted painted bunting, but did hear a white eyed vireo (didn't see), saw a raccoon up in a tree, pondering how to tackle a bird feeder, and saw many yellow rumpled warblers and one beautiful Baltimore oriole. 

We also saw a beautiful pileated woodpecker. Can you see him in the center of the photo?

Not a great photo but the best I can do with what equipment I am willing to carry. 

Lovely plant life and swamp scenes. 

Manatees and the Caloosahatchee Regional Park

Yesterday we did the short drive over to Manatee Park, one of the nice Lee County parks. The manatees are here in large numbers due to the fact that the area they frequent is near a large electric power plant. The Orange River provides water for the power plant, and is discharged as much warmer water than at the intake. So the manatees hang out in the discharge area, seeking the warmer waters.

We walked the short trails which also include several boardwalks. These trails go right up to the edge of the discharge area, and we saw 5-6 manatees. When Gary rode his bike over here the other day, he said there were maybe 40-50 here (our temperatures were cooler then). 

I got a really good photo of a manatee coming up for air. They are such gentle, slow moving creatures. You hardly ever see one without some scar or damage from the propellers of boats that ply the rivers in which they live. But the good news is that apparently the manatee is no longer considered an endangered species. While their numbers are not huge, we saw one statistic that says there are now about 6000 in Florida. There are signs in the rivers and waterways everywhere posting slower boating speed limits in the areas they frequent, to prevent collisions and damage. And many areas are no-boating zones to protect them even further.

Looking toward the power plant at the edge of the water discharge area

Discharge area

Boardwalk

Mangrove tree - they are so picturesque

Manatee coming up for air

Skeleton replica

Then we drove to the Caloosahatchee Regional Park. This lovely property was privately owned in early Florida years, but was purchased by the State of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District in the 1960's. It is leased to Lee County and managed for conservation and public recreation purposes. There is a good walking trail system within the park (and also an extensive horse trail riding system in another part of the park). A good piece of the trail runs right along the edge of the Caloosahatchee River.

The river drains the areas near the Everglades and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It has been extensively dredged over the years to provide part of the navigational waterway from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, called the Okeechobee Waterway. This waterway is man made. The river is a focus of attention right now because Lake Okeechobee needs to have water releases to protect the properties that have been built in the area following the construction of dikes. I have not read of concerns about the purity of the water releases, but the release water contains sediment and is causing the beaches to have brown water, a cause for much tourism concern. Apparently in other years, the river does not receive enough water from releases and causes other concerns. Humans have definitely "messed" with the waters of Florida!

The river forms a tidal estuary along most of its course. There are a few naturally formed areas called oxbows, indentations along the bank, that allow for the more naturally occurring growth of plant life.

Looking across the river at an unusual boat.

We saw some water birds and a few others on our hike. Did not see any wild pigs, very prevalent in most of the natural areas of central and southwest Florida.

Very pleasant day!

More ballgames

This blog will get very boring because we are mostly going to ballgames right now. Interesting for us, boring to read about. But, here is my report:

On March 7th we drove up to Sarasota to Ed Smith Stadium to see the Twins play the Baltimore Orioles. This is a very nice older stadium that has undergone some renovations in the past few years. They have a good scoreboard with a Jumbotron display, but they have not completed the 360 degree walkway yet. It makes such a huge difference to the ambiance of a stadium to complete this update. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day, AND the Twins won the game 3-0. 

We thought we had gotten parked in a good area for an escape, but that was not to be. Traffic in Sarasota around the stadium was monumentally bad, and it took us over 2 hours to drive back to Ft Myers - should have been about 1 hour 20 minutes. We stopped at Pinchers in Ft Myers on the waterfront for dinner. Very atmospheric, but the food was only OK. 

Ed Smith Stadium

Yesterday, March 9th, we went to Hammond Stadium to see the Twins play the Phillies. We met two of our friends from Minneapolis, Helen and Bill, for this game. Another perfect Florida day and we had ideal seats for the game. We walked around the whole stadium, having our lunch in the great outfield seating area. But the Twins lost 4-2. 

Hammond Stadium

Helen, Bill and Gary. 

Two Ballgames So Far - More to Go

We have been to two ballgames so far. The first was Thursday, March 3rd, Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium (now known as Century Link Sports Complex - too many words!) This was a night game, the Twins home opener. This was our first view of the upgrades recently done at this very nice stadium. The walkway was extended to all around the field with about 4 new bars, much additional rail seating, other concessions added, updated old restrooms plus many new ones, a new Team Store, and more food choices. It is a lovely ball park, now more in keeping with the fabulous new spring training parks in Arizona. Twins lost the game 6-5, but the good thing was we got to see all of the probable starters including Dozier, Plouffe, Mauer, Suzuki, Sano, and others during the first two innings. In addition, we are seeing every left handed pitcher in the Twins farm system and some non-roster players as well. The Twins are, apparently, in need of a left-handed reliever and are hoping to find the right guy in their farm system.

Hammond Stadium views.

Yesterday we drove up to Bradenton, a 90 minute drive from Ft Myers, to McKechnie Field to see the Twins play the Pittsburgh Pirates. This stadium has long been one of our favorites and still gets our award for best update to an old stadium. It, too, has a 360 degree walkway with rail seating, bars in the outfield, and all the stuff baseball fans like in a spring training stadium

Here is what Wikipedia says about McKechnie Field:

McKechnie's nostalgic design appeals to many baseball traditionalists and ballpark enthusiasts, and some consider the facility to be Florida's version of Fenway Park. It's built in a Florida Spanish Mission style, with white stucco on the main grandstand and covered bleachers over the reserved seating section. The Pirates and the City of Bradenton celebrated their 40th anniversary together during the 2008 spring training season, which included an agreement between the city and the Pirates to continue their partnership through 2037.

The field is currently the oldest stadium used for spring training as well as the second-oldest in the Florida State League (behind Jackie Robinson Ballpark, built in 1914). It is also the third oldest stadium currently used by a major league team after Fenway Park, built in 1912, and Wrigley Field in 1914.^[3]

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So Gary and I are not alone in liking this charming stadium. Plus the people who run the ballpark and the fans are super nice!!

These photos don't do this ballpark justice. You have to be there to appreciate it!

The Twins and the Pirates played to a 2-2 tie. They ended the game at the end of the ninth inning, not playing to a decision.

Adjacent to the ballpark is this charming facility, now home to the Bradenton City Public Works Dept. It was formerly used during World War II for recruiting, training and mustering troops by the Army, as was the whole baseball field when baseball was shut down during the war.