sharleenstuartTell me a Story: December 2019: St Petersburg
Posted on December 31, 2019
We were back on the road again in December. This year has been one of travel. I loved every minute of it. In March we were in Orlando, April in San Antonio, May in Bahia Honda, June I was in Rochester NY, July we traveled to New York City, October we headed to Cumberland Island, and in December we traveled to St Petersburg one weekend and Orlando again the next weekend.
St Petersburg, Florida, has been on the bucket list for a while. One of those quick lets head out of town kind of visits. We only went over night but both agreed that a two day trip would have been better. When packing, I packed a few lens, my zoom 70-300mm which I am having a few issues with and may need to replace, my 24-70mm, my new 17-40mm and my lensbaby sweet 35.
St Petersburg is about a 4.5 hour trip for us from the East Coast of Florida to the West Coast. When you cross the Sunshine Skyway, you know that you are heading into St Petersburg. Since this was a first for us so high up the coast line, I wanted to to take in everything.
I had seen some photos taken recently of the Sunshine Skyway, and wanted to to check out a pull off at the little island on the side of the road so that I could look back and see what kind of image I would get later in the day. Below is the beautiful Sunshine Skyway from that point. If you are looking to take a photo, pull off at the North Skyway area and look back.
Some years ago we were camping in the Collier Seminole State Park and met a couple in the site next door to us. They mentioned that the Fort de Soto Municipal park had great camp grounds. So that was our next stop. We wanted to check it out.
For a $5 entry fee, you get to spend the entire day at this beautiful beach park. Added to that you can leave and go back in the same day, which is what we did. There are some concession stores inside the park which will provide you with food, drinks and a few other things you may need. The park is huge. There is a great view of the Skyway from the one end of the park, there are some fishing piers and a ferry dock. We came across this brown Pelican at one of the docks.
Added to that there is actually a fort on the grounds. It almost appeared to look like a bunker fort. There was sand all along the wall and you could actually walk along the top of the fort. However, the canons were below the high wall so my thoughts are that the sand and roof walk were added later. Of all the forts I have been to this was the smallest and probably the least interesting. However, the view from the top of amazing,
We walked through the fort area. There was not a lot to see except empty rooms. Sadly the smells coming out of some of those rooms were not great. Moving back out into fresh air we spotted the canons. Somehow seeing these old pieces of history makes me want to edit in black and white.
Moving on from the fort we headed to the end of the park and out onto the beach where the sand is like powder and white and so soft. The seagulls are big and quite tame and we had no sooner sat down and they had moved closer. Obviously looking for handouts.
Leaving the Fort we headed towards the Beachcomber Hotel where we had booked to stay. However, it was early so I suggested we head to John’s Pass Boardwalk and walk around there for a while and perhaps grab a beer and pass some time. John’s Pass Boardwalk is a series of restaurants, shops and fishing charters that are interesting to meander through.
These pelicans below were being thrown scraps of fish from a table where the catch was being gutted and filleted.
As is with most of these coastal towns of interest, there is a pirate ship for hire.
Sculley’s was a seafood restaurant that certainly had some great smells coming out of it.
I happened to look up and spotted this cormorant flying towards me. Look at the wingspan and the number of feathers that make up the wings of this beautiful bird.
This boat, however, was probably the most interesting ship I have ever seen. The one end is shaped like a shark. We found a place right next door to it to sit down and grab a beer. Mmm, I keep thinking Jaws and hear that crazy music just as the shark was about to attack.
The Beachcomber Hotel was very nice. Nothing overly fancy but we were not paying out big bucks either. I appears that the owners purchased two older hotels adjacent to each other, rebuilt the front facade and created a green space in-between that became the hotel grounds. At the end of the hotel complex were two swimming pools, a restaurant called Johnny B’s and the beach. Really that is all you need if rest and relaxation are what you are looking for. Richard wanted rest and relaxation and I wanted to explore. Oh well, it was only a weekend.
One of the things that I love to do when at the beach is the sunset. We had lunch and then headed back to Fort de Soto municipal park to settle in for the sunset. A number of other folk had chosen to do the same.
For the next 3 images below I played around with my new 17-40mm lens.
Then I switched out to my Lensbaby sweet 35.
Then back to the 24-70mm and the 70-300mm. Richard waded down to the water and while he was there I grabbed some silhouettes of him standing in the water.
Slowly the sun begins to set. I played around with different settings as the sun was setting.
What was nice to see, was all of the seagulls that were lined up along the edge of the beach. They suddenly took off in mass and then fly back in and settle back down again.
Last stop of the night before heading back to the hotel, was to that little pull off point I made Richard stop at when we first came over the bridge. Why did I make him stop? For the night shots of course. I had seen recently that the Sunshine Skyway is now lit up at night. I wanted the night shot. I have to say it looks really neat and added to that the colors change. So if you are looking for a good night shot, this could definitely be one of the places to stop.
Once the nights shots were done, we headed back to the hotel and settled down at Johhny B’s for a light dinner and music. There was a live band playing while we were eating. They stopped before we had finished and started packing up. As they stopped playing the beach bar at the hotel next door started up. Do we go or do we stay, well of course we go. What a good choice!. Blues, Mowtown, Funk and Pop, 3’s Company was a great band to listen to. They definitely had me smiling with their rendition of “Killing me softly with his song” Took me back to my days of hanging out at a local joint in my 20’s. If you are in or visiting St Petersburg, Florida, and like that type of music definitely check out where they are playing and go and hang out a bit. They will have your feet tapping very quickly.
