from the porches

a view from the balcony

One thing that was truly relaxing for me at New Smyrna Beach was to sit on the balcony and watch beach activity.  It was fun to scan the beach with my camera, find something of interest, and click.

       

Ahhh, the snack wagons.  How about a little ice cream with  sprinkles of sand?  I remember it well.

      

A pair of colorful chairs wait to be sat on.

      

The newest form of traveling from one end of the beach to the other were these cute little three-wheeled cars. 

      

An older, healthier way of traveling on the beach were bicycles.

       

But nothing beats strolling along the beach listening to the roar of the ocean and finding seashells.

      

Then I spotted a Segway that seemed to be a newer way to travel on the beach, and I wondered if this person was a policeman in disguise. 

       

I watched a shrimp boat drifting along with the tide as dolphin followed in its path, snapping up falling shrimp from the nets.

It was relaxing to watch beach activity from the hotel balcony at New Smyrna Beach.

repelling flies

One of the first seafood restaurants we ate at in New Smyrna was a tiny place located at a marina beside the Indian River, just before crossing the bridge into New Smyrna Beach. 

      

The original seafood restaurant was sold, and the new management has made quite an effort to give the atmosphere a beachy  look.  This is an outdoor seating pavilion, but was way too fussy for my taste.  In my mind, the new owners took away the authenticity of a marina lunch spot.

But while we were there I took the opportunity to photograph sea birds.

       

   Of course pelicans always draw my eye

      

As well as terns

      

and sea gulls.

      

Then I looked across the Indian River and saw an island filled with birds, but I was too far away to clearly identify them.

However, the most unusual sight to me was something hanging inside the open-air windows of the restaurant.

      

It looked like a bag of water.

      

Sure enough.  It was a large baggie full of water used to repel flies.  Go to this link for information about this odd way of repelling flies: water bags to repel flies

I suppose this method works because while we ate our seafood, not one fly buzzed our faces or food.  I'm thinking our local restaurant in downtown Fort White needs to hang some water bags in their windows.  Well, I certainly learned something new that afternoon during our first hour at New Smyrna. More to come tomorrow. 

new smyrna-part 1

       

My twin and her family and I arrived home today from New Smyrna Beach.  I always get a flutter in my heart as we cross causways and bridges leading to the beach because going to the beach means relaxation pure and simple.

    

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, and had a beautiful  view from our balcony.  The attitude of the Holiday Inn staff is a whole different story.

      

We watched beautiful sunrises and . . .

      

ominous storms from our balcony. 

Over the next few days I will post about things I found of interest.  You can look forward to posts about people:  a man learning to use a  metal detector, a neglectful mother, a group of young people working for a common cause, and rude jerks; and you can look forward to things I found interesting to photograph: birds, flowers, and whimsical items.

So enjoy and you go relax.  It's good for the soul. 

  

good things

Many good things have been happening. 

1. My neice, Lyla, and her new born baby girl, Katie, are doing fine.

2. My twin, Sherry, and her family arrived Saturday night from Kentucky.

3. We kept Maddie and Oliver for a sleepover on Saturday and they were soooo good.

4.  Merry Jennifer and Sam and Mom came out on Sunday and we all sat around on the porches and talked and talked and talked.

5.  Truett grilled steel-headed trout, which was very similar to salmon.  He put an Alaskan brown sugar sauce on top and it was delicious.

6.  Today I am headed to New Smyrna Beach with my sister and her family until Wednesday.  We're all looking forward to seafood.

I'll be out of pocket until later in the week.  I will not take my lap top, but I will take my camera.  Let me show you a couple of pictures of my Kentucky neices.  It seems like only yesterday that they were Maddie's age.  I tend to stare at them and wonder where the time went.

      

This is Elizabeth, a sophomore in High School.

 

 And this is Phoebe, a third year college student at University of Louisville.

We're going to be relaxing for a few days. 

  

katie

Late yesterday afternoon my neice, Lyla, and her husband, David, and their two year old son, Lucas, were broadsided by a truck.  David's car was totaled and David and Lucas had cuts and bruises.  Lyla, who was eight months pregnant was hospitalized.  They suspected a broken foot, but the major issue was the decision to do a c-section and take the baby a month early.

Katie Temple was removed from the womb, weighing 5 lbs. 14 oz.  I've spoken to Sherry and she says the baby is doing well, and will remain in the hospital until the doctor feels she can go home.  So this post is dedicated to Katie Temple, who will have quite a story to tell about her birth for years to come.

    

Welcome Katie Temple.  I look forward to meeting you. 

                                         Your great Aunt Merry

capturing the cat

      

Aww!  What a cute little kitten.  This is Punky as a kitten, the very same cat I've been trying to capture for months to take to the vet.

      

We've come so far with Punky.  I am now able to rub him when he decides he wants me to; but NO ONE on God's green earth can pick him up without a cat fight.

