Although the camera stopped the action -
these sandpipers are running to beat the band!
Up and down the wave as it ebbs and flows,
faster than anything,
and then flying to the next wave, and running again,
and again and again.
They tickle the funny bone,
these masters of slapstick,
making any willing heart lighter.
St. Augustine Beach, May 2014
It is still the birds that bring me back to the wonder of this world, flying over the waves or diving for their dinner, wild and free and alive!
Every day the sun rises,
whether we see it or not,
the rotation of the earth allows for one sunrise and one sunset a day.
On the International Space Station the sun rises and sets about 15 times a day!
It's a shift in perspective,
a way different point of view!
St. Augustine Beach sunrise, last month, 2017.
This was spotted on my way home from the beach yesterday evening...
My life is better than your vacation.
So, assuming a lot, like if any of that is true,
would you be the "My" in that sentence, or the "Your"?
Maybe a little bit of both, I hope!
The stage lights at the Gipsy Kings' concert on Thursday night!
St. Augustine Amphitheater.
A good time was had by all!
Isn't that sweet?
No, I didn't do it!
Replica of the Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine Beach.
One beautiful day after another...
people go to the beach,
the waves roll in and out again,
pelicans fly in their lines.
Just another day in Paradise!
St. Augustine Beach, May, 2017.
There are some who say that we are safer now
than at any other time in Human History.
And there are some who say that we are never ever safe.
There are some who work tirelessly for peace.
And there are some who work tirelessly for war.
There are those who worship power and money over and above
human relationships.
And there are some who would lay down their lives
for a stranger.
How will the earth's people move away from tribal ways?
The us and them ways?
The winner and loser ways?
The "new" barbarians,
the ones in expensive suits and gowns who go around in limousines and oversized yachts,
control the information.
But the truth that is hiding beneath the headlines is this:
LOVE IS MORE PERVASIVE ON THE PLANET THAN FEAR AND HATE AND GREED!
LOVE.
Love will survive the onslaught of the new barbarians
who would rape and pillage everything in sight.
Love is winning.
The lovers outnumber the haters on a grand scale!
In time we will regain balance,
and it will be women and men together leading the charge.
Are you safe?
I saw this on the beach the other day.
I once thought that they were deadly,
but the reality is they only have a terrible sting.
Kind of like the trouble the earth is in today,
terribly stunned,
but willing and able to survive!
The Portuguese Man of War. St. Augustine Beach.
The thing is that Venus has been so bright in the Western sky lately
that she takes my breath away.
It is difficult to take an interesting photograph of a little white dot of light,
so I borrowed this moon shot with Venus, taken in 2013.
But seeing it is the best!
Venus is at it's brightest now, while the moon is waning and visible in the late night or early morning sky.
Where waves break,
souls are mended.
Reprinted from December 2013.
How are we doing in St. Augustine?
We are strong, but fatigued.
Grateful - "It could have been much worse", yet heartbroken,
if not for ourselves,
then for the other.
There are still piles and piles of debris in most neighborhoods.
Debris that is mostly tree limbs and branches and spanish moss,
and some consist of peoples beds, sofas, cabinets, rugs..
There are homes that are no longer standing,
and motels and thrift stores that have all of their contents outside.
Some shops downtown lost everything.
There are stories, lots of stories.
Young people who stayed in St. Augustine after finishing school, always intending to leave,
who lost everything in their rented apartments in the flood zone, and are now leaving to continue their dreams.
People without jobs or homes who live here and want to stay.
We are still in a daze,
but working hard to get it back together
and feel "normal" again.
We are strong, grateful, moving forward...
I don't have the heart to take photos of the devastation, so will be posting beautiful photographs next week to inspire and comfort.
Boundless Energy!
The urge to make art, anytime, anywhere...
And making easy friends with driftwood creatures...
St. Augustine Beach, nearly a week after the Hurricane, with Aden, October, 2016.
There is a ton of debris and the St. Augustine Beach Pier
is still closed,
but we are survivors,
we, who love the beach...
The Atlantic's back porch...
Yoga? Anyone?
It's still dangerous to swim, but people were swimming
and surfing and kite surfing.
Bless us all.
Front Tire in the Atlantic...
Me thinks that I may have stumbled upon the very festive,
celebratory final leg of a coast to coast
bicycle run.
Happy guys putting their bikes in the salty Atlantic!!!
And a bottle of Champagne!
WOW!
St, Augustine Beach, yesterday!
Mountains and valleys in microcosm...
the eroding beach has its own beauty.
St. Augustine Beach; an astronomical high tide and a stiff North East wind. 9.16.16.
Just have to make art...
Most people, actually,
whether or not they call themselves artists,
do indeed make art,
one way or the other.
Beach art, St. Augustine Beach, August, 2016.
On a day like this,
you can see the wave of energy
underneath the water
rippling toward the beach
like a friendly giant
flexing its mussels.
