Day 296 - Church in Key West

Not bad for a shot taken through a window of a van.  :) 

Day 295 - Sunset Cruise

So, I've been on vacation.  REAL vacation.  Key West, FL was the destination - and a wedding was the excuse to go there.  :)  It was lovely.

Strange place, Key West.  Though part of the US - it really felt like we were in another (Spanish speaking) country.  Lots of alcohol.  An entirely eclectic mix of people.  Very warm weather.  :)

We signed up for one of those package deals for watersports.  Turned out to be a great idea and they threw in a sunset cruise free of charge.  Going on vacation in the off season lends itself to those kinds of bargains.  Yay!

This was taken with my little camera on that cruise.  I've been reading a couple of books involving pirates and this picture seemed to capture so much of what I've been reading.  Open sea, gorgeous skies that can turn treacherous in minutes, and the dark that can inhabit each of our hearts. 

Aye! 

Day 294 - Fallen Mushroom

While we've been out of town these past two weeks, the weather has been perfect for the growth of mushrooms.  Our yard and woods are covered with them!  In all sorts of sizes and colors.  It's pretty amazing, actually.

Here's a rather large one - it had fallen over.  Sad.

But lovely.

Day 292 and 293 - More Neema at the Beach

Even with the first day's fiasco fresh in my mind, I decided it was just not right for Matt and I to go to the beach without Neema.  So, we took her along and I employed a new strategy for allowing her to play successfully without developing explosive diarrhea.  It worked, for the most part.  :)

And look how happy she is!  :)  Wet dog = happy dog. 

The first part of the plan was to use something bigger that was easier for her to see - that way she didn't go pouncing in the water for her toy that was not there (and thus prevent the huge guzzle of salt water.)  So, I used her Jolly Ball.  It's bigger than any other toy she has AND it floats!

The second part of the plan involved keeping the Jolly Ball in the really shallow surf or up on the wet sand.  No diving = less water intake = less diarrhea = happier Neema and me. 

:)  We totally and completely wore her out.  It was so good .  It was a lovely day and we 3 all had a great time. 

Day 291 - Jed at Sunrise

My dad's old boy, Jed in the glow of an East Tennessee early fall morning. 

Day 290 - The Angel Oak

The Angel Oak is a very old tree - at least 1500 years old and is declared the oldest living Oak tree in the US! 

It's quite cool - and quite popular.  It was hard to photograph it well with all of the other people running around. 

However, I stayed until the park closed and lucky for me - it started to drizzle rain 5 minutes before closing.  That ran everyone off - except me.  :) 

I was able to get a few great shots sans tourists - but this one is my favorite.

Day 289 - Sunset on the Intercoastal Waterway

So, I did make it to the beach yesterday and it was great.  Then there was a good little rainstorm that hit right as I got back to the house.  I ate supper and then looked outside - instead of gray sky I saw amazing blue sky with awesome clouds.  I quickly decided to go and photograph the sunset and was given directions to this spot near John's Island. 

Great little spot to capture the sunset.  It was lovely.