Art in the Gardens

Each spring, creativity blossoms at the annual Art in the Gardens exhibit at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.

Teachers and students from throughout Southwest Florida use their artistic talents — along with recycled and unusual materials — to create spectacularly unique sculptures that are displayed throughout the historic estate gardens.

This year, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the program, students will be tasked with creating patriotic-themed outdoor sculptures.  » Read more

Earth Day on Sanibel

Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement.

On April 22,1970, more than 20 million Americans took to streets, parks and college campuses in massive coast-to-coast rallies to protest against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife realized they shared common values.  » Read more

The Art of Music

What happens when visual artists depict how music feels or what it means to them? Can art express the nuances of music?

Imagine our delight when we learned that one of our favorite longtime guests, Frank M. from Groton Point, CT, had submitted a painting for the recent Art of Music exhibit at BIG ARTS. Frank, who has been coming to Ocean’s Reach since the 1970s(!),  » Read more

Update on The Jacaranda


Thanks to our friends at The Islander for this update. Excerpt of article by Tiffany Repecki follows.
We’ll keep you posted on the re-opening as we learn more!

The Jacaranda Restaurant has switched hands and the new owners are nearing an opening date.

Re-opening as The Jac Island Grille and Rum Bar, Eve and Alex Alves purchased the restaurant from Dr.  » Read more

Gopher Tortoise Day!

April 10th has been officially recognized as Gopher Tortoise Day!

The goal of Gopher Tortoise Day is to increase awareness and appreciation for these long lived, gentle reptiles.

Gopher tortoises are considered a “keystone species” because they dig burrows that provide shelter for 360 other species of wildlife, called “commensals.”  These commensal species include the gopher frog, Florida mouse, eastern indigo snake, and hundreds of invertebrates like beetles and crickets.  » Read more

Look Closely!

Another cool photo from Andy. Look closely! Can you see it?

It’s an Anhinga seen at The Dunes nestling in the sheltered water habitat they prefer.

You can often spot an anhinga perched on a branch with wings outstretched, drying its feathers. The fact that their feathers are less water resistant than other birds helps them to swim underwater.

Although not particularly fast swimmers,  » Read more

Poetry Inspiring

 
The beautiful gardenia plant at the entry to our office at Ocean’s Reach
just might be the “most commented on” feature of our property this time of year. 
We love how it offers a wonderfully fragrant welcome to our guests!

 
It dissipates through the air
Gently teasing your nose
A fragrance so lovely
Grabbing as it goes
Its beauty so dazzling
That you can’t even see
But a mural so enormous
Is what it brings to me
The scent of a Gardenia
Filled with memories
Applied very lightly
To one’s porcelain skin
Ambience of invisible beauty
A love trail begins
The scent of Gardenia
Filled with memories
An aroma so blinding
That of romantic power
Only but a shrub
Not even a flower  » Read more

 

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