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Bonita Beach, FL Real Estate News

By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    The "Apple Murex" is a fascinating shell we find along the beaches of Southwest Florida. They are commonly found along the Atlantic coast from the Americas down to Brazil and their relative can be found all over the globe. The shells are typically colored in various shades of brown, have a rough surface with occasional pointy spots and live in water from 1 foot deep to about 60 feet deep. These shells are quite small and grow to a maximum size of 3 inches long.   On our beaches, we can find these as live specimens and as dead empty shells. It is also common to find hermit crabs living in the dead shells, so before we collect the shell we have to make sure it is not inhabited by one of these crabs.   The Apple Murex feeds on Bi-value shells and freshly deceased sea animals. They are...
Comments 11
By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
      The "Letter Olive" shell can be found along the Atlantic and Gulf coast of the United States. They are quite plentiful on the Southwest Florida coasts. During low tides, on sand flats, it is common to find these shells alive moving along or burrowing in the sand. The Letter Olive shells are the fastest moving shells in the Ocean. Their relatives can be found all over the globe.       They feed on various bi-valve shells and can be up to 3 inches long. Their shells are quite beautiful and have a very shiny luster to them. They are able to maintain this luster because their mantle is usually covering the whole shell, the mantle is the soft body tissue of the live animal. The picture to the right is one of these Olives burrowing in the wet sand during low tide. The shells of these a...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    The "Common Fig" shell is an interesting shell. The shell itself(without the animal inside) is very thin, fragile and very light. They are found along the gulf coast of Florida and can be found washed up on the beaches after storms. Because of their thin shells, it is very difficult to find complete shells that are not broken. They are generally a light beige color and do not have any specific coloration patterns like many shells.     An interesting aspect is that when this shell is alive, it is actually quite heavy even though the shell itself is thin and light. These shells feed on sea urchins (pictured below)  which are common in our waters. The animal that lives in the shell and makes the shell will actually use its body to cover most of the shell to protect it.       Over the ...
Comments 3
By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    I'm all Conched Out.    The Florida Fighting Conch is one of the most plentiful LIVE shells we find on out beaches. These shells like to hang out in the shallow waters of the gulf coast and are regularly found during low tide.   The Fighting Conch grows to a maximum length of about 4.5 inches and can be found in various shades of brown. Some of the conchs also have unusual markings on their shells which can look like ‘zig-zags" or bands of lighter or darker shades. The animals are vegetarian and feed predominantly at night and burrow into the sand to spend the day.  In the picture to the left are a few dead conchs. The one at 12:00 o'clock is about 3.5 inches. The one at 5:00 o'clock is 1.25 inches long. They received their name by being very active. If then end up on their back th...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Hello Folks, Well "Fall" has arrived and it is starting to show in Southwest Florida. I know most people do not believe that we have "seasonal" weather down here, but actually we do. The temperatures are starting to cool off a little bit. It might still be in the high 80s to low 90s, but the difference is the cool breezes which we are starting to feel. It is quite relaxing to be sitting on the lania and having a cool breeze blowing across your body.... almost putting you into a tranquilized state. We went for a walk on the beach Sunday during low tide. The Gulf of Mexico had those Aqua Blue-Green colors to it. The beach was crowded down by the public parking area, but not near as crowded as it gets in the winter months. "Fall" is my favorite time in Florida...... The weather is coo...
Comments 2
By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Howdy Folks, Wow, Tonight was an awesome night for walking the beach. Sunny sky and no chance for rain, a light breeze and it was low tide. Tonight I went to the beach on Little Hickory which is the northern most end of Bonita Beach. Since we have had two Major storms pass through the Gulf of Mexico (Gustav & Ike), the beaches of Southwest Florida have gotten quite a bit of action. When Gustav went by the storm waves washed many shells up on our beaches and added additional sand to them. When Ike went by, it washed all the extra sand and shells which Gustav gave us and put them back into the gulf. The interesting aspect to this is the current beach conditions at Little Hickory. Hurricane Ike washed what looks like half of the sand which was on the beach out into the gulf, but not i...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Thank Goodness It's Friday !!!!!! Howdy folks,                                                                                  September 12, 2008 In my normal Friday, end of the work week fashion, I went out and hit the beaches. This past week has been extremely stressful...... You would be stressed too if you were trying to close a $60 Million dollar loan and one day it look bleak and the next day it looks good. The best way for me to relax is to hit the beach and take a walk. Tonight was a nice night, plenty of sunshine and a brief period of rain (heavy rain). The beaches in our area are currently covered in shells.....NICE shells. This is a result of Gustav, which brought these ashore as it headed toward New Orleans last week. I was fully anticipating more "stuff" to be washed ...
