Beautiful photoes!!! :o)

Pretty. You have so much water between you and your neighbors. I envy you for that an well as the beautiful view :)

Great photos!

Tom, you have some beautiful views!

Silvia

Such a pretty spot, Tom.

Carol B. Sarasota

Beautiful! You are definitely blessed with a lovely location.
Sharon

OK, Tom - tell your wife we are all pitching tents in your yard!!! The views are astounding!

nice! great shots! i spend 225.00 a night in captiva for that same sunset, how about 125.00 a night in a tent and i can use your bathroom? :)

Thanks for the kind words folks. I have a small back yard; remember that my veggie garden is only eight feet from the lake. Many of you will have to pitch tents in the front since the east side is all concrete and fence, and the west side is all bamboo, ferns and wooden boardwalk. I do have an outside shower inside the pool cage and I can heat up the spa, which has a stepped waterfall into the pool ;-)

Tom

Oh, wow, Tom. You are indeed lucky to be able to witness that every evening. Not to speak of the wonderland it is to the wildlife we all love to watch. Thanks for letting us be a part of it. Beautiful.

Anna

Thanks Anna, as I sit here sending this response I have wild ducks not more than thirty feet away dunking for plant material on the bottom of the lake shore, makes it all worth the bug-fest sacrifice of having a garden so close to the lake. I would not be without either the garden or the lake....

Tom

Tom, I just love it. It is perfect, except for one thing. You need a purple martin house. :) Mine arrived on February 16th - very early for them - but the mild winter brought them in and I'm glad they are here. Your lake front setting is perfect place for a martin house! Have you ever thought about it?

Carol in Jacksonville

Hi Carol, no, and I don't recall seeing any martin houses around here...guess I need to go do some research AFTER the big race is over ;-)

Tom

Oops - just reread my post - when I said "mine arrived" I was referring to the martins, not the house. My wonderful father put up my martin house just weeks after I bought my home in 2001. He was a big fan for purple martins and decided each of his daughters must have a martin house. Dad is gone now and I cherish mine! I love it when the martins arrive each year (around late Feb or early March. They are very interesting birds to watch and they keep me company while gardening. It is fun to hear their songs. I can now recognize a purple martin call any time, any place. :)

If you put one up, you want it as close to the water as you can and as high as you can. Don't put it near any trees. Martins like to be as high as they can be in a clear area where they can swoop down and catch bugs. That's why they LOVE to be over water. Below are some photos of mine and I have also linked a great purple martin website and forum.

Carol in Jax

Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martin FAQ

Carol, cool pictures. Where did you get that one? I didn't see any that tall for sale. Do you have it on a telescoping pole for cleanup?

Tom

Tom, my purple martin house is an old "Heath" house and definitely not up to current standards. It came from my Dad, who purchased several insertable layers. At the time, it was sold by Sears and you could buy and add as many "stories" as you wanted. When he replace it with all gourds, he put the pole and Heath house up in my yard. I think you can still get the Heath house but it is not recommended/sanctioned by Purple Martin advocates.

The link below tells the story of my pole and how it works. (There are two "pages" to the post.) Again - this set up - all my Dad. He had the idea, got the parts and put it all together. Also again, he came up with this way before the internet and current standards of daily nest inspections, etc.

You will fall in love with them if you get the Purple Martin house! Every Feb/March, you will watch the skies, waiting for YOUR birds to return. Yes, they are migratory birds and the exact same birds will return to your house once you have a colony established. Over wonderful open water like you have, it shouldn't take long.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martin Pole

That should have said, "When he replace HIS with all gourds..."

Tom,the Lowes near me has Purple Martin houses & a telescoping 15ft pole(sold seperately)to mount it on.The pole is metal-so I'm not sure how safe it would be for the birds in a storm.I'm thinking about putting one up at the edge of my pond,as I've seen some Martins swooping down to either grab a drink or take some bugs from the surface of the water.

Thanks you two, I'm considering it....