One gauge of the health of our coastal waters is the number of ospreys. When I first moved to Florida (1976) the number of ospreys was way down. Pesticides had endangered them as well as a number of other species. Ospreys have come back strong and, it’s interesting how they don’t seem to mind living so close to us dangerous humans. I saw four different nests all within a few miles and an arms reach. The nests were probably 30 ft. off the ground at the most.

I was over on the Gulf Coast (Naples) over the weekend visiting a very good friend and his family that just recently moved there from Hollywood (FL). Naples seems to be a much larger retirement community than I remembered from the 80s. The growth there is unbelieveable.