Wind In Your Sails: Part I

We're ready for adventure and eight days of sailing fun in the fall of 2009! Three couples (Deb/Pete, Judy/Mitch, Chere/Fred) are chartering a 46' catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. Click here for a slideshow of our planned home-away-from-home. Pete and I and another couple, Bill and Claudia, chartered a monohull sailboat about five years ago and had a wonderful time. Wanting to return to the BVI's in the near future, I asked Chere and Judy if they would be interested in sharing the adventure. After checking with their spouses, they responded with a quick "Yes!". I was online checking out the available fleet before you could say "Arghhhh".

Departing the Moorings base in Roadtown Tortola, we'll make sail for Norman Island. From there we'll travel to Peter Island, The Baths on Virgin Gorda, Saba Rock, The Bitter End Yacht Club, and around the Atlantic side of Tortola to famous Cane Garden Bay, Jost Van Dyke, and Sandy Split. I'll write more about our itinerary and tales about past sailing charters in future posts.

Chartering is a great way to travel and take in all the sights. Your hotel travels with you and all the comforts of home are readily available as you move around picturesque Caribbean islands. Is there an island in the distance worth checking out? Set your sails, kick back, and enjoy the ride. Do you feel like snorkeling? Drop your sails, pick up a mooring ball, and dive off the back transom. The gentle rocking of the boat provides the most restful sleep imaginable. Star gazing is a must after a day of exploring, and rum is plentiful everywhere in the islands.

Can you tell we're excited? Check out Chere and Judy's blogs and join in the fun as we prepare for our adventure.

One, two...three?

After nearly a week since our last visit to the pond in Summer Grove, Darlene and I were anxious to return today. We were excited to see the goslings and take photos of their growth over the past week. With bread in hand (ignoring the posted sign about not feeding the geese), we stood on the bank of the pond waiting for the geese to arrive. Oh no! When the baby goslings arrived with their doting parents, one of the three goslings was absent.

The survival rate of goslings is quite high. Adult geese have very few predators and often live long lives. Humans are the greatest threat to both adults and babies. Most likely the gosling was plucked by a hawk, cat, or dog. I feel quite protective about the remaining babies. I hope they'll be safe from harm. Click on the photo below to see a slideshow of the growing goslings.

Miss Priss' Birthday

Chere, our fellow scrap Diva reached her 51st birthday milestone last week. Four of the five Divas gathered for our usual Scrap Club and to celebrate Priss' birthday. Pam, our fifth Diva and resident baker was absent from Scrap Club so she may spend a long weekend visiting family. But that didn't stop her from baking a Princess cake and Court for Chere. Now that's a true friend! Our scrap challenge this month was to make a mini album using our newest AccuCut album die. I was completely devoid of ideas. My initial thought was to make an album of all my nature photos but after two false starts, I finally landed on an idea I liked. I will post photos of my album when I get it finished. Next month's challenge is cards.

Here are a few photos of Chere's birthday celebration. We love you Priss!

Lazy Days of Summer

According to the calendar, we're still in the spring season. According to the warm temps, summer has already arrived in Georgia. That means lazy days in the pool, water-logged kids, and piling on the sun-screen. With Jamie's baby bump already showing, the pool provides her with a much needed respite from rising temps. Click here for a photo slideshow of the big and little kids playing in the pool.

Shy...or Sensitive?

I tend to humanize animals, making them talk or exhibit emotions we humans do. Pete and I have loads of fun putting words in the mouths of our fur children (we don't get out much). Looking at this photo, I wonder if the gosling is simply shy... or if the drop of water dangling from its bill is a lone tear. Most likely the gosling just finished taking a drink. But it's more fun to imagine it is camera shy. Actually he reminds me of our 2-year old grandson, Jameson, after he's been scolded for being naughty (which is a LOT of the time).

