SKY WATCH

Lighthouse cruises go out from Cape May, New Jersey into the Delaware Bay during the summer months. I have been fortunate enough to take two of these cruises in past years. The combination of sky and water is so beautiful, and the lighthouses out there add color and interest. This one is called Elbow at Crossledge.


Here is what remains of one from earlier times, called Crossledge.















And this one is Ship John Shoal.
















This one is known as Miah Maull.











The black and white one is Fourteen Foot Bank.

























And this is called Brandywine Shoal.













Please visit our host, Tom, at Wigger's World, and see his list of participants in Sky Watch Friday so that you can view their photos for this week.

BOTANIC GARDENS

Just a thought. Before spring has gone, you might want to take a look at Spring at the U.S. Botanic Gardens and see what's blooming in D.C.



And if you're living anywhere near us, here in New Jersey, you might enjoy a visit - or if you live elsewhere, you might enjoy a visit via your computer to, Leaming's Run Gardens.



There are so many other wonderful sites like these. If you have a favorite, I'd really like to know about it. Maybe you could leave a comment, or put it on your blog. I'd love to explore them on line.


Thanks.






please note: the picture from Leaming's Run is not mine. It is signed by a member of the Aprill family, who own and operate the gardens. I've posted many of my own in earlier posts.

TAGGED AGAIN

Yes, it's happened again. Tagged for a meme. As I've said before, I really am not into these things. I do think this one is kind of interesting, and I will do it - at least the first four rules. I won't do the fifth rule, because it involves other people, and I don't know many who would be willing to comply.


This is the one involving books, which is why I like it. The rules are:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.


Let me do the last first. I was tagged by Nonizamboni, of Peacock Blue, God bless her. And that's as much of #5 that I will do. Because I love to encourage people to read, I also do encourage anyone interested to try this one, but I won't tag them.



I love to read. Unfortunately, in recent days my eyes won't allow me to do much reading. I'm struggling with newspapers, and a very few books. My dear blogger friend, Caroline, of Caroline's Crayons, did a wonderful post a while back, suggesting that her readers get hold of a book called Moyers on America. I'm happy to say that I did find the book, and have been reading it, a little at a time, as my old eyes will let me. Haven't made it to page 123 yet, but I turned to it today. It is a chapter written in 2003, titled The Fight of Our Lives, in which Mr. Moyers is discussing media reform.

He is speaking of Ted Gup, a journalism teacher, who is, in turn, speaking of Jerry Springer:

"He does not speak for me. Yet 'the media' speaks for us all."

The third sentence returns to Mr. Moyers' own words:

"That's how I felt when I saw Oliver North reporting on Fox from Iraq, pressing our embattled troops to respond to his repetitious and belittling question, 'Does Fox rock? Does Fox rock?'"

He continues, saying that he and Oliver North are part of the same media, but "are not part of the same message."

(I'm sorry - Blogger will not let me change from Italics.)
I have not yet read the entire chapter in depth. I will manage that eventually, little by little, as I will continue to read the entire book. It is well worth reading. But I did skim it, and found what has to be a key phrase: "Democracy can't exist without an informed public." Surely most of us are by now aware that our television cable networks do not give us the real deal, and that our government controls much of the media in the name of "national security" because some things just must be labeled "Top Secret". Thank God for PBS.


Enough. I will get off my soap box. Please, read the book.

OK, Nonizamboni! I did it! And I must say, I kind of enjoyed it.

THEY'RE HERE!

Here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods lately.


First of all - They're here! Each year toward the end of May, one of us locals will come home, throw down the car keys, and announce, "Well, they're here!" and the rest of us will heave a collective sigh of resignation and say, "It's started, has it?" And we shake our heads. Tourists represent the economic life of our area of course, but most of us don't look forward to that aspect of summer. We start marking off days on our calendars until "They" are gone and we get our normal lives back again. Humans on vacation are often inconsiderate, demanding, and something less than the good citizens they are at home the rest of the year.