All good things come to an end, and after breakfast we were back on the road and crossing the Sunshine Skyway heading home, via Naples. We both agreed that we would definitely head back to St Petersburg again, this time for a longer stay.
In just one more day we see the close out of a very hectic 2019, and welcome in 2020. I wish you all a very Happy New Year. I hope that this will be a fantastic year for all of you, that you will be surrounded with family and friends, old and new. That you will experiences memorable moments of love, joy, laughter, and good times. That you plan escapes and get out on the road and see a bit more of the world.
This year will see us on the road a lot less I am sure. We are planning a bit trip in August to meet our new son-in-laws family. We will be heading to Macedonia for a “wedding” reception for Daniel’s family. I am excited about meeting his family, although I cannot speak Macedonian. We also plan to travel a bit in Macedonia and the Balkans. I can’t wait.
The only other big trip we have talked about this coming year is to possibly head up to New Orleans. This is definitely on my bucket list and I would love to check it out soon.
Thank you for joining me this month as we spend time sharing another day in our lives. This is a circle blog. Take some time to view what the other artists have for you this month. My friend Kim from Kim Sidwell Photography is up next and I can’t wait to read what she has to share.
30 Minutes in the Life: December 2019: Festive Five
Posted on December 30, 2019
Ever since I have been a part of 30 minutes in the life, we have done a Festive Five theme at Christmas. We are very conscious of the fact that this is a busy time of the year and each and every one of us has something going on.
Mine is a couple more than 5 and one I did not take but have added in to finish off the photo blog.
Christmas is always my favorite time of the year. I love having the family gather in one place for a meal. Over the years growing up I remember my fathers family all gathering together. As a married adult, I gathered family at my home each Christmas. Not only my immediate family and my brother’s wife’s family, but Richard’s family and their families in-laws as well, along with my adopted brother and his family. So often we all want to spend Christmas day together and if it all works out that we can be together I love to do that.
Christmas is about love. My love for my Lord, who in Himself was Love Incarnate. My love for my family. My love for my jolly little fella’s who I lovingly unwrap each year and hang on the tree. My love for decorating and making the home look festive and my love for sitting at a Christmas table and looking at the faces of those I love, admire and respect.
I only bake once a year. It is at Christmas time. This is when I remember my mother and how she would bake up a storm. I pull out her shortbread recipe and I bake more than enough for the season. This year got a little more technical. I had to bake normal shortbread, gluten free shortbread, and vegan shortbread. I take time to be grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to bake this variety because it means that I have my children in my life.
I climb up in the attic after Thanksgiving and pull all my buddies down that I have collected over the years. My penguin is about 25 years old. My mother in law made it for me one year. I love that I still have him and that I can remember how talented she was when it came to sewing. Another thing that I am not very good at. My Santa was given to me by a friend about 10 years ago and I love to see him out and on display. My snowman was given to me more recently.
My Christmas tree is decorated in jolly little fella’s. It feels like I am finally seeing my little friends again. This year I added 5 new Santa’s to my collection. They come in all shapes and sizes and I try to always look for something different. This year this guy was one of the newbies. I also found a bottle top Santa that was pretty cool. Each one is hung in a specific place, with my favorites being front and center.
In addition, I wanted to remember the family members who have been in our lives for so many years. However, we do not necessary have typical names. Mine is Sharleen, my mother was Daphne, my mother in law Yolande. I cannot find Christmas ornaments with those names. I am still looking. I may eventually have to buy some that I can write the names on. However, I did find one that had my nickname, Charlie, so that is hanging on the tree in place of my name for now.
The other memory I wanted to include is our pets. So this year I looked all over for different types of pets. I found a few. My Noddy was a sausage dog (Dachshund) when I was growing up. We had Labradors as well, Duke and Monty. Richard and I had Flash a beautiful German Shepherd with a pedigree longer than ours. We also had Bella, a Rottweiler. Mika was our white German Shepherd. Over the years we have had Oliver, a tuxedo cat, who has an ornament with angel wings. He was the best. Then we had Moonshine, a little all black cat. We got Simba, our street rescue, who is a tabby kind of cat and he holds my heart. Finally our last addition has been Mirrabel or Ms Moo as I call her. She came to stay when we took someone in for a period of time. Her owner left and she stayed. That was 2 years ago. She is mine now. She is our scaredy cat who runs at the sounds of unknown voices. However, she is also rapidly becoming my cat. She has found her place on my stomach at night and loves to cuddle. The ornament above represents Mirrabel, our little gray and white cat.
Lastly I love to set the Christmas table and make it look pretty. I really don’t do snowmen but I did love these two when I was out shopping. Added to that everything has snowmen on them, I got snowman plates and napkins. I tied their napkin together with a letter ornament. I gathered a few other snowman ornaments. Initially I wanted snowmen snow globes but I wasn’t finding exactly what I wanted. I had a runner in tartan that I forgot to put out but maybe I will use it next year 🙂 Oh and white beads in all sizes make great snowballs.
Below is an image of each place setting which my daughter-in-law took, because I was in the kitchen getting everything ready and forgot to do it. Thanks to Kathryn I have another place setting to remember. Every so often I go back and look at the different designs I have had over the years and remember the folks that have sat at the table and smile and know that I have been blessed to be able to share that little bit of time together with others.
I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. As this year rapidly draws to a close, I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope that this coming year is filled with family and friends, new and old, laughter and joy, good memory making moments.
In my mothers tradition, I will once again put outside the front door, a cookie, a drink, and a piece of coal. May there always be food in the house, something to drink and may you never go cold.
