Summer pass times and being a kid.

When we were kids, one of our favorite things to do in the summer was to go tubing. Tubing involves floating on the inner tube from an old tire. I have fond memories of slow glides down the river with occasional splashes and little rapids. When I was eleven, we moved into a place on the edge of town that was irrigated. We had the "little ditch" bordering our property on one side and the "big ditch" just a hop or two away. The little ditch was never more than about eighteen inches deep and I could jump across it in most places. The big ditch was another story, It could get quite deep and in places was ten to twelve feet (a little more than four meters) across. We had a shortcut from school that involved using a rope swing to go across the big ditch. you could not use it if you had very much to carry, but it felt like grand adventure when you did. It was fairly easy to talk Mom into letting me go tubing alone in the little ditch. The big ditch required at least one other person and a parent at home.

One summer I got to go to Camp Atoka. It was a church sponsored camp for girls. My friend Shannon and I both got to go. We did the usual camp type crafts and woodsy skills. We sang a lot of silly songs including a slightly warped version of "Camp Atoka Girls" sung to the tune of "California Girls" that I wish I could remember all the words for. We also got to go tubing in the river. Oh, my it was wonderful. Once we all got to talking and floated clear down to where the river flows into the reservoir. We had a long walk back but we did not mind a bit.

Yesterday, my Sweet Hubby took me TUBING!! We went to a spot up in North Carolina where you can rent tubes cheaply and into the river we went. There are long smooth stretches, mini rapids, some places where the rocks will bump your bottom and a few spots that are fairly scary. All together, we walked up and floated back down six times. I laughed more yesterday afternoon than I have in years. We both fell off a time or two and we have a few bangs and bumps, but I am smiling just thinking about it. Yesterday afternoon, I dropped, at least temporarily, thirty-three years and I got to share it with my Wonderful Husband.

Guess what, I forgot about taking pictures, not even the planned ones of us next to our big red modern tubes.

Sometimes, you just have to live life and worry about recording it later.

Hope you have a day as wonderful as mine was very soon.

Cheers,

Kat

Some squirrels have a lot of nerve.

The squirrels in Savannah are more than happy to pose for me.

The squirrels everywhere else are too.

This little guy could not wait to have his picture taken.

This one was busy, but still took time to pose nicely for my camera.

We have squirrels at home too. They will scamper and play in an adorable fashion for hours.

They leap from tree to tree or bounce across the ground like little balls of fluff.

When the camera comes out, they disappear.

Now, to add insult to injury, while we were off taking photos of Savannah squirrels,

ours were having a pecan party on the front steps, and they left their mess for us to clean up.

That is a lot of nerve.

Smiles, they are still cute.

Cheers,

Kat

Column Envy

My new blog heading reminded me there was still one more Blog from Rome I wanted to write.

It seems as if every building in Rome is either marble or has columns on it.

The Pope has some great columns.

The war memorial and museum has lots of columns.

You can climb stairs to the top and look out over the city from here.

All these columns!

This ancient front porch is rather spectacular.

I wanted to take this lovely column home, but didn't think it would go in the carry on (My Sweet Hubby loves me enough to pose for silly photos, just because I asked him too).

When it comes right down to it, I think I like my columns better. I love to travel but their is no place like home.

Cheers,

Kat

Dad and Tipsy

This is one of my favorite pictures of my Dad.

It is from an old slide that was probably taken by my Mom.

The fine feline is Tipsy, she was my first cat.

This photo was taken at some point in the late 60's or early 70's.

Kat

More Flower sculptures and flowers

As promised, here are the rest of the critters from our flower festival. They are an art form all there own.

Our first picture here is an early morning ape. He has his cup of coffee and is holding his newspaper high. The ape is a much improved repeat performer from last year.

This odd fellow is a Bearcat from Lander U (where I earned my BSN). I have never seen one wandering around, except on campus and I suspect that one is a guy in a suit. Oh well, go Bearcats!

This, in case you are not from The South, is a University of South Carolina, USC, Gamecock. There is a lot of rivalry over who supports what football team and this is a Southern favorites. He is about 15 feet tall.

I think this one  is just plain sweet. A flower pony. He is slightly larger than life size.

