This is Day 5 of the First Annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Beach Life. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories. I live four hours from the nearest beach, and yet only see the waves and smell that unmistakable scent of the sand and sea a couple times a year. You know that soul cleansing revitalization that comes from having the sand between your toes, listening to the waves and watching the pelicans soaring gracefully one moment and diving headfirst into the water the next. This first video is a compilation of photos taken in St. Augustine, FL a few years ago while vacationing with friends. It was a picture-perfect trip.
This was filmed later that same year in Madeira Beach, FL. There are some spectacular sunsets over the Gulf and this one was amazing.
Yes, I do enjoy the beach life, and while we typically go to Florida, my home state also has some amazingly beautiful beaches. This was taken at Oak Island, NC this past June.
Where is your favorite beach?
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We love to vacation in Florida, and Skipper's Fish Campis one of our favorite stops along the way. We go there for the food, which is outstanding, but we also love to just stroll around and enjoy the critters. Here are some of the turtles drifting lazily around the pool.
It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for taking pictures. I just love the shadows cast by the swimming turtles.
Hi there. Aren't you cute! I used to have turtles when I was a kid, back in the day when you could get turtles at the pet shop. I called them Perky and Flipper. Now I just enjoy them in their natural habitat, or in this case, their swimming pool.
Here's the little fellow, up close and personal.
"Hey, where's my shadow?"
No, that's not a real alligator, although there was one in the river. I'll get to him in another post.
Please enjoy the turtles going round and round, and as always, thanks for visiting!
During our recent trip to St. Augustine, we had several opportunities to dine near the water. While we were having lunch at the Conch House restaurant one afternoon, this fellow was panning for his lunch in the shallows near the marina. This is the same location where we saw the manatee, pelicans, baby sharks and a sea turtle. Click the link to read about that...don't worry, I'll wait. Okay, let's meet today's special guest.
This is a Roseate Spoonbill. From a distance we were reminded of a Pink Flamingo, except for his flat, paddle-like bill. For more information on the Spoonbill and hear what he sounds like, click on the link. The Spoonbill is a wading bird of the Spoonbill and Ibis family, and is found in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico and the Gulf Coast of the U.S. They feed in shallow fresh or coastal water by swinging their bills from side to side as they walk, often leaving a trail behind them as they sift through the mud. Their diet consists of aquatic insects, frogs, newts, crustaceans and fish too small for other wading birds. After lunch, I got some video of him feeding and leaving a trail in his wake.
To see more of my videos, visit my YouTube channel here.
The music in the video is called "Squiggly Line" by Podington Bear found at http://podingtonbear.com. I think you'll see why it is so appropriate for this video.
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Here we have a couple of Pelicans hanging out looking for a handout. Fishermen were cleaning fish and tossing the remnants into the water. They are competing with a couple baby sharks for their lunch. Also present at this party was a sea turtle.
The star of the show, however, is the Manatee. Unfortunately these gentle giants are on the endangered species list. If you boat in areas where you may encounter manatees, please take a moment to read this.
This manatee likes to hang out where he can get a fresh, cool drink of water.
Here you can see his tongue and whiskers, and the algae and barnacles covering his tough skin.
I turned up my pants and got down under one of the fish cleaning tables to get a closer look. The hose to the right of me is where the sink drains.
Photo Credit: Ashley Morris
Such a gentle creature for one so large.
Yes, I petted the Manatee, and to answer one of the most asked questions, no he was not slimy. Although he might have been where the algae was growing. I felt the whiskers and they are like very thick hairs, flexible and not at all sharp.
Photo Credit: Ashley Morris
Bye-bye Mr. Manatee. It was an honor to meet you!
Photo Credit: Ashley Morris
I compiled the video we got so you can see how he interacted with people and how much he enjoyed the fresh water. They truly are magnificent creatures.
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Twas the Night Before Christmas is a story familiar to youngsters everywhere. I remember my Mom reading it to me when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. You know, memories are funny things, and sometimes they fade or become intertwined with others, creating new memories until you're not sure what you really remember. This is one of those times for me.
I think I remember making a book, probably out of construction paper, with the words and pictures from my copy of Twas The Night Before Christmas. I suspect Mom helped me put it together, hole-punched it and bound it with yarn. I believe this was a Christmas present for Daddy. So far, I have not found this book as I continue to look through things in the attic, though I hope to come across it one day.
Since I cannot share with you my childhood artwork, I give you this video, which tells the story with the illustrations I think I remember from my book all those years ago.
Merry Christmas from our house to yours. May you find peace and love in your homes and hearts.
