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Archive for the ‘Family/Friends’ Category

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Posted by Picasa
Today the ocean is so peaceful.  These are late afternoon photos taken of the beach out front. 

Joe and I took a walk today and followed the quiet, shallow waters at low tide.  Baby bonefish were everywhere, as was one lone baby barracuda, sliding through the water like a silver knife, shadow below his belly. 

We were awestruck with the calm.

One of our heighbor’s children came out with her father to take care of the dogs while her father fished.  She was having fun running with the dogs, chasing them, picking things up and tagging along with her Dad.  Her playground is huge.  The silence is enormous. 

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Heavy Traffic on the Beach

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Posted by PicasaOne of my favorite birds are the Sanderlings (Calidris alba).  These little ones feed on the sandy beaches.  When the waves hit the shore, the Sanderlings run around them, never getting wet, even though they are so close.  They never seem to move their head or body, just their legs. I would guess that they may take as many as 5 or 6 steps per second so their legs look like little blurs as their bodies float by.  I can walk with them for long periods of time, but if I pick up my camera to take a photo, they fly away.

One of our neighbors here at Bahama Palm Shores, Ann Capling, did a water color painting of them that we have hung in our hallway.  Part of her painting looks like this.

The Sanderling tracks are everywhere on the beach.

 

If this were the only beach traffic we got, it would be wonderful.

Oil painting, “Sanderlings”, by Mary Chamie

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Jingle Bells; Parrot Style

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 13, 2010| 2 Comments »

Their feathers don’t match the song.  These parrots are beautiful to look at with their bright green, yellow and orange feathers.  But they sure could use a singing lesson.  I posted their song for you to hear

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Birds in our Backyard

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

We are going to participate in the December 18th 2010
Friends of the Environment
 7TH  Annual South Abaco Christmas Bird Count


I thought it a good idea to start reading up on what we might see and found this great report from the Cornell Lab or Ornithology that talks about all the birds in our area here in the Abacos.
Birding in Bahamas – Spring 2009 Living Bird, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Hanging out the laundry to dry in the backyard is a joy. There are the sounds of parrots squawking and the chatter of little birds of various sizes at times perched on branches just a few feet away from the clothesline.  They are so close that sometimes I duck when they fly by.  If I come out early in the evening, the Night Heron screams at me and rushes her feathers hoping to keep me at bay.  I hear her at night from time to time as she squawks at other intruders, I guess most likely feral cats.

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Took a Walk, Met a Crabby Friend

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 8, 2010| 4 Comments »

Crab

He got up and greeted me..

Then, I went on my way.

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It’s the same sun, but…. a different temperature.

Posted in Family/Friends, Gardening on December 3, 2010| 2 Comments »

New York Sunset.
Abaco Sunrise.
Starting tomorrow,  I am  moving to the Abacos for the winter months.  I wonder if there are any bananas on the banana tree?

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Hastings High School and Hudson River

Posted in Family/Friends, tagged on December 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

To all you graduates out there, this is what the school looks like from Hudson Heights.  The  Hudson River dominates the background. We can hear the distant cheers from soccer games, football games and of course, the first day of school when all the seniors show up to scream and shout and bang on drums notifying the school system that they are only here for 8 more months.

Here is a larger view of that same scene showing Hastings-on-Hudson and its High School from Hudson Heights. Our children walked to and from school every day with their books on their back, trombones, trumpets, violins in hand.  The trip was straight up and down.

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Tired of weeding? Look up.

Posted in Family/Friends, Gardening on November 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

The Palisades are a terrific respite from hours of weeding and raking,  my knees stuck in the dirt, arms and legs weary from tugging and pulling on horrible, creepy, invasive vines.  It pays every once in awhile to stop looking down at the weeds and to look up and catch the larger view.   This view reaches past all the noisy leaf blowers, dismisses the roars of lawn mowers and shifts one’s thoughts beyond ones aching muscles.  When I stand up from weeding, I see the Palisades of New Jersey across the Hudson River. What a mood they provide each day. Posted by Picasa

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A New Approach to Getting There

Posted in Family/Friends on November 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Falling, tumbling, rolling down the hill, limping upon our return. We finally gave in and repaired the steps. Now the entire backyard is available to us for planting. We have a completely new medium for our work. Water trickles through the granite rocks leaving small streams to be a constant source of water for certain portions of the yard. Shade mixes with bright sun. It is a bit like going into the Grand Canyon, because the noises of the street and yard disappear as we step lower into the backyard. You can see what our steps used to look like in the 2009 part of this blog.

A woman visited us last year and told us that she lived in our house 35 years ago.  She said her parents built  the original steps so that she could quickly visit her best friend and neighbor who lived in the house below.  Now that the steps are finally repaired, I envision a new group of children using them them for adventures exploring the backyard.  Hopefully this includes our grandchildren.

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Art Mimics Nature

Posted in Family/Friends on November 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Gabriel’s painting of our bird bath out front

  Photo of the front garden taken this morning.

Above is a painting of the front garden that our son Gabriel did when he was in high school and below it is a photo of the same place, today.  This part of the garden is a haven for birds.

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