Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

Ocracoke Island is a quiet, tiny island in the Outer Banks. This day brought soft breezes and gentle waves after a ferry boat ride took my friends and me to the shore there. Much like Key West but even smaller, this place has charm and peace. When we walked on the beach there were few people at the end of the day. The ocean, big and wide, surrounded us.

When it was time to meet the ferry to leave, we waited at the dock behind sand dunes, and this is what I saw:

Sometimes I can hardly believe my life.

Arrgh, Matey.

Surfers At The End Of Day

The Effects Of Bill, Avalon Fishing Pier

Kill Devil Hills Fishing Pier

Clearwater Beach

August 18, 2009

My cat's scratching post, at her eye level.

Pot On The Sidewalks

Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. --Robert Benchley

Heroes

This is the cover of a journal I have. We really are the heroes of our own story. It's good to honor our unique stories, each one a good read.

August 12, 2009

Certain thoughts are prayers.
There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body,
the soul is on its knees.
-Victor Hugo

August 11, 2009

Nose Bling

Ok, so my friend has this cute little piercing in her nose. But really? The amazing thing about this picture is THOSE EYES.

August 6, 2009

Barnacle And Shells That Swirl

Shells that swirl like these have always inspired me to collect them, hoping that in time I will find a way to connect them. Not connected as in being in the same space, but connected ... in jewelry? I don't know. I only know that I love looking at them, knowing that they are just the remainder of the whole it used to be. I love knowing that something that has lost a very large part of what it was has become beautiful in spite of that loss. These shells give me hope in their beauty.

Charge!

There are mornings when I wake up with this attitude. Not many, but there are some - on top of the world, ready to go! Fight the good fight! Yay!

Monthly Feature: My Best Friend's Toes, August Edition

So my best friend had her pedicure the other day, with the beach inspiring the theme. On the toe of one foot, a sea horse with waves, on the other, a turtle. By the time I was able to take these pictures, the little sea horse was ready to bolt and the turtle had somehow lost a leg. With a little ingenuity, a dab of polish and a bit of patience, we tamed the sea horse but that turtle's leg is M.I.A. :



The sea horse frolics once more:




I understand there's a possibility of a mid-month update, so stay tuned!

Life Within Life

My camera was less than an inch away from this tiny shell which has barnacles on it and if you look closely there's a barnacle inside of one of those. You can see the fine grains of sand but really as I look at it, it's not easy to explain how small this shell is. And honestly, if I took a picture to show the scale it would lose something. So you'll have to trust me on this.

Lately I've been coming across barnacles on the shore which never ceases to amaze me. I find shells in general to be amazing. Just the incredible amount of time it takes to form one boggles my mind. I often wonder if I could find a way to make it all relative, like when you go to a very old forest and someone puts a sign up that says something like, "when this tree was this many feet high Columbus sailed to America" or something to help me wrap my head around how old these shells must be.