St. Augustine Beach, August 2016.
(Just a reminder, HUGE Garage sale at Butterfield Garage, lots of great art at great prices! 137 King Street.
The Bahamas?
Maybe.
But here in St. Augustine we have the best beaches!
The Bahamas, and St. Augustine Beach, July 2016.
I want one!!!
St. Augustine Beach.
St. Augustine Beach!
What I have been trying not to say out loud,
is that there are blessings or gifts hidden in tragedies,
and these gifts may not be obvious for some time to come,
but they are there.
If we can make a commitment not to let the anger and helplessness
allow us to disconnect,
and instead turn to our friends and families,
and really see them in that deep way that keeps love alive,
then that compassion spreads to our neighbors, and the person behind the counter,
and we become part of the force that moves us away from the madness,
and towards creating a loving and compassionate world.
Be gentle with each other and kind and open.
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, April 18th, 2013.
It's "King of the Hill"
King from the hill...
I'm King from the hill!!
Ok...
King!
Aden on the dune, St. Augustine Beach, yesterday!
(Laine and Pat's show went really really well, and will be hanging until the 26th of April.)
(Thanks to family and friends for being there. We love you!)
One evening.
One beach walk in the rain.
Three or four or five stories being played out...
"Let's Get Away"
A couple, no longer young, and not yet old, married only a few years, but finding themselves entrenched in very hectic busy lives together with their eager dog, Fletcher.
She suggests they dash it all and get away for a few days. He reluctantly agrees, only if they can bring Fletcher and they find themselves on the beach in St. Augustine, only hours from their
home in Gerogia. And although it is raining, they find that the joy of watching Fletcher running and chasing the frisbe in and out of the waves is changing their world, cracking their weary
faces into shameless smiles.
"The Wedding"
She: Do you remember when we decided to get married, we both agreed that we would run into the ocean in our fancy wedding clothes to celebrate in style? Why didn't we do that?
He: We were a few miles inland, if you recall, and surrounded by out of town guests and we couldn't get away.
She: Let's do it now!
He: Now? It's about to rain!
She: So, let's. It will seal our promise to each other, who cares if we get wet.
He: You really want to, now?
She: Yes! Why not?
"Nobody Gets Me, But You"
She: Dad, where are you going?
He: Out to the beach.
She: Again? It's supposed to rain.
He: You worry too much, Baby, God's rain don't hurt me.
She: At least wear your hat.
He: Ok, Baby.
The old man drives his old car to the beach and drags his chair and the satchel that holds the holy book close to the water, taking off his shoes and feeling the warm sand between his toes. He reads the words that are like music to him and writes the notes that help him to remember how they make him feel.
He thinks to himself, I wish Baby could hear what I hear and see what I see when I read these songs. It's like sitting on the edge of the world, looking out into the infinite. What's a little rain to an old man in ecstasy, just more joy! Nobody gets me, except, of course, you, my Lord and Saviour.
It was a very interesting trip down the beach that night.
There were the two young girls taking pictures of each other with a phone, doing hand stands.
I offered to take their photo together and they accepted and immediately posed,
with their backs to me, facing the ocean,
their hands and arms entwined in a kind of pretzel over their heads and thanked me!
I said, how about one looking at the camera together?
Oh, ok!
And at the end of my walk, a young man and woman,
kids really,
playing soccer, one on one,
and she was winning!!
Lots of fun in the rain on the beach.
(These stories are of course fabrications, fantasies, more fun!)
(The photos are real!)
Reprinted from LainesBlog, August 2014, with permission!
Again!
Cold air meets warmish water and voila, sea smoke!
Thanks to David for sharing this beautiful phenomena in the cold hours after sunrise, Sunday morning, January 24th, 2016.
St. Augustine Beach.
Warm weather passing through.
Cooler air on the way.
Raining now.
Silhouettes at the beach, St. Augustine Beach, Florida.
...around the moon.
St. Augustine Beach, December moon 2015, Anastasia State Park, sea oats.
Looking due east,
the better to see you with,
my dear ocean.
St. Augustine Beach, cabana?
Formally,
casually,
privately...
Don't forget to dance!
St. Augustine Beach Dance Company and Arts Center, at the pier.
Pelicans coasting up and down on the air currents,
as graceful as anything that flies.
Watching them reminds me to relax and lighten up.
They seem to know that life is meant to be enjoyed
and that there's time enough for the important things,
and that play is one of those important things.
From the Archives, November 29, 2012.
St. Augustine Beach.
Another day comes to an end,
or rather
daylight ends!
The night is young!
St. Augustine Beach Pier from Anastasia State Park, yesterday!
Ever grateful for the beautiful ocean,
the wind and pelicans,
for night blooming jasmine off my deck,
for the moon and stars,
for family and friends I adore,
for my health and happiness.
Happy Thanksgiving!
St. Augustine Beach.