Artistic Thursday - Some Birds on L.I.

The Chase

The Getaway

Home Free

Chilling at the Dock

Diving Partner

Love At First Sight

Looking

To The Right

To The Left

 Noah's Gulls

Creative Thursday - The Last Tiger

The Last Tiger

Beauty in a Miniature World.

One of my goals in life is to see the beauty that lies around me everyday. Whether it be a rainstorm, a snowflake, a smile or an interesting leaf. Today was a good photography day. The memory of the short storm that literally blew through two nights ago, was lost in the bright warm sunshine.

It was the nicest day of the year.
I sat outside at lunchtime and assessed the backyard, while the rest of the citizens buzzed and floated busily about.

My butterfly bush has grown strong and will no longer need special care. It has made many friends of the bees and butterflies. The moths and bees have also found my neighbors flowers and frequent them. Only the Rose of Sharon has begun to pack up for the fall.

I caught a wasp out of the corner of my eye carrying a water droplet. He was down right friendly and did not fear my approach. It was amazing the way he so deftly kept the droplet suspended  from his mouth. I watched him from less than a foot away for several minutes.

I turned to see a monarch stretching his wings. He did not stay still long and flew from flower to bush and back again, playing tag with the smaller moths.  I took in the whole scene and thoroughly enjoyed the excitement and beauty of the miniature world that existed around me.

Creative Thursday - Mourning Dove

Oh mourning dove in restless night
Peaceful time will come to light
Through pain and sorrow love is bled
Through time and patience flight reborn

Fearful sights through a darkened night
Waiting patiently for the light
Through pain and sorrow wisdom found
Through time and patience healing begins

Welcomed finally, moonlit night
No fear of darkness, when The Light
Through pain and sorrow love reborn
Through time and patience life anew

It is a Time of Zen.

I decided at lunch to sit on my back porch and take in some nature

I listen to Erin McCarley, "Love Save the Empty" as I look at my now healthy butterfly bush. The bees, butterflies and humming bird moths are all around me.  I sit peacefully, I am not an outsider, but one of them, one with them.

It's a cool day and as the breeze sways the branches gently, my fellow journeyers in life cling to the flowers that will bring them food. They play mid air tag inches from me. I can feel their wing disturbed air above my head.

I hate to leave this open eyed meditation, but as a hummingbird whizzes across a piece of empty sky, hovers over the feeder and continues on his daily journey, I realize it is time for me to go back to work too.

First Journey to the Falls at Tinton Falls

Picture Enhanced for Lighting

Monday was one of those last minute days. I hate days like that. It was beautiful out and I spent the earlier part of the day cleaning the co-op, watching a movie and doing some writing. I had planned on going to the orchard, but the kids were busy. So instead I did more stuff around the house until late afternoon. At six, my get off your ass and photo safari gene kicked in. I jumped on the net to find something local. I was worried about running out of light so I chose the falls, at where else but Tinton Falls. I had never actually gone to the falls and had only seen them from the restaurant formerly known as the Grist Mill. It's current name is MJ's but I haven't been there since it changed names.

Picture Enhanced For Light

At first pass I missed the entrance to the falls overlook. It was not hard to do, there were no signs and the narrow entrance is just a one lane gravel road that leads to a five spot gravel filled parking lot. Only three spots were available due to a mound of rock occupying the other two. The thought of climbing it with the Escape was tempting, but I decided to get on with my hike. I was a resident of Tinton Falls for five years and have to admit, this is the only town park that looks like it was forgotten. You'd think that they'd take care of the park that contained the highest waterfall on The Atlantic Coastal Plain and shares their name, but sadly, you would be wrong.

Not Enhanced

The first thing I noticed was the empty trail map board. There was a bent up metal "No Fishing" sign directly across from the "stocked waters" fishing rules posted on a tree. The trails, if you could call them that, had all severely overgrown and were tree blocked. The two overlooks didn't overlook the falls, but trees and growth. They were too far from the falls themselves to be of much use. I left my hiking boots at home, so the steep trek and walk in the water bed proved to be a bit challenging. It required some fancy footwork, buy I made it to a spot where I could see the falls head on without getting wet. Thanks to the lack of rain they weren't as impressive as I knew they could be, but was happy that so much of the bed was dry and walkable.

Picture Enhanced For Light

I then decided to cross the driving bridge that goes over the waterfalls to get to an old foot bridge, in hopes of some better views. The foot bridge itself was interesting, but the only views were of the trees and foliage that completely blocked sight of the feeder for the falls.

Not Enhanced.  Just played with the actual light through the lens.  Love how this came out.

I headed back across the road and to the higher observation deck, a small wooden platform with a railing. As I approached, a young rabbit looked up at me with piercing eyes, he appeared to gesture, "Follow me down the rabbit hole", as he turned and disappeared on the plant and leaf filled slope. It was getting dark and I could not follow, perhaps another day.