Comments 7
By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Hello Folks, Tonight was a welcome ending to a stressful week. As a way to relax and enjoy some time with nature, we went for another walk on the beach. I am very fortunate to live in a place which allows us to walk the beach year round wearing shorts. Tonights walk was quite enjoyable as we were looking for nice sea shells. The Gulf of Mexico was extremely calm, as you can see from a picture below. With the water being so calm, it made seeing down into the water quite easy. Tonights sky was quite cloudy, but the sun setting was very beautiful. As we walked through the water we saw many crabs, fish and sting rays. This first picture is of the calm water tonight at low time. Here was the first crab I seen, I picked it up to show our relatives visiting from Spain.. Here are three mor...
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By Owen Zweiback
(Realty World Florida)
What a VP roll out! I just have 1 question for Senator Obama, the Obama campaign, the Democrat party..... How much of a carbon footprint did you create to transport Senator Biden from his mother's home in Delaware to Springfield, Illinois and back again to Delaware all within a 6 hour period? You had to send all the vehicles, motorcycles & motorcades all over the place back and forth from homes to airports and then of course had to fly using that jet from state to state and again all within a 6 hour or so time frame. So of course this shows the priority of the choreographed Obama campaign to present the VP at a place of what Senator Obama sees as important to his success or rock star personality rather than a conviction for "saving the planet"  I wonder if the Democrats and/or the Obama...
Comments 11
By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Ahhhhh, Todays walk on the beach is why I moved to Southwest Florida 5 years ago. The sky was blue and sunny, the wind was just right and the walk on the beach was awesome. The storm (FAY) earlier in the week had the Gulf pretty churned up, but it has started to calm down along the Lee Island Coast. The shelling was a bit nicer today with many nice specimens. We went out at around 1:40pm for low tide and had a great time. Here are some of todays pictures...... This first picture is of a baby octopus. I might run across one of these 2 or 3 times in a year, but not very often. This little guy was resting in a tidal pool waiting for the tides to come back in so that he could go out to sea. Here is a picture looking down the beach while it was low tide.. I found this little Sea Urchin ...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Hello Folks, This next week in Southwest Florida may become an excellent time to go shelling. With Tropical storm Fay brewing between Haiti and Cuba, it is currently unknown how strong a storm it may become, but it is currently expected to come up the west coast of Florida. One of the most facinating features about the beaches along the Southwest Florida coast is the variety of beautiful shells which regularly wash up on our beaches. When storms come ashore, this generally increases the quantity and quality of the shells. In years past I have collected buckets full of absolutely gorgeous shells after the storm has past and it is safe to walk the beach. On the other side of the coin, these storms can also ruin a beach by washing away the bulk of the sand. It is surprising how much s...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Hello Folks, This past week has been a HOT & HUMID week down here in Fort Myers, Florida, but fortunately we live close to the Gulf and this is great weather to enjoy on the beach. Surprisingly the beaches have been quite busy the past few weeks. Normally for us, the winter months are the busy season, but this summer has been busy too. Here are a few of the sites from the beach .... Here was one of our local fishermen catching a meal... This is a picture of a Skier, which surprisingly is NOT a common sight off the beaches, but this poor sole took about 8 tries before they were able to get up on the skies.. And here is one of MANY small starfish I saved off the dry sand and placed him back in the water. You should have seen the smile on his face when he was back in the surf... Since...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
    Wow, Tonight was a weird night on the beach. Low tide was at 7:15pm. Usually low tide is a great time to go out and collect sea shells, but not tonight. Went to a couple different beaches, first to the north end of Ft. Myers Beach and then to the north end of Bonita Beach. Neither beach had many shells. I did stumble across this nice sized Sea Star .... basically a large star fish...As you can see in relation to my stumpy toe. Then I was slowly walking along the beach and across this little guy. In all my years of walking the beaches down here in Florida, this was the first time I ever came across one of these. He was kind of cute, especially since he was only about 7 inches long.... and boy was he fast... I tried to get my feet or toe up close to him for size comparison, but he wo...
