Such an event took place on Anna Maria Island on November 14, when various arts and cultural organizations banded together for the ArtsHOP Gallery Walk. The balmy air that evening made walking, driving or riding the trolley from one venue to the next an absolute pleasure. Paradise was found that night. The arts were celebrated.

The hub of much of the activity was the Anna Maria Island Art League Gallery in downtown Holmes Beach. The lovely little courtyard provided the perfect location for a variety of organizations to set up tables to promote their cultural programs for the upcoming season. Larry Stokes provided live music. A stunning oil painting of a white egret in the mangroves by local artist Robert Johnson was on display and raffle tickets for this painting were on sale. The recipients of the raffle proceeds were also present: three owls and a hawk sat on perches under the banyan tree with Wildlife Education & Rehab director Ed Straight. Of all the birds, the little screech owl named “Mr. T” was my personal favorite.

Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Center, in Bradenton Beach, rescues hundreds of injured and sick animals on Anna Maria Island , with the help of devoted volunteers. In honor of this important island organization, the theme of the art exhibit in the Anna Maria Island Art League gallery was “Fauna and Florida .” More than 200 people came through the gallery to view the artistic tributes to local wildlife that night.

Other exhibits were presented at the nearby The Artist’s Guild of Anna Maria Island and Island Gallery West. The Studio at Gulf and Pine, in Anna Maria City, presented a more regional show featuring landscapes by Women Contemporary Artists.

The depth of the cultural life on Anna Maria Island is truly impressive. To think that such a small island has its own symphony orchestra and chorus, and community theater! It looks like the upcoming winter will provide plenty of diverse cultural events, and ArtsHOP was a very successful start to the season.

Thanks to the low density development of Anna Maria Island, we still get to see the water as we drive around and go about our daily business. I marvel at this and feel very lucky every time I fill up my car in central Holmes Beach—with a water view! In recent months it has been nice to have something to feel good about at the gas pump.

We also get plenty of intimate water views from the small bridges that connect Anna Maria Island to the mainland and Longboat Key. The beauty of this is not to be taken for granted. It keeps us feeling more connected to the environment here. Driving over a high fixed span bridge, such as the one that connects St. Armand’s Circle to the rest of Sarasota, can be beautiful in its own way, but it does not give the driver a sense of being on the water. There is a detachment. It is like a view from a high-rise condominium.

Considering how many boat owners do not seem to use their boats very often, it’s worth thinking carefully before buying a boat. And there is that funny old saying about a boat being a hole into which one pours money. The lucky people who live on Anna Maria Island have many chances to feel they are on the water without having to go out and buy a boat. And pay for gas. And maintenance.

Whether it’s a stroll out one of the lovely piers that all three of our island cities offer, or a stroll along the miles of beach, or sitting at a drawbridge that is up to allow the passage of yachts, or even just pumping gas in Holmes Beach, we who live on this island can be on the water every day. Sure, it would be nice to own a boat, but if you can’t, this is the place to be.

Anna Maria Island seems to have survived the closure of one of its three bridges for 37 days. The maintenance and repair job was done faster than the projected 45-day project that had been planned. As islanders heave a sigh of relief, it is interesting to look back at the whole issue of bridges and how this is linked to life and business on an island.

The people who have chosen to retire on beautiful Anna Maria Island have chosen Old Florida over the more common new development that lines most of Florida’s coast. For Old Florida to exist there has to be something “missing,” in terms of accessibility and convenience. People who want to live fast and have instant gratification are not looking for Old Florida. Such people are accommodated very well by municipalities and developers who want to grow by catering to the latest trends, and catering to the crowds. An island with small bridges that are not always open is an island that is more likely to retain the charm of Old Florida. But what about those times the Florida retiree needs to get to the hospital fast?

Whenever the issue of bridges to Anna Maria Island comes up, there are many who express concern about how long it takes to get from the island to Blake Memorial Hospital, usually a 20-minute drive away. Whether a delay is caused by a raised draw-bridge or by traffic congestion on a two-lane bridge or by bridge closure for repair, concern about getting to the hospital is raised and used as an argument for having a high fixed span bridge.

This argument does not make sense when one thinks about the fact that many retirees choose to live in places that are more than twenty minutes from the closest hospital. Think of Anna Maria Island as being an hour away from a hospital. Certainly many would still choose to live here. That’s a safe estimate of the longest it could possibly take to get to Blake Hospital. That’s what it takes to live somewhere that has low density and rural charm. It seems worth it. And the fact that Anna Maria Island has three bridges means residents and visitors are much better of than residents of other islands, which may have only one bridge, or no bridge.

It is great news that the businesses of Anna Maria Island have not suffered too much during the bridge closure. And maybe those businesses should even celebrate the fact that access to the island isn’t too easy. If it were, the crowds would come, and, at first, business would be better. But then bigger competitive businesses would move in, and possibly run the mom and pop businesses out. And the charm of Old Florida, which is one of the biggest selling points of this lovely place, would be lost.

I have an aging Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH camera which takes great pictures but has only a 2X optical zoom and 6X digital zoom. Sometimes I just can’t zoom in close enough to get a good shot.