And birders, God bless 'em!, are often the worst offenders, suddenly stopping in the middle of the road when they catch a glimpse of feathers, or driving right up onto someone's property to follow a birdsong. They seem honestly surprised when someone might object to strangers invading their space or holding up traffic. Fortunately, those are the exceptions.


Personally, I'm not a big fan of crowds anyway. I prefer quiet and a slower pace. I enjoy entertaining a few people at a time. One on one is best. Guess I'm just not a party girl.



The holiday weekend started with a bang in our neighborhood. I lay in bed Sunday night, listening to vollies of illegal fireworks. I do enjoy fireworks, but not when rockets and cherry bombs are being set off in a neighborhood like this one, over rooftops. And I don't really feel that Memorial Day is an appropriate time for them. It's expected on the 4th or on New Year's Eve. Memorial Day should mean quiet contemplation.



Monday morning brought the blast of the buzz saw. As soon as that began, the phone rang and Villas Girl was asking about it. A short conversation, since we couldn't hear one another. The tree guys made short work of my neighbor's tree that was lying in my back yard. The stump remains on her side of the fence.



Said neighbor has yet to give any indication that she is aware that her tree came down. I guess my landlord decided it wasn't worth an argument, and had it taken care of himself.


So begins our summer.


The seeds I planted have sprouted and it looks as if the butterflies are going to find my garden this year. The lettuce looks promising. Is there anything prettier than new lettuce? Both the lettuce and flowers are happily emerging through the wire mesh I put down to thwart my other neighbor's cats. (I never before lived in a place where I had a problem with neighbors. There was always one odd ball, but everyone else got along fine. On this block, there are just way too many strange people.)


Speaking of Villas Girl, she unearthed some photos that she swears I took . Cannot for the life of me remember it. They are from a Whale Watching cruise we took at least ten years ago. Looks like we had a really nice time. Sure wish I could remember it.

EVERY DAY KINDNESS and Saving the World

Recently a blogger, whose posts I read often, referred us to another blog that he enjoys. I went to the link and quickly learned that I enjoyed it too. It's written by a very nice woman who is raising a family and caring for her husband and home, living a good and happy life - the sort for which most of us strive. I had that kind of life years ago. The blogger who referred us there observed that this woman was not trying to save the world. Now, there, I have to disagree. That's pretty much what this woman, and every woman like her, is trying to, whether they realize it or not - one family at a time. It's a good thing.

I loved her blog. It took me back to a very happy period of my own life. But my children are all grown up now. And my husband passed away 32 years ago. People's life circumstances change - sometimes drastically. And - we grow old. I had reached the point at which I was wondering just why I was still here. What purpose did I have? I felt completely useless.

One day, more or less by accident, I began blogging. From my very first post other bloggers stopped by and encouraged me to keep writing, and I thought, Gee! Aren't people nice? My family is gone. Most of my friends are gone. But these people care enough about me and one another to reach out. So I kept writing.

As I continued, and read other blogs, I found that people talked about others who needed help of one kind or another. I am not physically able to do much volunteering, but maybe if I write about it I could help a little too. You see - I'm a mother. That's what I do. If my own chicks have flown the nest, in order to feel that I have some purpose in life I have to find someone or something else to care for. I guess it's a selfish thing. Trying to help others really is helping me. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning. If you look down my sidebar you'll see. There are slogans for causes that I care about, nature photos because the environment we live in is precious to me, silly little things to entertain me, and of course the wedding picture because our life together was and is central to it all. And somewhere in there you'll find the slogan: "Every Day Kindness". That pretty much sums it up. All the rest - the anguish I feel for the suffering and death in Iraq and Tibet and everywhere else in the world, my concern because of global warming and the poisoning of our environment, the struggle of those with autism and so many other problems in the daily lives of our fellow man - all of it could be eased or even made to disappear, if we all practiced every day kindness. That of course is an impossible dream. But I guess I'll go on tilting at windmills, if that's what I'm doing, because you gotta keep trying, don't you?

