PICNIC

"I'm into all that sappy stuff--a surprise picnic, nice dinner or traveling. I'm kind of an old romantic."

~Will Estes

Roasted chicken sandwiches, with basil and bacon and mayo, a bottle of wine, grapes and my better half were the perfect ingredients for an impromptu picnic at the beach. The evening was warm, but the breeze off the water cooled us. Why is it that food always tastes so much better on a picnic? We didn't have ants to worry about, instead some very interested sea gulls had us keeping a close eye on our repast. I don't remember a lot of conversation, but a shared silence made the evening intimate. And then the sun set, putting a golden glow to the water and a perfect ending to our  dinner at the beach.

The news here lately has been encouraging re our beaches and no one is more grateful and hopeful than I. Maybe the end of this horror is near, and all of us here can let out our collective breaths and start to "get OUR lives back." It still isn't perfect, and we don't know what troubles we may face in the future from this tragedy, but for now we seemed to have escaped the worst of it. 

TIME OUT

"Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain."  ~Doug Coupland

These two little prettys were sitting on the very thin fronds of my pampas grass. They were swaying with the breeze and I wondered how they managed to keep themselves on this small, undulating perch.

GARDEN STAR

"Should I pluck it, 

My hand would defile the flower;

I offer it, as it stands, ..."

Empress Komyo, Japan

SCARLET HIBISCUS, "hibiscus coccineus"

Sometimes called the Texas Star Hibiscus, this is one of my favorites in the garden and one of our native plants here in Northwest Florida. The white variety is fairly new. Last summer I planted it close to the red and this season it is blooming in all its glory. The mix of red and white intermingling is wonderful. But the best thing is that they withstand flooding and salt water. The perfect flower for a seaside garden.

FOGGY SUNSET

Monday, I looked up from the kitchen where I was peeling onions and saw this glorious sunset. I grabbed my point and shoot, ran outside and starting taking pictures. Only problem was that as soon as I left the AC and encountered the heat and humidity, my lens fogged up. I took a couple of photos before I realized it, since I was  busy looking at the LCD screen. When I downloaded, I rather liked the effect of my foggy lens.

Once the lens defogged, I took clearer pictures. Not sure which ones I like best.

RED VELVET

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity."

  ~John Ruskin

GLADIOLA

A PLACE FOR CONTEMPLATION

"That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.:"

~Edgar Allan Poe

A favorite spot to just think...or not.

BIRTH OF BEAUTY

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

White Spider Lily (Crinum asiaticum)

This beautiful flower was growing in the sand at Ana Marie Island. It obviously loves the beach environment. The plants were numerous and thriving in this hot, humid and salty landscape. 

While we were there, tight buds exploded...

into beautiful, tropical blooms.

THE GETAWAY

"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking." 

~Earl Wilson

We decided we'd had enough of the oil spill and the emotional roller coaster we've been on since April. So we escaped for a while and visited with friends in Ana Marie Island in Bradenton Beach. Still on the Gulf, but far enough east to not have been affected by the spill...yet. It was a good decision to go, not only to see good friends, but to soothe the soul.

Two steps out the door and you're on the path to the beach.

This blue heron was not fazed by us humans and strutted the beach daily.

Which way are ya going? 

He was often joined by other shore birds as they made their way along the shore. It was nice to see them out of harms way.

Best seat in the house. It was pretty hot and this fellow found the perfect solution to keeping cool.

After a day playing in the water and lazing on the beach, the sunset brought a beautiful end to a perfect day.