The Goat: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

July 2011 Links

These are the links to my July 2011 posts

I could seriously take a photo of this view every single day and it would never be the same twice. I guess that could be said for just about any outdoor view come to think of it. I looked out the window and when I saw just that strip of clear blue sky and that giant black cloud rolling over my condo I ran for my camera and my seat at my window to document it. We never did get any rain from this black cloud.

Enjoy!
Kristin

The Chicken Lady

Click to Enlarge

The Chicken Lady.

We saw the tombstones for the hens first at a museum in Edgartown, MA on Martha's Vineyard. Then we saw the photo of Nancy Luce and the write up on the "Hen Lady" at a museum in West Tisbury across the Vineyard. Then as we were driving by a cemetery Lily called out, "There was a chicken on someone's gravestone!" We knew we had to go back and see the Chicken Lady's grave.

For more Sunday's in my City please head on over to Unknown Mami's place.
People from around the world join in for some fun times.

Have a great day!
Kristin

Saturday, July 30, 2011

POTD - Volunteer

I like finding things like this - a pretty plant growing out of a crack along a chain link fence. There were no other plants anywhere around, so this was a cool find.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Friday, July 29, 2011

My 365 Project on Shuttercal

My 365 project is still coming right along and I am so pleased with the results! The past few days have been some of the hardest and that's probably because after three weeks of traveling each day, I'm just home. Nothing in my house is looking new and exciting. I don't think I've updated my Flickr account in a month, but this evening I did get all of my Shuttercal up to date.   It will now be fairly easy to fill in the other one now that this one is current.

The neatest thing about the Shuttercal calendar system is that I can see the progress that I've made in a format that I'm used to...the basic calendar. In Flickr all of my photos are numbered and that's good, but if there was a blank space in the calendar, it would show up like a sore thumb. It's so cool to see all of the spaces filled in.

Shuttercal doesn't have to be used to for just a photographer. It can be for anything that you want to do daily. Writing, poems, drawings, kids projects, jewelry, etc. You could use Xs and Os as your own identification of a project done for the day. Smiley faces would work for something like that, too!

I never really understood the concept of doing something every day until I challenged myself a few years ago to blog every day for at least a year.   I brush my teeth every day, get out of bed every day, but those don't cause me to use any extra brain cells to get them accomplished! Blogging everyday, taking a photo every day - those two projects have stretched and pulled me in so many directions. Many more than I ever thought possible.

My next every-day-no-matter-what project is going to be a form of exercise. I will start off small and progressively get a routine. I wish it could become as mindless and easy to do as brushing my teeth. I'm not going to wait until the photography 365 project is over. I've learned that I really can do more than one thing at a time! (even though I try to pretend that I'm only capable of one project at a time)

Would the Shuttercal calendar help you out with an every day project?

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Random Act of Beauty

The flowers were from a nearby tub of flowers and although the tub was left a little bare on one side, the bench was a cheery find. I'd call it a random act of beauty.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Friday Fragments

It's Friday Fragments Day!!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

Welcome to Friday Fragments! This is the place where we're able to put little snippets of fun or interesting things together without having to stretch that idea into an entire blog post.

Mrs. 4444 is our lovely host and I am so grateful for her continued hosting of this fun carnival. For more Friday Fragment finds, please head on over to Half-Past Kissin' Time. Thanks!

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

Some friends of ours just got back from a trip overseas and one of the folks in their party got a wallet stolen almost as soon as they arrived. This conversation led directly to the VERY COOL traveling pants my friend was wearing that are unfriendly to pickpockets. He said that the pants had hidden pockets, fast drying fabric and were very comfortable to wear. As soon as he talked about these pants I knew I had to tell the world --- or my blogging friends if no one else would listen.

The company is called Scottevest and here is the link to the cargo pants my friend was wearing. Be sure to look at the X-Ray view to see all the hidden pockets and depths. I haven't investigated the entire site yet, but I would love to have a pair of those cargo pants for traveling. I bet one of the jackets would be pretty awesome, too.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

My friend's 12 year old daughter was with us when we went to Martha's Vineyard. I'm not used to hanging out with kids that age on a daily basis so I was caught off guard a few times by the questions she asked. One day we were having lunch and she all of a sudden said, "What is a diphthong?" I about choked as I hadn't heard that word in a really long time and it sounded slightly pornographic there for a moment! My friend is an English teacher and had an answer right away, but I think the question even gave her a little laugh.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

Ann in the UP talked about vanity license plates the other day on her blog. I told her that I wrote down a few that I saw on my trip, but once I got to New Hampshire I quit because there were just so many vanity plates. I'm thinking it might be cheaper to get a vanity plate there and that's why everyone does it!

