Photos from March 23, 2006

  • Lew Ford comes into score the first run of the game for the Minnesota Twins during the Twins game against the Cincinnati Reds at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers Wednesday night.
  • Starting pitcher Scott Baker, center, gets a word of advice from catcher Joe Mauer, left, as third baseman Tony Batista looks on in the third inning of the Twins game against the Cincinnati Reds at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
  • Scott Baker, starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins Wednesday night, delivers a pitch in the first inning of the Twins game against the Cincinnati Reds at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
  • Lori Pachelli of Bonita Springs had a caller in March 2006, but it wasn’t a welcome visitor. This 8-foot alligator spent an hour banging its head at her front door before returning to a nearby lake in the Vasari community. The reptile later was captured by a trapper, who hauled it away.
  • Lynda and Bill Ainslie of Naples look at different designs for the Four Corners area in Naples on display at the von Liebig Art Center on Wednesday. The designs were considered in the Four Corners Design Competition. People can view the 70 designs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Saturday and Collier County residents can vote on their design preference.
  • An adult bald eagle and one of its offspring sit in a tree at Audubon Country Club in North Naples on Wednesday afternoon. According to witnesses, the eagles’ nest was destroyed sometime Monday.
  • Fran Scott from Barfield Properties, from left; Steve Olmsted, planning manager for the city of Naples; Naples City Council member Penny Taylor; and Haitian pastor Jean Paul, listen to Gordon River Apartments resident Izemanette August argue with Scott about the problems in her apartment during a walk-through by city officials Wednesday night. Tenants allege that problems in the Gordon River Apartments are not being fixed by the owners.
  • Susan Lindenmuth, left, public education manager for the Estero Fire Department, helps Estero Fire and Rescue Explorer Kylie Griffith during a training class Tuesday night in Estero. Griffith, a sophomore at Estero High School, is pursuing a career as a firefighter despite the wishes of her father, a Fort Myers Beach firefighter.
  • Jahwaan Muhammed Arbyummi, right, and defense attorney Jerry Berry walk back to their seats from Judge Jack Schoonover’s bench during jury selection for the trial against Arbyummi on Wednesday morning at the Collier County Courthouse. Opening statements begin at 8:30 a.m. today.
  • Without oil glands to waterproof its feathers, an anhinga is forced to dry itself out in the morning sun before taking flight over J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.
  • Two butterflies locked in their mating ritual cling to nearby plant limbs to steady themselves in the breeze at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Sanctuary on Sanibel Island.
  • A great egret appears to be looking at its own reflection while hunting for fish at J.N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.
  • A seemingly content little blue heron sits in the shallows at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The smallish wading bird is surrounded by smaller fish, mullet and even snook, a popular backwater sportfish.
  • With a brackish water canal on both sides, the Indigo Trail at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge offers numerous wildlife viewing opportunities. Birds such as the white ibis often nest and roost in the mangrove limbs.
  • An alligator basks in the shallows near the Oasis Visitors Center.
  • Rolf and Mia Harder of Montreal trekked to the end of the boardwalk at Kirby Storter Roadside Park, about four miles west of the Oasis Visitor’s Center on Tamiami Trail east. Deep Pond supports a freshwater ecosystem that’s home to alligators, various fish species and wading birds.
  • Ontario resident John Buys helps his son Menjamin Buys, 2, get a better look at alligators sunning themselves at the Oasis Visitor’s Center boardwalk in Big Cypress National Preserve. The center is also an access point to the Florida National Scenic Trail, a hiking route that now stretches to Canada.
  • Hikers and bikers at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge stop at the cross dike pavilion to learn about local wildlife from park ranger and naturalist Linda Patton.
  • For those less inclined to tackle a trail through the brush, the Big Cypress National Preserve has an elevated boardwalk at Kirby Storter Roadside Park, about four miles west of the Oasis Visitors Center.
  • Christian Guay, foreground, heads down the Indigo Trail at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge with his son Maxime and wife Pascale, all on vacation from Montreal. The Guays, who prefer to be off the beaten path, read about the trail in a French travel guide.

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