Who knew you could find waterfalls in Florida. I think of beaches, swamps, beautiful sunsets and lots of seafood. We usually spend a week or so in Florida every fall, and almost always discover something new. This year we detoured to Lake City on our way to St. Pete (more about that in another post). While picking Google's cyber brain for things to do in the area, I found this lovely little side trip only minutes from the interstate. It is an easy walk from the parking lot to see the rapids that culminate in a drop of about 10 feet, forming a caramel-colored waterfall.
This may not have the grandeur of Niagara, but it has a quaint charm all its own.Falling Creek Falls was also the site of the first settlement in the area.
While it's no secret that we enjoy a nice wine, and have traveled many miles to taste the fruit of the vine, we only traveled as far as our local wine shop for this delicious Grüner Veltliner from Austria.
This food-friendly white wine from the Skeleton label is bottled, not in the standard 750ml bottle - but a full liter, and instead of the traditional cork or screw cap, as is becoming more popular, this wine had a pop top like soda bottles used to have.
We really enjoyed this, and as you can see it was quite a hit with Sophie, too.
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The late afternoon sun perfectly illuminated this ivy leaf. In thinking about this picture and the story it could tell, I remembered this little ditty from my childhood.
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey.
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
And that prompted me to look deeper into this silly song. It was written back in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, based on this English nursery rhyme.
Mares eat oats
And does eat oats
And little lambs eat ivy
A kid'll eat ivy, too
Wouldn't you?
It seems that Drake's daughter came home singing "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters." Which translates to "cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters". This gave Drake the idea to write a silly song.
However, at that time no one wanted to publish a silly song. Finally he pitched it to his friend Al Trace, who liked it and performed it with his band the Silly Symphonists. After this, it was a huge hit for Merry Macs in this 1944 recording.
Remember, leave a comment and you are automatically entered in the Roses to RainbowsThird Anniversary Giveaway.
This was filmed at Salem Lake a couple of years ago when we were serenaded by a bunch of frogs. Not the peepers of Spring, but big bullfrogs. At least I think they were bullfrogs - we didn't actually see them.
I am in the process of learning how to edit my videos. This was done using Windows Live Movie Maker to edit out the dead spots and other conversations. Any tips for the beginner?
While searching for ideas for today's post, I came across this video from a couple years ago. We visited the Divine Llama Vineyard for a wine tasting. It was a double treat to visit with the resident llamas. You can read more about that here in Wine and Llamas.
Here's what they had to say about it.
Llama #1: Just once you'd think they would come see us first.
Llama #2: Yeah, they beeline to the tasting bar without so much as a glance our way. It's only after they hear about how our llama beans* fertilize the vines that grow the grapes that make the wine that they ignore us for, that we get some appreciation.
Llama #3: My friends, we don't have to stand for such second class treatment. Follow me!
*this is the term the folks at Divine Llama use for llama poop.
Written for the 30-day creative writing challenge hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese. Today is the 20th day of crazy-making fun and the prompt is Going Solo. Check out the Linky at WWFC for more creative exploits.
When I think of going solo, I think of doing something grand, special or brave like taking that first flight without the instructor, or giving a performance. I think of taking on some great adventure alone. I don't have any experience with such things. No, going solo for me is attending a social function without my husband, or going parasailing (back in the days before they had tandem flights), or maybe when I rode my first bicycle without training wheels.
Since I don't have any special solo events with which to entertain and fascinate you, I present to you someone who does. Dixie Carter. She entertained us as Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women (1986-1993), a sitcom about four strong Southern women in the interior design business.
She portrayed a strong, yet genteel, Southern lady who was always willing to stand up for family and friends, and when something got her riled, she really laid it on the line.
But perhaps what I remember most is her rendition of "How Great Thou Art". In this episode she was to sing a choir solo, but was afraid she wouldn't be able to hit the high notes. Charlene was having issues with her church and it's prohibition on female ministers. It was important to her that Julia sing this song for women everywhere.
Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker singing "How Great Thou Art"
Written for the 30-day creative writing challenge hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese. Today's prompt is The Short Hairs. This is the 14th mind-numbing day of this challenge. Check out the Linky at WWFC for more entertainment.
Antlions, or rather antlion larva, as I learned from my research. Otherwise known to me in my childhood as doodlebugs. They are called doodlebugs because the twisty winding trails they leave in the sand while looking for the right place to make their traps look like someone doodled in the sand.
They hang out in inverted cone-shaped dwellings in loose sandy soil, and feed on ants. It is interesting to watch them "build" their traps.
When complete, they lie in wait for the unsuspecting ant to drop in for dinner...not knowing he's the meal, thus having the ant by the short hairs.
The first use of the term "babysitter" was recorded in 1937, but it wasn't until 1947 that it was used in the verb form to "babysit". Babysitting only became common in the mid-twentieth century. It was a way for teenage girls to earn money. Prior to this, if a couple were affluent enough to afford to go out, then they had a live-in servant to look after the children. Those without servants generally lived near or with family or extended family who could then help with the children.