Natural High

The forecasted rain held off until after lunch today. Actually, it sprinkled rather than rained. We are still in a drought and need rain desperately. Darlene and I went to our second favorite pond and walked around to see what we could find. Almost as soon as we hit the trail, we spotted a butterfly flitting along the path in and out of the tall grasses. Sadly, the maximum life span of a butterfly ranges from about 4 days to 2 weeks. This means that the butterfly we saw last week is most likely dead. That's a bummer. Just as with people, females generally live longer than males. As it should be.

Here's another interesting fact... a butterfly drinks nectar through its tongue which resembles a straw. Wow! I'm impressed that I remember this stuff from science class. Which means I did NOT sleep through my senior year. And speaking of my senior year, this month marks 35 years since my high school graduation. Thank goodness I'm not a butterfly!

Our next find was a weed with an amazingly vibrant bloom. I'm no expert in the field of flowerology (yeah, I made that up) and I often have a difficult time distinguishing a weed from an flower. As I've said before, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Duck, Duck...Goose!

Not long ago, the appearance of geese in a neighborhood pond was unusual. So rare were these birds, whose populations had been decimated by human exploitation, that the mere sight of one was cause to celebrate. Now, however, Canada geese are considered problems in many communities, and feelings have turned against them. My photo buddy Darlene and I spend many lunch hours at the pond in Summer Grove. Ignoring the sign that implores park visitors to refrain from feeding the geese, we secret in bits of stale bread or bagels in order to lure them closer to our cameras. Imagine our excitement last week when we spotted two adults and their three yellow goslings. During the second year of their lives, Canada Geese find a mate. They are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives. If one is killed, the other may find a new mate. Humans should take note of this.

The doting parents will protect and nurture their tiny goslings until fall. Then the young birds will migrate with their parents so that they may learn the traditional migratory patterns. In the meantime they will provide hours of photography material for our practice.

Click on the photo below to view a slideshow of more baby pictures. Say "Cheese"!

Storms & Insects

Today's weather has been a mixed bag. This is typical for Georgia. Right in the middle of Dancing With The Stars finale (go Kristi Yamaguchi!), lightening hit closeby and knocked out power temporarily. I panicked. Whoa...deep cleansing breaths. The power quickly restored itself within seconds and all is well within my little world. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Okay...that's a stretch. Just don't mess with my favorite TV programs, especially during season finale time. Right now it is storming like crazy and the sky is an eerie yellow and black. Rain is coming down so hard I cannot see the back yard. It sure makes me happy to be inside the safety of our cozy home. Fortunately the storms held off until afternoon. Therefore, my photo buddy Darlene and I took our daily noon time stroll around the lake to see if we could spot anything unusual. Here's what we found.

P.S. The final photo was taken from our back deck as the storm was approaching. I tried to catch a photo of lightening but retreated to the comfort of our bedroom. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Besides...if lightening struck and I fried, who would feed my fur babies the the morning?

Thistle

Yes, I know thistle is a weed. According to Wikipedia, thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles all over the plant - on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation to protect the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. For most of us, weed is a nasty four letter word that stands for the pesky vegetation that invades the pristine beauty of our lawns. However, some weeds can be very pretty. For a weed, and one with prickles, thistle can be very beautiful. So can wild daisies, honeysuckle, and a variety of other flowering weeds. Remember...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Click on the thistle blossom photo to view a slideshow of more wildflowers.

Mother's Day

If you're a mother, I hope you had a memorable Mother's Day. If you're not a mother, I hope you remembered that special someone in your life who exemplifies the embodiment of motherhood. My Mother's Day was exceptional, beginning with presents from my loving husband and fur children, to a surprise floral bouquet from my step-daughter Kelly and her family, and dinner from my daughter Jamie. Upon waking in the morning, Pete took me by surprise by a display of photographic equipment, with the main event being a shiny new Nikon D300. Woo hoo! I'm excited to give it a try as soon as I program all the settings. In the meantime, I still enjoy my first love (not to be confused with my everlasting love, Pete) - my beloved Nikon D200. Check out the latest nature photos I took yesterday and today by clicking here. Included in the nature photos are shots of the floral bouquet that the Engstroms sent to me for Mother's Day. Enjoy the delicious eye candy!