Thursday, April 28, 2011

Up, Up and Away

The runway is clear.

019r you're cleared for take-off.

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Flaps up.

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Engines on.

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Moving down the runway.

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And we have lift-off.

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See you on the return flight!

Link to Project 365

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sunset Cruise

April and May are two of my favorite months on the island.  The weather is nearly perfect with highs in the 80s and little or no humidity;  the Gulf waters have warmed to a comfortable 82 degrees;  most days there is a gentle breeze blowing across the island instead of the gale force winds of the winter months; and finally it is quiet.  By this time the bulk of the snow birds have taken off for cooler climes and life on the island settles in to the slower pace of the off season.

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On one such evening a couple of weeks ago we called our good friends, whipped up a salad with some tasty grilled shrimp, packed the cooler and a couple of towels and shipped off for a late day adventure.

The southwest coast of Florida features many small, uninhabited islands.  They come and go with the seasons; their fate in the hands of mother nature. The ebb and flow of the tides and the severity of the storms that brush our coastline dictate the rise and fall of these sandy out-croppings.  Once such little island lies just off-shore of the northern most part of Marco.  It disappeared completely following hurricane Wilma but has since resurfaced and has once again become a popular spot with the locals.  It was here that we beached the boat.

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A Sunday evening in mid-April just about guaranteed that we would have the place to ourselves.  We did.

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There was beach combing and shell gathering before we settled in for a quiet dinner.  As the sun slipped ever closer to the horizon the light took on a magical, golden quality that never disappoints.

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A dozen or so pelicans were dipping and diving around us getting in one last feeding before heading home to roost.  Their antics both amazed and entertained.

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As the sun set on another beautiful spring day in south Florida I gave myself a mental pinch.  Was this real?

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Because truly it was a slice of paradise.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Farewell My Pretty

Once upon a time there lived a tree.  A beautiful little tree.  A little tree that produced the most fragrant yellow fellows whose scent permeated the land and made everyone happy.  The little tree lived in the front yard of a castle.  A castle on an island inhabited by the lovely queen and the handsome king.

Now the handsome king did not like the pretty tree.  He liked the pretty flowers, but he did not like that each and every fall it dropped it's long green leaves and spent the winter bare and exposed.  In fact, the handsome king thought the little tree looked alarmingly like deer antlers.

But the queen loved the little tree.  She thought the bright fragrant flowers were lovely.  She believed that the tree's summertime beauty more than made up for its less than desirable appearance during the winter months.  And so it went for many years.  The handsome king deferred to lovely queen but secretly he wanted to chop down the little tree while the loving queen wanted to nurture it and watch it blossom and grow.


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And then one day the unthinkable happened.  The royal toilet leaked.  The evil plumber was brought in to identify the problem.  It was a sad day at the palace when the evil plumber advised the king that the palace plumbing issue stemmed from the little tree.  A tiny camera was sent down the palace drain and determined that in an ongoing search for water the little tree's roots had invaded the palace drain pipe causing it to collapse. The little tree had to go.  Oh and that will cost you $$$$$$$ royal dollars plus $$$$ for identifying the royal problem.

The lovely queen was sad.  The handsome king was angry.  After all $$$$$$$ is a royal rip-off.  The handsome king sent for the court jester, who moonlights as an electrical contractor on the side and is all knowing.  The court jester suggested that the evil plumber be beheaded for gouging and sent for the soft spoken royal subject named Carl.  Carl spent 30 minutes assessing the damage and repairing the royal drain.  That will be $ dollars.  The handsome king was happy again.  The royal plumbing was repaired and the royal wallet remained intact.  The handsome king was so pleased that he knighted the court jester and proclaimed Carl the new royal plumber.

But alas, the lovely queen was sad.  In an effort to prevent the royal drain from future root invasion the pretty little tree had to be removed.  Her budding branches severed and left in a heap to whither and die on the castle grounds.  Today this is all the remains of the pretty, little tree.  It is awaiting the arrival of the royal grounds keeper to haul her way.

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Farewell pretty little tree.  Farewell fragrant yellow flowers.  The lovely queen misses you and shall remember you always.

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The end.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Slacker

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Forgive me readers, for I have sinned.
I have failed to write a blog post for 13 days.
I admit it.  I am a slacker.

Or perhaps suffering from blog overload or burnout.
Whatever the cause I just couldn't do it.  I couldn't write another word or process another photo.
My camera sat idly on the shelf.
Rusting away in the salt air.
The end result  a of lack of interest.

By intentionally skipping a couple of days of blogging I unintentionally shut down the process entirely.
At times I thought I was done with it.
But I couldn't bring myself to completely sever the chord.
The Kid had begun to nag, at least it seemed so to me.
"What did my wife write today" he would ask?
It was an effort to motivate and nudge my complacent self off of the couch and away from the endless stream of Lifetime movies I was inhaling.
In my ears it was a reminder that I had failed.

And then, yesterday, Easter morning, the veil lifted ever so slightly.
I reacquainted myself with my camera.  (It was miffed by the rejection and my new found devotion to Lifetime movies, but we're cool now. Cameras are a forgiving breed.)
I fought through the cobwebs and located the password to Life in Color.  It still worked.
And then I wrote.

I think I'm over it.
Whatever it was.
It feels good to be back.

And Project 365...
I really screwed it up.
In fact you could say I failed.
I'll have to figure out what to do with that project.
But it will have to wait..

