Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Holden Onto Summer!

These are some of the few photos I took while we visited Laura, Caleb, and Grace Elizabeth at Holden Beach.  This was early in June, but I'm just now getting around to posting them.  I have a couple more Posts coming after this one, so stay tuned!












































Thursday, July 9, 2009

RIP John Cicada

Just because my yard is mostly concrete doesn't mean that Erin and I don't get to experience nature. This morning I walked out of my building to the smell of fresh air and the sound of a cicada in distress. Don't be alarmed, my overwhelming concern for insects, especially insects big enough to be culinary delights in some countries, spiked my senses and I spotted the giant bug across the parking lot. What I also scoped was the source of the Whisky Drinker's (that's Australian for Cicada) anguish: a freaking Mockingbird. Ah, nature, so peaceful and relaxing. I'm so glad I got to start my morning witnessing a war between a bird and a bird-sized bug. This bird must have been hungry too because he was going at it. Except, in typical Mockingbird fashion, he let the cicada bounce all over the ground making a distorted buzzing sound. Not the normal sound that these bugs make, but one much deeper in tone...I'm pretty sure I saw that bird laugh too. Soon the sound was no more, and Mr. John Cicada (clever, huh?) met his maker...or something like that.

That reminds me...last night after I took Foster for a walk, during which the two of us had to dodge dive-bombing bats...again, isn't nature wonderful..., I came back to the condo and there was a dark, shadowy figure perched on the overhang/balcony of the front entrance of my building. Hmmm, I wondered, what could that be? I'll tell you what it was...it was a hunter. Not a hunter like Billy Bob who wears camo and shoots squirrels for dinner, but a hunter of souls, a demon you might say. It's true! There was a cat sitting on the overhang to the building. How did he get there? Magic...I'm pretty sure this cat was a sorcerer. What was he doing up there? Stalking. Yes, he was stalking prey. Looking for weak souls to gobble up at his every desire. This cat glared, I mean GLARED, at Foster and me as we walked under him to get inside to safety. Again, not to worry, I was more than ready to punt the sucker if he came flying down from his pinnacle of doom.

Which also reminds me...last year, when Erin and I lived downtown, I was walking to work and saw a hawk swoop down from the sky and snatch a squirrel right off the sidewalk. What!? Where am I living? Wild Alaska? I just want to get to work without stepping in squirrel guts. Can I?

-An Ode to the Wild, by Jeremy Morin

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Juices Flowing





Things that are inspiring me right now:
  • Woodstock's 40th anniversary: The music, the spirit, and yes, the "fashions"; I wish I could've been there.
  • The roaring 20's
  • Southern Summer: the smell of honeysuckle that catches you off guard as you're driving down Creedmoor with the windows open, the gorgeous light that flows into our condo each evening at this time, meals and time with friends and family outdoors; is there anything I don't like about summer?  Nope. 
  • My new hairstyle is forcing me to experiment with short hair, and I'm diggin' it.  
  • The Bud (Foster the dog, for those of you who don't know the nickname yet)
  • Dresses and cowboy boots; every Southern girl should at least try it, you'll be hooked.
Find what gets your creative juices going and savor it...