The Heritage Cove contingent has returned "home" for the evening.  Mat & Jen arrived by air last evening.  Anne picked them up at the airport and brought them here.  I (Chuck) stayed at the Estero Island Beach Club with Mom & Dad and the Gallups and Pam who had arrived by automobile in the late afternoon.  Their journey was made eventful by snow which followed them almost to the Florida border.  They stopped overnight at Mt. Pleasant SC and awoke to a snowstorm.  They escaped the snow on the Florida Peninsula, but this will be a cool week with the temperature unlikely to reach 70 degrees until the day of their departure, Saturday.

In spite of the 50 degree temperatures, the young people were in the pool almost upon arrival.  Silly Yankees!  Dad had bought pizza and a good evening was had by all.  Still, Mom was tired and anxious to see Mat and Jen, so we left the beach about eight o'clock and arrived here just before they pulled in.  We all enjoyed a drink of sipping tequila and called it a night.

Anne and I had enjoyed a long day on this, my birthday.  We awoke at 4:30 to begin a drive to Storm Water Treatment Area No. 5, or STA-5, which is a huge duck pond south of Lake Okeechobee where agriculturally polluted water is naturally cleaned by sedimentation and plants absorbing nutrients.  The rich plant life attracts ducks and the ducks attract the hawks.  We enjoyed a great show arriving at the edge of Okeechobee at dawn and saw a huge kettle of vultures rise from a pond apple forest.  Among them were a few snail kites.  We stopped for coffee at a redneck gas station and started down a road to nowhere.  I spotted an elegant Swallow-tailed Flycatcher on a wire, struggling to stay there in the strong wind that followed the passage of the cold front.  This is a summer bird of Texas and Oklahoma.  A few winter in south Florida, and it is always a treat to see one in the East.  Farther down the road we found Crested Caracaras and Bald Eagles, also working to hold their place in the wind.  

The pavement ended and the dirt road to the entrance of the treatment area looked rougher than usual.  The clay was saturated from rain the night before and rutted where earlier cars had passed.  I kept our little front-wheel drive Ford Focus moving quickly to avoid becoming stuck and was very happy when we pulled up to the gate.  We checked in and started our drive on the levees that bordered the treatment basins. 

As is usual, the first pond was covered with coots, moorhens, and black-necked stilts.  A pair of Caracaras was perched on the levee, looking impressive as always.  We found exotic Purple Swamp-Hens marauding in the marsh and numerous Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Fulvous Whistling Ducks.  A few of these grand birds are found in south Texas, but the largest flocks (and easiest to find) are here in south Florida.  A few large alligators emerged in the afternoon to soak up what few rays there were on this chilly Saturday.

Anne and I stopped at a restaurant for an early dinner, celebrating my birthday and Valentine's Day before driving directly to the beach club and meeting Mom and Dad.  Anne stayed long enough to greet the Gallups before she went for Mat and Jen.  We went to bed tired last night.

Today was more peaceful, but we all went to the beach club this morning.  After lunch Anne and I walked a couple of miles down the beach.  Mat and Jen jogged past us.  Mom went in the pool and everyone recreated in various ways.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of sloppy joes, created by the many.  In between and among other activities, we caught snatches of the Winter Olympic Games.

Tomorrow some will go to the beach early.  Anne and I have chores here and will go to the beach after lunch.  I'm guessing we will eat dinner there again and return here when exhaustion sets in.  It is a tough job, but somebody has to do it.