Once again, this year, the Mama and Baby Elephants are my favorites. The baby is a fountain!

This exotic looking beauty was growing over a fence in Savannah yesterday.

Lilly

I don't know what this is, I stuck my camera through a fence to take the photo. The ball of flowers is about 8 inches across and grows on the end of a two or three foot long stalk.

Pretty colors,

See the Katydid?

Have a great Monday and enjoy the sunshine!

Kat

Mini post, another flower festival

Our little town is having it's annual flower festival, these are a few of the stars.

A sea horse down town.

Hydrangea, I do love walking in other people's gardens (with their permission of course).

More Flower Festival photos to come.

Cheers,

Kat

List of "Things That Make Me Smile",

1. Soft Summer Evenings on the porch with the scent of Magnolia blossoms gently underscoring the song of the birds and bugs.

2. Long drives with time to stop and take a few photos, the geese a silent surprise, rocking oh so gently on the waves and fireflies that move too fast to photograph.

3. Early morning in the garden, an alert little visitor watches carefully to see just how close I will come, quietly, softly.

4. Bright summer afternoon rewards, hanging in easy reach. They ripen a few at a time, the hunt is part of the fun, giggles are included.

5. A bowl of sunshine, freshly rinsed, a dessert worth waiting for, mouth full of juicy sweetness. The rain that sang me to sleep as it fell softly on our roof not long ago has made them plump.

Bliss is in the moment, find it, catch it, share it.

Kat

With thanks to Cat from corner of cats mind for the inspiration,

Carousel at Myrtle Beach, A New Obsession,

This is another one of those times where my obsession for photography really paid off.

My Sweet Hubby and I went down to Myrtle Beach. It was a lovely evening, so we decided to go for a walk after dinner. I as usual, had my camera with me.

This was our first visit to Myrtle Beach and we did not know anything about the area. We expected just a bunch of tourist shops on "Broadway at the Beach".

We found camels and dragons!

This is by far the most interesting carousel I have ever seen.

It was made by Herschell - Spillman back in 1912.

It even has cats! I have seen lions and tigers before,

here we have not just one, but two kitties.

According to the sign posted outside the carousels pavilion, the carousel has been at Myrtle Beach since 1950. (So yes, Zuzana, it is the same one). It has a giraffe.

A very well dressed goat.

These pictures were hard to get as the carousel was moving more often than not. Can you see the details?

I don't know if pigs fly, but I will never hear the saying again without thinking of this guy.

The stork. Ready for the next delivery.

My favorite, another cat of course. Do you see the long haired beauty on the side?

This carousel is certainly inspirational. I have so many ideas in my head. A series of prints for a child's room, or maybe a children's story to explain how they all came to be so peacefully together on the ride.

I spent nearly an hour in front of this thing and my Sweet and Patient Hubby just smiled.

I am a lucky girl!

Cheers,

Kat

Sneak Preview, Carousel

Want a sneak peak at tomorrow's post?
Carousel at Myrtle Beach

The Blue Fairy

My latest effort. This is a combination of photo manipulation and digital painting.

I am quite pleased with it.

What do you think?

Kat

Meanwhile, back at the ranch,,,,,,

                            

I know, it isn't really a ranch, but I wanted to use the title anyway. While we were away, Summer appeared. This is the first of these little lizards I have seen so far this year. He was hanging out in the rock garden. Hopefully he will stick around and invite friends, they eat bugs.

When I was little, Mom had these in her garden, we called them tiger Lillies. I just know I like them. We have them all over the yard right now.

A close up of my Lavender. I need to spend some time pulling the weeds that are growing up in it and try to encourage it to spread. I love the stuff! I am so glad it does well here.

This blossom is huge. Eight to ten inches across easy. They smell good too.

Now for a little farther away. We have been walking in some new areas lately. This stretch is a new favorite. There are shady woods.

There is a lovely meadow.

I took pictures of two different types of butterflies. I don't know the names of either one, do you?

This one looks as if it is wearing a painted velvet cloak.

We found a treat. We were only able to gather a small handful of ripe ones, but oh my they are good.

I don't really need to explain this one.

There is even a lazy little river that wanders under a bridge.

Spontaneous looks a little grumpy. Guess I better stop and spoil her a little.

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Kat