VW Panel Bus

This is, I believe, a 1960s era Volkswagen type 2 transporter panel bus.  It's not the prettiest VW bus that I've ever seen, but it sure was interesting.  I've probably seen one of these before, but never since I've gotten my camera.

As I stated the other day in my Photo of the Day (POTD - VW Bus), I was turning into a strip mall and when I saw this bus pass me, I followed it instead.
I needed the photo.
I needed to see it up close.
I was stalking an orange bus.
Is there an app for that??

The front seat was a long bench with a baby car seat in the passenger side and on the driver's side the steering column came right up out of the floor!  The steering wheel wasn't completely perpendicular to the column, but almost.  I had no idea.  I was going to take a photo of the inside, but I thought that I might be going a bit too far in my desire to document my stalking of this vehicle.  

As I'm talking to my husband about this panel bus he tells me that he drove one of these, although one with more windows.   Oh, the truth comes out - he said that he actually purchased the bus for $45 when he was in prep school in New Hampshire.  He took it on one short road trip with some friends and on the way back, the bus wouldn't make it up the hills anymore, so they abandonded it and walked back to school, about 4 or 5 miles.   No wonder why he originally told me he only drove it - he hardly owned it long enough to consider it his!



This is a Sunday Drive in my city.  What's going on in yours?
Head on over to Unknown Mami's for Sundays in my City.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - The Ditch

POTD - The Ditch

©2011 Kristin Corlett

Querencia – “a deep, quiet sense of inner well-being that comes from knowing a particular place of the earth, its diurnal and seasonal patterns, its fruits and scents, its history and its part in your history, where, whenever you return to it, your soul releases an inner sigh of recognition in your history, where, whenever you return to it, your soul releases an inner sigh of recognition and relaxation,” author Kirkpatrick Sale (quote from the Jacksonville Intracoastal Salt Marsh Paddling Guide)

I took this photo while crossing the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.  I've been wanting to stop and take photos, but it's not allowed on this road as it's an expressway.  So I put the camera into the Auto mode and held the shutter down while it snapped away dozens of photos.  I moved the camera a bit so that I hopefully wouldn't get all sky shots.  I loved how many of them turned out. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

The Cactus and the Bobcat

My husband sent me an email today, forwarded by someone else. Since my husband rarely sends me an email, I decided to open up the forward.

What he sent was very interesting! I Googled the information and determined that it was indeed a true story and that it happened on or around the 7th of April 2011. So now that I believe it's true, I'm going to pass it on.

This bobcat was photographed by Curt Fonger, a photographer of 40 years, who lives in Gold Canyon, Arizona.  All of the photographs are credited to Mr. Fonger, but I did get these from my email, so the quality is no where near what the original would look like, I'm sure. 

As the story goes, this bobcat was being chased by a hungry mountain lion and to escape potential death the bobcat made his way up to the top of the prickly, pokey saguaro cactus to wait out the hunger pangs of the lion.

The lion eventually moved on, but the bobcat stayed up there on its perch for most of the day.  Curt Fonger stayed to witness the events.

Now, I can't imagine that the top of that cactus being any softer than any other part, so I'm assuming that it wasn't a terribly comfortable resting spot for this fella.

True!  It's better than being lunch!

...but 40 feet up in the air on something as painful as a cactus had to be a pretty awful day.

The bobcat hardly shows any discomfort.  Maybe he's done this trick before.

I sure am glad that Curt Fonger was there that day to witness this event and take photos of it.  What a beautiful animal.

Have a great day!
Kristin


I gleened the information from the folowing sources...

Here is what the email said:

The photos were captured in Gold Canyon, on the foot of the Superstition Mountains.The bobcat was trying to get away from a mountain lion that was stalking it, explains the photographer Curt Fonger. He darted up a 40-foot saguaro, and there he stayed for the remainder of the day.Curt Fonger and his wife Marta are living out their golden years on wilderness' edge in Gold

Canyon. With over 40 years of photography experience, Curt recently had a career-defining moment.