But even without fine digital photography equipment, I get hundreds of great photos of the wildlife of Anna Maria Island, thanks to a clever technique. I’m not aiming to take professional quality photos to display in art shows or to market and sell. I simply want to have digital photos to capture the amazing wildlife I see on this beautiful island. Sometimes I email my photos to friends, or even to local wildlife and environmental officials.

I have a pair of old binoculars, handy on the kitchen counter, which I grab whenever I see something interesting outside. Usually, it is the nesting activity of great blue herons in a nearby Australian pine. First I look through the binoculars to see what’s happening in the nest. Sometimes, it’s a mating pair bringing twigs to each other, for ritualistic nest building. Sometimes it’s heron chicks that haven’t fledged yet, looking a bit crowded and impatient to fly. Sometimes they spread their wings in practice flight. A happy moment occurs when the parent brings food to the nest. The saddest sight was a dead chick hanging below a nest, swaying in the breeze.

How can you photograph these moments? Here’s the trick: To take photos of distant objects, hold the camera lens right up to the left eye piece of the binoculars. You have to be careful to line up the camera with the eye piece of the binoculars so that the image you see on the camera display does not have a dark perimeter. Zoom the camera in or out as desired and click.

The binoculars act as a fine telephoto addition to the camera optics, and the camera’s digital technology takes care of the exposure.

The beauty of digital photography is that such experiments can be made freely, with no worries about expense, until one comes up with an excellent image.

I can even take great videos with the Canon PowerShot in this way. Be sure to focus the binoculars carefully and use the highest resolution setting on your camera. You can get surprisingly good pictures using an inexpensive digital camera, and binoculars as a telephoto lens.

But how can I save any more on the cost of home owners insurance? The last thing I needed was being underinsured with inadequate coverage.

One mistake that was made on the Citizens  policy was the description of the roof type. It was marked ‘gable’ when it was actually ‘hip’. I had asked for a correction to the policy but from the renewal notice I found out that the correction had not been made a year ago.

But I also requested a discount for having hurricane clips or anchors on the roof trusses and framing. It is easy to see from the outside what a roof shape is, but not so easy to prove there are anchors in the walls and rafters. I needed a certified inspector’s declaration to satisfy the insurance company.

I contacted Mike Johnson of Wind Inspections, who responded immediately. He not only confirmed the roof shape and hurricane anchors but also found some other construction features that would lead to more discounts. With the wind mitigation certificate in hand, and a request for discounts to the agent, I applied for a reassessment of my home owners insurance coverage.

It took another couple of weeks but the outcome was that I got higher replacement value coverage and a $1078 discount off the premium!

Another bonus is that Citizens Insurance now owes me a partial refund on their expensive policy.

Not many people seem to know about the availability of discounts for wind mitigation. Insurance agents may not tell you because they fear reduced commissions, but in my case I also upped the coverage. Insurance carriers did not  inform customers that discounts were possible, but Mike Johnson told me he has worked hard at getting disclosure mandatory. It was these few pages in the renewal policy that made me take action.

After the destructive 2005 hurricane season many carriers abandoned Florida and insurance rates sky-rocketed. Now some carriers are entering the market with more competitive rates. It is worth shopping around for home owners insurance and getting all the discounts you deserve.

The wind mitigation certificate costs about $125 and is valid for 5 years. That’s a good investment for many thousands of dollars saved.

The closure is for 45 days, but may be shorter if the work progresses ahead of schedule, or longer if there are delays.

Traffic to and from the island will be detoured to the Cortez bridge to the south. Increased traffic flows at the Bradenton Beach end of Cortez Bridge will be accommodated by a lengthened turn lane.

Prior to the Anna Maria Bridge closure, FDOT warns of intermittent closures of the Cortez Bridge lanes between 9 pm and 6 am on Thursday, Sep. 25.

Every day this past week brought a good swell and copious waves as Ike passed 300 miles away to the south west of Anna Maria Island.

The storm emerged off the coast of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico with Tropical Storm strength winds and soon intensified into a Category 2-3 hurricane heading northwest.

Florida Suncoast relaxed as the threat of Ike retreated and Louisiana and Texas went on high alert.

The coast was not totally unaffected however. High tides of 2.4 feet combined with an elevated 2 foot storm surge raised sea levels to the point of flooding local streets as water crested seawalls and backflowed up storm water drains.

Owners of low-lying houses raced to fill sandbags and seal off entrances. The worst came at night on Tuesday as water piled up ahead of the morning high tide, however, the following days saw little respite from low tides and water stayed pooled on the streets, especially around the Anna Maria Island Branch Library and Holmes Beach City Hall. By Thursday morning the surge was decreasing but the water levels were slow to recede.

As of today, Friday, surfers continue to enjoy classic conditions and memorable rides, with a swell still pumping out from 600 miles away but light winds locally.

High tide is at 10:20 and low tide at 17:40.

Gustav sent a few waves to Anna Maria Island, Sunday, and brought out a crowd of surfers and onlookers. A high tide and offshore wind meant the waves broke close to shore but some good rides were possible.
Some gusty showers were about the only impact Gustav had on Anna Maria Island but the rain and possibly a raised sea level from the effects of surge caused an above average high tide.
Update Monday, Sept 1: Swell is continuing to pump and conditions are better today with lower tide and lighter side-offshore wind. At 10am there were a least a hundred people in the water but there were plenty of waves to go around.