Take a Deep Breath, daily painting by Everglades artist JoAnn Sanborn

Take a Deep Breath

5x7, acrylic on board

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Do you notice the sound of the frogs, a gentle breeze rustling the palm fronds or the eagle soaring overhead? If you live in South Florida, take a moment to enjoy the nature that's all around us. In addition to unique and amazing wild life, like the gopher turtles and the owls, and sea turtles, the very air can give you joy.

The sunsets and sunrises this time of year are almost always glorious shows of natural light. Sometimes the late show is quite dramatic as the storms roll through, like in today's Everglades painting. Other times it's the quiet layering of soft salmon, mint green and a gentle turquoise on the horizon as the sun comes up that might make you sigh with delight.

As you go about doing whatever it is that you have planned for today, at some point step outside, take a deep breath and listen to what our earth might have to tell you. It just might make your day!

Sea Turtles and Sunsets, Summer Sunset painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

I finished Summer Sunset just in time for the Marco Island Center for the Arts exhibition Color Vibrations, was delighted to be awarded third place. I wanted to play off the yellow/purple/orange/blue vibrating complimentaries, and you can just feel the low sun raking through the foliage and causing a glow.

Congratulations to artist Betty Newman and photographer Carol Kinkead who were awarded first and second place! The exhibition can be seen through mid-September, so be sure to stop in and take a look. You can join us at the reception for the show on Wednesday, August 19th if you'd like, too!

Sea turtle nests on Collier County beaches are in decline, and the loggerhead turtles that nest here may soon be listed as endangered. May 1 through October 31 is Sea Turtle nesting season, and each year female loggerhead turtles come ashore to nest on Marco Island's sandy beaches. Once hatched, the baby sea turtle instinct is to follow the glow of the moon into the ocean, but they're easily confused by other lights shining on the beach. Several nests of hatchlings have gone astray because of urban lights.

Only one in a thousand sea turtles live to maturity, so it's important that everyone help them to get off to a good start by getting into the ocean rather than dying from dehydration or predators by taking a wrong turn. Watch this video to learn more about the endangered turtles and what you can do to help.

If you live along the beachfront or know someone who does, remind them to keep the shades drawn and lights out during nesting season! A little consideration for our fellow earth dwellers will go a long way towards helping this long lived species avoid extinction.