"I've never had the luxury of seeing a bobcat on top of a saguaro," he says. "Just a beautiful creature,he was displaying himself proudly, kind of looking around, probably trying to see if mister mountain lion was still around... it was almost if he was posing!"  Curt says the golden cat with amber eyes stared back at him, perched on top of the cactus for hours.  "He was pretty relaxed, he kind of laid on top of the saguaro, shut his eyes, almost as if he was sleeping."  The bobcat eventually came down.
"It was that Kodak moment I think every photographer lives for."

and here is just one of the many articles I found online.  This one was from KPHO found on the Free Republic website.

Bobcat Climbs Cactus To Escape Mountain Lion
KPHO.com ^ | 4/7/11

Posted on Fri Apr 8 03:08:09 2011 by Slings and Arrows
PHOENIX -- Who knew that a bobcat could climb a plant with millions of sharp spines without injury?
Photographer Curt Fonger captured some great images of a bobcat that climbed a saguaro Tuesday.
Fonger's friend says the bobcat ran through the grounds at Smiling Dog Landscape in Gold Canyon.
A mountain lion was running after the bobcat, probably looking for breakfast.
Fonger's friend said the bobcat clawed its way to the top of the cactus and stared back down at the mountain lion.
The bobcat stayed up there all day long. The mountain lion eventually lost interest and wandered off.
Curt Fonger, who's been taking wildlife photographs for 40 years, says this was his most memorable shoot ever.
"When he looked down at me, those beautiful amber eyes with those dark slits said it all. It was so refreshing to be able to personally witness this bobcat at that precise moment," Fonger said. "A story of survival. He wasn't nervous or frightened. Instead he had a personified "Calm after the Storm" demeanor. A lesson more of us could learn from."
Fonger said the creature even took a "bobcatnap" during the morning. How comfy could that be?
"In my 40 years of photography this was without doubt a defining moment in being at the right place at the right time. I'm still smiling a day later," Fonger said.

POTD - Lanterns

POTD - Lanterns

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I really enjoyed the hanging lantern lighting at the Burrito Works Taco Shop in downtown St. Augustine. I had the Mexican UFO and so did Lori, who went with me on this adventure. It was their most popular item on the menu and I thought I'd be brave and have one. Of course they didn't take out the jalapenos so it was a little too hot for me. I ate half of it though and I will go back again. It was that good.

Enjoy!
Kristin


Burrito Works Taco Shop
(904) 823-1229
Downtown St. Augustine
114 Saint George St
St Augustine, FL 32084
www.burritoworks.com

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!

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- June 23rd, 2011 -

Happy Tin/Aluminum Anniversary to me!
Tom and I were married 10 years ago today.
Our first date was 16½ years ago today.
He got his liver transplant 5½ years ago today.
The 23rd is our date.

My husband said that he was going to get me a roll of aluminum foil tomorrow when he goes grocery shopping.  I asked him if he would make me an aluminum foil hat. 

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I was making the guest room bed and tossed this king sized comforter out the door to get it out of my way for a few minutes.  When I came back for it, this is what I found.   Mocha is so funny, but she's not the only family pet that likes to snuggle up in the laundry, I'm sure!

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I am going on my road trip in just a few weeks.  I'm staying with or seeing blogging friends and people from our transplant support group who have gone home on my way to New Hampshire and on my way back home to Florida.   I'm looking for one more person to stay with or visit between North Carolina and Massachusetts along the I-81 and I-95 route.   Give me a shout out or ideas on areas to visit and photograph.

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This is what I heard at lunch today.

"Would you like a piece of cake?"
"No thanks, we have turkeys at home."

...from a few tables away the word "cookies" sure sounded a lot like "turkeys".

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My mother just purchased some new patio furniture and her kitties have found the new accommodations to be perfect!  Love the patio Momma and my McCoy planter looks lovely on the table.

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I bought a new lens for my camera the other day.  It's a telephoto lens Nikor 55 - 300.  I have been wanting a new lens for quite awhile now, but with the upcoming trip I could finally justify it.  I have only taken a few photos with it and so far I love it.  I'm not sure how in the world I lived without it!

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I keep mentally packing my car - editing what I'm going to take - rearranging where I'm putting each item.  Right now my main goal is to make sure that I can put my drivers seat in a reclining position so I can take cat naps without having to get out and rearrange the whole car.

Road naps are a very important part of any road trip! I always end up taking one or two each day.

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Have a wonderful day and if you are looking for more fragmented thoughts, head on over to Mrs. 4444's place to visit more!!

