Category: connections

connections, family, fun, grandchildren, kids, moments, photography, road trip, travel

Riding the rails…

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Taking the light rail to go to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor yesterday seemed like a really good idea from the point of view of not having to find a parking space.  I needn’t have worried though, because there are lots more parking garages, and hotels, and more of, well, everything, at the Inner Harbor now.  And the light rail was fine, until we wanted to go home and had to wait for a train, and the ride home seemed to take so much longer than the ride to the harbor had.  And we got home just in time for Georgie, the kitty above, to catch the mouse we suspected he had been stalking all day.  Georgie is a rescue who has no claws and few teeth, but he is a great hunter.  But what he did with that mouse remains a mystery, and as I laid down on the couch to go to sleep I thought I’d lay there awake worrying that he’d decide to bring it to the couch with me to finish it off.  He didn’t.  Now to see what photos I got yesterday.  But I got this one ready immediately.  Soon my granddaughter and her Sam will be in Munich, starting an adventure together.  But for now they are here with us…7-9KaraandSam

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, childhood, connections, family, finding my way, friends, home, loneliness, memories, photography

Where am I?

naturecoastimagesblog

I see that there are some new people who have found this blog in the last couple of weeks, and I thought I ought to explain that the ‘nature coast’ in the title of the blog refers to the several counties along the Gulf coast of Florida just above Tampa Bay.  And, obviously, that’s not where I am at the moment.  This blog came about a year ago due to a coincidence of a class I took and a new camera I had just purchased, not really out of a need to share any profound thoughts or with an agenda of any kind.  I had settled into a comfortable routine in my widowhood, and felt almost smug as I spent my evenings alone at home doing whatever I wanted to do.  And I went on like that for quite a while, until I started needing people again.  My people, my ‘home’, New England, where I grew up and never failed to feel like I belonged when I visited.  People, old friends, family, grandchildren, I needed them all.  So I have thrown caution to the wind and left my little part-time job, and my snug little Florida house, and even the new friends I was just beginning to make, to take a road trip.  And I will stay until my heart, which had felt so empty, has filled back up.  Or until they all get sick of me…7-5church7-5farm7-5shack7-5shack27-5shack37-5townhall

blessings, connections, friends, fun, history, photography

Anytown, USA…

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Over the years I have enjoyed my friend’s photos of the 4th of July celebrations in her small New Hampshire town, but yesterday I got to enjoy the day in person.  It was as charming as I had expected, with the vendors and town barbecue on the grounds of Proctor Academy, where two of her grandchildren are students, and, of course, the parade.  To know that this sort of celebration was taking place in small towns across America was heartwarming.  Lots of smiles and red, white, and blue…

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adventure, connections, finding my way, friends, fun, home, moments, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, sunset, technology, travel

Barnstable Harbor…

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I was supposed to be heading to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod last night, but sat and talked a little extra long, (don’t say it), so I opted for Barnstable Harbor so that I’d have more time.  I parked in a residents only area, but a very nice older couple said that that rule only applies when the life guard was there.  I asked if that meant that I had their permission to stay and take pictures and they said yes.  It made me feel better to have someone’s permission.  I’m still a slave to ‘the rules’… mostly.6-21boat6-21chair6-21grassesSingle photo enhanced with easyHDR 3.12.0: IMG_3845.jpg6-21sunsetHDR6-21sunsetHDR2

It takes a special talent to take this picture.  I love when there is a surprise waiting for me when I upload photos into the computer…6-21oops!

a second look, connections, coping, courage, fantasy images, finding my way, friends, growing old, life goes on, live and learn, old dogs new tricks, perseverance, photography

Happily ever after…

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I have a friend who has lots to say on the subject of UFOs and aliens.  He asked if I believed in them, and while I couldn’t say that I do think they are ‘real’, I certainly wouldn’t stake my life on them not being real.  They are among the many things that I haven’t given a lot of thought to, or any thought to at all.  Even after he brought it up I spent no time pondering the possibilities.  

But I have moved on from the person I’ve been since Charley died, the one who was home every night, happily I might add, feeling snug, and safe, and proud of herself for making it through another day.  No, I’ve turned into a person who is looking at the world a little differently, able to admit that maybe there could be more to life, but not willing to bet any money that anything will change.  It’s made me see things differently.  And finding yourself single as you hang onto the last vestiges of your 60s is a lot like you have been dropped here from a UFO and are expected to make heads or tails out of this society.  One which bears no resemblance to what the world was like the last time I was single.  To me the ‘rules’ of behavior are still the same rules that I grew up with all those years ago.  But if TV is to be believed it’s a whole new world out there and I am totally not ready for it.  I don’t know the rules, or maybe the biggest rule is that there aren’t any rules.  I am as unprepared for a social life now that I’m old as I was when I was 18. 

I was looking for something to watch on Netflix, and saw a show called “Love”, and thought it would be harmless, kind of like the Hallmark Channel, or the easy listening channel on the radio.  Boy, was I wrong.  But I was looking at Netflix because I’m tired of the Hallmark Channel and it’s sappy, happily-ever-after stories.  That’s not real life.  But this is real life, and maybe I’m already living the only happily ever after that I’m going to get.  Would that be so bad?  No, not really…

connections, family, finding my way, home, live and learn, memories, old dogs new tricks, photography, travel

Hit the road…

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So a road trip was in order.  Why not, what was stopping me?  Well, there was the credit card that was coming in the mail since my post-church stop for gas resulted in my credit card being hacked.  How’s that for karma?  The bank shut my account down within a day, and it’s all ‘fixed’, but without even a hint of an attempt to discover who, or how, it happened.  Never pay at the pump was the take away from that conversation, walk into the station and pay, preferably using the chip.  Or cash.  I never have cash, and that would solve the gas station problem, but somehow cash seems less safe to carry around.  Did having a husband make these sorts of issues less of a threat?  Not really, but there was the illusion of being somehow protected.  Is it any wonder why I never ponder the larger issues of life when these every day issues can blow my mind?  Send me back under the covers to wait for something to change?   

And which road, for the road trip I mean?  Did you ever read ‘Blue Highways’, by William Least Heat Moon?  Wonderful book that instilled a wanderlust in me that’s been sitting on the back burner for years now.  Should I get on 95 and drive north at 70 mph, stopping only for the bare necessities?  Or should I travel the ‘blue highways’ on the map, stopping for photo ops, talking with strangers, hearing their stories?  I’m an excellent practitioner of the ‘rosy-glasses’ philosophy of life.  I have never been any good at anticipating the not-so-perfect consequences of any choice I’ve ever made.  So with that as my history I suppose it’s hopeless to expect myself to change at this late date.  And honestly, do I have many regrets over the choices I’ve made in my life?  No, things have turned out well enough for me, in spite of myself…6-12bluehighway