Robin’s Nest Watch – Day 4

On Friday we noticed an abundance of bird activity in the grape vines over our back patio. A robin was scrimmaging with a couple of chickadees, but I just assumed that the scuffle was over some really tasty bugs!  Turns out that it’s actually a Robin’s nest, complete with a trio of beautiful blue eggs.

I’ve done some reading, and it seems that the eggs gestate for about 12-14 days, with the mama robin spending lots of time sitting in the nest, or giving us the stink-eye from a few metres away as we try to enjoy the backyard.

I’m working on a name for our lovely Robin mama, so do let me know if you have any suggestions!  In the meantime I’ll be keeping a close eye on the nest and will update as things develop.

Are you creative?

Whether you believe it or not, we are all creative!  Everyone starts at the beginning, with little skill, and maybe not much more than a vague desire to make some stuff.  Whatever your ‘thing’ is, just do it. Even if you think you fail miserably, you’re a step ahead of where you were before you tried.

For my birthday, I finally got a lovely new camera that is beginning to let me create what I see in my mind’s eye.  I’ve had a bit of access to cameras the last couple of years, but other than my sister’s (which had too many buttons and was too heavy to carry everywhere!) none of them have given me the freedom to create.  I was longing for the days of my lovely Olympus film SLR! 

I often get stuck partway with steep learning curves, but I’m tackling this one one step at a time, rather than all at once.  Instead of seeking perfection, I’m just looking to have some fun!  As long as I keep learning new things, I don’t mind some flops.  I look forward to looking back at these photos and seeing how far I’ve come!

My first night with the new camera I happened to be an awesome rock n’ roll show with a great bunch of bands and got a few lucky shots (considering I was still learning where the ‘ON’ button was located!)

The only way to really learn is to do, so I’ve tried to keep the camera close at hand with the battery charged and memory card inserted!  As a result I captured some fun shots of a friend’s little guy:

Yesterday I took myself on an Artists’ Date!  It is one of my favourite (long-ignored!) tools for creative growth from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.  The premise is that once a week you schedule an activity for yourself and you keep the date!  It actually should be less about creating art, than about refilling the well and hopefully inspiring you to create more.  I decided to go on a 12km photography walk through urban trails.  I’d been feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much there is to learn, so I focussed on 2 things – depth of field & macros.  Here are a few of my favourite shots:

 

The Itsy Bitsy Spider the size of my hand!

I posted about these guys last year, but they are so amazing, that I just can’t help photographing them sharing my bravery with others!  (I won’t mention that I ducked while my dad, 5 inches taller than me, led the way…)

If you’d like to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver

These were all photographed at Crane Point Museum & Nature Center in Marathon in the Florida Keys.  The webs crisscross overhead along many of the paths, but they are just high enough up that you truly don’t need to worry about walking into them.

Feeling Crabby?

Many moons ago, I was a vegetarian.  I dabbled in being full-fledged vegan, macrobiotic, etc, etc.  It was a decision led by many things from environmental issues, to health, spiritual beliefs and even down to basic costs of buying meat.  When I started to really crave meat, I ignored it for a while, and then finally decided to just listen to my body.  For now, I’m happy to eat what makes me feel good and (when I’m not super-lazy), to try to keep a diverse diet and eat as locally as makes sense.

Obviously I’m currently more than ok with eating seafood!  There’s something pretty amazing about harvesting what you put on your table for you and your family; whether you garden, farm, fish or hunt, it’s wonderful to know exactly how your food got to your fork!

While my sister was down we stopped at Mr. Lobster one day – basically your typical fish market, but it’s outdoors and the boats are tied up behind the fish counters!  They have big pools with live crabs and on a whim we bought a couple for dinner. 

(above photo by Kat)

On the way home we stopped to buy some bait and asked the guys at Caloosa Cove for cooking advice!  Big pot, 1/2 a stick of butter, some garlic, a bit of water, then steam for 6 minutes & eat!

We were overjoyed at the simplicity and he said the magic word – Garlic – so we were sold!

Of course we had to make some garlic butter for dipping too!  (Thanks to Kat for this photo)

Now came the sketchy step that we really hadn’t thought much about until the moment arrived.  Someone had to put the crabs in the pot!  My sister lovingly took these next two photos of me being the “brave one”.

Then we put the lid on the pot, ran into the living room and cranked the volume on the TV while I kept one eye on the pot to be sure there were no escape attempts!

And a short 6 minutes later, voila!

Deliciousness!! And not nearly as traumatic as we made it out to be!

Moral of the story?  Give thanks to Mother Earth for providing you with sustenance.  Your karma will be ok. 😉

Sometimes the sunset is the priority

When you spend some time away from your regular life, you get the chance to rejig things a bit.  You can view your life through a new lens. 

My current lens is filled with sunrises & sunsets (see below for the latter!), with fish and sea creatures, turquoise ocean waters and blue skies.  Jimmy Buffett and ocean breezes are my soundtrack.  Spiced rum & Corona, freshly caught fish and fruit ripened by the sun are the banquet I enjoy here. 

