Beach Day, Part Two

Well. I certainly know I need a longer lens!!! I have a 200, but it's broken (only manual focus, which is fine, but for some reason only works with the FLASH on my digi!!!) I had my 28-200 yesterday.
Have I said how much I LOVE my digital??? I could never have taken so many images, just trying to get a bad shot of the porpoises that also seem to frequent this beach, if I had been using film! Not to mention having the ability to play with them on the computer to enhance.

I wasn't looking for the porpoises. Didn't think that was what I was seeing. Thought it was those dive-bombing pelicans actually, until out of the corner of my eye, I realized that was a TAIL splashing the water. They were all swimming out towards the ocean. Every last one was heading east. They frolicked and headed towards the open sea.

About an hour later, a group started coming back into the bay. Next time, I go with a good lens!
Here they ae returning. There are at least three fins here.
This fella was a bit closer in, and he's up a bit higher, you can see his back.

All in all a much more enjoyable beach day than crowded on the boardwalk!!! 

Beach Day, Part one

Timmy and I decided to go to the beach yesterday. We went to Fort Story, where the Cape Henry Lighthouse is. What a nice beach! You need to be willing to submit to a car search, and hand over ID as it is a working military base. We quickly discovered that this beach is far different than the Virginia Beach Boardwalk area just a few miles away!


This beach is a wildlife beach! Sure we saw the normal pelicans, and seagulls. But it was noted right away that we needed to choose a place with some degree of care, as the beach was crawling in certain areas with crabs!! And there were crab holes of every size in some spots.
I took off, to photograph the green hairy rocks, while Timmy settled in a not so crabby location between the large rocky breaks that were built every so often. Whom did I discover but this wiley crab, who obviously has had experience running away! He was by far the largest I had seen all day.
Of course, in normal Timmy fashion, as soon as the crab started scuttling sideways away from us, he had to give chase!!! We spent an entertaining 10 minutes watching the crab run into the water, dip one eye down,
watch for us and take off in the other direction. Perfectly camoflaged he is, but he's about level with Timmy's hand, just off to the right in this photo.







Finally, we gave up the chase, and he stopped too. Here he is, keeping an eye on Timmy, before we both let him commence with his activities. I lay down on my towel, basking in the sun and the sound of the surf. I looked to my right about ten minutes later, and back he came, out from behind the rocks, watching us intently. I sat up, and off he ran again into the surf.
If only he had known I don't eat crab!!! 

Flower Bed

Timmy made this bed for me in the front yard in Oct. 2004. The soil in my yard is just not good. Don't think anything was done to it since the place was built. I hoped that by raising the bed, I would have the chance to improve the soil.
The bed today, May 14, 2006. Yup, that sure worked!!! I have been slowly amending the soil, adding some composted leaves, rich topsoil, etc. The bed is actually retaining some water, and nutrients. Saw my first worm in there a few months back. Now, there are buds on my lavender plant. My Rosemary plants are doing well too. I have added mint, a new spanish lavender, thyme, savory, yarrow, jasmine vine, and some periwinkle. I have also put a weeper hose through the bed, to water more evenly and deeply.... I have high hopes this year that things will all take root and do well!

The view from the stairs, like the first picture.
My Iris's from a few weeks ago.

If you click on photos, you can enlarge.

So, we gave the mouse a cookie....

This is Hamish the Red (the BAD) meeting Miss Tatiana for the first time. Really Tati is much friendlier than this!! However, for this purpose, it's a BEFORE picture.

I HATE carpeted stairs! We have been talking for most of the nearly three years we've been in this house about improvements....over and above the cleaning and painting and such.

Timmy decided the other day to tackle the stairs, thinking that we would need to replace the stairs, which was fine business as we decided to add a half-wall built in bookcase next to them which would give us a lovely place to add a hand-rail.

However, it turned out the stairs weren't all that bad, but they were kind of started IN the subflooring... which meant we needed to replace the diningroom floor instead of the stairs. Yes, that was me bawling you heard over losing such wonderful flooring(not).
Here you see the semi-after stairs. they still require staining on the step parts. The risers are actually left over Tundra Antique floor boards that I (brilliantly) suggested we place over the older, ratty stuff. Now, on to the floor itself.

Before. No, we haven't removed the 1/4 round trim, the people before us (Harry the Homeowner and family) chose to not replace it after tearing up the carpet and replacing it with this gem of a floor tile. (BTW, that little gap is sure a cat-pleaser!! Hamish lost all manner of objects under there!)
AFTER. I just need to touch up the red paint around the new baseboard moulding. This floor is courtesy of IKEA, my favorite store. It's our fourth wedding anniversary gift to us!

Timmy got the brilliant idea to sharpen his shovel in order to remove the old tile more quickly....look at it fly!

I've gone and done it now!!!

Welcome to version 3 of my notes from the refridgerator door.... long ago, (back in the '80's sometime), my favored way of communication with the variety of male relatives who wouldn't clean the house was by ever so slightly sarcastic notes left on the refridgerator door....

Moving into the internet age, I attempted a web-page, but I found it clumsy, or I just wasn't interested in keeping it up.

Today, with my cool 8 mega-pixel DSLR, I find myself wanting to send EVERYONE photos, but I hate re-sizing and uploading and having to email.... (I am slightly lazy)....

So, here is the ideal concept...a BLOG!!! oh, dear...we've gone and gotten cell-phones and digi cameras and now Blogs...we are not so caveman-like as we thought!!!

Well, off to learn how to manipulate the darned thing!
See ya!