From babysitting sprang many other types of sitting such as pet sitting, house sitting, and care for the elderly. We have engaged sitters for our cats. As with human children, we would leave feeding and care instructions, emergency phone numbers and our vet's information. Sitting is sitting, whether for humans or pets, allowing the parents to have that much needed night out, and pet owners to take their vacation without worrying about the "kids".
All this talk of babysitting brings to mind one of my favorite movies of the 1980s - Adventures in Babysitting in which Elisabeth Shue stars as Chris Parker, the babysitter.
The movie begins with Chris getting ready for her big date, who cancels with some lame excuse about his kid sister being sick and he has to look after her. With nothing else to do, Chris accepts a job babysitting for Sara Anderson. Add her brother Brad, and friend Daryl into the equation and chaos ensues. A quick trip into the city for ice cream ends up a hair-raising adventure of a blowout, eluding criminals, facing down a street gang, and rescuing Brad's sister, Sara, as she clung to the outside of a skyscraper, narrowly missing Brad's parents at the party. Chris' mad driving skills get them home with moments to spare, and no one was the wiser.
What did Chris get out of this? Well, she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, and met someone new when Sara had to use the bathroom and they ended up at a frat party.
All's well that ends well, don't you think?
Written for the 30-day creative writing challenge hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese. Today's prompt is Babysitting. This is the 10th day of this madness. Check out the Linky at WWFC for more interesting revelations.
Like many of you, I love all the little critters of the world, and there is a special place in my heart for the Chickadee. I spied this little guy having lunch at a very interesting feeder. It is a piece of real wood with suet inserted into it.
My Mom used to feed the Chickadees, and they got so used to it they would gather in the tree and call for their lunch.
You don't judge a book by its cover so don't judge a restaurant by its exterior, or even its interior. We were hungry and not interested in having to track down breakfast, so we asked at the front desk of our hotel if there was any breakfast within walking distance. The desk clerk said there wasn't much in the way of breakfast, but that The Wienery did serve breakfast. We had walked by it the night before and hadn't given it much thought. Now it seemed like our only option if we had any hope of getting breakfast before lunch time.
414 Cedar Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN
Here's a look at the inside. It is simply laid out, bordering on worn out. But don't judge it before you sit down and enjoy a unique breakfast experience.
The Wienery has changed hands several times since it opened in the early 1980s, and is now owned by Pat Starr. The Wienery was voted the city's best hot dog for 3 consecutive years.
This morning, however, we wanted breakfast and we wanted it fast (at least I did). We studied the menu for something that would be filling and on the table quickly. We chose the #6 Wienie MacMuffin, an egg and cheese sandwich on an English Muffin with your choice of meat. Of course I chose bacon!
Now all these items are prepared fresh to order while you wait. It is pretty much a one-man show, and he had to make a quick trip to his car across the street for the groceries.
Was it good? You bet. It was like walking into a friend's house and having them whip up breakfast for you right on the spot.
And...he has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
This place gets two thumbs up from me, so if you find yourself in the Minneapolis area, I highly recommend checking out The Wienery. Click here if you can't see the video.
It was a happy Easter here in the Sunny South, and a gorgeous weekend in many areas so I've heard. The flowers were blooming and the skies were clear and blue. Saturday night we had a pre-Easter/birthday combination dinner with DH's family. In addition to Easter, we were celebrating my niece's and bil's birthdays. We had grilled lamb, and a red velvet birthday cake for dessert.
The fastest hands!
Happy Birthday!
Afterward we dyed Easter eggs. That was the first in years for me. It was fun, and they turned out pretty good, considering we had blue, green and 3 oranges to work with. I don't know what happened to the red and yellow.
Ready, Set, Go
I think the Easter Bunny would be proud of these!
We started off Easter Sunday by attending the Easter service with Ashley and Kevin and the kids, followed by a pleasant lunch at El Paisano. Then Ashley and I and the kids went to PetSmart to get hermit crabs, while the guys went home to check out the leaking refrigerator.
I got a short video of the crabs, named Hans (Scott's) and Cannonball (Michael's). Hans is wearing the natural colored shell and Cannonball is yellow and black with a red stripe.
I suppose you're wondering why the boys were telling the crabs to say "crab cakes". When I took pictures, instead of "say cheese" I was going to do "say crab flakes", like the crab food, but it sort of came out wrong - hmmm...what was I thinking?
Hans actually got out of the shallow dish three times, so we had to get a deeper container to prevent further escape.
"I've got a plan."
We hung out with them for the rest of the day, and had a wonderful beef stew for dinner. Ashley's Dad and Kevin's brother's family all joined us in the kitchen for dinner.
