The first snowy plover chicks of the season!

The first sea turtle nest of the season!

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

That sense of patience and hope continues to permeate throughout Sanibel and Captiva Islands, seven months after Hurricane Ian slammed onto our shores.

Residents are starting to find their footing, with many advancing to the rebuilding phase on their homes after months of clean-up and challenges with insurance companies.

Businesses, too, are following suit.  The Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce has been updating an ever-expanding list of re-opened restaurants, shops and accommodations on its new Wander App.  Others with a bit more work to do have announced their renovation plans (click here to see the exciting new renderings planned for the Island Cow, following their fire last summer two months before the hurricane).

As much as we wish we were that far along at Ocean’s Reach, unfortunately we’re not quite there yet, but we have received good news recently both in the form of insurance payments coming in and an approved permit for our new roofing.  The roofs should get started soon, and then we’ll proceed to unit reconstruction (floor plans for all condos have been approved), as well as reconstruction of our carports, office and recreational areas.  Two of the largest obstacles we’re facing now are lead times for windows and sliding doors, and the fact that we still don’t have electricity at Ocean’s Reach, and likely will not have access to it until later this summer (our entire electrical grid was decimated and supply chain issues for needed materials have proven challenging).

Please know that we are working diligently behind the scenes to do as much as we can to prepare for reconstruction, as our staff wants nothing more than to be able to welcome our guests back again.

Mother Nature is already rolling out her welcome mat, though, with the start of Snowy Plover season and Sea Turtle nesting season.  SCCF reported this week that snowy plovers are starting to hatch, with the first chicks found on Sanibel earlier this month.  Also, the first sea turtle nest of the year was found on Captiva Island on Earth Day (how apropos!) by two SCCF volunteers who promptly staked it off for protection.

Closer to home, we learned of a crazy feeding frenzy just around the corner from Ocean’s Reach on Algiers Road, captured by this great video from Michael Galloway on Facebook – Wow!

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