One of the plates I saw was: HVU4GOTN

I looked around for a bumper sticker or something to help me figure out what I might have forgotten but there was nothing. Not sure what that one meant, but it meant enough to be Vanitized! (I made that word up. Could you tell?) The other two I wrote down were HERE B4 and YNOT VA.

Why are there so many vanity plates in NH anyway??

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

The smallest church in America (according to the sign) was at the next exit. That would be exit 67 off I-95 in Georgia. I wanted to go see it on my way back to Jacksonville but it was after dark. I was afraid I might not see the smallest church in America in the dark! Roadside America has it listed on its website (here.) The GA one is the third one on the list. Although after looking at all of the churches, I'm not sure that Georgia has the smallest one. In order to be considered in the Roadside America list, the church needs to follow some rules! Who knew? My next road trip I'm going to have to keep this list handy.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I've been away from Friday Fragments and consistent daily posting for a few weeks now while I've been on my trip. The photos in today's FF are of a bridge that I was fortunate enough to take photos of while I was NOT driving! I'm glad to be back home and happy to be a part of Friday Fragments. If you'd like to see more of my trip just click Scion Road Trip to be taken to all related posts.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

If you'd like to go see more Friday Fragments, please click on Half Past Kissin' Time to be taken to this week's fine group of fraggers.

Have a wonderful week!
Kristin

An explosion of images

The epic road trip, which I do hope I will put a buzz in the Scion people's ears to fund me to do something like this again, was one of the best trips ever. My little Scion xD was packed full of supplies and sometimes people and it took me from Florida to New Hampshire and back. The trip to Martha's Vineyard is not figured into the 2995.7 mile trip as I wasn't allowed to take her. We had to take Bob's car since it was the registered car for the ferry.

The trip to MV is on the map, but not included in the mileage.

I was fortunate enough to get dozens of photos of old signs. My heart just beats a little faster each time I see one. I have to admit that a few of the signs I wasn't able to photograph, but I got as many as I could.

I collected smashed pennies all along my route and even had to buy a new book I collected so many. Bob helped though, she gave me over a dozen that she'd been collecting for me. I saw the largest hibiscus flowers I've ever seen in New Jersey. I learned that the red buoys in the water are called nuns and the sun was so brilliant that the Landfall casts a deep shadow.

Outdoor plants casting a great shadow on a fabric shade.

Paintbrushes from my friend Phyllis, who's paintings are incredible with the tacky snowglobes that I just love to photograph. Three others besides myself went to the beach on Martha's Vineyard and the ancient church at a cemetery has plywood where stained glass once was. (I believe the glass was removed so as not to get destroyed, but I haven't looked into that yet)

The slideshow is a compilation of all the placed I toured.

Bob, her daughter Lily and I are all waving at our reflection while hanging out on the ferry to the Vineyard.

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Bleeding Heart Vine

In St. Augustine, Fl right next to a little cafe is a lovely little courtyard with this gorgeous Bleeding Heart Vine growing like gangbusters. When the cafe manager came out to tell me it was a bleeding heart I didn't believe her at first because I'm used to the Bleeding Heart plant that I see in Michigan and this looked nothing like that one. When I researched this a little bit, I found it is indeed called a Bleeding Heart, but it's a vine. On the Wilson Bros. Nursery site they say that this vine is also called a Glory Bower Vine. Bleeding heart is much easier to remember.

If you decide to get yourself one of these, it sounds like it needs to winter indoors in all zones. It's a bit fragile. Hearts are fragile, aren't they? This is no different.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

POTD - End of the Day

A few hours after this photo was taken, I was pulling into my garage in Jacksonville. It was home from the longest road trip I'd ever taken. I took this photo while driving, with the window down and my eyes on the road - I promise. I've gotten really good at that trick, but the best thing about this drive-by photo is that it was pretty straight! By the time I was able to stop and take some photos the sun was too far down. I'm so happy I got this shot.

I've spent two days recuperating from the trip and I think I'm finally back to myself. Look for The Goat on your reader and visiting your blogs! I've missed you!

Enjoy!
Kristin

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

POTD - Mill House Mural

I haven't been able to find out when this mural was painted on the mill house in Lancaster County, PA, but I did find out a little about the mill itself - on the Mill List site. It's still in really great condition for being built in 1882 and used as storage in its later years. It's good to see that a great old building and interesting mural is kept in such fine condition.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Monday, July 25, 2011

Raccoon

As I was strolling through a store in Dover, NH with my friend JB, I happened to call out to her that I just saw the cutest little raccoon on a table next to me.

To try to describe what happened next is going to be difficult.

