Naples stay is ending, Star Mt. here I come

Last post before I leave for Star Mt. It's an odd feeling to transition from tropical Florida to the mountains. I'm very excited to go back but sad Mark can't come yet. He will follow in 3 weeks for his crazy 2 week schedule that has him back and forth from Florida all summer. Oh well, better then not at all!

It's so quiet around now. Our community dwindles down to 30% occupancy in the summer and this translates to no problem getting into restaurants, low traffic, and small attendance in my yoga class. My morning walks are with nary a soul around me and pretty steamy affairs at this point. My animal sightings are down to turtles, rabbits, and ducks. I'm excited to change to elk,deer (did Flap survive the severe winter?), coyote, fox, bear, owls, maybe moose, and the list goes on and on. Yippee.

I made it to the organic farmer's market for my last time this season. There's been something unique there every time I've gone. This time it was the small local Florida Microgreens company out of Cape Coral. They are a small company with a big mission. Supply the community restaurants (40 so far) with microgreens, expand around the world, maybe even beyond. (They've had a recent visit from a rocket scientist.) They use organic hemp substrate in which the greens root and then use only water. Of course I had to buy some, there's monster nutrition in those tiny plants. Been putting them on my breakfast eggs and sandwiches and they last 2 weeks in the frig. USA Today recently did an article on them if you're interested. I'm wondering Crested Butte? Sounds like a fit to me...

I had to relocate from here as the waves came straight in

Empty osprey nest

My beach visit was pretty wild. 25 mile an hour winds, high tide, and a lot of waves for the normally calm Gulf. I love it though whatever the conditions.

Sea turtle nesting session is here. The turtles come out of the water at night, lay eggs in the sand, and then go back in the water, their job done. The baby turtles hatch and make a run to the water in the moonlight. Last year broke records with 1,144 nests in the county making the conservationists quite happy. Hopefully this will be a good year as well. Many measures have been put into law including restricted lighting close to the beach, special hooks required for commercial fishermen, and shrimping nets that allow turtles to escape. I would love to see the hatchlings make their run.

Bird of Paradise

There's much to miss in Naples but Star Mt. is calling. I will not miss the heat and humidity that's for sure. I'll be back in the fall when the temps have dropped and the mountains are done with their spectacular fall color. Time goes by soooo fast, I intend to appreciate every single day.