Thank you for giving me a way to do that.

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

Storm clouds were gathering above the ferry channel in North Cape May, NJ this day. I love the sun beams breaking through those clouds, making the water sparkle.



Here are a couple of more pictures taken that same day, one down Beach Drive, and the other facing out over Delaware Bay.


















I have printed these before on my blog.




Be sure to go to the list of participants in Sky Watch Friday, which is found on the blog site of our host, Tom, at Wigger's World. Check out some of the others. They are so beautiful!

A NEW BOOK

I'm excited! My new book came today! Well, a "new" used book - and it's in perfect condition. I ordered Pacific Light - a book of photographs by Douglas Steakley, poems by Ric Masten. As I've said before, Monterey County in California is my favorite spot in this world, and this book brings it right here to me.


The Foreword is by Jane Smiley. Her last paragraphs say it for me. Of Ric's poems, she says: "...they remind us that it is possible to live in this world and not destroy it, over-run it, reduce it to a parking lot, but to reside right by the beauty, in balance with it." And then: "Doug's images remind us what the camera is for - to catch time in its passing and give ourselves the opportunity to ponder and experience what we would otherwise overlook. " and finally: "Taken together, they are a wonder."


In Ric's own Preface, he ends with,

"think
of the photographs as poems
the words
merely afterthoughts"

I don't think so, Ric.


I've only explored a little of it so far. Excuse me now, please. Have to go and allow myself to be carried 3000 miles away.

ON THE MOUNTAIN

Just one more time, I promise. I really want to print my favorite of Ric Masten's poems. I hesitated because it is a long one, but I do love it. Then no more - at least for quite a while. I wonder if you remember the first of his poems that I printed. It was for Martin Luther King.
But first, because I've been asked, yes, there are several books available:
Ric Masten Speaking
I Know It Isn't Funny But.... I Love to Make You Laugh
Stark Naked
Voice of the Hive
Parallel Journeys (with Dr. Larry Lachman) concerning his cancer
Pacific Light (with photographer Douglas Steakley) Scenes from Monterey, CA
and more. 23 in all, two not yet published




ON THE MOUNTAIN

last summer whenever possible
my visiting granddaughter Cara
would worm her tiny hand into mine
and like Hansel and Gretel
we'd strike out from the house
up the "Barking dog trail"
to the "Creaky swings"
don't you love the labels
little children put on things?
and after a few "Sky flying"
"Watch me Grandpa!"s
it was on to the "Sneaky table"
where hidden in the shade
beneath a giant live oak tree
we would split
the forbidden can of Coke I brought
"Damn it Dad her teeth will rot!"

rested and refreshed
we then ascend the "Slidey steep"
to check the water level in the "Water keep"
to lift the lid and take a peek
then down the trail in single file we go
through the "Witchy woods"
all the way to Arizona which is what
my spouse has dubbed the shack
she uses as her dream shop and studio
Grandma it seems
also has a knack for naming things
"If anyone calls tell them I'm in Arizona."

next stop - the family memorial garden
where we solemnly commune
with the trees Kim and Emil have become
chanting softly as we pass
"From ashes to ashes to flowering plum."

then wending our way
along a stretch of "Dusty dirt"
we search for yesterday's footprints
covering them with today's
"Backward walking" sometimes
"To fool our enemies and friends."

and always during the final leg
of this backyard expedition
my companion lags behind
little Miss Slowpoke gathering specimens
repeating after me the name
of every trail side shrub and tree
eucalyptus - sticky monkey
lilac - sage - madrone
and "Don't touch that it's poison oak!"
then suddenly: "We're home!"

last summer Cara and I collected
and polished these moments
leaving them along the path like pebbles
to be used in the distant future
the way a whiff of cigar smoke
brings my grandfather back to poke about
in the garden with his walking stick
the way my grandmother's face
magically appears
at the taste of peppermint
her watchful presence close at hand
whenever I shake sand from something
that has been to the beach

