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If you ever feel like what you’re doing won’t last or be remembered, think about a chalk artist. These folks spent 2 days working on their masterpieces, not for money, but because they love doing it. The key is to blend both. I think the top guy in the picture within the picture is trying to figure that out.
There are few things in life better than an early morning surf session.
There are on occasion windy days here in Tampa, Florida. Great for kiteboarders and surfers, but not so great for sea kayakers and boaters. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean you can’t still get out and dip a blade. You can head for inland rivers and waterways where the wind is actually your friend. I don’t know about you, but I’ve absorbed enough Deet in my life time to kill a pterodactyle-sized mosquito. Not having to put on insect repellent is always a bonus for me.
When the wind is up, Weedon is a great spot. Many of the birds congregate down in the mangroves, and you can quietly drift along and soak up the scenery.
As always, remember to make your way to Weedon on the incoming tide.
A dog is a dog, and a bad one isn’t worth spit; but you get a good one and they’re like a member of the family.
About a year ago I lost one of the best dogs a person could ever have. He died of cancer on my birthday during a trip to the North Carolina mountains. My wife and I had him cremated, and his ashes have sat in Tampa, Florida since that time.
Florida is not a befitting location, however, for he was born and always has been a mountain dog. Last week we returned to the Fall air and decorated mountains of North Carolina to spend time with good friends from Charleston, South Carolina. We brought the ashes with us for the sole purpose of returning him to his proper place.
The headwaters of the Chattooga River have long been a place of solace for my family, and it was here that we decided to say our final goodbyes. The ashes were released to the river and swirled around in a fast moving eddy until they slowly dissipated and eventually disappeared. I pictured him filling up pot holes and bouncing over pebbles as he flowed swiftly downstream. My hope is that he made it all the way to Section 4 before finally succumbing to a sandbank.
This kind of heady stuff gets one thinking about how they’d like to go. A settled grave or a more mobile mausoleum? Hopefully we have a long while to think about that question. Until then, the picture above was taken as a reminder of that Fall day we poured out his ashes.
Every Fall season, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate south from Canada to winter in warmer climes. The Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains migrate to southern California, while those east of the Rockies return to Mexico. The two populations are separate and distinct to their regions, never mixing unless by the hand of man. The Monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south, and when they gather together it is an impressive display.
I was hiking around on the southern end of Folly Beach – near Charleston, South Carolina – when I happened upon a large gathering of Monarchs. This alone was beautiful, but something else rather interesting caught my eye. Several of them featured a small round disc on the lower portion of the wing. Turns out it is a polypropylene tag that the University of Kansas uses to monitor the migration patterns of Monarchs.
A quick web search, and I discovered a wealth of information about these fascinating little creatures on MonarchWatch.org. They also have a blog, and according to a recent post, this year will be the smallest migration since 2004 due to excessive drought.
Images courtesy of MonarchWatch.org.
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I still remember as a child collecting caterpillars, poking holes in the metal cap of a glass jar, and impatiently waiting until the day when a beautiful butterfly would emerge from its papery pupa. The transformation was nothing short of amazing. As an adult, I am equally impressed by this fragile creature’s ability to annually navigate what has become increasingly challenging obstacles, all on paper-thin wings.