Share Six: December 2019: Light
Posted on December 6, 2019
This time of the year is definitely about {Light} and that is our theme for the month. I drive through the neighborhood and the palm trees are wrapped in lights, the houses are decorated with twinkling icicle lights. I even got out and put my lights up this year for the first time since I had the last foot surgery. Light definitely makes the world go around.
The sun is a natural agent of light. We were away camping on the west coast and woke up to the sunlight being dispersed through the branches of the trees. I loved the sunflare that appeared in the image. It was a chilly morning but I could not help but grab a cup of coffee and head outside to watch the start of the day. Ok I grabbed my camera as well 🙂
Pockets of light in dark areas are great to capture. Walking through one of the local wetlands the boardwalk is kind of dark and gloomy and just a little isolated. It always feels a bit weird walking through on my own. But I do because I love catching moments like this image below.
Artificial light is fun as well. We were at Epcot and happened to walk out of one of the themes. My feeling was that it was a space related theme and the walk way out was lit up in this red contrast(y) light. I loved the eerie feel about this walkway.
Sunsets are another favorite light moment for me. Another local park and a beautiful still evening as the sun set in the west. Moments like this have me being thankful for the glorious beauty of creation.
Fireworks are such fun forms of light. I have spent some time trying to capture different images of light. The picture below was taken at the park above once it was dark. The light display was awesome and I was glad I managed to walk away with some images that I was happy with.
Epcot was another amazing display of light. You kind of hang on to the last moments at the park despite how tired you may be just was watch the incredible fireworks display. The sky lit up with bursts of light and I have to confess these were some of my favorite fireworks that evening.
One of my favorite light images is the out of focus Christmas trees. The bokeh light is divine and taken with the Lensbaby sweet 35 you manage to capture some interesting images.
Richard and I can never agree on white lights or colored lights. I am all for colored lights simply because of this type of image. For me it is fun. I love this start to the Christmas season. I just wish we had a fire place and a warm cozy fire going on. Not that we need it down in the south but I will say the last two days have given us a little show of winter and I sincerely hope that we get a few more days like the days we have had this week.
Light is incredible and without it all things would be dark. And even in the dark, there is still a twinkling of light. This past week the moon was a sliver and the bright light below was Venus, and to the left the tiny light is Saturn. I love looking at astro photography and I think that would be something I would love to experiment with.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six blog post. This is a circle blog. From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle. Please take time to visit my friend and very talented artist Kathy of KG Kedbetter Photography and see what she has for you this month. To check out her Facebook page click here and her Instagram page here.
Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.
Come and share your images Facebook and Instagram tagging #sharesix_light
Finally throw some positive thoughts my way – my major project that I have been working on for the past 6 months experiences D-Day today. Data migration is happening as I share this blog and we will be going live on Tuesday. I am anxiously waiting to know that everything has gone according to plan.
Thank you to the blog contributors for another awesome year of collaborating together. This is a fantastic group of ladies and I love each one’s interpretation of the theme each month. Thank you to you all for stopping by and checking out our blogs and to everyone who contributes on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We love seeing your images.
I wish you and your family a safe and festive season. Enjoy the moments, busy and quiet. Make sure that you tell your family how much you love and enjoy being with them. Share lots of hugs. Don’t get caught up in the stress of the season. This is all about love, joy and goodwill to all men. Merry Christmas to you all.
Tell me a story: November 2018
Posted on November 30, 2019
Life is hectic, Thanksgiving has come and gone and the blog goes live tomorrow. Work is gearing up to d-day in 10 days and so my time has become somewhat limited. Christmas decorations need to go up this weekend and the blog needs to be done.
In all of this busyness, Richard, knowing that I needed some down time suggested we head to the beach to watch the sunrise and then go for breakfast, knowing that once I got home I had work to do. He even chose to go to my favorite beach.
As most of you know early morning is really not my thing, but the moon was pretty cool this particular morning and as it has been for the rest of the week. Last night I was able to identify Venus and Saturn floating around the moon. I love this pier and the early morning sky was pretty spectacular as the sun was coming up. This particular morning the reflections on the edge of the waves was pretty neat.
I really wanted to finish up the Boston blog but that was not happening for me this week. So the morning on the beach is what I have to offer. I have to be honest Richard was right, I needed that time to decompress.
Thank you for joining me this month as we spend time sharing another day in our lives. This is a circle blog. Take some time to view what the other artists have for you this month. Mindy Sauvageau is up next and I can’t wait to read what she has to share.
30 Minutes in the Life: November 2019
Posted on November 25, 2019
30 Minutes in the Life came around so quickly this month that I think we have all been taken by surprise.
For my share this month we are heading to Boston. I loved visiting Boston and if you have not been there, certainly add it to your stopping point. It is a great city and we walked, seriously walked, the city. From it strong Irish community , to it’s lively Italian influence Boston has so much to offer. The people were friendly and offered assistance to two travelers with maps. They struck up conversations, especially when we spoke with foreign accents. This is what makes traveling so much fun.
I am sure I have mentioned this before, but I will repeat it. I am a planner when it comes to traveling. Prior to heading out, I have researched and have a list of places I want to see. Some people may find this exhausting, but I hate going to a place with no clue what I want to do.
While researching things to do and see in Boston, I came across Trinity Church, The Episcopal Diocese. I love visiting churches, particularly Catholic Churches because of the beauty of the buildings. Unlike the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church falls under the Protestant line and the influences of the Church of England, which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church.
