somepinkflowers

seaside? still?

 seaside   salty air    seafood 
simmering soup   {{ limoncello }}   shore birds
splashing   {{ dear friends }}    sassy salsa 
solidtude    siesta    sand  seagulls
seafront    seaside sparrow
sky  serenity   seacoast  secrets
seaside still !!

haiku my heart with morning brightness

where is our balance?
Sun glowing through the window,
please, bring Sister rain...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here in florida we are having scattered wildfires waaaay early in the season ... a few butterflies made their chrysalis in my yard in january and were then frozen solid by sudden hard freezes in february... loquat trees bloomed & made fruit in january, fooled by the unusual warmth, then the freezing weather came & the wee fruits were also frozen & they turned black like little marbles and fell off the tree leaving a scurry of hungry squirrels scrambling now in april for a noon day snack ... one confused leather*back sea turtle deposited her eggs on the beach 2 months ahead of normal last month ... temperatures never stayed low enough to kill back the mosquitoes which now find their way through my open studio door... air temperatures affect ocean water temperatures which affect long term weather events such as hurricanes ... i'm just letting you know what is happening in my neighborhood ...

{{ when it comes time to Vote,
please vote for leaders
who understand Global Climate Change
is Not just about Temperature,
leaders who understand the Web of Life,
the Interrelatedness of Nature,
please do that ...
i would really appreciate it if you did. }}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

after this Florida News Update
and Personal Rant,
why not visit over here---->
with recuerda mi corazon

where we gather on Fridays
for a taste of haiku...
 

of what use are grasshoppers and why are there 10,000 feasting in my yard now

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Normally I try to feature lovely pink flowers or sweet white seashells over here on my blog.

Or maybe exotic locations, like Daytona Beach, where I have tromped about...

What you are viewing here today is the damage done by a monster*size grasshopper to one of my favorite amaryllis bulbs last season.

Not exactly a work of art during the best of times, most amaryllis bulbs could pass for an old onion.

After my new bulbs bloom during the Christmas holidays I routinely plant them outside to bloom over and over and over again in my yard the following spring.

Well, that is the plan that has served me well over the years.

The plan that worked until the monster*sized grasshoppers took over a few summers ago.

This spring, in a last ditch rescue operation, I relocated my outside bulbs into indoor pots and placed them behind a locked screen door out of hopper harm's way.

We will see, we will see...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the baby hoppers are back in full force. Inch~long black ones with high hopes of growing HUGE by eating my dear garden.

Clearly, clearly LOTS of grasshopper hanky*panky was going on end of last summer right out there under my nose.

For days I traveled far and wide to find a cure to rid my yard of the 10,000 babies. Each hour they multiplied and doubled in over-all size. No joke.

"I could sell you this poison," explained Janet at the local hardware store, pointing to the bottle on the right, "but it wouldn't kill them and you don't want it NEAR your herbs. Do you have squirrels and birds in your yard?"

"You might try that mixture," explained Jim at Home Depot, pointing to the can on the left. "Of course, it will cost you $40 plus the $55 sprayer and you might want to wear a HazMat suit. Do small children play in your yard?"

So,
right now I am looking for a group of 8~year~olds who would be eager to gather up the baby hoppers at a penny a piece. Maybe a nickle for the larger ones. I'll even spring for some rocky-road ice*cream at day's end.

Also, I am willing to throw in a jar so each volunteer can carry their collection of insects back home ... into another neighborhood ... far, far from mine.

If you cannot find me for a day or two I am over here busy, busy designing a Baby Grasshopper Collecting Girl Scout Badge which is my Plan B.

We will see, we will see...

 

sometimes i do this

 Sometimes I pick up creamy*white seashells and faded dark grey ones on the beach.

I rinse each one off gently and then let them dry in the sunshine for a month or so...

I do not even care if they are broken or Have a History because they are just like most of the folks I know ...

Better with age ...

Then I glue these babies onto planks of old wood stashed in the scary store*room down under the rickety stairs...

Then I hang them up on the weathered walls to hide a few of the hurricane*cracks where they just hang around for 18 or 20 years ... or so ... chillin' out ...

Like these ones have been doing...

{{ no fooling }}

loving my spring*time

I don't know about where you live but over here, down here, in Florida we are celebrating Spring Time.

Spring Time is when I go sit over here & dream of things to do when I am not over here dreaming.

Spring Time is when I throw open the doors to my wee studio & stir up some Arty*Projects.

Spring Time is when I throw open the doors to my wee studio & enjoy glorious Mother Nature outside, whilst still being inside my own self.