I know that on some faraway tomorrow
a sip of Cola on a hot day -
a pinch of sage -
the creaking sound a rope swing makes
these things with Cara's help
will bring me back to life again
and thankful as I am
for such life extending crumbs

sadly I also know that the cigar smoke
and peppermint trick
can only be done by me -
in a couple of generations it all becomes
a banquet for the crows


You really should try to go to Ric's site, or read one of his books. After each poem, he also writes what he calls an AFTERWORD. They are worth reading. In the one after this poem he tells us that when he wrote it, Cara had graduated from college. He also did the illustrations that go with each - line drawings, done without lifting the pen from the paper. I'm sure that Cara, and all others of his family, have some wonderful memories of Ric, as do thousands of others all over the world.

HEREFORD INLET

As you may have noticed, I got tired of seeing myself in that hat, and decided to put on a different picture. I was a lot cuter in 1937, so that's the one I chose.



One day last week I decided to take myself up to North Wildwood to see if they have begun planting the gardens around Hereford Inlet Lighthouse. I found on the way that no one has started planting in the gardens all along Central Avenue, although the ground is prepared.

When I reached the lighthouse it was obvious that I should have made the trip a couple of weeks earlier to see hundreds of daffodils. All gone now. But other plantings have been done, and I'll be looking forward to them in a few weeks. Meantime, there are lots of pansies and other small annuals.

And the herb garden is full of chives.
One beautiful tree is in bloom around back, near the band stand.


And there are many pretty corners, flowers or not.


This is what I'm looking forward to later this summer - how it looked a couple of years ago.


I always enjoy it, blooming or not, every season of the year.


Here is the path leading up to the water, where you can view Champagne Island. Lots of shore birds nesting on the island. Hopefully, increased patrols will keep boaters and their dogs off the island this year, and give the birds a fighting chance.




Any time you find yourself in the area, especially in the summer time, Hereford Inlet is a lovely place to spend an hour or two. The lighthouse itself is pretty interesting too, inside and out.

DOWNED TREE

This is sort of an addendum to my Tuesday post about the nor'easter. I'd said there wasn't much damage around here. Well, that's true, but last night I was talking on the phone to Villas Girl, who lives two doors down the street. She must have been out in her back yard, and happened to look up my way. She interrupted our conversation to tell me, Bobbie! There's a tree either in your yard or the one next door, leaning way over!

I went ouside to find there was, indeed, a tree, not leaning over, but out of the ground, roots broken through the fence, treetop resting along my clothesline. I can't tell without moving a lot of leaves and branches, exactly where it came from - my yard or the neighbor's. I kind of think it was growing on both sides of the fence. It's been there long before either of us moved in, and maybe grew up after the fence was in place, spanning the thing. Anyway, I took some pictures and called the landlord. Well, called the real estate agent who represents him. They're both really great guys, and I'm sure it will be taken care of quickly. I'm very lucky in that. I've heard lots of horror stories from people who have landlords who ignore everything, but that isn't the case here.

I have no idea if that tree came down in the storm, or waited until the drenching rains we've had and then let go. When I go out my back door onto the deck, I'm usually heading for the top of my handicap ramp, and I'm watching my footing, not looking out back. Besides, there's a sort of screen of small trees along the back of the deck, so I might not see beyond that easily. Oh well. It's there. One more casualty of the storm. I'm just glad it wasn't near enough to anything that could be hurt by it - or anyone.

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

This is one of my favorite photographs. I took it at sunset in Cape May Point at Lily Lake.



A few minutes later, I took a second picture of an eagle, which I use as the header of my blog, and you can see above.