I will confess that this is only the second time I have seen a Protestant Church so ornately designed with such incredible depiction of the teachings of the bible. Trinity Church dates back to 1733 in its original origins. This was 150 years prior to the building of the current church which is now recognized as a National Monument. Besides for sharing the actual building a will share a brief synopsis of the depictions I photographed.
Juxtaposed, against a modern city, this beautiful architecture is breath taking and so incredible. Of course there is little room to move when shooting all the angles, and of course, you cannot get away from construction, people and cars.
I loved how the modern buildings reflected the beautiful church.
The church sits on the famous Copely Square. In 1872, after the second home to the church burned down, the then rector, Phillip Brooks along with a few others, cast a vision for the new home for the church.
Henry Richardson was the designer of the church. A clay roof, polychromy, rough stone, heavy arches, and a massive tower are features of the church found today. The stone used is a called Dedham Granite. It’s features are a light grayish-pink to greenish-gray. The stone is an equigranular material, which is composed chiefly of crystals of similar orders of magnitude to one another.
I walked around the church a couple of times, looking at all the different angles. The work was impressive. The style of architecture and the stone used give longevity to the building. The green mold highlighting the dampness and cold of the city. We were there at a time when the air was cold, but the winter weather had not begun in full.
Walking onto the square and looking up at the building, I was moved with the story telling in each of the scenes depicted along the frontage of the building. Representing the 4 Gospels of the Bible were Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Each gospel takes on a different viewpoint of the the history of Jesus Christ. Each of the disciples, Matthew and John, were called knowing that the road would not be easy, that they would be persecuted and that there was every possibility that they would die a martyr. Mark and Luke were both influenced by the teachings of Jesus Christ, and committed to serving His people.
Mathew, we are told in the bible was a Tax Collector. From that we gather that he was a man of education. The book of Mathew is written primarily to the Jewish Nation. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus Christ came to fulfill Old Testament prophesies. It is believed that Matthew was burned at the stake
Mark was believed to be the son of a prominent follower of Jesus. He is believed to be in his teens when Jesus came to Jerusalem. After the resurrection, Mark traveled with the Apostle Paul. He also traveled with Peter to Rome. While Peter was in prison in Rome, Mark stayed with him. Mark’s book include what he witnessed and Peter’s memories. Mark died a brutal death. They placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.
Luke was a Gentile physician, who traveled with Paul. He did not know Jesus, and it is believed that he came to know about Christ through traveling with Paul. His gospel is based on the words of eye witnesses to the story of Christ. The gospel of Luke is the only gospel written by a Gentile. Luke was the only person to remain with Paul until he died. History has it that Luke was hanged from an olive tree. However, scholars will argue that he died in Greece at the age of 84. Others believe he was martyred after the death of Paul.
John was known as the Beloved Disciple of Jesus and often refers to himself as the “disciple Jesus most loved”, and is often referenced as the disciple leaning in to Jesus at the last supper. John writes of different things to the other gospels, including the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. John’s gospel is primarily to the church who knew about Jesus. Aside from writing the Gospel of John (his view of Christ), he wrote three epistles (how he dealt with the church) and the book of Revelation (the future through the vision God gave him)
Between the apostles on either side were women of the bible. Between Luke and John were Mary and her sister Martha (sisters of Lazarus), and Mary Magdalene. Between Matthew and Mark, were Mary (Mother of Jesus), Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) and Anna (the woman who prophesied about Jesus and was an old woman when she witnessed Jesus at the temple).
There are depictions of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist, when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus in the form of a dove. This was prior to Jesus spending 30 days and 30 nights in the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan.
There are depictions of Jesus teaching at the temple. While he was teaching the teachers of the law were trying to kill him.
There is a depiction of the last supper, where Jesus gathered his disciples together to have a meal before he headed into Jerusalem towards his final days. It was at this supper that Jesus shared that one of them would betray him. That man was Judas Iscariot. Judas was the keeper of the money bag for the disciples, also listed as a thief and that he used his position for his own personal gain. After Jesus was crucified, Judas realizing his error threw the 30 coins of silver in the temple and went out and hung himself.
The final depiction that I photographed was what was described as the majestic, triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, on the back of a donkey, with his follows waving palm leaves and laying their clothes on the ground as he passed through. Little did his follows or his disciples know what was to come in the next weeks.
Walking around the back of the church I spotted this bicycle stationed at one of the back entrances. I loved the feeling that you would be welcomed in.
Something that has always fascinated me is why some churches have gargoyles. I saw it at this church. Norte Dame has them. I recently saw it at a local Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach, while doing a photoshoot. Reading last night the gargoyle is a ugly form carved or molded into a shape and used as a water spout on many of these buildings. The purpose was to preserve the masonry of the building. They were apparently also meant to inspire fear into the parishioners reminding them of the evil outside of the parish. The gargoyle I saw recently was not a water spout but a interesting little fella hanging out on the edge of a wall.
Trinity Church is unique for anyone to visit. It is not just about believing in Christianity. The architecture is fantastic, the stories are told in such an incredible way through the talented gifts of an artist. You cannot help but be moved by the beauty of this building.
Share Six: November 2019: Portraits
Posted on November 6, 2019
Wow, 2 more months and it is the end of the year. I feel like the year has just flown and I and caught up in the whirlwind. I am 4 weeks out from going live with a new EMR system that we have been busy customizing the past 3 months. I find myself thinking “when am I going to have time to get out and go and play again” Added to that I think my camera is going on vacation to Canon without me. Ever since we visit Niagara, I feel like the images have been a little soft, and I keep getting a message to clean my camera when I do multiple images. I did have it cleaned locally but the issue happened again. Ugh!! I know I question myself when I took the camera into the water but I did it anyway. Lesson learned.
