South Beach Love

Were able to spend about three hours in South Beach, Miami before our flight home last week. It was hot as hell, but really pretty, at least what I was able to see. I would love to go back for a long weekend maybe, sans kids. The buildings were charming and the colors vibrant. The beach is gorgeous. I was bracing for toplessness and shock and awe from my boys, but the only topless sunbather we saw in our short visit was about 7. Lol. From what I read it is definitely not a place for children after dark, and sometimes even before, but our short trip was merely PG. Gabe wondered out loud if one couple in a full body embrace on a towel were having sex?? No!! I replied although I did do a quick double take just to make sure. :0

I am linking with wordless wednesday.http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/.

The Hairy Eye Ball

I am entering The Pioneer Woman's photo contest theme "Black and White". Everyone should check her picks out, just for inspiration. Note to self: start taking more black and whites. They are gorgeous. www.thepioneerwoman.com.

Palm Love

We are back from our week long trip to the land of palm trees and beautiful azure skies. I can't help but feel a little smothered by suburbia and what is life. Last week we snorkeled, swam, para-sailed, visited Key West and explored a lot of little beaches along the way. Today I will take Donovan to get his braces off, buy new hair clippers and cut Peyt's hair, visit the oncologist with Mom, cook, clean, drive, make appointments for Dr.'s appointments, and then badger kids to get working on their Summer reading and schoolwork. It's all good though. :) Life is good today.

Sunny with Shadows

We are back from a trip to the Florida Keys. Lovely:).

Skywatch Friday

I took this picture as the sun was sinking low off the front tip of High Island off the coast of CT. I love how I can identify each person from their own unique silhouette. Happy skywatching today! Be sure to check out the rest. http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Some Scenes of Summer

Just a mish-mash of photos from front yard frisbee to seaglass hunters. We are looking forward to one more vacation this Summer, before it all ends. These are a few photos I have taken over the past couple weeks. I love the endless opportunities to take pictures that warm weather allows. So for now we will enjoy the moment, and our flip-flops. Happy Day!

Kayaking High Island

Have a lovely weekend.

I am liking the painterly quality of this edit along with a little HDR magic.
I am going with Cone Flowers for this meme. I just can't get enough of photographing these!

Skywatch Friday

We are baking in an oven today. All of us, together. Crazy oppressive heat. I took this photo last Sunday. I love how you can see , my three boys in the background along with my brother in law and niece. We had our second college visit that day with our "rising senior" daughter (that is the lingo), to CT College. There are no scheduled tours on Sundays so we walked the campus on our own and then headed down the road to Rhode Island and an afternoon on the beach. I snapped this photo of her playing with her little cousins sand bucket. A little regression maybe? http://skyley.blogspot.com/ if you would like to check out skies around the globe. Enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday aka My Sunday Best

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/.
Taken Sunday.
This was my fav photo of the week of my niece and four children playing in the sand on the beach. I love the composition and the focus on her and how they are all doing their own thing. :)
http://throughaphotographerseyes.blogspot.com/.
Also, linking with A Rural Journal, a new fav of mine. Here is my Sunday Best. :)

Saturday's Flowers

Tiger Lilies! I think my yard is in a different zone from the rest of our town. My Tiger Lilies just came into bloom this week. It's very odd. My next door neighbor's have been in bloom for three weeks now. Funny.

Black and White

One for black and white wednesday at : http://www.thelongroadtochina.com/.

Her black and whites this week are beautiful. Just look.

Cardio and Cone Flowers

Last night I was all set to head off to a Zumba class, which I love. It's cardio for sure, but it just feels like your dancing. It is so much fun, and the time flies. But, my flower beds are out of control with crab grass. I just couldn't justifying driving to go exercise when weeding is such a work out in itself.(But not nearly as fun):( My butt was killing me when I was done for the night, and I still have several hours of potential exercise out there in my very own front yard. So, since I was hanging around the yard I decided to take some photographs of the most photogenic flowers ever: Cone Flowers. It really is hard to take a bad picture of them. The center is so three dimensional it just pops. And then when a bee hops in the composition it is nearly perfect. Thanks Mr. Bee.
Enjoying Wordless Wednesday.
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Honey Bee on a Wild Island Rose

As the Sun was Setting

I took these photos near sunset on our short but sweet vacation last week. I took so many photos that my editing possibilities are nearly endless. How fun! And, such a creative outlet for me. Thank you picnik.com. I am linking up with The Creative Exchange todayhttp://www.lgordonphotography.com/ . Check it out and be inspired.

Just Jump

Tiger Lilies are heavenly

Just back from a short bittersweet, but heavenly escape. I spent the past four days on an island with my family. The Tiger Lilies were in full bloom everywhere. I took these pictures as the sun was setting. My Mother was hospitalized at nearly the last minute and unable to make the retreat with us, a trip she wanted so babdly to experience. I spent the days between bliss and horror in my mind, enjoying my surroundings and children in an absolutely lovely setting. It was wonderful, but I was constantly battling to stay in the moment and cherish the present and not let my mind wonder to my Mother's inevitable outcome. Terminal cancer is mean, and steals the quality of "sweet time" that we all hope we have enough of. I walk an invisible line of sympathy, empathy and an inability to deny the inevitable. It is so tiring. I ache all over.

But, it is life and in heaven I believe. And, I think we just may have experienced a little bit of heaven this week. I can't wait to share more photos here on my blog and with Mom. :)

Sparklers!

I love this photo of my boys and friends shirtless, fresh from a swim lighting sparklers. You would think they had never lit one before in their 10-12 year old lives. Right after I clicked this photograph they ran through the green grass screaming and squealing with glee, waving their tiny blazing torches. God bless America.
http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/ shadow shot sunday

"Bees do it"

As I took these macro shots I found myself humming Cole Porter's darling love song, Let's Fall in Love. Last Friday eve, my 17 year old daughter secured home for the night with our youngest boys, we went to see the newest Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. It was a very cool look back in time at what it was like for like minded artists in Paris in the earlier 1900's. You feel like you have spent a week in Paris after seeing this movie. Which was nice for us since we never made it there for our "20th" wedding anniversary this year. :( ( the cost of flights are crazy!) Last night I finished reading A Move able Feast by Hemingway, a memoir of his time in Paris. He too is featured in the Woody Allen flick. These visual and literary feasts I have been devouring lately have been very satisfying. And then, I am in my own front yard with my camera and voyeuristic tendencies, trying to get a macro photo of a flower or bee and stumble upon these two couples. Lol. Porter is right. Bees do "do it".
Linking with Pink Saturday http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/, and Flowers on Saturday.