FIGHT!

A recent sunrise

OK. Now that I have your attention...

The next few months of walks will be pretty much the same - hot, humid, boring, insect-filled. We have missed much of the fruit and wildflower filled bits. [It is odd to be lifted out of your "place" and then dropped back in a month later. A week is hardly noticed, but you miss a great deal in a month.]

So, I may not write as often (and I am catching up on other walks from that long month anyway) unless there is something to write about...like today.

Does heat cause fights?*

I don't know...I get a little cranky when I start to sweat. Anyone in the family will tell you that. But I just try to cool off - jump in the river, take a shower, stand in front of the refrigerator - you know. But what about other folks?

We wandered down the block, waived at our good neighbor BP who just celebrated a birthday. He was out walking their schnauzer (beautiful dog - good breed - non-shedding).

Continuing on we saw a woman with a terrier like pup. I see her when I drive down for my park walks with a friend...always on the same strip of sidewalk. Then I noticed the older woman who always has a beautiful yard (and often plants the things my mother loved, shrimp plant, zinnias, ferns, bougainvillea) had not picked up her paper. I try to pay attention to the houses of our elderly neighbors. You never know.

I told DH it was strange for her not to be up and then saw her sitting in the breezeway. "Do you want your paper?" I called. She stood up (housecoated - like Mom would have been/cigarette in hand - not so much) and sotto voce began to tell me about the woman with the terrier. "She lets her dog poop in my yard and doesn't pick it up!" she said. Knowing I was in the clear (I had a fresh bag in my hand) I nodded my understanding. "I just told her I had a camera up and would have her charged if she let that happen again without picking up after her dog," warned she (of the lovely yard) and continued "And then she said that she had heard I had a mean streak!"

I shook my head and almost "tisk-tisk-tisked."

We stood there for a few minutes more and commiserated about people who are irresponsible dog owners and thus irresponsible neighbors. Then I moved along to join DH and Paddimus. "I'm always able to turn a 30 second - here's your paper - into a 30 minute conversation," I admitted. DH nodded knowingly.

Sure. It wasn't exactly a "fight," but it is as much of one as we see (or need) in the neighborhood.**

And we had a cranky moment or two over the dog's harness. Like us, she is getting old and has some loose skin around her neck. She can no longer wear a collar as it will rub a sore. And she has escaped any harness we have found. The back and forth was nothing to write about - just cranky followed by my sighing, eye-rolling, "she's a dog."

It is my replacement for 18+ years of "they're children." DH, an only child and retired Army guy (used to people doing what he directs), used to say that there should be expert children-raising people. "You drop them off after birth and pick them up at 18 in time to go to college," he would say. [My sighing and eyerolling is not new. And I probably give him cause for a great deal of it as well.]

We retreated into the cooled house.

Patience returned.

Yeah, maybe it's the heat.***


NOTES:

*http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/30906/title/Do-Heat-Waves-Spur-Violence-/

**Dudes, we had a "drive by" about 20 years ago. Arguing about dog poop is more than enough conflict.

***Our temperatures are in the 90s by the end of the day. We start about 75 (F) with high humidity - it's a sauna.

Another recent sunrise - see the clouds? HUMID.

The Mural, lunch, and lots of hugs

A Facebook/music friend had shared photos of a mural under construction in a rural community some 2 hours drive from here. "Look it up," she said. "You will be interested in this group." I said that I wanted to see the mural and was told that the artist works on the mosaic "most days."

Well, I was certainly interested in checking things out - especially the mural taking shape - a tile and glass and ??? creation in a narrow walk between buildings. And I also just happen to have a glass and mosaic artist friend who is almost always up for an adventure.

ROAD TRIP!

After we found out the Comfort Cafe would be open, we headed to Smithville,Texas for the day.

The Comfort Cafe where you pay what you can afford, or work for your meal, and you can also donate more to the organization.

Let's talk food first. We ordered the turkey and bacon sandwich and the hamburger (all the way). My friend has a more "delicate" appetite than I do, but half that turkey sandwich was gone in an instant. It took me longer to eat the burger because I took my time...it was so delicious!

Turkey sandwich (it has a fancier name, but you would know it on the menu - and you should!

Cheeseburger. OK, the bun looks a little "man-handled"...

...because I had already taken an enormous bite! It was actually a bacon cheeseburger. And there is no question it is in the top 3 burgers I have ever eaten . [Hey - 3 way tie - I cannot decide!]

My friend could not resist the Peanut butter cup chocolate brownie cupcake (heavenly dessert!). She shared a few bites with me and, well, what can I say? WE WILL BE BACK!

 PLEASE NOTE: Currently the Comfort Cafe is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They serve a goodly variety of foods including salads, sandwiches and breakfast. It was definitely worth the drive!