There's a movie on Lifetime that's calling my name.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter - Island Style

When the shrill ring of the alarm clock woke me at 5:00 a.m. this morning I was questioning the soundness of the decision made earlier in the week.  You see we have established an Easter tradition since moving to the island.  Each spring we attend the sunrise service on the beach sponsored by local churches and the Marriott hotel.  We haven't missed a year that I can remember and we always go with our good friends and neighbors D & S.  This year we all agreed to put a new spin on our well established tradition....we attended by boat.

Going by sea meant we had to leave an hour earlier than normal.  Did you know that it is really dark at 5:30 a.m.?  Well it is. We were hoping to catch a  little daylight before leaving the lights from the condos behind, making it easier to avoid those pesky channel markers.

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This is what it looked like by the time we anchored in front of the Marriott.  Upon arrival we were sitting approximately 100 yards off shore virtually alone.  But by the time the service started we were among a friendly crowd of 25 - 30 boats.

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I realize it's hard to tell from the photo but the crowd on the beach was estimated to be around 5,000.  No, that's not a type-o.  The average attendance for Marco's sunrise service on the beach is anywhere from 5 - 6 thousand.  Honest.

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The Captain (who really needs a haircut) is not going to be happy when he sees this one.  But that's okay, he'll get over it.  He always does.

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Breakfast was served in short order and we all settled in to enjoy the service.

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As the sun rose I couldn't help but notice the beautiful light reflecting off of our nearest neighbor.

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As Easter's go this one was a pretty good one.

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It was also the 56th wedding anniversary for our friends.  Congratulations D & S and thanks for sharing your day with us.

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I'd say the morning was just about perfect.

Happy Easter.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Spray Park Fun

Our little island has a wonderful community park.  (I'm a little prejudiced here but that's okay, I'm also right.)  Included on the grounds is a spray park that's fun for children of all ages.  Miss A and G-man wasted no time shedding their clothes and joining in on the action.

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Miss A was a little leery of the water jets on her last visit but this year, as on the beach, she showed no fear.

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The spray increases and decreases from each nozzle in random patterns.  The fun is not knowing just when that little drizzle will turn into a full force stream of water.

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We have found that a visit to the spray park is perfect on a day when the wind is high or you just a need a break from the beach.  Combined with a stop at Kids' Cove play area it's a morning of non stop activity.

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But adults beware.

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You may find yourself wanting to get in on the action and do the spray park happy dance too!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Time Passages

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As time goes by, our friends, both old and new, are gathering in south Florida.  Some are testing the waters; some have taken the plunge and become snow birds. I still don't like that word, but I love spending a relaxing afternoon and evening catching up with good friends.

It was February 1977.  I was a baby myself at the ripe old age of 25 with a lot of very dark hair and a six-week old infant.  I stood in the driveway of our tiny rental house in PA watching quietly as the moving van drove off with my life packed neatly in it's rear trailer.  It was headed for Dansville, NY and The Kid and I were bound for a new adventure.  Once the snow melted we began to venture outside and explore our new home.  It didn't take long for us to fall in with a rowdy group from the Dansville Presbyterian Church and life long bonds were forged.

And so it was that on Thursday we found ourselves venturing north to St. Pete,  to visit with a couple from our Dansville days.  We found M & J eleven stories up in a down-town condo with killers views of the bay and Marina.  They are living the city life in Florida and loving every minute of it.  Just blocks from the University of South Florida their neighborhood is filled with restaurants, shops, museums, and waterfront activities all within a short walk.  It was an interesting and extremely appealing twist on Florida living.

The day passed far too quickly as we slipped, oh so easily, into conversation that could have taken place 30 years ago.  The only thing missing were the  five other couples fondly known as "The Common."

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A Conversation

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Miss A:  Pappy, why are those men in your yard?

Pappy:  What men honey?

Miss A:  Those men outside.

Pappy:  (Peeking out the front window.) Those are my yard men.  They're here to cut my grass.

Miss A:  Why you not cut your own grass?

Pappy:  Hesitates, one second too long.

Miss A:  Pappy (thoughtful pause), is it because you're too old?

Link to Project 365

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Water Boy

While his sister was frolicking in the the surf the G-man spent his time on the beach hauling water.

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Over and over again he ran to the water, empty bucket flapping along behind.

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He filled the bucket with just the right amount of water and carefully hauled it ashore to a predesignated spot known only to him.

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At times the water was replaced with sand but the process was the same.  Run. Dump. Tote.

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When you are two and your legs are barely the length of a long ruler a lot of energy is expended with each trip to the water's edge.

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A little boy, a bucket, sand and an ocean filled with water just for the taking.  Good times.

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Don't you just know that's why God created beaches.


Link to Project 365.  (Yes, it has been updated.)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Surf Runner

Where on earth did the last seven days go to?  They vanished, in a flash, just like the ice cream in my freezer and the cookies in my pantry.  They were glorious days filled giggles, and laughter, splashes and crashes; sticky hugs and chocolate kisses.

It appears we have beach bums and water rats for grandchildren.  Which means we didn't waste any time getting to the sand and the surf.

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The G-man waded in the shallows filling his buckets with water and hauling load after load to higher ground.  Over.  And.  Over.  And.  Over.  Again.  But more on that later.

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We had something last week that we usually don't have in the southern Gulf of Mexico.  Waves.  Wind and high surf prevailed for several days and Miss A was in hog heaven.  While other young children stood timidly at the water's edge clinging to the hand of the nearest adult, afraid to venture into the crashing waves our Miss A didn't hesitate for a second.

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She ran.  She splashed.

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She dodged.  She jumped.

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And she ran some more.

She kept this pace up for over two hours.


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And then she went home and jumped in the pool.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  I think I'll go take a nap.