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If you had a watchdog like that you would sleep like a baby too!
Me, I had to give up coffee for a couple of days
and hire a cat!
Happy New Year's Eve, Everyone!
Keep safe.
Adios 2012!
It has been a very interesting year, indeed!
On with the new!
Aden asleep in the great outdoors, with his dog watching, just the other day!
Petal by petal, this rose is put together,
blooming at the end of a sturdy stem,
just like us!
In the rose garden at Washington Oaks State Park, Florida, December 2012.
Cloudy in the morning with a downpour that seemed like it might never end.
Sunny in the afternoon with wind gusts that could knock your socks off.
Isn't it nice getting older and understanding the vagaries of fickle weather,
and fickle feelings too?
Able to trust and to know that the turbulent weather will pass,
the discomfort will subside,
and all will be well again,
until the next downpour, or disappointment,
all will be well.
It's even better when we can realize that all is well,
in the middle of the storm.
Now that takes some living to get to,
for most of us mortals, anyway!
Just outside the door to Expressions Art and Gifts, St. Augustine, 5 Spanish Street, December 26th, 2012.
Can you feel it?
The love?
It's here!
;>)
Wreath detail, with pecans.
May the very best that the season promises be yours.
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!
A pink flamingo on top of a makeshift Christmas tree,
wearing a set of miniature pearls.
Christmas is such a mixed bag of tricks,
and then it's over!
Doing something fun with the people you love
seems to be the very best thing to do.
May you find yourself in good company, warm, and loved,
no matter how you choose to spend these days.
It's over before you know it and the days begin to grow longer and a new year begins.
Okay, it's after midnight and I'm still here.
No black comets or super volcanos that I know of.
I'm still here, I can see my hands on the keyboard
and the rim of my cheater glasses,
so it's still me in here.
Is there anybody else here?
Klesha is here, anyone else?
In this photo, taken two days ago, I still have a shadow,
and it looks like I have a good dog,
but I don't have a dog, honestly,
the good dog is gone.
Oh, now I hear the train whistle...
St. Augustine Beach
My first car, a 1968 VW Beatle, which,
according to the Car Talk guys, Click and Clack,
is less safe than the least safe car manufactured today.
(It was great in the snow though!)
My point is once again to be extra careful on the road.
People are distracted and stressed
and seem to be in a great hurry.
So, take your time, watch out for the other guy,
and get there safely.
First trip to Maine from Maryland, and of course the sun roof leaked, always, even when it wasn't raining!
If the world is coming to an end in a couple of days,
do you have your ducks in a row?
What can that possibly mean if it all ends?
After all,
don't you always do the best that you can on any given day?
So relax,
either it will end or it won't.
Do your best,
maybe a little better,
just in case!
Two ducks near the pond where the Spoonbills hang out, near Flagler Hospital, St. Augustine, Florida.
Seeing double?
It's not you, it's the photographer.
I just hope that she's not driving.
Vilano Beach, St. Augustine
The sun came out today for a little while
and the moon smiled!
It was a Cheshire grin!
Crescent moon off the deck, Sunday, December 16th, 2012, St. Augustine, Florida.
A little grass, some pine needles,
and the reflection of sky and trees -
all kinds of life going on beneath the surface too, unseen
yet thriving.
Life's like that,
all kinds of things going on!
Reflections at Guana River State Park, Florida
If the energy that propelled the universe into existence
is love,
and there is a unique alignment of energies
on a day such as 12/12/12,
then love is in the air
in a profound sense
and we might as well drink it up in big gulps!
Here's to love,
to life!
Thanks to Paula for the beautiful photograph, " Sunrise at the Sculpture Garden," Anastasia Island, St. Augustine Beach.
Clear eyed.
Swift.
Focused.
After an osprey dives from sky to river or ocean
to catch her dinner,
she shakes herself in mid air
to loosen the water from her feathers,
all the while a fish is squirming in her clutches,
wondering what just happened!
Osprey, St. Augustine.
Safe enough to sleep wherever exhaustion steals you away
and to know that you are surrounded by family and friends.
Faith that you are loved and accepted for who you are
and that you can love like that too,
without expectations.
And a heart big enough to see the blessings wrapped in each day.
This is a reprint from September, but I can't stay awake tonight and it is like that again!
Thanks to Andrew for his sweet slumber, and permission to use his image.
Manatee art by T.G. Rice, a.k.a. Grover and can be found at Grover's Gallery, at the Artisan's Grove, just off St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida
One of my first (and favorite) sarongs,
blowing in the wind.
The British Night Watch
brings lots of color and history
to St. Augustine.
Anywhere you look, you might see someone in period dress
that is so authentic you feel that you have entered the twilight zone.
My favorite accessory is the beer stein on the belt.
That is a tradition that we might consider bringing back
instead throwing away so many cups in the course of a lifetime.
I like the bags too!
If I were a dolphin I would have to make a lot of changes -
move much more quickly,
eat a steady diet of fish (without the taco!)
talk more, laugh more,
and play more everyday!
I'd have to get rid of ALL of my things
and stop worrying about anything!
Hmmmmmmmm...
Bottlenose dolphins, Chesapeake Bay, off Cape Charles, Virginia.
Sea foam.
Water, in perhaps its most vulnerable state,
easily scattered by the wind or the next foot fall,
always on the verge of disappearing.
When we allow our own vulnerability,
can we trust that, like this froth,
we might get tossed into the unknown,
but we'll return stronger, better and bigger?
Just say, "yes" quickly,
before you blow away!
A corner of the sun reaches out from behind the clouds,
with a twinkle that is too bright to look at for very long,
as the tide keeps pulling in and in.
Sunrise, St. Augustine Beach, Sunday, December 2, 2012.