Category: reality check

'scene' along the way, facing facts, fences, history, just imagine, learning, lest we forget, perseverance, photography, reality check, road trip

Remembering…

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I found myself to be more affected by the trip to Gettysburg than I expected to be. Those beautiful preserved landscapes got to me. Looking much like they would have in 1863, it was impossible to imagine the scene as troops met in that peaceful looking place, and so many of them died there.

Fields and fences, beautiful now, as I’m sure they were then. The town was there, and quiet farms, and then the armies came.
The hills, the high ground, sought after by both sides.
I hope you can read this account of the day. I usually zoom in on the signage, but in this place I wanted the landscape to show also.
I used this picture in a previous post, but it does bring the lesson home.
What would it be like to charge up a hill in the face of canon fire?
Another account of battle.
The caption on the eternal flame reads, ‘Peace Eternal in a Nation United.’
Another landscape that I found so pretty, but the monument is in addition to what it may have looked like at the time.
Just as the battle came to the people who settled this land back then, the townspeople now go about their business among armies of tourists who come to remember.

We attended a screening of the movie Casablanca the other day at the Tampa Theater. We did this last August also, but this time the scene depicting the German army occupying Paris stood out to me. Another war, people helpless in the face of armies, and with much different weapons. And then my mind went to the war in the Ukraine, and I’m stunned to think that people are again, or should I say still, experiencing the horrors of war.

adventure, blessings, coping, let it go, life goes on, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, reality check, road trip, Uncategorized

Hitting the road…

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Day one, the good news and the bad news. The good news is that the air bags didn’t go off. So I could see as I held onto the steering wheel for dear life when the 18 wheeler in the lane next to mine ahead of me hit a huge piece of truck tire laying on his lane of Rt. 95 and sent it flying into us. It happened too quickly to panic, and I was in heavy traffic so swerving wasn’t an option. But things seemed okay so we didn’t try to pull over at that point, and then I tried not to think about what might have happened, but didn’t. Eventually we reached our day’s destination and this is what we found. I’m not happy, but I am so thankful that it wasn’t worse.

I’d like to think it’s not a big deal repair, but I guess we’ll see.

I must have seen the billboards with the legend about the live baby alligators before, but they stood out to me this trip. Possibly because I wasn’t driving at the moment. That could explain how it came to be that the only time I saw an alligator in my neighborhood was in Baltimore. Never in Florida.

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, friends, fun, Just do it, life goes on, making memories, nature, perseverance, photography, reality check

Photo shoots…

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Most of the time when I head out to take pictures I might have a little conversation with someone or another, but I come away with enough pictures to keep me busy for hours editing them. But not always. Considering how much talking I did yesterday I’m surprised I got even one decent picture at the race track. It was the last racetrack photo shoot of the year, and it was hot, but with a cool breeze that saved us. Or I thought it saved me anyhow, but I will have to buy some more sunscreen and a hat if I’m going to keep this up. Ouch.

a second look, coping, facing facts, growing old, live and learn, losing it, Passing time, perseverance, photography, reality check

Staying sharp…

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I don’t mean to imply that I do Sudoku to keep my mind sharp. When I titled this post I really meant keeping the pencil sharp, which is the hardest thing about doing Sudoku. Or was, for a little while. I came across this old, yellowed, Sudoku book in a bin not too long ago, so I picked it up and started doing the puzzles again. In order, turning the pages as I went. I went merrily along, after I realized that having my glasses on was a must, and a sharp point on my pencil, and an eraser that actually erased the pencil mark without leaving a dark smudge on the paper. My drawer full of old, sometimes unused, pencils and pens wasn’t cutting it. And then I spotted what looked to be a brand new pencil. Three of them actually. Nice and fat, with perfect points and erasers that appeared to be unused, I loved them. It took me a few days to realize that these pencils were titled ‘My First Ticonderoga’, meant for little kids, or senior citizens with fingers that don’t work as well as they once did.

All was well until I turned the page to the next puzzle and found that I had started the ‘hard’ section of puzzles. They weren’t kidding. So I looked up Sudoku strategies online and I think I may have to go back to caffeinated coffee if I’m going to make heads or tails of what they are saying. Even a sharp pencil won’t help me with these…

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Chinsegut Conservation Center, facing facts, finding my way, Just do it, life goes on, live and learn, nature, perseverance, photography, reality check, sky, weather

First day hike…

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I’m not entirely sure if this was my first ‘first day’ hike, but it was a wake up call. It doesn’t get much flatter than a hike in Florida, but this one surprised me by being harder than I would have dreamed. All the inactivity of the last months, coupled with the baking (and eating), has taken a toll on me and I will have to change things in this new year. If there is one thing I can do for myself I think it would be drink more water, which seems like a easy enough goal.

A pine warbler was the only living thing, besides people, that I took a picture of, but I found myself surprised at just how colorful the scenery was. Maybe the pretty sky helped by creating contrast, but it was a nice walk.

Our hike leader pointing out the wound from the turpentine industry. There was an equally large one on the other side of the tree also, but still it grows.

Will there be a second day hike? That remains to be seen…

'scene' along the way, a second look, go with the flow, nature, perseverance, photography, reality check, sky, sunrise

Low tide…

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I think that what I’ve thought of as low tide may not have actually been low tide at all. Yesterday I was excited to see that low tide, according to my Tides app, was actually going to be at sunrise, or close enough. Of course the sunrise itself was on my mind, but wading birds and the potential to see spoonbills was what really sent me out the door at 6:45 AM. But my enthusiasm was quickly dashed. Low tide was lower than ‘usual’.

That’s rocks in the foreground, then spongy, wet sea grasses, then sand of varying degrees of wetness as far as the eye can see. If there were wading birds they must have been out at the actual shore, which was much further away from the road than I expected. So back and forth across the road I went, looking for birds on one side and hoping for more than a vague rosy glow at the horizon line on the other. I didn’t find either. I amused myself by taking pictures of birds flying over once I spotted their shadows on the water, but even those didn’t wind up to be much.

But the sun did come up on another beautiful day…