This month the theme for the month is {Portraits}. This fitted right in with my time frame. My daughter recently asked me to do some photo’s of her. She wanted to update her social media images. She arrived with a change of clothes and we went outside into the garden. The neighbors garage wall was the back drop and I had some fun with her.
Amy has always been my go-getter. She worked hard at school, worked hard at university, and then decided to join the Peace Corp where she spent 27 months in Macedonia. She is now back on home soil and has joined the rest of the working world. She has packed a lot into the time she has been home, buying a condo, getting married, gained two kittens and heading out to work each day.
I love black and white images, and knowing her personality, I decided this month to do them all in black and white, going from blown out to just a little grungy.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six blog post. This is a circle blog. From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle. Please take time to visit my friend and very talented artist Katherine of Cobert Photography and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.
Come and share your images Facebook and Instagram tagging #sharesix_portrait
Tell me a story: October 2019: Fort Clinch
Posted on October 31, 2019
For the longest time I have wanted to visit Fort Clinch and see what the State Park was like. For most of our trips we have gone as far as St Augustine, and not gone any further. Recently we did a trip to Cumberland Island and we took a detour along the coast and at my request we stopped at Fort Clinch.
Imagine a a flat image of a house (pentagon) with it’s roof pointing towards the ocean. That is the aerial view of Fort Clinch. The fort has double layers of outer walls, with a sunken interior courtyards, and 2-story buildings used as bunkhouses.
Walking up to the Fort you do not get the full impression of it size of it’s shape.
You enter over a drawbridge and through a long tunnel. Side doors flank the tunnel giving access to the space between the double wall where soldiers would position themselves to fire at the enemy.
Today Fort Clinch is part of the Florida State Parks and is an attraction that many visit. But like all forts it has it’s history
Back in the 1700’s the area was occupied by the Spanish, who then held the colonies. Situated at the entrance of the St Mary’s River and Cumberland Island, many nations occupied and fortified the area.
Around the end of the Seminole Wars, the United States began to build a fort, and in 1847 it was named Fort Clinch. The fort construction used approximately 5 million bricks to complete it.
In 1861 Confederate soldiers took command of the fort and during the Civil War proceeded to use it as a safe haven for blockade runners.
In March of 1862, the fort was abandoned and was later occupied by Federal troops in order to take control of the Georgia Florida waterways. Throughout the Civil War Fort Clinch was used as a Union base.
In 1898 the fort was abandoned and left to deteriorate. In the 1930’s during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps began the restoration of the fort. In 1935 the fort and land around it was purchased by the State of Florida to become what is now Fort Clinch State Park
During WW2, the fort was used as a communications and security post, and post war was opened back up to public viewing.
As you can see I was fascinated by the contrasting lights of the windows, rooms and passageways.
I was glad that we took the time to stop by and view this fort. I would certainly encourage you to stop by. The fort is interesting and there are lots of like tunnels and walkways to venture through. The courtyard is big and if you are there on the weekend you may catch a Civil War re-enactment.
This is a circle blog so click here to see what ___________ has for you this month has for you this month.
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30 Minutes in the Life: October 2019
Posted on October 28, 2019
I will confess that this is going more than 30 minutes but I wanted to share the day at the island in one blog. For a while now I have wanted to take a trip to Cumberland Island. Where is it you may ask. Cumberland Island is situated on the very tip of Georgia and is is just across the river mouth from Fernandina Beach in Florida. Of course, we are at practically at the opposite tip of Florida, so it is a good 5 hour trip just to get out of Florida. We were heading to St Mary’s in Georgia. We arrived late afternoon after spending some time exploring Fort Clinch in Fernandina Beach. More about that later this week. St Mary’s has a ferry that travels from the town directly to Cumberland Island.
Why Cumberland Island? For the longest time I have heard and read about wild horses on the island. A bit of research also told me that there were also some ruins to visit. Those two items were my goal. We arrived at St Mary’s with enough time to check into our B&B called the Goodbread House. This was a quaint multi-roomed house that had different themed rooms and a lot of knicks and knacks. Our hosts were very friendly and got us settled into the Gable and Lombard room very efficiently. I will add that the bathroom was dedicated to Marilyn Munro and Elvis Presley. Such fun.
We had to go out for dinner and so we started to walk down the main street looking for different options and finally found ourselves at a place called 401. Out in the gardens they had live music while we waited for a table to come free. The music was awesome and they had a great selection of songs. Dinner was the best, and added to that, I was able to photograph this beautiful sunset.
8am and we are packed up and ready to head out to the island. We had to go and get our tickets at a local office and pay the fee to go on the island and then it was a 5 minute walk to the ferry where everyone was waiting. I was thinking way to many people but I am happy to say that the island was so big that we really did not encounter that many people.
My goal of course was to find the horses and see the ruins, and so we began our walk down the road towards the ruins. One thing I love about Northern Florida and Georgia is the Spanish Moss that covers the trees. It kind of gives that eerie kind of feeling. We had tried to plan out how much time it would take us to get around the course we had planned. 3-4 hours which would give us enough time to make it back to the 2:45 ferry.
The island is made up of various sectors of nature, the wooded area, the marshy area, the rolling dunes and the wide open beaches. We started off by walking through the wooded area, along a long road towards the ruins. While there was not a lot of color, every so often I would spot a flower or some autumn looking leaves.