What Spring Time magic is brewing in your life?

over on the island

Over on the island things have been hopping for days & days.

Chilly waves to jump, busy beaches to walk, lonesome shells to rescue.

And that was only during the day*time...

At night the island was swinging Big Time with

• The Moody Blues
• Bill Clinton
• Tony Bennett
• Lyle Lovett
• John Hiatt

I know you are thinking:  I did not know President Clinton had a band!

But, no, Clinton spoke of global issues such as how the current trend toward expansion is not sustainable & how we All can make a difference. He spoke on Civil Rights, literacy, water issues in China and other concerns facing our spinning planet.

He spoke with a voice strong & true.

Do not get me wrong.

President Clinton & I have not always seen eye-to-eye on Certain Things but maybe age has mellowed us both, as it is apt to do. There is no denying his accomplishments. There is no pushing aside his infectious optimism.

So much dreaming in the sun & so much dancing to the music for one Spring Break. Remembering the past, planning for the future.

Needing another break, I bought these fine little roses & headed on home.

Always, always it is about Time & Natural Forces.

 

spring breaking

why i love my st augustine amphitheatre

• Well~known artist play their hearts out here, they are so happy!
• Venue under the stars could not B better. {{photo taken from cheapest seat!}}
• Yummy food like locally made crab~cakes with rich remoulade sauce.
• Volunteers, like moi, smile & help out graciously...Wellll, we do.

haiku my heart under the trees

held captive by her...
Dancing White Flower Blossom,
ghost child of some nymph

~~~~~~~~~~~~

it must be Friday!
please visit us
over here
with recuerda mi corazon  
if you have time
because
we would like it if you could...

haiku my heart at the end of the day

one postcard from me,
so far from you my heart bends.
{{ ripe, golden sun knows }}

~~~~~~~~~~~

for more haiku my heart
which takes you around the world
visit
recuerda mi corazon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

haiku my heart loves this flower

too long in coming
short~lived, extravagant bloom
my heart does leap up...

~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~for more delicious haiku my heart
with
recuerda mi corazon,
please, pop in over here~~~

~~~~

february is the month of love
and
i am so in love
with the marriage of technology & nature!
i took this photo
only moments ago
and
now i send it around the world
to you.

isn't life grand!

~~~~~~

 

in the silver toyota

Wearing soft white curls, driving along in her silver Toyota, she was clueless.

Maybe she was a momma, a grandma, but certainly an elderly daughter all grown up and sweetly aged.

Ignoring all rules of physical science she motored.

Mass, inertia, force & momentum were clearly not riding in her shiny, small car yesterday.

Without a look to the left, without a glance to the right, from a standing STOP she pulled out onto State Road 1.

Cars & trucks coming and going all around.
Cars & trucks zoom, zoom, zooming all around.

Speed limit 45mph, if one had the mind set to follow rules this far away from town.

The sound of vehicular screeching could be heard as others veered. Some swore silently behind glass. Several dropped cell phones, conversations stranded midstream.

Starbucks coffee sloshed on leather seats.
Dog pens shifted in pick-up trucks.

A wave of disbelief, followed closely by the sudden backwash of Thanksgiving, washed over many.

Wearing soft white curls, driving along in her silver Toyota, she was clueless.

Maybe her own angel*mother was looking down with a shield of Abundant Protection for us all.

Did anyone phone this in?
I have no idea.
My own iPhone sequestered away in the back seat, far from texting temptations.

I have no idea.

 

God grant me the wisdom
to hang up my keys
when the time comes.

~~~

haiku my heart with foreign films!

international!
HOLY subtitles, Batman!!
right in my wee town!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~for more delicious haiku my heart
with
recuerda mi corazon,
please pop in over here~~~

~~~~~~~
How many films can One watch in 4 days?

{{ St Augustine Film Festival }}

tourist tuesday and nights of lights in st. augustine, florida

Standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Nikon in hand, I snapped nothing.

With colors rich and vistas wide the Grand Canyon overpowered me.
I put my camera away.

I am ashamed to say I bought postcards instead.

That was years ago before I learned my camera lessons.

Now I would capture the rocks at my feet if nothing else.

The first time I saw the Mona Lisa I was shocked.
So small and  crowd~surrounded was she!

I took photos of the feet of the people pushing closer to get nearer.

Shoes so different from one another.
Shoes seeming more approachable, more manageable than the Mona Lisa.

I focused on the details I could handle.

Yes.
I have better learned my camera lessons.

