Wednesday Night Market

We went downtown to a little night market this evening. We bought some local honey for our son. He has allergies and I read that a couple of teaspoons a day of local honey will help desensitize allergies. Might help, can't hurt. That's my philosophy. I've been pretty interested lately in eating meat and milk without added growth hormones or antibiotics. There was a farmer who had eggs from free range chickens who eat bugs and grain from plants they find in their foraging. I was going to buy some of those eggs until he said that the yolks were really bright yellow because they were fertilized eggs. Oh no! Too much information there. I'm not sure why that made a difference to me. I eat chicken and steak so rare it's practically mooing. But I could not go back and buy those eggs. Maybe I'll get over it. If only he hadn't told me...

 Fresh flowers and produce from the farmer's market.

Go Towards the Light

 

I love this photo. My sister thinks morning glories are weeds but I sowed the seeds into a big pot on my porch and used the trellis I got for Christmas to support them and water them faithfully. The color alone makes me happy. I guess the difference between a weed and not a weed is love. I love them. But what I was going to say is that I wonder if this little ant  (see him in there?) is hearing in his head, "Go Towards the Light." Is he having a near death experience? Given the length of an ants life I would have to say, probably... As for the morning glory, it is having a near death experience for sure, but I love it even in this phase. Though it is old and almost gone (hours away from the end), it has a different kind of beauty. I love how it is folding in on itself and displaying a side of itself most of us haven't noticed until now, its once hidden stripes.

Day in the Sun

Today was Natalie's day to spend with me. Once a week it is just the two of us. Today we went swimming. She has learned this summer. Great!

Boys Will Be Boys

 We took the grandkids to breakfast this weekend. All I can say about this picture is that I guess he has his Papa's genes in him...

At least it wasn't crayons.Maybe he has more sense :o)

Crabby

We went to the beach the other night to be with some cousins who were in from out of town. The kids wanted to catch crabs (and then release, of course). Most of the crabs were about 2 inches across but many of them were this small. They were the exact color of the sand. I was amazed the kids could even see them. But the chase was what was so great to watch. A crab spotted would raise an alarm and then everyone would scramble to make sure it didn't run over their feet. A bit of screaming and a lot of running around later, the net would go down and the crab would be caught. This small one caused a bit of ruckus but then one of the older girls caught it in her hand and declared it harmless. I don't know, it just made me laugh...

God's Gift to Us

I am overwhelmed and amazed at the beauty of the smallest of things. I have one new rose on my bush. But it is the loveliest rose I think I've ever seen. I wonder if I would think it so beautiful if I had a whole bush full of them...

My City

       













Pensacola is a beautiful small city. We have much in the way of the arts. Ballet, symphony, theater, great restaurants, concerts, and much more. But right along side of that is the confederate flag proudly flying, young men with mullets (I know!), and people standing on the street corners screaming at the cars going by with their Bibles looking like billy clubs, so stridently are they swinging through the air. But do love it here. Along with the Bible ranters comes young people saying yes ma'am at the grocery store and people holding doors open for you. There is a lot of civility here. I guess we really do have the best of both worlds. The "country" and the "city". I'm happy with that. I can ignore the rest...

Tomorrow

Still feeling a bit yucky. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll feel like getting out of bed and playing with the kids. I even went to my tennis lesson this morning and had to leave. Sure makes me appreciate it when I feel great. And I feel great most of the time. I'm so lucky, really...

Little Critter

I know this is a weird photo to be posting on my blog, but I just had to tell this little guy's story. He hitchhiked into our car riding on my husband's shirt. I got him off with this green piece of paper that I had directions written on. He was so disoriented and lost. He tried to inch along, like little inchworms do, but he would hesitate before he put down his little front feet (or whatever they are). I could just hear him thinking to himself in his tiny brain, wondering what strange landscape he had suddenly happened upon. He probably thought he was in the inchworms version of "The Wizard of Oz". In a strange land, he inched bravely onward. I have to admire him for that... What fate befell him? Wouldn't you like to know...

Yucky

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. The girls in my family haven't been feeling well this week. Maybe I've got it now. Hope not!

The Jungle

This is one of the flowers that pops up in our jungle every summer. Our jungle is full of fern, ginger, and vines of all sorts. It's not really a jungle, of course, but don't tell the mosquitos. They are the predators and I am the prey. They win...

Obsession

My obsession this year has been taking pictures of flowers. There is a never ending variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Mostly I take close-ups. Some of the most beautiful aspects of flowers are the teeny ones we really don' t see. So, while I am focusing on the details of the flowers I think I have been opened up to the larger picture as well. Being constantly on the lookout for subject matter makes me notice how the light is hitting the trees and where a dark shape is adjacent to a light shape, or even how the shapes fit together. Beauty is all around us!