It all happened SO fast!

...but I will do my best.

JB: excitement and utter joy in her eyes - "Does it have a hole in the front like it's a bird house?"

Me: having to look down and see as I was going to tell her about the cute little hands, "um...yes, it could be a..."

JB has come around the corner in one swift move and picked up the raccoon before I could get another word out of my mouth.

JB: "I didn't buy him the last time I was here and I really regretted that decision. When we came in today I immediately looked for him in the place where he was staged last time but he wasn't there!"

Me: still stunned at what just happened.

JB: "You don't mind do you? Did you want him?"

Me: "I'm not sure. I never really got a good enough look at him! I didn't even get to touch him before he was swiped right off the table!"

The raccoon now has a place of honor on a bench at the front door to JB's home. Every time I got the chance I turned him around so it looked like he was in Time-Out.

JB kept telling me, "don't put Baby in a corner!" and she turned him back. I think I'm going to call her daughter and ask her to turn the raccoon around every so often.

She's lucky I didn't take him when I left. I thought he might like a road trip!

**All quotes are approximate and some of the story may be embellished a bit, but that's the way I remember it.**

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Seabiscuit

This lovely darling is Seabiscuit and she is just one of the many kitties that I met on my journey the past few weeks. She rules the roost at the end of the bed, which is where I saw her most of the time. Seabiscuit is such a sweet cat and I think if I'd been visiting for a few more days, she just might have warmed up a little more to me.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Almost home

What a trip this has been!

I have been without internet for a few days now, but with as busy as I was kept, I doubt I would have been able to blog even if I had a connection.

I should be arriving home Sunday (tomorrow) and after a few days I'm sure I'll be back in the groove again, posting regularly until I go away again :º)

I'm going to just crawl under the covers tonight in my hotel room and not worry about editing photos or anything. Just wanted to mostly let you know that I'm still doing great and making my way home!

Have a great day!
Kristin

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Scion Road Trip - Day ??

The Scion Road Trip of 2011 has finally arrived to Day who-knows on the journey that started in Florida and has taken me as far North as New Hampshire and as far East as Martha's Vineyard. I've visited many families but have been housed by four so far and I have one, possibly two more stops to make before this adventure is all said and done. It may never been done on my blog, however, as I have so much to share!

Yesterday was a driving day and a long day at that. I drove from New Hampshire to New Jersey, over the George Washington Bridge, which took several hours to get through and made it to my next host family by dinner. That was a good thing - I was starved by the time I got there. A spoon of peanut butter only goes so far sometimes.

My little Scion xD is a real trooper. I've had so much fun driving it on this trip. I wasn't sure if cars overheated anymore these days due to idling with the A/C on and my Scion didn't overheat at all! It kept me nice and cool for those many hours inching forward to get to the bridge.

I'm spending the morning with my friend Phyllis who put me up last night in a wonderful king sized bed, in my own room and bath and best of all - Air Conditioning! This heat wave that has hit the US has made A/C a very important factor for a good nights sleep. Thanks Phyllis! I'll be leaving just after lunch for my next stop in PA, but not until Phyllis shows me her artwork. I'm looking forward to that.

I just wanted to check in real quick, since I didn't get a chance to yesterday.

Have a great day and I'll be back soon!
Kristin

POTD - George Washington Bridge

I waited almost three hours to cross this bridge, so I was going to make every effort to take some fabulous shots once I finally got there! Unfortunately, since I was driving and all of the traffic jams were leading up to the bridge and not on the bridge itself, I had to resort to the hold-my-camera-up-and-continuously-shoot while moving the camera up-and-down and side-to-side maneuver to make sure I got at least one good shot. Thankfully I did get some fun shots of the bridge.

The "George" is a suspension bridge that connects New York and New Jersey over the Hudson River. It has an upper level and a lower level. After waiting all that time in traffic to get to this bridge I nearly got into the lane that would have taken me below and I would have missed all this beauty! Goodness, someone was watching over me and tapped me on the shoulder at the right time I guess.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Island Alpaca Company

Thanks to so many of you for playing along with the Mystery Animal Photo of the Day yesterday. That was a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun on Facebook too - One of my friends said that she thought the mystery animal was... Al-ah-packa-a-suitcase-ana-come-for-a-visit?

What a hoot!

Well, she wasn't an alpaca, but a llama, but Meg you are more than welcome to pack a suitcase and come for a visit! I explained who Lucy the Llama was in this post.

One of the days on Martha's Vineyard we decided to go to the Alpaca farm - Island Alpaca Company - and see these darling animals in person. We heard that it was birthing season and that they had some little ones running around, too!