Be sure to visit Tom in the U.K., who is our host for Sky Watch Friday, and see some of the photos others have submitted.
.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Before I begin - I have been having a great deal of trouble with Blogger - I guess it's Blogger - just trying to get to my own blog. I managed it just now for the first time in two days. So, if any of you ask me a question or make a comment that needs a reply, you may not get it for a while. It just depends on when I am able to access the blog and comments. I have not been able to reach many of the other blogs I love to read either. So I'm just hoping for the best. Maybe the situation will change as quickly as it began.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Now, to the matter at hand:




Amnesty International is a worldwide organization, fighting for human rights. That means unjust imprisonment, murders, abductions, people driven from their homes, any and all single incidents or ongoing situations of injustice in our world. That world is no long the Great Unknown as it once was. It grows smaller every day, and every day we become more aware of the truth of Martin Luther King's words: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." That "everywhere" is here where you and I live. We cannot close our eyes and turn away. We must follow the light of the candle on the Amnesty International insignia.


Amnesty International fights the good fight every day, with the help of thousands of members. My daughter, Rita is one who chooses to spend hours writing letters in behalf of people all over the world who have been imprisoned because their words or actions have somehow displeased political leaders of their countries.


The organization, which won the Nobel Prize in 1961, constantly struggles to end abuse of all human rights everywhere. If you feel you might be able to help in any way, please contact them at http://www.amnestyusa.org.









Meantime, how about putting The Hunger Site somewhere that you can view it every day, and just click on it to help feed starving people in the world.

THE ESCAPE ARTIST

I told you Blogger doesn't like me. No matter what I do to change the date on this post, it will not let me do it. I give up. Let it publish today.

---------------------------------------------------


You seem to like Ric Masten's poems. I do too. Now that he is no longer with us, I believe I will print a few more of them.



THE ESCAPE ARTIST

if freedom
is nothing more
than being able to chose
your own cage
as I suggest it is
then perhaps
the fun comes
in being
an escape artist

in recognizing
the cage you are in
deciding how long
you will settle for it
and then
when you want out
seeing how clever
you are at slipping
through a space
in the wire

perhaps
the good life
the full life
is nothing more
than every once
in a while
pulling yourself
through a hole
in the roof
standing triumphantly
looking down
with a "hot damn"
and then around
with a frustrated
"oh, no, not again!"

THE VANISHING SPECIES

One more Ric Masten poem.


THE VANISHING SPECIES

I was born on a planet
almost seventy seven light years from here

an idyllic world
where children grew up
without the threat of nuclear holocaust
or global warming
no instant messaging systems
no black revolutions
gay revolutions
drug revolutions
no woman's liberation
not even the choice
of taking or not taking the pill

true
the seed of all this was there
but had nothing to do
with my formative years

and now
I find myself come to this harsh place
a kind of space traveler
having close encounters
with my own children

like creatures
from different star systems
we stare at each other
across the void
even our words have different stems

we are aliens in each others midst

but damn it
I am the one saddled with the memory
of that other place
part of a colony
stranded on planet earth
at the beginning of the twenty first century
marooned
with no way to go back
and no time to go on

like a moon being eclipsed
my kind will soon be gone
and in light of the headlines today
the sooner the better

NOR'EASTER

Our town was really fortunate, if I'm to believe the television reports of the storm that blew in yesterday. I heard the thunder and the wild wind and rain during the night. It continued all day, and we saw terrible pictures of what was happening in towns all around us. Our landscape is littered with leaves and twigs and small branches, but nothing like those TV pictures. No terrible flooding, and we never lost electricity. Schools elsewhere were closed. Streets became streams. One shot showed horseshoe crabs stranded in the streets of Ocean City.

Further south of course, the situation is much more serious. And the reports of the earthquake in China are horrendous. Yes, we are very fortunate.

But the hummers continued to come to the feeder.











I am always amazed that something so small can withstand the kind of wind and driving rain such as we had. I took these pictures through a rain streaked window. I kind of like them. Surreal.

CLOSE YOUR EYES - AND GO BACK

A friend sent me an e-mail the other day. I don't know where it originated, but it made me feel good, and I'd like to share it.