We spotted our first horses as we walked towards the ruins. I was so excited. My horses were the tame kind of wild horses. Actually we were warned that if we had apples, not to show them to the horses. They were kind of pushy in their endeavor to get to your apples. These two did not do much more than eat grass and walk away from us. But still I was pretty stoked.
There were two horses at the entrance, one was slightly bigger than the other.
Our first view of Dungeness Ruins was as we passed the horses. History has it that this was the winter home of Thomas Carnegie. He lived there with his wife and 9 children. Soon after the home was constructed Thomas died. His wife Lucy and the family continue to live there. She made alterations to the house to make it bigger. In 1916 Lucy Carnegie passed away. In 1959 the house caught on fire and today only the ruins remain. We were able to walk around the house but could not go into the ruins. Based on the ruins, the house must have been spectacular in it’s day.
In front of the ruins is where I saw my third horse, once again eating grass. This horse did show a little more interest in us. I actually loved seeing the horse against the backdrop of these incredible ruins.
We walked beyond the ruins heading towards the marshy area. On our way we saw this pack of 3 horses, and just beyond that another 3 were working there way towards this group.
We continued down a pathway, through a walkway, down a slight incline, and there we were, walking along a boardwalk towards the marshland. It was so flat and had weaving waterways. It was great to see an Osprey overhead doing some fishing, and a Great Blue Heron hanging out in the water. Richard also got to see a Spoonbill wading through the water sifting through the sand to find some treats. We did not stay to long in this area before pushing on to the sand dunes.
It would be remiss to have an island habitat, without the carrion hunters and we came across 6 Black Vultures as we walked across the sand dunes. I love the Black Vultures. The are so elegant when compared to the Turkey Vulture, who in my opinion, is really quite ugly.
The soft sand gave way to the waters edge. We were asked to cross the dunes at designated points so as not to do damage to the beautiful dunes.
In front of us, was a view of the island beach, stretching beyond where I imagined we would need to go, until Richard said we were walking to where all the people were and that looked a long long way away.
The first casualty of the ocean that we came across was a Horseshoe Crab. Apparently they are not actually a true crab. Interestingly they apparently move to shallow waters during breeding season. The female can lay up to 120 000 eggs and then the male will come along and fertilize them. Sadly most of them do not make it as the shore birds eagerly snatch up the eggs.
The second interesting item found on the beach was what appeared to be a buoy. Clearly it had been around a while and was totally rusted in places.
The second casualty that I found was this perfectly formed crab body. Look at those pincers. I happened to spend some time before the boat left watching a couple of crabs fighting with each other. Those pincers are serious weapons.
As we move down the beach we noticed a huge flock of terns hanging out at the edge of the water. As Richard walked along I was hoping that the birds would take off. They kept just moving to the end of the group. No major take off.
Just beyond the sand dunes and the sea grasses we found a fallen log. It was there that we ate our picnic lunch that the B&B has secured for us – cold meat stuffed inside pita bread, a packet of chips and some peanut butter crackers and some ice cold water. It was so peaceful and I was grateful to stop for a short while.
Heading across the boardwalk the stretched along the dunes I spotted a bit of color.
A close up on the sea grass normally known Sea Oats. The Sea Oats is a subtropical coastal grass typically found on sand dunes and beach areas.
And just like that we were heading back into the shaded wooded pathways that lead back to the campsites and the ferries. Oh yes you can camp on the island, but be warned, it is rustic camping. There is no electricity and showers are heated with a solar bag system. From what I have heard, when the sun goes down the mosquito’s and no see ems come out to play. Thankfully we were not camping, because they do love me.
One of the highlights of the trip heading back to the mainland was Richard spotting a dolphin. The pictures are not perfect, but it was an amazing moment. The dolphin was swimming just ahead of the boat and kept popping up out of the water. It traveled with us for quite a way before it dived deep. Trying to time when the dolphin would appear was hard, but it was worth hanging over the edge of the boat to see this beautiful mammal.
45 minutes later we are back at St Mary’s and ready to disembark, drop off the cooler bag, and head out. Next stop was Vilano Beach in St Augustine. However, look out for our visit to Fort Clinch later this week. We had stopped at the fort on the way up to St Mary’s.
Thank you for joining us for another month of 30 Minutes. Just a reminder that this is a circle blog. I would encourage you to take some time to visit my very talented friend Jess from Crystal of Crystal Bella Photography and see what she has for you this month. I am pretty excited to learn more about these wonderful ladies from all over the world. I would certainly encourage you to visit their pages
Share Six: October 2019: Pink
Posted on October 6, 2019
For Share Six this month we will be doing our final Disease awareness highlight for 2019.
For all of you ladies, and men, out there, this month is Breast Awareness Month and pink is our color. I have a cousin who was diagnosed and fought to win against breast cancer. Two years ago, a fellow photographer was diagnosed with breast cancer and I followed her journey, prayed for her recovery, and have witnessed an extraordinarily strong woman have to deal with a painful part of her life. Our own Janet Douglas is a breast cancer survivor as well.
Now I will confess to being a bit of an ostrich. If I stick my head in the sand it will go away. Honestly, the less I know the better I feel. That way I do not have to worry about anything. But I know that is not the best way to look at life.
