Burroughs Home and Garden

 The Burroughs House is on First Street in Fort Myers' River District. It was the city's first year-round luxury home. It is in the Georgian Revival style and was built in 1901.   

Nelson Burroughs bought the house in 1919. A daughter bequeathed the property to The City of Fort Myers in 1978.   Today it is open for tours and is often the scene of weddings and other special events.

Blue Cottage

A charming little cottage in the River District just off First Street in Fort Myers.

I need to go back and wander the side streets.  I think there are quite a few other charmers like this one.

Best Ice Cream

 

I didn't get any ice cream, so I can't vouch for it.

Fort Myers.

St, Hilary's Episcopal Church

 

An unusual cylindrical church on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Artist Cottages

Bonita Springs has six city-owned artist cottages in Riverside Park near the Imperial River.  The city restored the buildings, once old fishing cottages, for the use of local artists in need of a studio.  

 

Bacchus

 In a serene park near Naples Community Hospital (NCH), a bust of Bacchus stares out atop a pedestal.

The concrete bust -- called Vinum Vitae (Wine of Life) -- commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Naples Winter Wine Festival.  Auctions at the Wine Festival raise staggering amounts of money to support at risk children in Collier County.

The bust is at the edge of a small lake in the park.  It was sculpted by American sculptor Brett F. Harvey.  The piece draws inspiration from Italian viticulture, mythology, and the Mediterranean aesthetic integral to Naples, Florida.

Now that current medical research says that no amount of alcohol is safe, and the surgeon general in the Biden administration has urged that a warning label go on bottles of alcohol, I wonder if the Wine Festival will continue as it has.  My guess?  Money will prevail and the auction will continue unabated. 

Aubrey Rogers High School

Collier County built a new high school on a plot of land so landlocked I would have told you there was no way to get to it.

But I was wrong.

Seniors at Aubrey Rogers High School paint up their parking spaces.

Grave Marker

 Stopped at a red light, I noticed this grave marker in a modest cemetery to my right.  I have never seen a similar one.  So, I pulled in.

This memorial remembers a girl who died just short of her ninth birthday.  It is simple, but there are signs that her family or friends visit.  I am sad about the girl's early death but glad that the little girl is remembered.

Pet Parade

 

The annual Pet Parade on Third Street South took place on Sunday.  Yes, it was fun, and many people were there to watch, but I thought the costumes for the pets and owners weren't as good as in past years.

Barbie.

Superwoman and Superdog.

Golden Girls were fan favorites.

I like seeing kids walking their dogs in the parade, even if the costumes aren't fancy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Today the nation pauses to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  On my recent visit to West Hartford, Connecticut, I saw again this mural by Corey Pane on the side of the library.  

Linked to Monday Mural.

Trinity by the Cove Episcopal Church

 

This church serves a very well-heeled congregation in Port Royal.  I visited on a very dull day.  Maybe I should have waited for a sunny day.

Naples Pier

 

In 2022 Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage to the Naples Pier, destroying 460 feet of the structure, including the iconic end section.  There are plans to rebuild the pier in a more robust way.  Design, permitting and fund-raising continue.  No firm timetable has been set.

This is the pier before Hurricane Ian.

Colorful

 A golfer waited for the others to finish the hole.

Pink House

Port Royal, the southernmost part of Naples, Florida.

 

Bonita Springs National Art Festival

Bonita Springs hosts several art shows at Riverside Park in season.  The show last weekend was one of the best, with artists from all over the country.

Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand are ceramicists who work and exhibit together.  I think this is Glenn, but the works are by Keith.  Glenn's works are based on gourds and other organic forms with matte surfaces.  Keith's are more functional in nature and have glossy crystalline glazes.

Candace happily showed the print she bought.

Billie Barthelmy exhibited women's clothing in muted colors (except for the red dress on the right).

Steven Olszewski's sculptures captured my attention a week earlier at a Naples show.  I liked them again at the Bonita Springs show.

Ronia Grillos learned how to make hats from her brother in the 1980’s in Santa Cruz California. Ronia’s hats are hand-cut and sewn using American leather wetting and folding to create unique and whimsical bands. Old coins, gemstones, and glass beads serve as embellishments.

Gyotaku is the Japanese art of making fish prints on rice paper.  I have seen Linda Heath's works at past shows, but her gyotaku this year is more colorful and defined.  Linda said that this show was an exceptionally strong one for her.  Big smiles.

Oops.  I misplaced this ceramicist's card.

John Mascoll creates wood-turned vessels with a lathe and specialty handheld tools.  

He works with American woods -- mainly burls -- and some international exotics.

Renaissance Faire

 

Just a bunch of portraits at Renaissance Faire.

I talked with Genesis for a while.  She is a hatmaker for performers at Renaissance Faires.  But, when a Faire is in Southwest Florida, she likes to spend time in the tent of a friend who shows a dozen or so eagles, falcons, and other big birds of prey, like the caracara below.

Mandala

Tibetan monks from the historic Gaden Shartse Monastery are touring the USA to showcase their culture and demonstrate their practices of meditation and paths to inner peace and compassion.  

They also demonstrate how they construct a sacred mandala from colored sand, and they raise funds to build more dormitory space for their monastery.

I watched them work on Thursday, after they had been working for four days.  Yesterday, to uphold the principle that all phenomena are transient, the monks were going to sweep up the mandala and place the sand in a nearby lake to purify the surrounding environment.