Close your eyes - and go back

Before the Internet or PC or the MAC
Before semi-automatics and crack
Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo - even before Atari
Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail

Go way back - way - way - way back.
I'm talking about hide-and-seek at dusk,
Red Light-Green Light, Red Rover-Red Rover
Playing kick ball and dodge ball until the first - no - the second -
No - the third street light came on.
Ring-around-the-rosie - London Bridge - Hot Potato - Hop Scotch -
Jump Rope - Tag! You're IT!
Parents standing on the front porch and yelling (or whistling) for you to come home -
No pagers or cell phones.
Take one giant step - May I?

Seeing shapes in the clouds
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (No A/C) with windows open.
The sound of crickets
Running through the sprinkler
Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
Cracker Jacks with the same thing
Ice Pops with two sticks you could share with a friend.
But wait - There's more.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons. Tom and Jerry - Serial adventures -
Captain Midnight - The Cisco Kid - The Lone Ranger - Boston Blackie

Catching lightning bugs in a jar
Christmas morning
Your first day at school
Bedtime prayers and goodnight kisses

Climbing trees
Swinging as high as you could to try to reach the sky
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumping down the steps
Jumping on the bed - Pillow fights
Running home from the western movie 'til you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from PLAYING
Work meant taking out the garbage, cutting the grass, washing the car, doing the dishes

Your first crush
Your first kiss (I mean the one where you kept your mouth closed and your eyes open)
Rainy days at school with the smell of damp concrete and chalk erasers

Oh, I'm not finished yet.

Kool Aid was the summer drink - and a swig of water from the hose
Giving your friends a ride on the handlebars
Attaching pieces of cardboard to your bike frame to rub against the spokes
Belly-flopping on your sled to go down Dead Man's Hill

Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class field trips with soggy sandwiches
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got home from school
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter was a MIRACLe
When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...
and nobody - not even the kid - thought a thing of it
When your parents took you to the Automat for a treat

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home
Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, or gangs. We simply did not want our parents to get mad at us.

Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah. I remember that!"
Well, let's keep going.
Let's go back to the time when -
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do over!"
Race issues meant arguing about who ran the fastest
Catching fireflies could happily occupy a whole evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
Nobody was prettier than Mom.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was a cause of giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived during a more pleasant, simpler time, as have I.

MOTHERS DAY EMAIL

I just have to show you the pictures that were emailed to me yesterday from California.












So, I hope that all of you moms and g-moms had a wonderful day yesterday.

RIC MASTEN

We lost Ric Masten last week. He lost his long battle with cancer at last.

You may remember me mentioning Ric a couple of months ago. Some of you may have gone to his site at that time, and discovered his delightful poems and drawings. For those who did not, I am going to print here a very moving poem that he wrote about his wife.


DEMENTIA

when I was 19
my parents went around the world
leaving
from the San Francisco marina on a freighter
with passenger accommodations
back in those days
when the gang plank had been raised
and the ship was ready to depart
the passengers
would line up at the rail looking down
throwing serpentine
colorful paper streamers
to friends and family on the pier below
we would hold tight to one end
while those we hold dear
held on to their end
of these
slender fragile ribbons
then slowly
almost imperceptibly
the ship began to move away
the paper connections
snapping
one by one
as the steamer headed out into the bay

after fifty five years together
my cancer is incurable
and your memory is fading
which makes me acutely aware
of time circling the drain
running out of the clock
wondering whether
the love of my life
will slip over the horizon
before I am forced to leave the dock


Ric has gone. He is survived by the love of his life. If you go to his poetry site, you will find that he wrote more about her, following this poem. I think you will enjoy his poems, as well as the drawings he did to accompanying them. I have no idea how much longer the site will remain, but of course, his work can be found in the library or the book store.

MOTHERS' DAY

............................HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.........................

HUMMINGBIRDS

This is the same little hummer I pictured on Thursday. She seems to have decided that my feeder belongs to her. I have had several hummers visit often since that first day, April 24th. She was not the first to arrive, but came along soon after. The males come first, to scout out the area.


