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When I arrived in Iceland back in November 2005, I wasn't sure that I would warm up to it.
Hurricane Wilma had just dropped a foot of snow on the island,
and contrasting that to the black lava underfoot, it was a black and white world.
If you weren't careful in the scene above, you might fall into a crevice that was 40 feet deep.
It felt more like the moon than any place on Earth.
!
!
What a grand idea for a sign!
And a great way to start the week!
!
This sign was shot in Iceland. I can't find the translation for it, maybe you can?!
How do they tell each other apart?
Three Snowy Egrets, fishing from the seawall near the Castillo in St. Augustine, Florida
Have you ever felt like you've finally caught up with yourself?
You're no longer running away or toward anything, but all caught up?
It's a great feeling!
This fellow has definitely not caught up with himself.
Sometimes the way home isn't at all what you thought it might be,
but it's exactly as it's meant to be.
Even if sometimes you feel like you're on the wrong planet, or in the wrong century,
it's your very own journey, and it does end well.
British soldier walking on Cuna Street, St. Augustine, Florida, 21st century.
Is it hot out here, or is it just me?
(For those of you who worry about the health and well being of critters, this Great Blue Heron was just fine!)
Photograph taken at Blue Springs State Park, Florida
Such a mild winter, still walking with toes in the water.
Are we on borrowed time?
Such a superstitious species!
If we're having a warm winter, then what's the summer going to be like?
Being human and being in the moment,
enjoying what shows up, is the challenge we mortals have faced for millennia.
It's not easy.
There's always something to worry about!
St. Augustine Beach, Anastasia Island State Park
Sleeping good.
A warm ginger leaf and a frog.
Who needs football?
Can turtles be gregarious?
(See "Nature's Diversity" for the definition of gregarious.)
The diversity found in nature is sometimes mind boggling.
Pictured here are two black skimmers and a laughing gull.
Skimmers are apparently the only species of bird with the lower mandible longer than the upper.
Watching them as they fly so close to the water to capture small fish and insects near the surface is a marvel!
According to Wikipedia, "they spend much time loafing gregariously on sandbars."
(gregarious, adj. 1. fond of the company of others.)
Well, it's Friday, and loafing gregariously on a sandbar sounds just about right!
Enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned!
And remember that you too are part of the wonderful diversity of life.
The second meaning given for gregarious is: living in flocks or herds, but I like the first much better!
Let's never forget that we are a nation that can dream BIG,
and make those dreams come true.
What are your dreams for our America?
The last launch of the Space Shuttle, Discovery, seen from St. Augustine Beach on February 24th, 2011.
Coming up for air.
Thanks to Jake for encouraging me to get my camera out, otherwise I would have missed this shot! Cape Charles, Virginia, August, 2010.
Life is sweet!
Guess where this photo was taken: Canada, France, Iceland, U.S.?
Is there a part of you that is the essence of who you are?
A part that is not corrupted by the culture that you grew up in
or the family that tortured you one way or the other?
I call it your core.
It is pure, whole, and located just below your heart, deep inside you.
It is incorruptible.
It's who you really are.
Getting there is a journey of acceptance,
a journey of non-resistance to loving yourself,
warts, craziness and all.
This core is there all along.
It might take your whole life to uncover it,
but it's there guiding and protecting and loving you,
just as you are.
What's your favorite time of day?
Your favorite season?
Twilight for me, and autumn.
(Although we are having a lovely winter here in St. Augustine.)
Does a pelican in the water ever doubt that he can raise his sails and take to the air?
In three powerful strokes, this huge bird is airborne and glides away.
Flying fish in the sky!
Flying fish!
The "Fish Cloud" photograph was not manipulated in any way. Even if I knew how to do that, I didn't need to here. Nature provided.
Matanzas inlet...
a gull with a broken wing walks confidently to the edge of the spit,
hitches a ride on the incoming tide and joins a gang of gulls on the other sandbar.
Fish are jumping out of the returning river like skipping stones.
The heron on the distant shore is quiet.
With a flair for the dramatic,
the sun sets.
Even here at sea level, we have Big Sky!
(There's a crescent moon hiding in these clouds somewhere,
but I can't find it!)
The funniest gull sauntered up to me yesterday as I was sitting quietly alone on the beach.
It was as if he wanted to tell me something.
I am still trying to figure out what that was!
He stayed for a good while, even tried to nibble my toes.
Then he flew gracefully down the beach along the line of grasses until he disappeared in the distance.
A blessing or a curse?
Did I smell like fish?
Or was I in desperate need of a close encounter with a magical creature?
You've heard of armchair gardeners?
I am an armchair winter person.
I love snow!
Photograph shot from the old Dusty Miller Inn, looking down Bradford Street, in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
This solid chair, situated in a garden beneath a huge live oak tree is made up of trillions of bouncing molecules, just like you and me.
Sometimes we feel as grounded as a boulder.
Other times scattered as the northern lights.
Most days fall somewhere in between.
Having unshakable faith that life is unfolding exactly as it is meant to do is difficult at times,
but worth whatever effort it might take to arrive there.
So, sit, and be grateful for who you are, no less than the moon and stars and the mighty live oak tree,
and solid as a rock.
Photograph taken at the Cummer Museum and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida
"Hello, Dottie, would you like some tea?
You know, you don't need the name tag anymore, everyone knows you now.
Oh, you like it. Yes, it is very nice. It lends the air of the traveller to you.
You look pleased this morning.
They take good care of you here, don't they?
Would you like to go for a walk later?
Snowing?
No, not here. We're in Florida, remember?
It is cold today, but not snowing.
Ring me later and we'll go for a walk.
No?
Ok, maybe tomorrow.
Do I hear that sound?
Yes, that's the train whistle.
Yes, it is lovely. I know that you love the train.
Well, I'll stop by again tomorrow. You stay warm until then.
Ring me if you need anything.
Ta ta!"
Dottie is seen here at Southern Lights Candle Shop, in St. Augustine, having tea with friends.
I would like to take this time and space to thank you!
Thanks for following me, for subscribing to my posts and for reading my blog.
It means the world to me.
Truly!
Laine
(the troubadour who can't sing, or play the banjo for that matter,
but who loves to write and share her photos!)
Photo by Vicki Johnston