However, if I am worried about it I will definitely do something. I had never had a mammogram. I had heard that they hurt like hell. I was staying away from that lady and the jaws of death… And then I had a pain in an area that I should not have had pain in and so I pulled up the big girl panties and headed off to the gynecologist who automatically sent me off for a mammogram. I sucked it up, only to find that I either had an exceptional radiographer or it was not as bad as I had been led to believe. Turned out I had muscle pain. That was good news but I will be honest and confess that I was a little nervous. I know that I will need to go for another one in the near future. I won’t put it off for too long this time.
Ladies check your breasts regularly. If you are bathing or showering take time to feel for changes in the normal structure of your breasts. Look for a change in the size and shape of your breast. If you have pain in your breast, don’t let it go, get it checked out. If you are not breastfeeding and have nipple discharge, get it checked out. If you find a lump in your breast or under your arm, get it checked out. Be proactive, rather than reactive. The consequences of pushing it aside could be a long and heartbreaking journey, which you may survive or you may not. Don’t let it go. Take a look at the CDC site for more information on breast cancer
While it may be uncommon, Men, you don’t get off Scot free. Like woman, if diagnosed early enough you have a good chance for cure. Watch out for thickening of the breast tissue, or a random lump that is not painful. If you have changes to the skin area of the breast. If it is red, dimpled, puckering or scaling, get it checked out. Discharge or changes to the nipple area, get it checked out. For more information on cancer in men, take a look at this site at the Mayo Clinic
Remember be proactive, rather than reactive. While we have not had breast cancer in our family, my husband has had a melanoma, that spread to the glands under his arms. I knew the fear of being newly married with a husband who now had one of the deadliest cancers I knew of. He survived but it could have gone the other way. My dad was not so lucky. He had pancreas cancer. His time was very short once diagnosed. Don’t leave it. When it is too late, it is definitely too late.
What are some of the risk factors for breast cancer:
- Getting older
- Genetic Mutations
- Reproductive history
- Having dense breasts
- Personal history of breast cancer or some non cancerous breast diseases
- Family history of breast cancer
- Previous treatment using radiation therapy
Some of the ways that breast cancer is treated:
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Hormonal therapy
- Biological therapy
- Radiation therapy
Some of the side effects of treatment:
- Hair Loss
- Nausea
- Tiredness
- Skin Changes
Most of my information has been researched on the CDC site
If you are dealing with breast cancer, you have my heart. The journey I followed with my photographer friend, has been up and down, good days and bad days, laughter and tears, sometimes more tears than laughter. She has been strong. She was fighting for her life, for the opportunity to have more years with her husband and her young children. It has not been easy for her, but she has stayed strong, and even on the hard days she has been as positive as she can be.
This month the theme color is pink. I have to confess pink is not my favorite color. Added to that work has been crazy and I did not have time to go out searching for pink. So today I am sharing some of my favorite pink images I have in my files.
This last image speaks to me. While in New York in July ’19, I saw a lady selling photographs which I really loved. However, we were just starting out on our day’s activities and I could not see how I could carry it around, take photographs and not damage the image. Walking along the highline, I happened to look down at the Chelsea Market and spotted this image on the side wall of the Chelsea Market and I fell in love. The artist Kobra did an amazing piece of work not only on the Chelsea Market wall but further along as well. I will confess that there was a street light in the middle of my image which I painstakingly took 5 hours to remove to get the end result of this image.
Mother Theresa, born Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, in Skopje Macedonia, is one of the women that I admire. Simple, humble and caring, she tried to emulate unconditional love all her life to the women of India. In 1948 Mother Theresa began her missionary work to the poor. She labored in the slums of Calcutta. To be willing to give your all, humbles me. She humbles me.
On a side note, I hope to go to Macedonia next year, to celebrate the marriage (18 months later) of my daughter to her husband Daniel with his family.
Mahatma Ghandi, was born in Gujarat, Western India. He trained to be a lawyer, but when that was not working out so well, he traveled to South Africa to assist an Indian merchant in a law suit. Ghandi stayed in South Africa over 21 years, actually living in a area not far from where I grew up, years before I was born. The house had been memorialized over the years. He was a civil right activist in South Africa. In 1915 he returned to India. In 1948 Ghandi was assassinated on his way to a prayer meeting. If you have not ever watched the movie, check out Ben Kingsley in his role as Ghandi. It was excellent.
In the words of Mother Theresa “Peace begins with a smile“, and that is what I see in both faces in this image. Let us try to spread love with a smile, with all those we come in contact with. Remember to be proactive rather than reactive.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six blog post. This is a circle blog. From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle. Please take time to visit my friend and very talented artist Janet Douglas and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.
Come and share your images Facebook and Instagram tagging #sharesix_pink
Tell me a Story: September 2019
Posted on September 30, 2019
Today is one of those months where I have two blogs go live in one day. Earlier on I shared some time in Central Park, New York. This blog I am going to share our trip to Staten Island.
For every foreigner, New York is that illusive place you hear about, along with Miami, and LA. It’s in the movies, it in books, you hear about it on television and you feel like you have to visit. I have seen Miami. I have now seen New York. LA will have to be on the trip down under.
Along with New York comes the Statue of Liberty, the welcoming beacon to all of those immigrants so many years ago, and one that today’s immigrants also look to and are thankful for the opportunity to be in the USA. I am one of those immigrants.
While we are immigrants, all of my family still live in South Africa. This trip was about spending time with my brother and his wife while they were in the USA. Today’s adventure is just a small part of our day. We were going to Staten Island, Dumbo, Walk the Brooklyn Bridge, World Trade Center and the 911 Memorial Site.
