The way the light catches the sails
at a certain time of day...
it's irresistible,
delicious,
wonderful.
The Schooner Freedom returning to safe harbor.
©LaineQuinn 2022
To Breakfast?
First reaction was to shoo them away which turned out to be ridiculous.
So I pulled out my camera and joined in the fun!
(Anyone who went to St. Anthony of Padua Church in Baltimore,
might recognize the Holy Ghost in this shot!)
They cleaned all the plates on that table and off they went
for more adventures.
It was our day to explore Nassau.,
after breakfast.
Sea Gulls on the Lido Deck, Carnival Cruise.
Back to the ship for our second night at sea,
on our way to Nassau.
No worries, there's lots to do on board.
Dancing, gambling, drinking, eating, sauna, swimming...
Not enough time for it all.
And always a new friend in our room at the end of the day...
Can you guess what this next shot is?
(Hint, it's not ice!)
The ship was the Fascination, of the Carnival Cruise Line. Small by some people's standards, huge by others!
Sailing into Freeport Harbor in the Bahamas on a breezy day,
for my first ever trip to the Caribbean.
Yes, it's a genuine tropical paradise,
with lots of friendly people
who want to sell you stuff!
Cool Stuff too!
The Tourist,
having a very good time,
on her very first cruise!
Freeport, The Bahamas. Photo of Laine by Vicki Johnston.
A voyage begins...
If the sun keeps his promise,
there will be turquoise water on these pages soon...
(Are we excited?)
(Oh Yeah!)
Stay tuned!
The turquoise water of Alexander Springs, Florida.
And the beat goes on....
Thanks to the fabulous and creative, Karen and Grover!!
Budapest used to be two cities separated by the Duna, or what we call the Danube River.
Buda is on the hilly side of the river.
And Pest is on the plane and is the more modern section of Budapest.
This is the Palace in the hills.
And this is the famous Parliament building on the Pest side of the river.
This is the kind of day that makes you wish that you had a little boat
and could wander along the marshes,
spying on blue herons, and green herons and egrets,
maybe run into Ratty and Mole from The Wind In The Willows,
having tea in one of the coves,
taking time for simple pleasures,
as clouds drift by.
The view from Vaill Point, last August, St. Augustine.
Full moon,
where the inlet and the Atlantic ocean meet,
creating a moon road
that leads far out to sea.
From Vilano Beach, St. Augustine, Florida.
If I were to climb aboard this hard working boat,
I wouldn't have the foggiest, or the sunny-est, idea of what to do.
But someone does and they are probably very good at it too.
Do you give yourself credit
for the things you've learned,
the things you know for sure,
and the things that you do well and might take for granted?
This is a good day for that!
Hard working boat docked on the San Sebastian River in St. Augustine, Florida.
You never know what you'll find at your local boatyard,
until you get there.
Boats?
Yes!
All kinds of boats!
And an homage to world peace...
And what's this,
a yellow submarine?
No silly,
it's a Bug.
A yellow bug!
Marine life in St. Augustine.
Life can sneak up on you and shake you up
with a sudden tragedy.
(impossible to see it coming)
Even though the tragedy isn't mine,
it's touched me,
made me pause,
and shake.
(Does anyone read poetry anymore?)
A line from a much loved poem by Howard Moss,
...the seed falters in the marsh...
perfectly describes the suspension of time,
when something extraordinary has happened to someone we love.
All will be well,
everything for a reason,
everything in its season.
But dang...
Shaky photo of El Galleon, elegantly lighted in St. Augustine Harbor.
A larger shard of the poem, Water Island, by Howard Moss...
Written to the memory of a friend,
drowned off Water Island, April, 1960
Maybe you heard, the last you'll ever hear,
The cry of the savage and endemic gull
Which shakes the blood and always brings to mind
The thought that death, the scavenger, is blind,
Blunders and is stupid, and the end
Comes with ironies so fine the seed
Falters in the marsh and the heron stops
Hunting in the weeds below your landing stairs,
Standing in a stillness that now is yours.
(It wasn't a death, but a house fire, a terrible house fire.)
Sunset behind them,
daybreak ahead...
What will tomorrow bring?
More kindness, less worry,
sunshine or rain?
You decide.
Ok, you don't command the weather yet,
but kindness?
Worry?
Yes.
Yes, we do!
This post is borrowed from LainesBlog, 2012, with some minor alterations, and with permission. ;>)
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.
