Eeviann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, comments that there was a period in the keeper’s life when he spent icy chunks of the northern winter in the balmy environs of Sanibel Island and Sarasota Fla., where hurricane Ian destroyed part of the Sanibel-Ft. Meyers causeway.
While a hurricane was not involved, once when he approached the causeway with a metal canoe strapped to the top of his vehicle, the wind ripped the canoe off and sent it hurtling over the edge of the causeway approach. This meant forcing a long line of cars to back up, which was no small feat, and it also meant a canoe with a unique blunt bow design.
Other Sanibel memories include running out in the middle of the night to photograph an alligator catching a squawking swamp bird within feet of the keeper’s tent; bicycling through the Ding Darling bird refuge with a breathtaking sunrise; and later learning how an alligator got into an island aviary and bit the head off a feeding flamingo.
It was all a long time ago, and the keeper hopes that they get the causeway fixed soon; and he also appreciates Ion blowing the dust off so many pleasant memories.