So we were up early and off to the train station. The train arrived and there was standing room only. This was the early morning commute. We were squashed into the compartment like sardines in a tin. It was hot, sweaty and I felt profoundly grateful that I did not have to do this every day, and very sorry for those that did. And yes, the compartment was air-conditioned but honestly – way to many people.
In the pre-planning phase of the trip, we had looked at the cost of the trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the number of people who visit it on a daily basis and the length of time it took. None of us wanted to go down that avenue. We also had a jam packed day of activities and this was just a small part of it.
So a tip to any traveler who wants to see the Statue of Liberty but does not want the cost, crowds and length of time it takes, take a ferry boat ride to Staten Island. It is free. It also goes past the Statue of Liberty. If you have a good camera and a great zoom lens you will get some fairly decent images. I guess here is the time to make my stupidity confession. While packing my camera lens, I somehow packed my heavy macro lens instead of my 300mm zoom lens. Bummer, but at least my lens I used for the trip was a 24-135mm so I had some level of zoom in it.
The trip takes about 40 minutes each way and one of the goals was to get the New York Skyline. I feel like that is what this blog is about mainly. I managed to get one I was happy with and you will see that I have edited it in a number of different ways. The image above is linked to my maiden name and so I could not resist taking the Hudson River. New Jersey on one side and New York on the other.
Above is my color edit of the New York skyline. The day was overcast and we had had a few drops of rain. No fun for a photographer but it did add to the mood of the black and white images.
Ellis Island, so history goes, was in use from 1892 to 1924 and was used as the immigration access point for over 12 million immigrants. Annie Moore was the first immigrant to step through the doors of Ellis Islands immigration center. Annie, age 15, was traveling to the USA with her 2 younger brothers in order to meet up with her parents. All immigrants needed to successfully pass a medical test proving that they had no illnesses. They also had to pass an interview proving that they could support themselves in this new country and prove that they had sufficient funds with them. After 1917 they also had to prove that they could read. The island had two nicknames, “Island of Hope” and in contrast “Island of Tears”. For if you did not pass any of the tests you were sent home. From all accounts families got separated at this process. According to the records April 17, 1907 was Ellis Islands busiest day. 11747 people were processed through the facility that day.
I always thought the Statue of Liberty was built as a beacon welcoming foreigners to it’s shore, but reading history today tells me otherwise. According to history the statue of liberty’s origins lay in France. Edouard de Laboulaye presented the idea to the sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. Bartholdi designed, raised funds and chose the location of where the statue would be situated. This statue was to be a gift from the people of France
The statue was built in a number of stages and shipped to the USA. Gustave Eiffel, famously known for the Eiffel Tower, was hired to build the internal construction of the the statue, an iron grid structure would give support to the statue. The outer form was constructed from copper which has oxidized and turned green over the years. The statue is meant to represent the freedom and liberty of the United States Government. She was designed and modeled after the goddess Liberatas. Enlightenment of the world is symbolically represented in the torch that she holds up high, and the tablet represents the law. The tablet has an inscription date in Roman numerals of July 1776. The chains at her feet are said to represent breaking free from tyranny.
Above is my silhouette version of New York City. Black and white city images add character for me and are definitely one of my favorite ways to see a city.
In the distance is the view of Jersey Island, New York City and Brooklyn to the right with a slight glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Before we knew it we were looking forward and at the arrival point to Staten Island.
Staten Island is not a small island, and we did not have the time to explore much there but we did get to walk along the waterfront for a short bit of time.
As we were arriving so ferries were preparing to leave.
The waterfront area was colorful and interesting and we quickly found a Starbucks to get our early morning java.
Below was one of my favorite views on Staten Island, and so while my brother and sister in law were visiting the pharmacy, I took the opportunity to head back to this area and take some photo’s of this statue.
Of course, for me, I love to see this kind of artwork in black and white so I have detoured from color here to fill my need to see city scenes in monochrome.
This was the last hazy shot from Staten Island of New York City before we headed back to the ferry to do the 40 minute trip back to the mainland and on to Dumbo.
Clearly people love to have fun out on the water and it was great to see these jet ski’s out and about.
Some interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty:
The green exterior of the Statue of Liberty is copper that has changed color due to oxidation.
If you are up to climbing the statue right to the top of the crown, plan on being fit, you will need to navigated 354 steps. In fact I am not sure that you are allowed to do that anymore.
The statue’s face is supposed to represent the mother of the sculptor Bartholdi.
Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island were most likely to see the Statue of Liberty first.
The total weight of the statue is approximately 225 tons.
The spikes or rays sticking out from the crown are supposed to represent the seven continents and seven seas of the world.
My last interpretation of the New York City Skyline – gritty and grainy. New York City has it’s own unique character and a dense population. This is added to by the sheer volume of visitors to the city. Some areas I found a little dirty and other areas I loved.
As we approached the landing bays again, I was struck by the multi-levels of this city. Amidst the tall glass structures are these small buildings and at times I felt the view upwards looked a little like stepping stones.
The docking area has these protection areas built between each docking station made up by numerous posts of wood, preventing ships from bumping up against each other.
We are out of the harbor and our view right now is of Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, we are heading there and yes we are going to cross it. So it is off to the train station again to catch the “under the river” train to the town of Dumbo, where we will begin our walk to the bridge.
This was a once in a lifetime shot for me, as the train was coming in. I attempted it a couple of other times and did not get what I was looking for.
Thank you for joining me this month as we spend time sharing another day in our lives. This is a circle blog. Take some time to view what the other artists have for you this month. Mindy Sauvageau is up next and I can’t wait to read what she has to share.
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