Getting back to normal . . .

Taking a drive through Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge at lunch today helped us take one more step back toward normal.  The wildlife drive opened up yesterday for the first time after Irma came through and damaged a lot of vegetation.  People have been asking how the birds fared during Irma.  It was great to see birds doing their normal thing!

After leaving Ding, we came upon one of the big grabber trucks picking up piles of vegetation.  Unfortunately, I had to take the photos through the (dirty) windshield!  But, you get the gist!  We are all very thankful to the city for sending these trucks around!

Early last Sunday morning, we headed to the beach to check out how it made it through Irma.  We came upon the workers staging at Bailey's Grocery parking lot before going out to tackle the downed power lines!  Thank you to everyone working so hard to restore our power!

The places where residents can park along West Gulf Dr. were all blocked by downed trees.  So, we went to Tarpon Beach and took a short walk.  It was early and overcast, so the photos are a bit dark.  There was a good deal of erosion.

This guy was checking a sea turtle nest to see if there were any eggs left after Irma.  He determined that they were most likely all washed away to Mexico by now!  

It was comforting to see a lot of brown pelicans!

And then back home to this tiny little frog . . .