Most of the information I have on alpacas comes straight from the farm where we saw these girls or from their website (about alpacas). The boy alpacas were not in the barn or these fenced in areas with the girl alpacas or babies. The boys were kept away until mating time.

The alpacas have a bottom row of teeth, but the top of their mouth is a thick gum pad, but no teeth. This makes them very efficient in chewing grasses and hay, according to my research. I did notice that they all ate hay with minimal trouble. If I only had a bottom row of teeth, then I'm pretty sure I'd have a tough time, but these alpacas are built for it!

This lovely lady, I didn't catch her name, got a bit more than she bargained for. She spent a great deal of energy trying to shake off most of the hay hanging down, but she wouldn't let go of the bite she had, not even to get a smaller bite.

This alpaca was having a rough time of it and I'm not sure why. I did find it to be quite humorous that this ones name is Zora...just like my niece.

The lady alpacas are almost always pregnant as their gestation period is approx. 335 days. About six weeks after giving birth, they are able to get pregnant again. Mortality rates for baby alpacas is very low, which is good because each momma carries typically just one baby each year. Twins are quite rare.

These two babies (called crias) are just a few of the new babies at the Island Alpaca farm. They stayed pretty close to the center of the pen, but the older alpacas would come right up and allow us to pet them. Alpacas are nearly hypoallergenic (I wasn't allergic to them, which is amazing!) and they have the most wonderful fleece. I think I touched nearly every alpaca fleece item in the store and I would have gladly taken any of it home!

I've heard from many people that alpacas spit, like their llama and camel cousins, but according to the Island Alpaca site, if an alpaca spits it's usually at another alpaca and rarely at a human. They are really quite gentle and well behaved. Amazingly, as a collective group, alpacas will have just two or three spots where they poop, making it so easy to clean up after them.

If I were to go out and buy a ranch, I'd own alpacas.
I'm sold!

If you ever get a chance to visit an alpaca farm, please do so. They are wonderful animals and great with kids.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Fishing Lures

This little boat rental shack had all of these lures hanging in the window. I'm not sure if these are old or new or used often or what exactly. I just knew I liked the way it looked with the brightly painted window.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Monday, July 18, 2011

Mystery Animal solved

The mystery animal from this morning's Photo of the Day is....

A llama.

Her name is Lucy and the Alpaca farm folks, where we met her, said that her owner couldn't keep her anymore and asked the farm to take her. Since llamas and alpacas are cousins, they get along very well, so the farm said yes.

When we first saw her in the barn, so very tall and regal, I thought she had the face of a kangaroo. However, since the fences are quite short for a kangaroo we quickly deduced that she wasn't a kangaroo after all.

Lucy the llama.

Thanks for playing along!!

Kristin

POTD - Mystery Animal

Lily picked out this photo as my Photo of the Day and she thinks that it just might be a stumper for some of you. Lily by the way, is my friend Bob's daughter.

Name this animal...

Enjoy!
Kristin

Sunday, July 17, 2011

POTD - Red Barn

On our way to lunch I spotted this great photo opportunity, but the crew cleaning up around the area had placed their big trash bin and long handled garden tools in the way. I decided to just go into the restaurant and eat and hopefully the offending objects would be gone by the time I got back out. After lunch the trash bin was indeed gone, but not the tools. Without saying a word JB walked right over and moved them to the side of the building so I could get the shot. Turns out I didn't even need to move anything as this was the best shot of that ivy covered window. Who knew a red barn would magically appear in the reflection?! I had no idea that the barn would reflect in those window panes until I got close up. Pretty darn cool if you ask me. (I haven't a clue who the guy is in the reflection)

Enjoy!
Kristin

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Regatta

It's not uncommon to see sailboats on the waters around The Vineyard.

It isn't, however, as common to see so many sailboats in such a small area.

When we saw this many boats in one location we were pretty sure there was an event going on.

Turns out that it was the 88th Annual Regatta sponsored by the Edgartown Yacht Club.

If you know me at all, you know that I don't like to ride in boats. Sailboats are so tippy (in my opinion) that they completely freak me out to be in them. (in them, on them?) So although they are gorgeous and look beautiful gliding on the waves, you will not catch me in one of these in a very long time. I had a ride a dozen years ago and that will do me for the rest of my life!

It sure was a beautiful sight to see them all together, even though you wouldn't get me in one anytime soon.

We leave tomorrow (Sunday) and I'm truly going to miss this place. I have loved the friends, the food and the towns. More adventures from my Scion Road Trip will be coming and certainly more from Martha's Vineyard.

This was just a slice of life here on Martha's Vineyard. For more slices of life, head on over to Unknown Mami for Sundays in my City.

Have a great day!
Kristin