Sunday Morning Haze

Well, for the second morning in a row, my faithful dog woke me earlier than I wanted. My bad this time though--I forgot to check the water dish and it was empty, which is never good. She was right to let me know of my shortcoming.

I also got to experience the sultry, damp morning that it is outside after the rains of last night as I took her out for her morning walk.

All day yesterday it seemed as if it was going to rain. The air was heavy and damp. I wished it would rain to cut through the closeness in the air. Well it did finally rain, but the situation outside was no better this morning--a damp smell of decaying plant matter fills the air--which must have been hovering near the dew point. The haze holding the smells and dampness was everywhere enveloping me in its grasp.

The grass was wet with the rain and I slipped on a patch going down an incline. I didn't fall, but I certainly could have.

I think it is going to be a great day.


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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States

Dogs and Saturdays

I don't understand Makayla, my Keeshond, sometimes. Like this morning for example.



I wanted to sleep in and enjoy waking up slowly and leisurely in the morning in bed. Maybe I think I had visions of even sleeping in until 8 or 9 am.

Makayla, however, wanted to play and made sleeping impossible. I looked at the clock which was blinking 6:30 and realized that on a normal morning, the dog would be crawling back onto the bed for a few extra minutes/hours of shut-eye.

Why not today, I wondered?

Alas, it was not to be--and for some reason, she has been glued to me, it seems, for the past hour.

I think she has missed me and she somehow senses that today, I am going to be around at least for the morning. And it really isn't so bad to have a dog that wants to be part of rather than a spectator of life.



I know some people who probably need to engage a bit more.

And so the weekend is off and running. I'm already on my third cup of coffee and the dog is walked, fed, and has two doggie treats in her.

Maybe I'll sit here and watch the Today Show for some amusement.


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Thunderbirds

Which one doesn't belong?


A few weeks ago, when we visited Monticello, the Thunderbird collectors club was having a car show--and Patrick and I had the opportunity to see more vintage Thunderbirds in one place than we have ever seen before.




All of these convertibles make me want to hit the open road and drive down Route 66.

Built before interstate highways, these cars represented the ultimate freedom of the late 50's--a big engine and a fast car.


It was fun to see all of them lined up--ready to hit the road, which they did by the time we departed Monticello--it must have been really something to be along the road watching one after another of these classics motor by.


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Location:Monticello, Virginia

Beaches and Long Weekends

I considered sand this weekend while was at Ocean City. I remembered that during my recent vacation, we had to deal with precious little sand--because there were few beaches.

Ocean City is blessed with a long, wide, very sandy beach. Sand gets everywhere. Especially into places one wonders how it got there.

Much of that sand is kicked up by the tide and the surf crashing against the sandy beach--but still even walking along or over the beach--sand gets to be a nuisance.

Still--I love sand. I love beaches, too.

I was reminded how incredibly hot sand becomes during the daytime as it bakes in the summertime sun. Hot enough to blister the feet of small children. And then, remarkably, even remaining in the sun it begins to cool by mid-afternoon to a nice, soothing warmth.

I have seen that sand comes in many colors: black, gray, reddish, sand, and even pure white like the beaches of Sunset Key in Florida near Sarasota. It also comes in many textures--ranging between a very fine powder and very coarse.

Sand, next to water, may be the most voluminous substance on the planet--although I am not sure that this is fact, I sense it must be almost true.

And like water, sand can be a friend or a killer.

So as I sat on my beach chair firmly in the sand this past weekend thinking about the words to a song that goes--"suntanned toes tickling the sand," I realized that for all of its faults--I love sand. Sand goes hand-in-hand with long weekends, frozen drinks melting in my hand, and the sound of the waves crashing relentlessly against the shore.

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Turtles of Tobago Cays

During our recent vacation, some of the most fun we had was snorkeling

with the turtles in Tobago Cays. Tobago Cays is a collection of small islands at the southern end of the St Vincent Grenadines. It is a marine park and accessible only via watercraft. Wikipedia has a good description of the islands and the park.


