More Marina Moments

That pathetic figure between the boats is poor little Sunny, gingerly making her way on the slippery dock while it bounced like a ride at the county fair.


Here is Mr. Sunny demonstrating his perfect balance and total poise.

And the skipper who is not a bit afraid of falling in the drink (but might be afraid of his wife seeing this photo) while the first mate looks on in total boredom. Must have seen these antics before.

Providence

As it turns out I am getting a little computer time. The Biltmore has remote access and DH's laptop (from work that he brought along to do the bullets for his laser presentation) has built in remote capability. So, here we are in Providence. I am NOT used to this humidity anymore. But, I really think Jeanne will like being a student here once she gets settled in at the RISD. Good news!!! It looks like we have found a good residential situation for her. This really is PROVIDENCE. Other things we have done is go to see Dave's (my brother) sail-boat. We had planned to be his "crew" for his biggest race of the year. But, the race was called off due to inclement weather. We also took a little side trip up to the area in MA where we used to live. The pictures are: 1)The house we used to live in (big old thing-we took a quick snap from the car window-didn't want the current owners to think we were stalking them or something), 2)The skipper and his first mate. That was the first time I'd seen a dog in a life jacket, and 3)The Marina where Dave keeps his baby..er..boat.

Blogging from the back yard

Sunny's tips for picking cherries:



The prettiest cherry will always be just out of reach.

The birds know which ones are pretty too.

If you manage to get that pretty one, plan on finding out that a bird already took a bite from the side away from your line of vision.

Some of the cherries are sticky coming off the tree. Probably from bird saliva.

When the perfect cherry is in your hand, put it in your mouth instead of the bucket. Chances are it will get dropped to the ground anyway.

More cherries should be eaten than dropped in the bucket.

The bucket is most likely to spill when it is pretty full.

People who are a little afraid of heights should not answer the cell phone from the top rung of a ladder.

Getting a dizzy spell at the top of a ladder is a thought provoking experience.

Although there are plenty of trees, the birds want the one you are in.

The birds resent your presence in "their" tree.

They are scared enough of humans that they won't even come get the spilled cherries under the tree. So, when you move the ladder, gather up the rejects from the ground to toss in the flower bed for them. Otherwise, they will WATCH you, and not in a friendly way.



Quit before the sight of cherries is revolting.

It is absolutely quitting time when black bugs are noticed on the leaves.

The total experience isn't quite the pits, but, it is no bowl of cherries either.

Justin is Back

His comment: "It was a good experience but not life-changing or anything." Take into consideration that this was not his first time out of the country. Also, that he was never one to express exorbitant amounts of visable enthusiasm. For example, when his favored team won the world series after 86 years, this avid fan (who had not missed a single televised game and had been absolutely living for this moment) murmered softly, "This is the happiest day of my life." That was the extent of his reaction. Meanwhile his cousin Mossflower called us SCREAMING from the Red Sox Nation. No coherent words. Just screaming. We knew it was her and understood what she meant. She then called her sister's home in Canada and for all I know may have screamed at every one she knows or is related to. That's how she expresses herself!




Here is the weary world traveler, relaxing on a family kayak outing this afternoon.

The "Green" Desert

A decade and a half or so ago we moved "out West" from "back East". It was a welcome move. I had never adjusted to the weather in the Northeastern seaboard. We arrived in what was touted as "the greenest time of the year" (approximately this time of year). To which I replied, "Yeah, right!" There was simply no green to be seen! Unless you counted that greenish brown look. It took a couple of days to begin to appreciate the high desert's own special stark and rugged beauty. (Translation: It was so different and strange looking that we were almost in a state of shock. But it wore off in a couple days as we got used to it and the area started to grow on us)

By our one year anniversary, in the midst of blessing God that we had landed in such a great spot, I found myself commenting on how lovely and green the desert was this time of year! Now I take special care to notice the green every Spring and give it a "green" rating based on previous Springs. This year it was late but above average. Of course, by now I am fairly expert at finding what green there is year round. Not the vivid greens of the East of course, but, anyone can see that green!


Here is a random shot of desert Spring "green." I specifically took it of an average looking area just so it won't seem like I'm always bragging about the scenery around here. I admit, you do have to kind of look for the good parts.


It doesn't show in the top picture, but frequently mixed in with that desert "green" is large reddish brown areas which come from this little weed that tends to grow in patches.


It is probably a nuisance, but, so prettily graceful when the wind blows on it-what's not to love?