On the road again

Really I just wanted to get those creepy looking bees down the page.

It is early morning in Massachusetts, but the summer sun has been up even longer then I have. It has been fun to visit but before long we will leave for New York City. Last night I made a reservation for a hotel on 42nd Street for tonight. That ensures we will not just breeze through, and who knows, maybe we can find some tickets to a Broadway show. If not, no big deal. I just plan to soak up us some of that city energy. Until next week, you can find me here

Pretty Bee Wings

Carolina Girl

~~ When you are a Carolina girl, you have to go to the beach at least once a year. It is a must-do. If this Carolina girl doesn't make it, then I feel frustrated, incomplete, like I have entirely missed the fun season of summer. So that is just the way it is, a ritual that must be kept. Any beach along the shores of either Carolina works for me and fulfills the yearning to touch base with Mother Ocean.
~~ Once I heard something like...being at the beach is like sending your mind to the laundry. Maybe so. Watching the sea water arc up into waves, roll forward and dissipate into shallow clear sparkling water does feel like a cleansing experience. Now my Summer 2008 beach fix is over, but the time there and the ritual of mental renewal will keep that yearning at bay for a while.
~~ I am going to put this blog to rest once again because my husband, grandson and I will head up to Vermont and beyond on Thursday July 17. I am going to try to keep a blog of my trip once we get going.

Beach Birds

"Roll on...

thou deep and dark blue ocean. Roll.
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain.
Man marks the earth with ruin;
his control stops with the shore..."

When I look out on the great ocean I think of that poem that I learned in college; however what seemed true in Lord Byron's day does not hold true now. Today, washed up with the shells, seaweed, sea rocks, and coral were plastic bottles, rubber hair bands, lighters, rusty metals, and other of man's debris. How much will our carelessness ruin the ocean, I wonder.

What the Storm Brought

Yesterday there was quite a thunderstorm here in the Myrtle Beach area. This morning I found these on the beach.

Wednesday

Last year was the first time in many years that I had been to Cherry Grove and it was picture perfect, so perfect in fact each day I felt that I was smack dab in the middle of a a children's book. This summer it is still pretty but less than perfect. With force the wind knocked over my beach umbrella and whipped the sand around so much that I could hardly lie on my blanket without its blowing in my nose and covering the stuff we had brought down. But still it is the beach, and I love it. I love the organic linen-like colors of tans and blues, the roar of the powerful ocean, diving pelicans, soaring seagulls, the last bubbling little wave as it kisses the sand, and the sounds of children.

Tonight it was Broadway at the Beach. We met Carin, Ruby and Wyatt for dinner at Mellow Mushroom. Yum... Then the children rode some kiddie rides that Carin told us had been brought there from the old Pavilion. Caroline had been wanting to get another hair wrap like last years that lasted for about six months before it was cut out with her new short hair. We walked and searched for the shop where a young Asian woman was flipping strands of string in a window, but when we found it, there was no sign of hair wrapping going on. We kept walking, passing more shops and activities for children and soon spotted the sign that we were looking for on a kiosk. Caroline got to be next in line. She chose her colors and now sports a dangling ribbon-covered strip of hair.

Over the Ocean is a Beautiful Sky

Cherry Grove, SC has not only a nice beach but a magnificent expanse of sky. During the day biplanes and parasailing add primary colors to the heavenly palette of pastel blues and whites, but in the morning and evening, Mother Nature displays some of her best work.

...and little brother

Bebe at the Beach

My lovely youngest granddaughter.

Psalm 93:4

"Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea - the Lord on high is mighty." Psalm 93:4 (NIV)

At the Beach

Sally, Caroline and I had a nice drive to Cherry Grove arriving about 6:30, missing most of the traffic. This is the tiny condo where we stayed last year. I like it especially because of the location and the splendid view of the ocean. After making our beds and putting our various food stuff in the kitchen, we went back downstairs and trod the short sandy path to the beach. I took my camera with me and got some pictures of Caroline playing in the surf, making sand angels, and some of the evening sky. Sadly I realized when I returned to our condo, I left the camera cable behind in Greenville. Therefore I must readjust my plan, drop back and punt one way or another. One thing I know is that I do not have to have that missing item to enjoy the beach. When I get to the ocean, I have an ahh...I'm home feeling. Maybe I am.

My Grandmother

My cousin Evan sent this treasure to me, a photograph taken about a hundred years ago. Years ago I heard that my daddy's mother was a "beautiful girl" but had never seen her that way until now. By the time I came along and was old enough to remember, Gram had made it through a generation of rearing her four children, and except for the mischievous twinkling in her blue eyes, seemed old and bent. But today she comes to me as the "beautiful girl" she was and I am reminded of the vaporous wings of earthly life.

The 4th

And a rousing Happy Birthday to Uncle Sam!

Little Green Grasshopper

When I am home in the evening, I like to walk around the yard and see what my camera can find. A little while ago it called me to stop in my garden and take a look. This little fellow was on a tomato leaf and was so tiny that I could not even tell it was a grasshopper until I saw the picture in the screen. But he jumped around a bit and waved his antennae in the air as if he were posing. His gel-like legs and body are so cool! I have always loved bugs and thrill to be able to see them so intimately.

From the deck

On this perfect summer day, sitting on the deck in one of the wonderful Adirondack chairs that Trip made for me, I realized that I am not an auditory person. Breaking the quiet this morning was the familiar hum of a plane passing over and the playful noises of children splashing in the pool a couple of houses away, but what were those sounds of nature that I am unaccustomed to hearing? The loud chirping that crescendoed and faded came from what creatures? Crickets? Frogs? I vowed to be more aware of the sounds of life around me. Life is not just a visual experience. That being said, I went in to grab my camera and take a picture of one view from my relaxing spot, the scarecrows guarding my neighbors garden. In a picture from last week, we can see why they are needed. If anyone wants to try some rabbit stew, they can find the main ingredient in plentiful supply in our neighborhood.

Sometimes it is good just to be

There is always been one thing I have sort of envied about smokers, the way they take the time to smoke. They stop what they are doing and say, "I've got to have a cigarette." What if we non-smokers took a breathing break once in a while just for the heck of it. In this pretty weather yesterday and today, I took a few time outs just to be. It was like airing my brain. Granted the breaks weren't that long, about the time it would take to smoke a cigarette or two, and then I was back to doing. Tho the much maligned cigarette has had its share of rightful criticism, I think their benefit lies in the mental breaks they provide. My internal computer is always on go, pushing to do some frequently unnecessary task. I think I will give the old overtaxed brain more frequent breaks this summer. It is refreshing and healing just to be.