There’s a simplicity about my life at this moment.  Too hot? Take a swim.  Bored?  Bait a hook.  Tired?  Have a nap.  It seems idyllic in some ways, but what it really reminds me is that when I’m at home in my “real” life, I spend far too much time worrying about the how of things.  I get wrapped up in the process, instead of just doing it – whatever “it” may be. 

Here in paradise I take less time thinking about what’s important, and instead allow the act of living become the important thing. 

Reminding myself again to just stop and watch the sunset.  I mean really, truly, watch the sunset.  Shut everything else off and let this moment be what’s important.

 

Bad Snapshots? Make fun art out of them!

I’ve taken a few shots (ok, more than just a few!) that were less than stellar.  Out of focus, badly lit, poorly composed, etc, etc.  As I tried to fix one that I really wanted to save, I realized that by playing around a bit I could get some fun colours and textures that gave new life to an otherwise ‘garbage’ shot. 

Here are some of them that I’ve created.  Hope you enjoy!

And here are the original photos in case you are interested in the “before”.

Sunrise, Sunrise & nothing but the Sunrise on Long Key!

We got up at 6:30am today and went across the street to a little beach to watch the sunrise.  Enjoy!

Turtles and other cuteness!

The winds have calmed today and wow! What a difference!  I’ll post more later once I have access to my sister’s photos, but for now here are a couple pics of the turtle we watched nibble at delicacies at Mile Marker 65 in the Florida Keys:

We think it’s a Loggerhead, but just waiting for a confirmation.

The most amazing sight today was a school of Tarpon meeting a school of about 7 Spotted Eagle Rays and a Barracuda getting caught in the middle of it all.  The Rays wasted no time in letting everyone know who was boss!  THIS is why we love it down here!!

And we had some fun being goofy too because that’s what life’s all about, n’est pas?

My sister’s nickname is Kat.  I think she may have misread the sign!

My sister showing her fish who’s boss!

Sisters. 🙂

The Southernmost Point in the Continental US

For those of us that have spent time in the Keys, Key West is like a trip to the ‘big city’ when you live in a small town.  It’s noisy with lots of people, music, drinking, restaurants, shopping, etc, etc.  This can be disconcerting when you’ve spent days fishing and swimming and being ‘busy’ just with daily life. 

Everything is a journey to get to here.  The Keys are a collection of coral islands connected by one road – the Overseas Highway – 127.5 miles of often single-lane driving from one end to the other.  At the end of the road, is Key West.  Boisterous and with a life of its own, it’s a different breed from the rest of the keys.  Here’s a taste of this historic and vibrant town:

Did I mention that there’s a bit of an anarchist sentiment here, particularly in Key West?  A definite love/hate relationship with the tourists.

Art and music are plentiful from galleries and festivals to street art and barroom crooners.

(above photo by Katrusia Marunchak Paravani)

(above photo by Katrusia Marunchak Paravani)

The Key West Cemetery is beautiful and sad at the same time.  A photographer’s dream as there is no shortage of amazing images to be captured here.

This coat of arms is on the gate to “A los martires de cuba” a section for Cuban freedom-fighters:

The Cuban heritage in the Keys is celebrated and honoured at a beautiful museum on Duval Street.  Here are a couple of images from the museum that I thought were particularly lovely and intriguing:

And of course there are no shortage of watering holes to find fun characters and to drink a rum punch or two!

We celebrate Easter Sunday with a 10-yr-old tradition started by some friends called D4J (Drinkin’ for Jesus).  It began as a reason for friends to get together at least once a year to celebrate the family that we create.  This year I celebrated with the family that I was born into!

My dad telling a story!  As you do when you’re bellied up to the bar in Key West!

My sister took this great photo of Easter Sunday Chicks!!

Some of the random beauty that you come across when you wander the streets of Key West:

And some random silliness!

I have some of my own history here in Key West.  At the age of four I came here for the first time and had my photo taken in front of this amazing Banyan tree!

And for me, no trip to Key West is complete without replenishing my supply of Kino Sandals!

Have I missed anything?  I’m sure I have!!  But you’ll just have to come and explore for yourself.  Stray off the beaten path and make Key West your own.  There’s a lot of magic to be found here.

South Beach, the One I Caught (and ate) and the One that Got Away!

2 posts in one today!  First the South Beach playtime yesterday in photos, and then today’s fishing exploits!

Today we went fishing again (shocking, I know!) and had good luck and bad.  The good luck was that I caught a Blue Runner and we added it to yesterday’s Mangrove Snapper caught by Tato and had an amazing dinner!  Here’s how it played out:

And then I hooked a big ‘un!  At one point a nice boater cut his engine and got close enough to see what we had and he raised his arms in the air and spread them as wide as they would go!  We still don’t know for sure what it was, but best guess is a shark by the way it fought.

After about an hour and a half, and just as the big fish started to tire, a stupid (!!) boater ran over my line and cut it.  My dad defended my honour and walked down the bridge to yell down at them (they were fishing under the bridge by this time) and they just gave attitude.  If they hadn’t pointed out my line and seen what was happening I might have been less irritated, but they were just irresponsible and I just hope that they didn’t harm the fish.

The day ended with a jump in the pool with my sister!  Followed of course by a fabulous dinner!!

Key West tomorrow for “traditional” (for us anyway!) Easter Sunday celebrations at Hog’s Breath Saloon!