Always, always it is about the light.

About the details.

About looking up.

I love the Nights of Lights in my St. Augustine town.

Two million bright~white bulbs shining from November 19- January 31.

Plum magical, indeed!

I bet you have them in your town, too. These holiday light displays.

Here every one gets into the act as if by royal decree.

Our lights are not as vast as the Grand Canyon.
Not quite as well-known as the Mona Lisa.

But if you come to St. Augustine some holiday season and meander about as the sun goes down-- quickly and completely--you will not be disappointed.

Peak in small shop windows, midsized museums and grand hotels.

Look for the lights tracing the edges of old churches and street signs.

Search for the lights escaping through glass windows and doors.

Always, always look up.

Always, always look down.
Don't miss a thing!

If you go here you will see I am not the only one who loves these Nights of Lights.

Let me know when you get to town.

For only one amaretto sour I will gladly be your enthusiastic guide.

If you can find me...
If  I am not already out capturing the light...
{{ Best call ahead. }}

 

i will grab the little blue bucket...

Quick, quick! Go grab your yellow hoodie!
We are off to the beach...

I have promised an angel wing to this one so do come with me to look.

I will grab the little blue bucket just in case our luck holds true.

Do be careful where you walk.
You best look down Now
to see the closest thing I will see to snow this year.

Sugary beach sand which, when dry, goes crunch crunch under our feet...

Yes.
Do be careful where you walk.
Ghost crabs help keep the beach neat~o and tidy from organic debris of the dead animal kind.

Ghost crabs and my sea gull friends help keep our beach in order.

Can you see the Proud Ladies sitting on the dune?
Some have been holding court right there for my entire life.

Thank goodness!

Even though I do hold some influence with the sea
today there are no angel wings.

Aren't we glad there is always Another Day.

Today we will take home some lovely beach sand
~~a wee bit~~
for One of My Little Art Projects.

Breath deep the salty air!
Let the salty air flow gently but with purpose into your nose
to keep your head clear & your body healthy.
Let the salty air flow smoothly into your heart
so you will come back here
with me.

Now give a wave to the sea. Go ahead. Wave.

Always, always give a wave to the sea
as she will always, always give a wave back to you.

 

angel wings, peter frampton and me

Sometimes I have it in me the power to see things no longer there.

Well, maybe you have it to.

At the concert last Friday night there on the stage was the teen idol all grown up into the older man one sometimes stands behind in the market.

You know the one.
Thin and wiry with cropped white hair, although some of it seems to have gone missing.

You stand there in the checkout line and look at his food on the counter then up into his eyes.

He smiles at you and maybe makes a simple, charming comment about your artichoke selection and suddenly you see something there just below the surface.

A glimpse of the boy still held tight within the man.

I love when that happens.

As the years go by I see it more and more.
Maybe I am taking the time to look deeper into older eyes.

Last Friday night on the stage, Peter Frampton played his heart out for 3 hours  on the stage at the ampitheatre.

Beyond the tent-like roof covering a nor'easter dropped water off and on throughout the night. Underneath the wet sky but protected we fell in love with Frampton's boyish ways all over again.

After 35 years.

"This is the place in the program where we use to run off the stage and do drugs," Frampton explained about 7/8ths into the concert. "You would clap and we would run back on and play some more."

"We don't do drugs anymore," he explained with his lovey accent. "We do medicine."

The somewhat aging crowd who sang along with most of his songs, cheered.

Naturally.

Frampton's hair is not the same but his voice shines through the years, his fingers on the guitar playing as smooth as ever.

A glimpse of the boy still held tight within the man, he is still having fun. Thank goodness.

I felt the glimpse of a girl within me.

Baby, I love your way.

 

 

the end of summer on pine street, here in my kitchen, florida

"Watch out for mosquitoes!" my means-well neighbor yells across the narrow street that separates our lawns.

The grass is green & satisfied after a week of rain.

"There are 17 cases of West Nile in Jacksonville already," he volunteers with such excitement I think I must have misunderstood.

More than a few feet separate our lifestyles, my neighbor and me.

He is from Up North Somewhere and feels comfortable asking me the price of everything I buy as if it is his right to do so.

"How much did you pay for that _____?"' he will ask about everything he sees me carrying into my house.

"Bum-bemleyg..." I will mumble, moving on.

I am a Southern Girl and Southern Girls would rather throw up in public than ask you questions about money.

If someone is handing out Free Money, a Southern Girl might talk a gentleman into getting her share of the Free Money for her...

