A Photo A Week: Halloween

This is the Nancy Merrill challenge, and this week’s theme is Halloween.

I was walking around the house with camera in hand and my great-granddaughter asked what I was looking for.  I told her something that represent Halloween for us.  She said we could take down all the hundreds of pumpkins and spiders and web like things, that this was the only decoration we needed.  It has a cat and a pumpkin and that is enough.

Then she took it off the wall and hung it on the door for me to photograph.  What can I say it is the perfect decoration.

We also went to our favorite pumpkin patch to get pumpkin and apple cider donuts, a pumpkin and some memories.  Now that is pretty close to perfect.

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A Photo A Week Challenge: Recreation

This is for the Nancy Merrill weekly challenge.

My family has discovered and embraced lake life.  From hanging out on the beach in summer to ice fishing in winter it is a very large part of their lives.  Getting home from work often means driving past the lake and seeing what it looks like today, checking the radar to see can we get some time in on the boat.  From early spring to late fall it is all about the boat.

The lake they live near is a nice size private lake that is over 200 acres large.  At the deepest part it is about 40 feet deep. There are a couple of large beaches for residents and quite a few small beaches for private use only.  The lake supports about a dozen different types of fish as well as a fair amount of migratory water fowl.

All summer long there are events on the waterfront for boaters and non boaters.  Summer camp for children is at the beach and lessons are offered in sailing and boating. All sorts of water craft take advantage of the mostly calm waters from kayaks to paddle boards to canoes and jet ski’s.

I think we are quite lucky that the lake has become an important part of so many lives.  It gives family a ready event to get out on the lake and watch 4th of July fireworks or a quiet concert on a weeknight. Not to mention the winter of boat repair and prep that has become the new normal.

 

 

 

 

A Photo A Week Challenge: Literary Reference

This is the Nancy Marrill weekly chalenge for this week.

What a delightful and difficult challenge.  Somehow I instantly thought of the cats as subjects for this challenge ( I have no idea why).  Then I found the book I was looking for.  Next step try hearding cats.  Well, I got 2 out of 3 to cooperate, sort of. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did trying to have the lions behave.

Florida Distillery

On Amelia Island we found a distillery that makes a variety of alcohol, not at all like moonshine, but a small operation that has only been around for a couple of years.  So on a bright sunny morning we decided to go in for a tasting.  What a great way to start a day of touristy activity.

Never having been in a distillery before, I was pleasantly surprised.  Marlin & Barrel make some very unique products that are not widely distributed, yet.  Very much like a craft beer they use local Florida product as much as possible.  Each bottle I saw had the above saying about finding your Spirit.

The grapefruit cello is made from Florida grown fruit as is the orange cello, at this time no lemon cello, but who knows.  This has a wonderful mild taste and the grapefruit cello mixed with a sparkling white wine is perfectly delicious.

With various flavored vodka on shelves everywhere, this is quite interesting.  First not a potato vodka but molasses flavored with smoked pepper.  In a Bloody Mary this adds a certain amount of heat from the pepper.  Lovely.

Other products are their rums and some souvenirs.  Very much a hand operation with filling bottles and putting on labels with the batch number on the label!  They have plans for more product and only a few places to purchase their product.  This is not a place to miss.  I consume about 4 drinks a year and I purchased what should be a 3 year supply and can’t wait to go back for more.

 

 

 

A Photo A Week Challenge: History

This is for the Nancy Merrill weekly challenge.

Recently I havve been lucky enough to visit Natural History Museum’s in 2 different cities.  Here are my contributions. Thanks.

 

Maritime Museum on Amelia Island

I was lucky enough to have a friend staying on this island for a while, and following my theory to say “Yes” whenever possible I wound up here.  More posts will follow about the wonderful things here, but this was  one of the most delightful experiences there.  A few of us felt the need to explore and happened on this museum.  It is located on 2nd Street in Fernandina Beach, FL.

This is a non-profit, and is owned and operated by U.S. veterans.  There is a small fee ($5.00, at this time) to tour the facility and it is a work in progress.  They have been open for only a short period of time and it would seem only good things will  come of this.  Make sure to add this to your list of places to visit.

The displays are well done and cover a great deal of  time.  Some of the early items are things recovered from the ocean floor.  Among the coins, silver, anchors, tools and dishes, one of my favorites was a 40+ carat rough cut emerald.  That alone could lead to many stories of how it came to be there.

This goes from the early days of merchant ships to more current maritime activity.  On display are the uniforms of brothers  and a father and son who are all from the island and served in the military.

We were very lucky to have another visitor come and join our tour. There is a special display that is still being set up and this gentleman gave a portion of the display for exhibit here.  It is an actual large piece of metal from the Arizona that  sunk in Pearl Harbor.  He was in Hawaii about 20 years ago and was in the right place at the right time to have been able to have a piece he took off the ship in his personal collection.

I can hardly wait until I have an opportunity to be in this part of Florida again in the near future.  This will be one of my first stops when I arrive.

A Photo A Week Challenge: Tender Moments

This is for Nancy Merrill’s weekly challenge.

This great photo could easily grace cards for many years.

We all love the ones with the children who are crying and screaming, but this one is just delightful.

A Photo A Week Challenge: Vibrant

The entire world is the palette for this challenge, which makes it very difficult.  So I looked through photos to see where the most vibrant color jumped out at me.  In my collection it was the photos taken in my favorite quilt store in Anchorage, Alaska.

Here is a small sample of the fabrics in the store and a quilt that is one way to show off those vibrant colors. Many of the fabrics they carry are exclusive to Alaska and can only be purchased at stores in that state.  I hope you enjoy.

Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago

That name does not automatically sound like a fun-filled adventurous day. This museum goes back to 1893 and the World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. The museum is named after Marshall Field (yes, as in the store named for him as well) who, as an early supporter donated 1 million dollars to this venture. While these are a few facts about the place, it is indeed an exciting and often magical place to visit.

 

The museum is near the lakefront and downtown on what is now called the Museum  Campus.  This whole area has become quite a lively place to visit almost any day as locals and tourists go from spot to spot.  The Field is very large and the items on display are only a very small fraction of what they have stored, as is the case with many museums.

 

Over the years there have been a number of traveling exhibits that are as monumental as the building itself.  The first that comes to mind was the King Tut exhibit where people stood in line for hours just waiting to get in the building! And yes, it was worth the wait, but will probably never go on tour again.

Currently there are a couple of special exhibits.  One is on dinosaurs and is appropriate for most ages to view, but a little scary for some.  One of the ones we went to is on Tattoo’s and is for adults.  With the societal changes, it is now the norm to see a young man or woman with a full sleeve tattoo. This exhibit goes back to early days of tattoo and the reasons why people did them.

 

It is a very full day just trying to see some of the special items on display. This comes highly recommended as a great place to take the entire family.

A Photo A Week Challenge: Off-Center

I rather think this is my life.  I do believe some people are meant to be symmetrical and some are not.  I am in the latter group.

I find things more pleasing to my eye if they are just a little bit off-center.

While the bird is centered in this photo, the branches , being off-center almost act as a frame for the bird.

I have the people off-center here which give them more importance in the picture.

I know that when it comes to hanging paintings on the wall or creating art, I again go for the off-center.  When making quilts I find that I like the change it gives to what might be a traditional quilt.  So I have added a quilt that is off-center.