A PLACE TO MEDITATE

Birdsong and rustling wind. Hard to believe this space is in the middle of a busy city.

 

BLOOMING BALCONY

I love old architecture and I'm a big fan of long windows and balconies. Add flowers and flags and pretty green awnings and I'm drooling over this wonderful building in downtown Annapolis. 

 

DADDY'S HERE

I guess I did take a picture of Daddy. He seemed a little aloof. But he did stay within a short distance of the family. :)

 

 

FOLLOW ME

Momma and ducklings out for a swim.

 

STOOP GARDEN

I just love blue pots. They make every plant look special.

 

SANDBAGGERS

Below is a 1890 photo from the Mystic Seaport Museum collection  of the sandbagger Annie.  These boats were the extreme sailboats of their day. Like most sandbaggers, Annie's sail plan was twice as long as her 28-foot hull. These wide, shallow boats needed crews of more than 10 to handle their huge sails and shift the 50-pound bags of sand ballast that helped keep the boats upright and gave them their name. Because they were so shallow, sandbaggers had a large centerboard, which could be lowered to prevent the boat from sideslipping downwind.

From the 1860s to the 1890s, sandbagger racing was a very popular sport from New York to New Orleans to San Francisco. With few rules, sandbagger racing was exciting, but it died out in the 1890s after yacht clubs developed "Corinthian"-amateur-regulations and measurement rules for handicapping racing yachts.

Today in Annapolis harbor are two sandbaggers, one called Bear and the other Bull. (Stockbrokers mayhap?) They are beautiful boats and use water jugs instead of 50 lb sandbags for ballast.



WINDOWS WITH VIEWS

The red horsechestnut is a hybrid of common horse chestnut A. hippocastanum and red buckeye A. pavia, cultivated for garden use. It is outstanding in the landscape and noted for its beautiful springtime display of blossoms that are quite attractive to bees and hummingbirds