From the archives, January 2012.
Rising in the rigging of El Galeon,
the moon, last May, might have been last night if it weren't for the clouds.
Coming out of the clouds, the beautiful moon rides high in the sky all night long,
and then wakes me in the morning,
cheerfully shining through the window.
Good Morning!
El Galeon has returned to St. Augustine until July, 2014! It is a full scale replica of a Spanish Galeon.
Nobody likes me,
Everybody hates me,
Think I'll go eat worms...
Remember this song?
It gets side tracked about the worm
and loses the focus of the pity party,
but it could be the first (of many) pity party lyrics penned
for m-m-m-my generation!
The photograph that I have of a worm is not at all attractive,
so I have substituted a feathered friend,
who wouldn't wait for a bad day to eat a worm!
Gull or Tern at Gulfport, fishing.
At the end of a beautiful day,
the sun sets early,
and the town illuminates the night with millions of white lights!
Thanksgiving was late
and Christmas will be early,
and before you know it,
the new year is upon us.
The seasons come and go,
and we're still here,
older and wiser
and more relaxed
about it all -
mostly!
St. Augustine and the Nights of Lights with a beautiful skylight!
In case we need to be reminded
that we live in a beautiful world,
rainbows appear
when we least expect them!
Looking over Moultrie Creek toward St. Augustine South from Vaill Point, the shard of a rainbow is reflected in the still water.
There is a time and a season for everything...
Cherishing and letting go,
all at once.
Learning this,
to cherish and let go.
Maybe learning this.
It's a good idea anyway!
The Victory II, gone to rest. One of the first sightseeing boats in St. Augustine Harbor.
It never rained where I was,
but had most definitely rained at the beach a mile down the road.
A lovely gift.
Rainbow before the big storms on Thursday night, St. Augustine.
What's your net worth?
St. Augustine fishing boat nets ready for a day's work.
There's and eagle in this photo, taken last October
against an autumn sky.
Recently, from the vantage point of a rented canoe,
I watched an eagle slowly soar over the water
and with an elegant confidence snatch its prey from the willing river
and coast away as easily as I breathe.
It was as though time stood still for just that moment
as royalty passed.
The role that this block and tackle plays in controlling the nets on this work boat
looks confusing.
Close up it appears to be dysfunctional, as though it might jam,
if pressed into service.
And then there's the frayed end
that turns out to be the bottom of a splice that is stronger than the rope itself.
Like our connection to each other,
it's complicated,
but it works.
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
A beautiful moonlit beach makes a walk irresistible.
My shadow stays close by,
but almost eludes the camera.
Almost!
Shoes in one hand, camera in the other,
life is sweet.
Moonlight on the water, fishing boat on the horizon.
St. Augustine Beach
Dancing molecules around the harbor,
water everywhere.
Light gray, dark gray and my favorite, payne's gray,
and silvery fish slicing the surface in a frenzy
as sailboats swing on their moorings.
A calm and lovely evening.
St. Augustine Harbor, and the Bridge of LIons.
Where the Cape ends in a fantastic spiral,
there is Provincetown,
surrounded by water on three sides and shimmering with a luminosity
that bounces off the sky and the land and the water.
This unique juxtaposition of ocean, sand, bay, and light
is one of the reasons that Cape Cod is so beloved.
Some say there is no other place like it on the planet.
New Sunset, shot from the East end of town, looking toward Pilgrim Monument.
The year that this photo was shot was a very good year for whale watching.
"Very good," being defined as lots and lots of whales.
What's a very good year for you?
Lots and lots of...?
Fill in the blank.
Sometimes our most difficult years turn out to be our best.
It's nice when it works out that way.
Photograph entitled "Just a Fluke" was shot off Provincetown in a very good year.
So alert and ready for life,
hanging around marinas and boats.
Were we ever birds or dolphins or whales?
It seems like it would be so much fun.
Another full moon come and gone.
Slipping to half, quarter, a sliver and gone.
Juliet tells Romeo,
"Swear not by the inconstant moon."
But the lunar phases have a predictable inconstancy.
If you had phases like the moon,
what would be your full moon phase?
Half moon?
New moon?
A monthly or moonthly renewal!
Just a thought...
From "Romeo and Juliet", by William Shakespeare, as remembered from the Franco Zeffirelli film.
Full moon over the Matanzas River in St. Augustine, Florida.