The most enjoyable thing we did was to snorkel with the turtles. The turtles generally do not mind having people around them--as long as we are just watching. They, like most other wild animals, do not like to be touched or bothered. They seem to have a live and let live policy.


As a result, I got some pretty good images of the turtles as they grazed on the grasses and did their thing. I have been doing some color correction on the images from my underwater camera--and some of the best images are provided to help document our experience.




I hope they will continue to remind me of a great vacation for a longtime to come.


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Location:Tobago Cays, St Vincent Grenadines

August Blues

Although it is still summer--lot's of people I know are in a funk because of the recent passing of July.

But, things are looking up. Congress came up with an agreement on the debt limit that no one seems happy about--I think that is good.

And I still enjoy the pool--although I have noticed that it is getting darker, sooner.

The days are hot though and that is causing a lot of problems for a lot of people. Then, there was the afternoon thundershower yesterday that caused me to cancel mowing the lawn--so there was some good and bad. Sadly, neither the temperature nor the humidity seemed to notice the passing rain.

So as we struggle with the blues of August--heat, the impending end of summer vacation and the shorter days, let's remember--it isn't February!



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Monday Musings -- August 1, 2011

1. July is gone, get over it--I had to. Summer is still here.

2. Finding 52 mole crabs before 11AM--how to keep two boys and four adults busy at the beach.

3. A little rain made my return trip yesterday mostly occur with the top up on the car simply because I didn't want to stop and take the time to put it down again after I had put it up.

4. Makayla and I had yet another happy reunion yesterday. I'm sure she is beginning to get a bit freaked out every time I go out the door.

5. Sand gets everywhere. Even places it shouldn't.

6. I wonder why the sand gets so hot during the day, but yet begins to cool even though the sun is sit shining on it?

7. I was reading movie reviews and amazingly, the Smurfs have returned in a movie. I wish they hadn't.

8. In an amazing bit of Post Office ineptitude, I had a package shipped Parcel Post from California and it took 17 days for it to get to me after the Post Office had the item.

9. Today is going to be hot. I have a lot to do--so of course it will probably rain while I am trying to do the outside stuff.

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Reflections of July

Paul Simon wrote a song many years ago titled "April Come She Will" which recapped the months of the year from April to September. The phrase he used for July went: "July, she will fly and give no warning to her flight."

July, arguably my favorite month of the year, has indeed flown by in supersonic fashion.

July 2011 came complete with five weekends--I was home only one and I had just returned from a two week trip for that one. Of 31 nights in July, I was away for 17 of them in three very different places--Ithaca, the Caribbean West Indies, and Ocean City.

Wow. And I think I even got the lawn mowed somewhere in there, too.


Last evening, we has a fantastic dinner at a marina side restaurant in Ocean City which really capped the month of July. It was an awesome way to wind up the best month of the year.

And alas, July has flown by and we are standing on the doorstep of August.

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Notable quote

"No gramma, I'm not bored. I like picking the dead skin off your legs. It males me feel like a truck mechanic." - Ethan, while laying on the floor beneath Chris' legs.

We were having a quiet afternoon of napping and chilling at the time.


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Location:Ocean City, MD

From Sea to Ocean

What experiences I have had during the past couple of weeks. From enjoying the Caribbean West Indies to returning to life at work and now spending time on that small strip of Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean shore known as Ocean City.

The view from the condo is fantastic, looking right out onto the ocean. I am sitting here listening to the waves crash just over the dunes and to the sounds of sea birds calling to each other.

It has been a very long time since I have been in Ocean City. Maybe more than 10 years. And I am such a beach guy, too.

I had forgotten how pretty the low sand dunes are as they strive to protect the land from the sea and provide a foothold for shore life.

The long open beach goes on seemingly forever until it slips beneath the waves of the unstoppable force that is the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

The air is clear, although it is already hot as the day is going to be a scorcher.

And I have escaped, once again. If only for a weekend.

What could be better?