The Organization:

SerenityStar.Org is a safe community for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. It provides a 12 step program, residential facilities, work training and opportunities, exercise and yoga. They are self-sustaining and are a 501c3 organization. For more information please go to their website: http://www.serenitystar.org/#!home/c1iwb You can also go to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Serenitystar/info/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item&tab=overview

We met a number of young people working at the cafe who shared some of their stories and provided more information on the program. They were delightful.

Painted mural outside

 The Mosaic: 

I am not going to give it away, but do want to talk about the work we saw. There are pieces of mirror and glass and ceramic. A story is coming together here. It is already stunning and will be amazing when finished.

Here are a few photos.

Messages are incorporated herein - FOR YOURSELF, NOT BY YOURSELF.

Dog and tree are coming to life!

Because we so love birds I need to show the wing and tail. You see this creature flying.  But to see the rest you will need to go visit the Comfort Cafe! Go this weekend! Go next weekend! I recommend the bacon cheese burger!

A garden is blooming on the wall!

OK...and there were hugs! We felt like family when we left. Of course, I attribute that to my friend who makes everyone feel at home - feel like family.

Walking with Paddy

HOT!

OK. It's not really that hot. We have not seen temperatures over 100 degrees yet (an odd situation for our area), but the humidity is killer. And since we are just back from 3 weeks of temps that never got into the 70s, we are suffering.

We are also sleeping a great deal - through our exercise classes!

So this morning I woke before daylight to walk Ms. Paddy. I gently woke DH to see if he wanted to join us. And I am sure he did not want to come along, but he knew he needed to.

It is always a good thing to walk your neighborhood at different hours of the day. One learns a lot.

We wandered to the park and saw only two runners (no one we recognized). We followed a cat returning from a prowl. It disappeared into the shadows and then walked into the light, saw us, and skedaddled. Paddy smelled the path, but never saw the cat or movement. She is getting old.

The moon is full-ish floating over the woods. The sun came up - hot orange to the east.

The moon sets...

...sun rises

We returned home to a sprinkler gone nuts.

Our grass is almost crispy. We need to do something, now. It won't hurt to water, but we need to do it during the coolest part of the day. But this sprinkler is done-for.

So that was it - a hot and sweaty walk with few distractions. We had no issues with the hills since we have been walking hills for weeks.

Of course, when one is gone for weeks, things happen in the neighborhood. People move out and people move in. Sometimes there is new stuff in the yards.

We discovered this down the street...what the heck?

Imagine a corner light shining...

...on this odd figure. I do suspect it keeps the burglars away.

The Point - A free-for-all in the dawn light

It's a spit of land between two bays. A causeway leads to a high bridge. Drivers often speed by ignoring the pier and fishermen, the tidal pools and wildlife. It's called "Indian Point," perhaps because Native Americans once camped here, hunting and fishing, and gathering oysters, crabs, and other sea creatures.

Often my brother invites me for a walk at dawn in this place. He has memories of fishing trips, of our other brother, of our father and of friends. Whenever he suggests a walk at the point I am ready. He knows the birds and shares that knowledge.

It is always a little different out here - different wildflowers blooming, different types of shells washing up, and different birds feeding.

This morning we arrived at the point as the sun began to reflect off the clouds. We had not traveled far before realizing it would be a special morning. We stopped and began to identify an incredible variety of shorebirds showing their stuff. The skimmers were skimming the surface of the tidal pools. Great numbers of brown pelicans and roseate spoonbills were feeding. Herons of many types were there as were the stilts and gulls.

There were hundreds of birds.

As we walked the shoreline, careful to stay clear of any sensitive areas, we spied three raccoons along the edge of a pool. They fished beside the birds. We have seen the foot prints of raccoons at the water's edge, but ever the makers of the prints.

The birds fed and flew - all around us. I don't have the words - it was like nothing I had ever seen. It was glorious.

My pictures will not do it justice, but I will share what I have. You may just have to trust me.

A group of gulls were chilling near shore.

Suddenly the sun was up. The waves were small and gentle.

The tide brought in a fibrous mass of seaweed.

As RF and DH head down the beach a pelican flew over. They gathered floating just off shore and in a group along a sandbar.

Suddenly a mass of birds took  flight.

Yes, that is a gull close up.

Pelicans on the sandbar.

Brown pelicans floating around.

Many things wash-up on this beach. We found some driftwood.

In the tidal pools(tidal flats?), herons and spoonbills and others.

He is hard to see, but a raccoon is just right of center. You can just see his legs against the lighter sandy shore. The pink bird to the left is a roseate spoonbill there is a great blue heron just to the left of center, but it looks grey/brown in this light.

Another photo, slightly worse for birds and better for raccoon. His head is down.

We did not want to disturb the birds so we watched from a distance.

Periodically some would fly up and soar around us.