To My Backyard Laborers on Labor Day

While chasing a hummingbird moth, I realized I tend to ignore the various types of bees that live and work in my back yard. They go about their daily business so efficiently it is not hard to miss them buzzing about. I love bees. I know most people complain about them, but to me they are something special. They do the grunt work of pollinating the flowers and giving us amazing landscapes. They are evolutionary soldiers in the battle to keep plants moving forward. They are buzzing scientists in natures crossbreeding laboratory. There is the argument that other insects perform these functions, but none do it with the ease or of the magnitude of bees.

Do they sting? Is a woman who drinks Jack Daniels the best kind to pick up at a bar? The answer is, YES! They only sting though when they perceive a threat or are drunk on the sweet fall plant nectar. Oh, and when you set off your camera flash two feet away from their face. So this morning I decided that I would spend some time shooting and running. The bees did not disappoint. The amount and variety showed natures true breathe of diversity. In just one type of insect, there are so many variations.

I would take a few shots and ward off attack. It's times like these I wish I hadn't damaged my long range lens, but I'll rectify that situation shortly.

For now the bees remind me that hard work pays off in bushel and bloom.

Hummingbird Moths

Of all the wee beasties that roam the butterfly bush, my favorite by far are the Hummingbird Moths. They look like a bumblebee pollinated a Hummingbird who raped a butterfly. I have been trying to get a picture of one of these amazing creatures all summer. Today, like many others, I went to the butterfly bush without my camera and sure enough, I could hear one buzzing close by. I ran for my camera and as I got to the door saw one out of the corner of my eye. It hovered just above a cluster of purple flowers a few feet from my door. I was in and out of the house in seconds. For a change, the hummingbird moth was still there.

I never saw one of these creatures before I moved to the co-op. In fact, the first time I saw one, I thought it was some type of smaller humming bird. Unlike humming birds, they are extremely friendly and don't really fear people, so after a close examination of one I realized it was some type of insect. My neighbor confirmed that fact and told me what the creature was.

They are so friendly I see them several times a day. Trying to take a picture of them, however, has been challenging. Like hummingbirds, they are mischievous and I guess, a little camera shy. When I don't have my camera, they'll stay 2 ft from me all day, but if they see my lens, they're out of there. I tried capturing them so many times unsuccessfully, that I thought I never would. That was until today. For some reason the one today decided he was not afraid of the camera. Had I been a better photographer I would have gotten this little bugger in some great poses, but I was so excited that I was getting any shots at all, I forgot to adjust my camera settings.

I'm sure now, that I'll have another chance to snap a few shots of one before the end of the season. It is amazing the way they hover above flowers only tethered by their proboscis, beating their translucent wings at sonic speeds. If you have hummingbirds or butterflies around your house look for these astonishing creatures.

From Monmouth Park to Wampum Brook.

A friend called today and reminded me it was bbq and beer day at the racetrack, so back I went. Of course I took the back roads but decided to follow my gps. Whoever programmed the gps forgot to program in where the entrances were to Monmouth Park, so though it was correct in saying destination on the right, the entrance was nowhere to be found. I cut around thinking I would find the entrance I normally took, but my brain saw a different entrance first and decided I better take it. $2 general admission parking, UGGGGHHHH. I should have heeded this bad omen. I couldn't get to valet parking unless I paid and drove all the way through to the other side of the parking lot. I figured, what the heck, how bad could it be. Picture Disney World with no jitneys. So after parking in row 80, and walking my ass off, I was sweaty, but at the track. Whoever said third time is a charm should be shot. My third time there this year and I've never done so poorly in my life. I won once in ten races and it was for forty cents. I couldn't believe the horses that were coming in. The other two friends I went with didn't fair much better. In fact I think they did worse. If not for the flask of Jack Daniels we snuck in, the day would have been a total wash.

As I mentioned, it was bbq and beer day so the beer companies set up stands and if you wanted to wait in line for a half hour, you could get a 2oz. pilsner glass with 10 free refills of beer for $10. Of course after you purchased this pilsner shaped shot glass, you had to wait in line for a half hour for each beer you got a shot of. All of the local bbq places came too and set up stands to serve up ribs, platters and sandwiches. Boy last weeks losers sure did taste good. The funny part about buying the food was that you couldn't just go and pay cash. You had to first go and buy fake money so you could redeem it for food or drink. I found it odd that cash would not be accepted, but the one to one ratio monopoly money was. The purpose of it? I do not know, maybe it helps the track figure out how much each vendor made.