Comments 8
By Chris Griffith, Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
(Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL)
Barefoot Beach ducks are just a little antisocial at first. They were playing in standing water until the crazy urban bush woman of Bonita Springs started infringing upon their personal space. I slowly squatted down and waited. The mommy was giving me the stink eye but eventutally it dawned on her that the wide angle camera differentiated me from the usual duck hunter. That and I also wasn't wearing camo or orange. She realized that I was merely a nuisance and not dangerous.  More Peeps are here: Peeple at Barefoot Beach | Bonita Springs, Florida  
Comments 6
By Owen Zweiback
(Realty World Florida)
After an exciting last week or so; I've had some struggles as this week has moved forward!As I was dropping my wife off at work today; somebody shot out in front of me and across traffic.Making a quick decision did save me from having a big accident and a very injured vehicle if nothing else. However, I swerved off the road and into a construction site.  While making that quick thinking movement, I did hit a vehicle barrier as the construction of the new road has them off to the side the whole way down. That impact took my passenger side view mirror right off and destroyed it into little pieces.I am thankful that I moved quickly enought to stave off a brutal impact to my entire car and certainly staved off the possibility of injuries. To be something I'm not which is politically correct...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
  Hello Folks,Next time you come down to Florida, don't forget your four legged friends, more specifically....you puppy dogs. Lee County Florida has a beach area set aside specifically for our four legged friends. It is easy to find and just about all the locals are familiar with it. What is it called? What else ... DOG BEACH....My wife and I especially love to take our two puppies out there to play. Technically, you are suppost to keep them on a leash, but many people let their dogs run free. In all the times which I've been out there, I've never seen any of the dogs fighting, but I'm sure it happens every once in awhile.The ebach sits back far enough off the road that the dogs are far away from the main road and out of harms way. It is best to try and time your visit with low tide bec...
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By Sean Allen, International Financing Solutions
(International Financing Solutions )
  Hello Folks,I know that when I lived back in Kentucky. Most people had very similiar looking mailboxes. In some neighborhoods, EVERYONES mailbox had to be exactly the same (except for your house number of course) and many neighborhoods in Southwest Florida have the same requirement. BUT, we also have many areas which DO NOT require the "Normal" type of mailbox and it is actually fun to look for "different" mailbaxes as you drive down the road.Because we are in a "resort" area, many people go all out when it comes to their mailbox designs. Some mailboxes are mass produced to look like Manatees or Dolphins while other people take it upon themselves to have their own Unique design. Below are a few mailboxes which I took pictures of this morning after my walk on the beach. These mailboxes...
Comments 4
By Chris Griffith, Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
(Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL)
Who do these "wheels" belong to? I saw them today at Bonita Beach and had to snap a picture.  I then thought... How great would your life be if you were so excited about who you are, where you were going and what you were about to do that you just ran out of your shoes and abandoned them.  Right there where you were standing - just dropped 'em and trusted they'd be there when you got back.  How I wish these were my shoes.  Don't you just wish these shoes were yours?I have albums of shoes photos from Bonita Beach.  Everyone gets to the end of the boardwalk that leads from the parking lot, over the sea oat dunes to the gulf and they get a good look at it all and just walk right out of their shoes.  There are always a pile of shoes patiently waiting for their owners to return.I guess our b...
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By Chris Griffith, Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
(Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL)
US Top Beaches · Fleming Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii - National Winner · Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin, Florida · Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina · Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York · Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii · Main Beach, East Hampton, New York · Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts · Coronado Beach, San Diego, California · Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii • Barefoot Beach Park, Bonita Springs, Florida The sunset tonight at Barefoot Beach...My trusted companion, Jack - Miniature Doberman in a back pack.  He goes everywhere with me!and fade to black...    
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By Chris Griffith, Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
(Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL)
Deep Thoughts For Those Who Take Life Way Too Seriously: 1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set. 2. A day without sunshine is like. Night. 3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.4. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot. 5. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 6. Remember, half the people you know are below average. 7. He who laughs last thinks slowest. 8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap. 10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have. 11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines. 13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments. 14. How many of you...
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