In the center here the roseate spoonbill is sieving up breakfast.

Pelicans.

Is this a sea bean vine?

Oysters and barnacles - I understand there are oyster beds just off-shore.

A number of jellyfish had washed ashore.

Lightning whelk (state shell?) It probably contains a hermit crab.

Lightning whelk egg casing.

Blooming shore plant.

Tattered beach evening primrose

More Irish Signs...

Anytime you go to a different country you are going to see interesting things - different, odd, and sometime a little quirky. Isn't that the point? Here are a few signs collected in Ireland circa 2016.

Hotel in Skibbereen.  We like to take the stairs when we can and the elevator was broken for much of our stay. Fortunately we were on the second floor (they call it the first, but it was the second). This is a sign you see regularly - and you should. Mind your step and watch your head.

New-ish sign near Mizen Head.

Old sign for a set of steep stairs at Mizen Head. Yes, I did manage to climb them. I also did rest a couple of times on the way up. The stairs are narrow and they don't want you climbing down, only up.

I hadn't thought about it before, but private landowners near tourist areas and places of interest must have a terrible time. I saw more than one sign warning people not to trespass.

These signs make me chuckle. Of course, they do manage to lose a number of folks off cliffs...intentionally and unintentionally.

There are more gates, fences, warning signs, and locked access points now than ever before. Unfortunately people do silly things.

These are the same signs, but look much more serious when the photo is taken "over" not "through" the fence.

In the west where spoken Irish is more common signs are often in both Irish and English.

I never saw Fry's Chocolate for sale, but did purchase a great deal of other chocolate (It's the cows folks. The cows are grass-fed making all milk products, including the chocolate, delicious.).

Signpost in Dingle, County Kerry. These signposts can be confusing. Note the "Dingle Way" is both directions here.

Another set of signs in Dingle. The zig-zag white on blue sign indicates "The Wild Atlantic Way." The WAW is

No dogs in the cemetery please. I walk my dogs in the cemetery at home, but perhaps there have been issues here.

Mass is held in many spots including gardens and cemeteries.

This was an interesting and surprising sign. My experience in Europe has been that dogs are well trained and well behaved.

I love hunde toilettes. And this one gives detailed directions on cleaning up after your pooch.

An old Guinness sign "Guinness for strength" along with a Murphy's sign. Both are stout. Each has fans. I prefer Murphy's.

One old adult educator was glad to see this sign.

Weirdly placed sign for this cathedral.

I had no place to put this other than here. It doesn't really fit, but...

This must be a specially made sign...it is hard-ish to walk on the floating walkway. It was low tide and so only part was actually "floating."

There's that Wild Atlantic Way sign again.

Sign in Levis Pub in Ballydehob.

Sign for the stone circle in Kenmare

Loads of signs on Inch Strand, Dingle Peninsula. I love the Sun Smart tips!

Candle lighting prayer, Dingle. "Help me to continue my prayer into everything I do this day."

Sign for Sunday Service and, below, for concert.

Maze Garden sign behind St. Mary's Church, Dingle.

Safety sign near construction area.

In case of fire, show up here.

Now here is an interesting sign post. I missed both the Dingle Bookshop and the Dingle Fairy Shop. How did that happen?

There were many roundabouts across the country. I must admit that it is hard to navigate on walking after an evening in the pub on your first day in town.

More candle lighting assistance. It is the same general prayer as found in another church. This one may have been Fethard, County Tipperary.

And we have two warnings to supervise children.

At most government owned/sponsored/maintained sites one finds these explanatory signs. They are wonderful.

Please behave yourself when on the ferry across the Shannon.

No dogs on the beach during these summer hours.

A famous surfing beach along the Wild Atlantic Way.

More rules for Lehinch Beach.

Details of the sign on Lehinch Beach.

Dead end.

Yes, I did sit there - long enough for a photo.

A warning about the cliffs at the Cliffs of Moher. They also have a monument to folks who have fallen off the cliffs.

I know a woman with this name. Wandered past this place after taking a wrong turn.

Lots of hair salons on Francis Street. The Franciscan Church is there too.

Part of this sign is gone. I wonder what it said.

Sign commemorating the first automobile fatality, Birr, County Offaly.

A "welcome" sign in boxwood hedge.

Acknowledgement of the deaths of three young men during the Civil War.

This castle gate sign - "For God and King."

Sign at the Michelstown Cave entrance.

Another sign at Michelstown Cave.

Somehow I don't think DH and I are "cut out" to run a pub.

The prayer for lighting candles from another church. I see something different each time. This one? "burn out of me all pride, selfishness and impurity" (as I snap my reflection in the glass).

A transcription of the tombstone.

Another prayer from a church.

Posting regarding Protection of Children Policy.

More signs will be added as I run across them in the photos.