After the painful defeat at the track, it was time to go home. On the way was Wampum Brook, so I decided to stop for some pictures. There was a touch of sorrow in getting out of the car. I had only been to the brook alone once before and usually had my little adventurers with me. The brook is very different depending on the time of day you go and there were few land insects there. The flowers that weren't reaching the end of their life cycle were closing for the night. The plants that I like to call star babies were just hollow brown shells of their former selves.

The overflow that had been home to the duck family at the end of spring now had scarcely any water in it. The scene was almost melancholy. As I walked to the overflow bridge I noticed all of the dead fish being preyed upon by insects and other fish in the shallow bit of water left behind. . There was a simple sullen beauty to the scenario. In this brook teeming with life, the underbelly was swarming with death. The equilibrium of the moment was zen-like and I felt a strange inner peace and stood reflecting for several moments. All things die and yet there is always an abundance of life.

I continued past the bridge following the trail around the tall red wheat patch. I saw no dragonflies stopping for a rest. I walked to the area where the butterflies meet in the morning, but only one was to be seen. I didn't go forward on the path, but was drawn back to the overflow. Back to where the dead and live fish had forged their symbiotic relationship.

When I got there a catfish, one of the living, was sticking his head out of the water. He looked like an aquatic Confucius. The way his mouth was opening and closing it almost appeared as if he were trying to impart some strange wisdom to me, but either he was mute or I was deaf to it. I crossed the bridge and continued through the grass to the car leaving the fifty, or so, fish floating in awkward poses behind me. They would be sustenance for the living and I would need to get my own supper when I got home.

101 Posts

Yesterday was my 100th post. At roughly a post a day, that means I've been blogging for approximately 100 days. Again, I want to thank the person whose blog inspired me to start writing on a regular basis as well as the people who follow and read my blog. I was planning on writing something creative for my hundredth post, but, though my insomnia subsided, writers block set in. I think it was just my pressure of doing my hundredth post, so now hopefully I can move forward. As most of you can tell by now, I am very seldom caught speechless. I will probably however slow down my blog entries for the next few months, there are other things I need to do. What to expect from my blog going forward? A lot of stuff like I've had in the first 100 posts, as well as some new things.

Summer is almost over and the temperatures are getting bearable here, so lots more photos.

One of my other passions is cooking so going forward I'll be posting recipes that people have asked for.

I've been writing some short stories, when I finish them, hopefully they will end up here.

Lastly, people who know me have asked, "Where are the rants and raves?". So maybe some of them will also make there way to the blog.

In honor of my 100th post I'd like to leave you all with some quotes about writing:

Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance. - Samuel Johnson

The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before. - Samuel Johnson

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. - Samuel Johnson

Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own. - Carol Burnett

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly

The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. - Edwin Schlossberg

The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time. - George Bernard Shaw

It is not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with them. - Isabel Colegate

Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it. - Jesse Stuart

I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear. - Joan Didion

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything. - John Irving

When you write things down, they sometimes take you places you hadn't planned. - Melanie Benjamin

Why do writers write? Because it isn't there. - Thomas Berger

Artistic Thursday - Opening a Gift and Braiding the Wheat

Opening A Gift

Braiding The Wheat

Emily's Birthday

Sunday was Emily's birthday, but not just any birthday, she turned thirteen. I am the father of a teenage daughter. I'd like to see this as a milestone, but realize in many ways, she is already so grown up. Lizzy gets most of my blogging time, but Emily is truly a treasure. The morning she was born my life changed and my heart grew. That evening it was raining and I'll never forget the raw emotions of being a new father. I began to write a poem, but as tears of joy welled up, I never finished it.

The first few verses were...
The Angels cried their tears tonight
They fell from heaven as they moaned
Somewhere during the morning light
They lost a precious one of their own

I found her there so weak and frail
My new charge and life bestow
In this new endeavor I could not fail
Father, a role I do not know

She'll be the center of my life
Love and compassion I've never known
Protect her from all harm and strife
In my heart she'll find a home

She was a baby then, she's a young woman now. I have tried to give her all of the tools she will need in life. She'll always be daddy's little girl but as her independence grows, so does my pride and my role as a father changes. I know the following few years will be trying. Daddy just doesn't seem as cool as he used to be anymore, at least not in public.

For Emily's birthday, we went to Monmouth Park Race Track. Emily has the same keen sense of irony her dad has, she asked me, “If the state is trying to discourage underage gambling, why would they have a family fun day at the track?”.

Watching the horses race was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. These are the days I keep locked in my memory vault. Warm “Family Fun Days” that I know will begin to happen less frequently in the coming months and years of teen angst.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I can here the race announcer, “ Daddy's Little Girl is fading fast behind ImAll Grownup. At the Wire it's ImAll Grownup, followed by WannaBe With My Friends and IKnow Everyhting and yet to finish the race, Embarrassing Daddy.”.