Winter has wonderfully returned to South Florida.  Only 55 degrees now and going up to 60 today.  Worse, it just showered.  Still, no sign of the white stuff that seems so much in abundance in the Northeast right now. 

Mom, Dad, Anne & I are at the condo.  Mark, Rob & Joe are moving out of the time share and will join us here for lunch.  They enjoyed a peaceful week following a routine that works for all of them.  The weather was good, if a bit cool on some days.  The last two days were wonderfully clear if cool.  Today another front passes, but tomorrow should be clear, bright, and breezy.  The three "boys" will be departing at dawn.  Anne and I will take the opportunity to bird early, after their departure, seeking the elusive Bachman's Sparrow that should have begun singing on territory in nearby pinewoods. 

We have been at the beach much of this week.  Mom, Dad, & Anne have usually gone down after church and breakfast.  I have stayed here to do chores and begin work on the infernal taxes.  I join them toward supper time.  Mom has been ready to return here early after supper, and we watch a bit of olympics before retiring. 

On Thursday, Anne, Mark & I went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to enjoy the wonderful cypress forest there.  We watched for arriving Swallow-tailed Kites and found them performing wonderful aerobatics over the prairie and cypress stands.  We also found a Crested Caracara feasting on roadkill nearby.  The Audubon Society maintains a 2.5 mile long loop boardwalk across the swamp that provides easy access into a land that would otherwise be very difficult to traverse.

Since I began writing a squall with a heavy shower passed across Heritage Cove and the clouds broke to allow a brief flash of warm sunshine.  Now another band of gray clouds is rushing by as cooler air pushes into this part of the Peninsula. 

It has been a long winter in South Florida this year, but the locals say that spring has arrived when you see the kites return.  Let's hope they are right.