Well, this morning Punky had to be caught because we think he has a urinary tract infection.  I'm having my floors cleaned this morning and Clay and Clay's friend, Nate, volunteered to catch the cat.  "I'll pay ten dollars extra if you catch him,"  I told the guys.

Their eyes lit up and they blurted,  "We'll do it!  No problem."  That's when I suggested they use a blanket to throw over him because Punky will rip you to shreds if you don't.

Then the chase began.  One guy stood at one end of a couch and shooed Punky toward the other end, blanket ready to throw.  All Punky did was zip across the living room and hide under the other couch.  Meanwhile, I've got the cat carrier ready, door opened, awaiting it's prey.

      

Then the time had arrived.  Punky zipped out, Nate tossed the blanket over him and the stuffing of a cat in the carrier became the only goal.  Clay tried to pick Punky up by the scruff of the neck and literally, all you could see where flailing little cat arms with sharp razors whipping in the air.

All you could hear were screams and hollers from two grown men, but in the end Punky was captured and escorted to Hilltop Animal Hospital in Alachua. 

      

These are some of Nate's wounds.

      

It seems some people will do anything to make a buck. . . uhh. . . ten bucks.

      

Thanks, Clay and Nate.  I'll be buying heavy work gloves for the next time.  And yes, the guys have had their tetanus shots.

 

a break

This morning I caught a break from the morning storms and heavy showers.  Today is Thursday and that has come to mean golf.  Yes, indeed.  My friends and I were able to get in 9 holes of golf without a single drop of rain.  Then the skies broke loose and once again we're getting a soaking.

Here are a couple of pictures for you.

      

                                                       Bricks

        

                                          A limestone wall

      

And a blue building in downtown Fort White, (a little fuzzy, so when the sun shines again I'll stand on the street corner and retake this picture.)

Maybe we'll get sun tomorrow.

biding time

It seems like all I've been doing lately is biding my time until my twin, Sherry, and her family arrive on Saturday.  That's not exactly true because I'm busy puttering around here and there all the time. I say,  "Why clean everyday when I can clean on only one day...with the help of a young woman I hire to do the floors?"  It makes perfect sense to me. 

It has rained hard and steady for three days in a row, with forecasts for rain for several more days.  I can't take beautiful pictures in the gloomy days, so I'll show you things I've taken pictures of while I'm biding my time.

      

                                                 Wood?  Just wood?

Alright.  How about odd rainbow things.

       

       

And finally, a picture of raindrops on the sun roof of my car.

      

I figure if I look hard enough I will find something to photograph.  Hey, at least the temperature these days is a whopping 76 degrees.  You can't beat that for a Florida summer day.

  

old houses

       

There's something about old houses that intrigue me.

      

I especially enjoy trying to see through the windows to see if I can get a feel for the people who once lived in them.

       

I am curious as to why these old houses are abandoned.  Was there a foreclosure on them?  Did the single dweller pass on without family heirs?

      

Were the children of these homes not willing to do the upkeep?  Or were they just too sad to tear down remembrances of their lives?

The next picture shows an old house I photographed in Archer, Florida on our ride back from Gainesville on Sunday.

      

      

Speak to me old house.

pamela

      

This morning I visited my friend, Pamela.  Pamela's children grew up playing with Merry Jennifer and Clay. Even though we live about twelve miles apart, each of our lives have become so busy with work and family and other things, that we rarely see Pamela and Philip.

Visiting Pamela is always a treat.  Her homestead is wild, yet tame in areas.

       

      

I walk cautiously when I'm at Pamela's because Pamela respects all wild critters, whether it's frogs, birds, lizards or snakes.  Often these critters make themselves at home on the porches.

       

                Collections of natural objects fill crooks and crannies.

      

                                            Onion plants air out on a chair.

      

                 Tomatoes ripen among crystals of various shapes and sizes.

      

Pamela personifies the term Mother Earth.  Their family are vegetarian so all the vegetables are grown on their place.

      

As we walked around her yard this morning, I heard bullfrogs croaking in the fern beside this pond.

      

Philip cuts trees for a living and has just recently gone back to work after a terrible accident when a tree jack-knifed and broke several bones in his body.  "Good Morning, Philip."

      

In this photo Pamela and I are sitting at the pool area looking toward their bedroom, a screened-in gazebo.  They both love the night sounds and have slept on mattresses in this gazebo for years.

                

Solar powered icycles collect energy during the day and emit a soft glow at night.

     

After an hour long visit I brought Pamela back to my house so she could see my flowers.  It was the first time in my life I have given Pamel flowers to take home instead of her bringing me flowers.

      

Thanks, Pamela for a wonderful visit and a time to reflect on where we started, both with very young children and both relatively new to the area, and thanks for a chance to feel blessed for all that we have.

          And in the sweetness of friendship

           Let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

           And let there be no purpose in friendship

           Save the deepening of the spirit.

                            .Kahil Gibran