I have no clue where they are nesting this year. I would have thought it would be in my neighbor's back yard, but she has adopted a couple of kittens whose mother had them in her tool shed last spring. Since they are outdoor cats, and love climbing trees, her yard wouldn't be a very safe place for nesting hummers this season.


Wherever they have nested, they like to visit my feeder and flowers. But this little lady chases the others whenever she sees them. I do intend to hang a second feeder soon. That may help a little. It gives me so much pleasure to watch them. Their ability to hover and to fly backwards and to move so fast is just amazing to me. It's hard to believe that something so tiny and delicate looking can survive out there.

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

I do apologize. I forgot to post the picture before I signed the list this week.


I went back into My Pictures, and think I'd like to submit this one, taken out on Montauk Point, Long Island, NY when my oldest daughter and her children and I visited the Montauk Point Lighthouse, some time ago. It captures the mood of the day as I remember it, with that little cloud above my grandson's head.





Sky Watch Friday is hosted by Tom at Wiggers World. Visit some of the many others who have participated this week. They are from countries throughout the world, and some of their sites are very worthy of your time.

MORE OF THIS AND THAT

I like this new scheduling we can do with our blog posts. It lets me set up Sky Watch Friday ahead of time.




Do hope you're considering a post on something to do with Human Rights on the 15th.





Here's a thought. It's been making the rounds of emails for a while now and it seems to make sense to me. If we're really concerned about the price of gas - just stop buying it from the biggest producers - and they would be Exxon/Mobil. Go elsewhere for it. If enough of us did that to the Big Guys - it could hurt them enough that they might lower prices.



Here's a good one. Villas Girl, as you may have figured out, is sort of like a second daughter to me - Well, I guess that should be a fourth daughter. She kind of looks out for me, which I do appreciate. Now she's complaining because my son repaired my car too well. She used to be able to hear my car when I went off somewhere or when I came home. Now she doesn't hear me. I'm driving The Stealth-Mobile!



My son was here the other night, putting in my a/c. As he was leaving, he got dive-bombed by one of my hummingbirds who had headed for the feeder, but was side-tracked by Joe standing too near it. He went buzzing past his ear, then swooped off. It was pretty comical.



The seeds I threw into the little extension of my garden are sprouting faster than I would have believed. I will have wild flowers for my butterflies in no time at all. And this time I do not have my neighbors nasty cats using the garden for a litter box, because I laid wire mesh over the whole thing. The plants can grow right through it, and the cats can't dig. In the past I've tried hot pepper and every other suggested deterrent, but nothing has worked. For now, my only complaint about the cats is that they continually walk through mud and then over my car, leaving their paw prints over the hood, windows, top and trunk. I've about given up trying to keep it anywhere near clean.


If I keep posting odd little things like this, I'm going to have to find a better title than "This and That" aren't I?






Well, at least today I managed a decent photo of one of my hummers.

LOVELY DAY

Yesterday was a lovely day in Cape May County. It started for me somewhere around 5:am. This is what I saw from my back deck. I love the trees silhouetted against the dark blue sky. I had been looking for the meteor shower. That never happened, but I was treated to this picture as the sky brightened.


As the day went on, the temperature rose, the sky became a very bright blue, and there was a low bank of the whitest clouds you can imagine. By early afternoon, I just had to take a ride.


First I tried Cape May City, at the end of Beach, where I had a pleasant chat with a tourist who had a delightful brogue. There were bathers on the beach. I sharpened the picture to bring the distant lighthouse into better focus. You can make it out if you click on the picture.



I drove up Sunset Boulevard, and this was the view over South Cape Meadows.



I continued up to the Point. I always seem to end up at the Point. Must try heading in a different direction sometimes. Everyone you see at the Point has a smile and usually a few friendly words. The place just seems to put people in a good mood.




While I was there, I noticed a lot of activity in the birdhouses by the parking lot.




Here's another shot, plus a close up which is pretty poor. My only excuse is that I can't see the view in the screen of my digital when there is bright sunlight, and I guess my aim is bad.













Not a particularly exciting day - just a very pleasant one.