This past weekend we visited the Windwood House to wrap up a few projects. Even on a working weekend, we love our visits. The weather was perfect: sunny, highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s and a breeze. While the nation freezes over with the “polar vortex”, we’re down here in Florida enjoying a sunny day on the balcony watching the waves. It was great!

After crawling out of bed, I sat half awake gazing out the back door. Early in the morning as the sun rises, the reflection off of the water is incredibly bright but hard to quit looking at. There are always lots of birds hunting for breakfast. Egrets, ducks (mallards? beats me…), and occasionally hawks. It’s always better than Saturday morning television.

This time was especially great as we caught a small pod of bottle nose dolphins on their morning hunt. They came from the East, cruising through the shallow water just off shore, between the house and the sandbar, dorsal fins above the water. They would move quietly, then at once rush to swirl around the school of fish and harvest their meal. It was amazing to see these animals in their natural habitat.

That evening, well past dark, we heard trashing of something big in the water. Even with a strong flashlight, it was hard to see what was making the commotion. In fact with the flash light off and the house lights off, the moon illuminated the water best. We discovered that if you’re quiet, you can hear the sound of a breath of air through the dolphin’s blow hole and tell where they were. On such a quiet, peaceful night, it was amazing to hear the quiet ripples of water and dolphins breathing just fifty feet away.