Trust

We went tubing with our friend Bob (thanks AGAIN, Bob) today. Little Missy has been asking to go for the longest time. But of course when we got there she was a bit scared since she hadn't gone since last summer. That's a long time for a 5 year old. But even though she was scared she hopped right in the tube with Eden. She didn't remember Eden either. That was a year ago too. But this young lady had such a calm, confident manner that it made Little Missy feel comfortable right away. I love the expressions on their faces. LM has just discovered that it is more fun than scary, and Eden's one of serenity that made LM feel that way. I love it when I see a bond of trust spring up between girls. It is one of the foundations of human life. Makes me feel hopeful...

Butterfly

I was walking around at the garden center today and saw this little butterfly. I wouldn't have seen him had he not been flitting from one flower to another. But then he found one he liked and just sat there. After several tries I finally got him in focus and got it right. It's too bad life won't just sit there sometimes, while we try to get it right. But life just flits along it's merry way whether we get it right or not. And sometimes things just don't seem to be in focus...

Toadstools

I really don't know if these are toadstools or mushrooms. Or if there is any difference. Guess I should look it up. But in any case, this was a lucky find. I was on my way home from a local photography exhibit and saw all of these huge mushrooms in a median downtown. So there I was, down on my stomach, in the median of a busy street, taking photos. I especially like how this one turned out. Who cares if they think I'm crazy!

The Sea

"Hard indeed is the heart from which the balmy air of the sea cannot banish sorrow and grief."

Last But Not Least

Mark is beloved by his niece and nephew. He has a different take on the world than the rest of us. He is very tech savy and knows a lot about what the rest of us in the family only marvel at. I'm sure the little ones will grow up with some of his skills. It will be second nature to them. But he is for sure my go to guy for machines (my computer, cell phone, remote, etc.). Aren't I lucky!!! He has a sweet heart too. He just doesn't know it...

Jedi in Training

We have had the grandkids for the past few days. They are wonderful, but all I can say tonight is WHEW! They wear me out. I tell my daughter what a great job she does as a single mother, but at times like this it is so much more apparent. Way to go Wendy. Glad you had a great trip. This little guy is more like a wild man at this age but I'm hoping that as he gets older he'll take on more of the traits of a Jedi Knight :o)

Kumquats

They're back. I tried to lure them (yes, a pair) into my photo trap but just as I got there with my camera one of them was taking off with another blossom and the other one just looked at me as if to say, Kumquats? No thanks. WE WANT THE SUNFLOWERS! And the kumquats are still there. The racoons don't even want them...

Pink Parasol

It has been raining off and on for the last two days and I am still thinking about our weekend at the beach. We really need the rain and it cools things down a bit. But the blue skies at the beach are beyond compare in the beautiful scenery department. And Natalie just got a sweet new pink parasol. I couldn't resist combining those two beautiful things.

The Beach

For some reason I don't feel very serene at the beach. To get to serene I would have to go to a quiet, still place like a stream or lake (notice it is always water), and the beach is full of noise and motion. I'm usually with the grand-kids and your eye has to be on them constantly. No waves carrying children out to sea for me! And it is so HOT! out there. And windy. It was fun, just not peaceful. But this photo gives me the feeling of serenity and zen when I look at it. Not at all like the day really was...

4th of July at the Beach

What a great holiday we had. Our cousins asked us to spend the night at their beach house on Pensacola Beach, and so of course we did. We all pitched in food, put on our bathing suits and relaxed. The weather was perfect and the fireworks beautiful. Thanks, Debby and Alan!

One Rose

I have a rose bush in my yard that produces one, maybe two, roses at a time and at sometimes weeks long intervals between roses. It could possibly be because I don't fertilize it. Well, not much anyway. Uncle Lee says that the smell will come back into our roses if we would stop using so much artificial fertilizer. That we try to make things grow too fast. The funny thing is that some of the roses on this bush are fragrant and some are not. Go figure... Anyway, I love the color and it is worth keeping this bush just for the occasional rose if it looks like this one.

Happy Birthday America. We will be at the beach celebrating.

Bad Squirrel

My sweet friend, Tammy, gave me potted sunflower today for my birthday. It wasn't in the back yard for an hour when I noticed that one of the biggest blooms was missing. You can see the offending empty flower stalk if you look closely. Upon investigation, I deduced that I have a bad squirrel in my yard. The flower is safely in the house for the night but now where am I going to keep it???

Birthday

Today is my 61st birthday. This is the sight I saw this morning at 8 when my doorbell rang. The sweetest sight in the world! We went to Krispy Kreme for a birthday donut.

Boat Ride

Our friend Bob took us for a boat ride of Bayou Texar this evening. It was so beautiful, not too hot and a lot of fun.