Sunrise

It isn't very often these days that I manage to get these old bones moving early enough to catch the sunrise, even though I do believe that it is the best part of the day. Today I did it.


Even during 4th of July weekend, at 6:am you have the streets pretty much to yourself. Only the fishermen venture out at that hour.


I drove down to Cape May. It was a cloudy morning. No brilliant red and gold in the sky. But I thought it was pretty. I stopped first along Route 109 at the spot where fishermen had pulled up in their pick ups and set out on their party boats for the day. Mostly tourists. I really couldn't find much elbow room there, so I went on down the road to the Fishermen's Memorial. There, I was alone. No party boats. Just a few sail boats riding at anchor.



The lovely statue of the widow and children stood with me, watching the sun struggling to rise through the clouds.


It was very peaceful and quiet. As much as I love people, I also love my solitude, and really appreciated that peace.



I haven't been down to the Memorial for quite a while. There is also a large marble monument where the names of all of the Cape May fishermen lost at sea have been inscribed. I see that their families and friends have been bringing small tokens to leave, as they would at graves in a cemetery. Many more names than I remember.


There are now daisies, lilies, and several other flowers planted around the statue. Really lovely. Someone has done a beautiful job here. The garden had not been planted the last time I was here.




I enjoyed my quiet visit, and as I drove home, the sun did make a valiant attempt to break through.


It almost succeeded for a short time.


Later in the day it did manage - at least for a while. Maybe it will stay with us long enough for the yard sale across the street to be successful.

Independence Day

It's the 4th! Have fun! Be safe doing it, please.

And at some point during your day, Maybe try to pause and think of the 4113 men and women from our country who have died in Iraq - so far - and think of their loved ones at home and how they will be celebrating.

Think of the coming Presidential election. Will you blindly vote the party line this time? Or will you give real thought to what has been going on in our country?

It's OUR COUNTRY! It doesn't belong to politicians. It belongs to US. And it will belong to our children and their children.

I was listening to Mr. McCain's political ad on TV the other day. They spoke of gas prices - a sore subject for us all today. What was Mr. McCain's answer? He has new catch words: "Energy Security". And he's talking about "Domestic Drilling". That scares the hell out of me!

Never mind. I'm not going to go on a further rant about politics. I'm really not articulate enough to get my point across anyway. I let my emotions get in the way too often.

Please, do yourselves a favor. Click on a link here. Go over to Dianne's blog, and read what she has to say about time she spent with friends at the V.A. She writes so well, and you might be interested in what she has to say, as well as some of the Vets. It will only take a few minutes. Then you can go back to the bar-b-q.

200 Days Left

Unless my figures are off - that's what is left, folks. From all indications it is going to be a very loooong 200 days.

Sky Watch

The sky in this week's pictures is reflected in gazing globes. All four have been found in the gardens surrounding the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse in North Wildwood, New Jersey. I came across each of these globes during different years, and in each one you can find reflected the lighthouse itself as well as the garden surrounding it, and the sky above.


















Each summer the gardens at Hereford are different from the previous year. I have rarely been disappointed. Thousands of local people and tourists have been through them, and I imagine that thousands of photographs have been taken there.










I don't know why the globes fascinate me so, but they always have, and I usually attempt to capture the lighthouse in each one, and to avoid finding an image of myself there as well.




The most recent is this one, surrounded by yellow flowers.
which we saw on a visit two weeks ago.







If you visit Wigger's World, you will find our kind host, Tom, without whom there would be no Sky Watch, and a list of more than 200 participants in Sky Watch Friday.

Creative Photography - July 3

Roger's Creative Photography is a fun thing to do. There is no particular theme, so you have the freedom to - well - to be creative.

One of my favorite places to wander with my camera is Leaming's Run Gardens. It's a beautiful wooded area, with lovely gardens in clearings in the woods along the way. While there some time ago, I found this picture waiting to be taken .


I find spider webs fascinating. I especially love to watch them being constructed, but this one was already finished - and so beautiful, sparkling with dew.

If you go to Roger's site you will find a list of participants who have some really wonderful entries waiting for you to see.

Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove, California is a lovely small town on Monterey Bay. It has a very beautiful rocky shore line. To your left, on my sideboard, is a photograph of waves crashing on a rock. I took that in Pacific Grove.

Each April or May, the entire shore line becomes a purple carpet of flowers. I believe they are called ice flowers. Don't know the proper name. They are not native to California soil, but this import has become part of the scene, all along the coast. Pacific Grove is famous for the purple carpet along Monterey Bay. It stretches for four miles. It seems to have become a family tradition to have a picture of Isaac among them each year. These, of course, are my daughter's pictures.


Pacific Grove is also famous for Steinbeck's Cannery Row, now a tourist attraction, known throughout the world.


At one end of the Row sits the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a fabulous place, and an absolute must see for tourists, and a leisure time spot visited frequently by locals. If you visit, plan to return to the aquarium a few days in a row. You will never be able to view all of its truly fascinating exhibits in one day.


As you may have guessed, I really love the aquarium.

These pictures are from their computer site, not from my own album.



At the other end of town, up the hill, is the butterfly sanctuary and educational center. Like Cape May, Pacific Grove is a monarch butterfly destination during their annual migration to Mexico. In Pacific Grove, the monarch is indeed king. They hold an annual monarch parade, in which small children march, wearing huge butterfly wings and headdresses . There is also a large iron butterfly statue on the shore of the bay. You'll recognize the sign from my post a couple of days ago.



My youngest daughter's wedding took place in Pacific Grove, at the Old Whaling Station gardens. It is a charming little building, set in really beautiful gardens. The weather cooperated perfectly. Their wedding took place out of doors. When they went inside following the ceremony, their friends whisked away the chairs and set up tables on the patio. There was plenty of room for dancing, which went on into the night, under a full moon. Perfect.




So, you see, I have sentimental attachment to the town, as well as admiring its many charms.


Unfortunately, this is not the ideal time to visit there. The air quality is very bad and I'm told that ash from the many forest fires is falling on homes and gardens everywhere. The beautiful Big Sur country nearby is burning. We can only pray for rain and lots of it. Ironic, when not all that far away, people are praying the rain will stop and they can start trying to recover from the flood waters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK - My daughter, Kathryn has read this post,and informs me that both the Old Whaling Station and the Aquarium are really not in Pacific Grove, but in Monterey. They are close to the border of the two, so I was under the impression that they were in Pacific Grove.