"Say, honey, will you go get me some of that Free Money they are handing out over there? I am busy here making some garlic mashed potatoes," a Southern Girl might drawl.

Then the kind, polite gentleman would go get the Free Money, dreaming all the while of garlic mashed potatoes.

"Here, take mine, too!" he might add if there was some dark gravy seriously involved with the garlic mashed potaotes.

Anyway, at least that is what I would do.

My neighbor always yells out the bad news with alarming regularity.

"The Weather Channel says the tropical storm will turn into a hurricane before tomorrow night!" he announces to the world so loudly I turn and look way on down the street to see if someone else is coming around the corner, maybe riding wild horses or something equally as noisy.

Maybe he thinks I am deaf from all the times I have ignored his questions about the price of things.

Inside the back kitchen door my pine table is a Museum to Honor the Current Florida Season. The collection starts out simple enough and then sort of piles on up...

Think young child with many deep pockets...

In truth we only have 2 seasons in Florida:  The hot season and the cold season.

We have the hot muggy, rainy, hurricane, wildfire season when the grasshoppers grow large and the golden orb spiders swing wide. When the mosquitoes pool around, kiss each other and then spread West Nile all over the country side.

This season lasts almost from Easter until Christmas.

For about 30 minutes sometime in November or December the weather will suddenly shock one with delight from the unexpected coolness.

Many folks are confused by this turn of events. Many suspect nefariousness.

"What was that?" we have been known to ask after the cool pleasantness has quickly passed on by.

Then northeast Florida will have dreary, damp and cold weather until about the end on March.

Seemingly dead poison-ivy will start to green up again and well-rested, hopefully friendly snakes will start to show themselves boldly by the front door.

Then it starts all over again.
I love my Florida!

Today I am saying so long to my little summer-time treats here on Pine Street. My Museum to Summer Time Florida.

Good-by to the whelk egg strand. Bonjour to the hollow conch shell.

Time to clean out the candy jars for some yummy, pure-sugar candy corn. Time to hunt down some long-needle pine-cones and, maybe, buy some harvesty smelling, calorie-free candles.  Autumn fragrancey Pumpkin*Pie or Cinnamon*Apple so I can forget the temperature is still a melty 89 degrees outside.

Being wise to the life expectancy of mosquitoes and all, I will be staying indoors for the next few days, then I will go buy vast amounts of sugary yellow and orange candy.

"Hey, there, dear neighbor!" I will shout politely across the road on my return. "Look at all the free candy I got in trade for some of my garlic mashed potatoes!"

haiku my heart and a first flight

 
step into the world,
fresh wings drying in the sun...
{ travel far & bright! }

{{ go here for more haiku treats }}

here i am...

...still on my spiritual retreat with nature where I am so At One.
{{Go away Hurricane Irene!
Be gone, you she~devil in a wind~dress, you! }}

 

i must have been a happy baby

I do not mean to be all bragity-brag-brag but I wake up most every single morning all happy and childlike with obvious glee.

Well, if I must be off to the dentist or something like THAT then I am not very gleeful at all.

You know what I mean...

I bet you wake the same way.
Roaring to get out of the bed and On With Life...

For the past 2 months every morning, without fail, there was the smell of wildfire in the air here in my Florida studio.

What with the taste of smoke inside my mouth it darn near ruined the taste of living!

Besides being a constant worry, the smoke colored the way I saw my world.

What would I grab if I had to evacuate quickly? How much warning time would I have? What all could I fit successfully into my jeep? Where was my passport?

The state of things nearly drove me crazy until I realized I Had No Control Over Any Of It, Really.

Normally--when there are no wildfires dancing around my state, no hurricanes zooming through my neck of the woods--after making morning tea I open up my garage studio and look out onto my backyard of Benign Neglect.

Every day I am smitten anew with the color jungle~green.

So that is what I continued to do when the smoke colored my world an unappetizing yellow.

I just opened up my studio Normally and hoped for the best. Afterall, what can one do with Nature but sit back and enjoy the sometimes bumpy ride?

So,
in comes the yummy morning light and the occasional, misguided, twig~carrying house wren.

"Welcome!" I say to most who wander in, "Welcome! Come on in and get outta that unappetizing yellow smoke, for Pete's sake!"

Only twice have friendly snakes popped in for an unexpected visit. Only twice, I am thinking,  but, then, I have not looked too closely...

I would much prefer to live Large in a Perfect World but, lately, I am more & more content to live Satisfactorily in an Interesting & Somewhat Safe One.

I bet you feel the same way.