Burnt Store Marina from the top of Winterlude's mast, looking out the channel toward Charlotte Harbor! 

The Great Horned Owl is a fearsome hunter capturing a wide variety of prey - even as big as a great heron or kitty cat!  It took over an osprey nest in a backyard here in the suburbs of Burnt Store Marina. Since she's always there, we're wondering if she's sitting on eggs.  Lookout kitty cats!!!  Ed. Note:  I need a better telephoto to really get a good shot.  

Tonight we're sitting in the marina enduring squall line after squall line - we've discovered new leaks inside the boat.   But our new cockpit enclosure almost doesn't leak - it was raining so hard literally the water was being forced through the Sunbrella ... I don't think that's normal!  Water was beading up being forced through the thread holes and then there were areas we already knew might be problematic.   

So the photo of the day is from the other day at the beach ... sunset after the lighthouse,

I first posted this 3 days ago, but I'm having trouble getting the photo to enlarge (click on enlarge & it goes to the Marathon Keys page, which is interesting but not what I want!)  ...

After a day of exploring Myakka State Park, a great lunch at Phillipi Creek Oyster Bar and finding shark's teeth on many windy beaches, we ended up at the Boca Grande Lighthouse just about sunset.  This is the lighthouse we sailed by on our way back to the US from our Western Caribbean adventures in May 2010.   If you'd like to see a different photographer's rendition of the same shot, go see Ron's Mayberry Studio Daily Shot .       Scroll down to the lighthouse - great shot!

This sunset wasn't really tonight, but after you look at my refit photo you'll understand why!   :)   Sometimes there's more than one good photo from a day at the beach! 

Four days of fun with Ron & Connie.  We sailed, hailed the sunset from the water, reveled in the full moon and introduced R&C to hogfish.  Other days, we explored the Everglades, the Rod & Gun Club, took an airboat excursion, soaked up the eclectic artistry of Matlacha and sang along with Steve Flagg at Portobello, the dockside bar at our marina.  The next day we froze while we hiked the nature trail and climbed the canopy walk at the Myakka River State Park, thawed out with a late lunch at my favorite restaurant, Phillipi Creek Oyster Bar, then explored beaches on the way back.  Connie discovered fossilized shark teeth and Ron & I got some photos of the Gasparilla Lighthouse at sunset.  Too bad it wasn't warmer, but we made the most of it!  

You never know what you'll see pull up to the boat docks for lunch!

Taking our first everglades "airboat" adventure, I saw more roseate spoonbills than I've ever seen!  Last time we saw one was December 2004 in Isla Contoy, Mexico anchored on Winterlude (just north of Isla Mujeres just off Cancun).  Amazing!   Alligators too!  Just ask Ron & Connie!    :)

David & I disagreed on the alligator shot I should use for the daily shot ... this is the one I liked, David liked the eyes above water shot.  So here's the other one!