Beach-walking, Music, Friends, Nature, Food

Well, our time in Anna Maria is coming to a close here, but we are taking advantage of the lovely weather and surroundings. We took a trip to the Myakka River State Park one day, and rode our bikes through the park and saw birdlife and alligators and walked the canopy trail there. We also visited Little Manatee River State Park, and hiked through it. It was not as nice as Myakka River, but still very nice. Today we paddle boarded through the Robinson Preserve on a "kayak trail"...that is through the mangroves where no boats go. It was salt water and tidal, and lovely. Plus we go out almost daily into the gulf for a nice swim together.

We also had visits from family and friends, and went out to share music and food with other friends.

And of course food. I have been cooking nice meals and good breakfasts here, and we've been very much enjoying the life we have here. And we had an interview with AMI Radio.

I have some nice photos, including the alligators we saw at Myakka River State Park. I love this one where the alligator is holding one leg with the other.

Little Manatee River State Park

We drove up to this park and hiked through it for a couple of hours. There was a small pond within the park called "Dude Lake". 

Myakka River State Park

I had been to this park 20 years ago, when I camped out on my way back to Gainesville from Miami. The park has wild boar, as well as alligators, turkey vultures, and other bird life. We rode our bikes through the park and walked the tree canopy trail.

When I was here 20 years ago, this grassy part was all under water...part of the lake.

Perico Preserve

This little nature preserve right off Anna Maria Island is  another beautiful treasure, just like the Robinson Preserve. You cannot bike there, though, but walking is lovely.

 The first photo is of the bird blind there. Claude call this a tiny house.

Neighborhood Walking and Beaching

More Beaching

Water Play

The trick with water photography, or the trouble for me, is that while the camera is waterproof, it's not easy to keep water off the lens. So, we have here some photos I took while swimming in the gulf. I still like them, even with the water spots on the lens.

Paddleboarding in the Robinson Preserve

We have been biking around the preserve from time to time because there are nice trails and lots of birdlife there. But up to now, we hadn't explored the park by the water trails. Today we did on paddle boards. This included paddling through mangrove tunnels. It was lovely. The first photo includes a roseated spoonbill.

There a red crab in the next photo. 

Paddled out to Tampa Bay

Live horseshoe crab underwater

Parakeet on a wire

Can't get enough Sunsets

New and Old Friends

Our Session at Anna Maria Island Radio

We had an interview at Anna Maria Island Radio. Here is the link to the radio interview: We sing my original song, The Solar House Blues,

Cooking Ingredients -- Bilinski's Chicken Sausage

I wanted to make mention of this brand of chicken sausage I found down here in Publix. I like to add chicken sausage to our breakfast with home fries and eggs sometimes. What's nice about these is that there is only moderate sodium and no casing and no added sugar and all natural organic ingredients. These are made in Brooklyn.