Kristin

POTD - Nicene Creed

POTD - Nicene Creed

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I went to a little Greek shrine in St Augustine and they had the most amazing art installation.  It was  The Nicene Creed written out on the wall in individual wooden letters, painted the same color as the background.  The lighting in the room gave a wonderful shallow shadow, that made each word pop. I had never been to the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine before and didn't even know that it existed, but my friend Lori did. She insisted that we go and check it out while we were in St. Augustine. I'm so glad she did.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Overworked

I titled this overworked, but actually I'm just exhausted. 

I've done so much running around, errands, group activities and entertaining my new friend that I have hardly had a moment to breathe or think.

I'll be back in a day or so - back to my normal routine, I hope. 

I am a couch potato for the most part but I've actually really enjoyed all the busy-ness.  I just wish I could find a little more energy after all of the busy of the day is over.

Take care!  See you soon.

Kristin

POTD - VW Bus

POTD - VW Bus

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I saw this vintage VW bus drive by me on the road.  I abandoned the current destination within a nanosecond to follow that bus.  Thankfully the driver only went another block, pulled into a parking spot and went into a local business. I quickly got out of my car, camera in hand and took a few pictures.  The detail around the VW emblem was a really nice touch and I liked that kiss of sunlight on the right hand headlight.   Full photos of the bus in a few days.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Father's Day at the cemetery

I did a very devilish thing Saturday night.

I talked someone into something that they didn't want to do, but deep down they really did.

Let me rewind a second.  I was asked by a friend if I would give her sister, Lori, a call.  She was visiting Jacksonville and staying in their house since they weren't there.  Long story short, she said that her sister needed a vacation but was already itching to go home.  She asked me to try to talk her sister into staying in town for a few more days.

I was up for a challenge so I agreed.

Last night Lori to come with us to the Creekside restaurant and met all of the people that were so close to her sister when they were here.  While we were eating dinner and enjoying the music, she kept telling me that she'd love to spend a few days together talking photography and maybe helping me learn a few things.  But she'd always end those conversations with, "...but I'm leaving in the morning."

I truly was relentless.  She had no hope of saying no once I had it in my mind she was staying.

A few hours with me and she was talking herself into staying!


This morning Lori and I headed out for some photographic adventures.  I didn't get a whole lot of learning in because I was enjoying showing her a few places - a cemetery, under a bridge and to lunch with a friend.

At the cemetery, Lori brought out some magnifying lenses and we played around with them a bit.  (I'm going to have to invest in some!)   The little filter makes my lens able to get in close!  Real close!!

Her lenses weren't made for my camera, so it's kind of a shaky photo.  Maybe tomorrow we can set the cameras up on the tripod - after I purchase the filters of course.

I noticed a ton of flowers today all around the cemetery.  I had called my Dad earlier in the day, but after that call I totally forgot it was Father's Day.  It didn't occur to me until later that many of the flowers were for fathers.

The cemetery looked beautiful and I'm so very grateful I was there this day.

This little plot, above, was so interesting.  Flowers, statues, urns, a bench, windchimes, leis...

I've noticed the plot before so I do believe that someone comes regularly to maintain the festive atmosphere.

Many of the headstones had several little statues around their base.  I believe that most of the statues left on this one were left by grandchildren.  It's so sweet and I'm glad that the cemetery allows such items to be left behind.

This angel statue left me very sad though.  He was almost completely buried by the land.  Maybe it was done on purpose to signify death and heaven.   Maybe the nearby tree grew above ground roots by the statue that were covered by the landscapers.  Maybe there isn't any more to this statue.

Whatever the story, it made me think.

I love you Daddy.

I miss you Grandpa and Grandpa.


Have a wonderful week.
Kristin

POTD - Marsh grass

POTD - Marsh Grass

©2011 Kristin Corlett

Just a few moments before I took this photo an animal went wading through this area and then a little fish jumped and made the ring.  I missed both!  I waited, posed, hoping the animal would come back through, but I didn't see him.  It looked like a raccoon, but I'm really not sure. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

An evening creekside

One of our very dear friends, Maggie,  was playing keyboard tonight with a couple of her talented friends at a restaurant in St. Augustine.  She's a part of our support group, so it's nice when they play locally so we can go see her play.

She had a liver transplant almost two years ago and now she's back to doing what she loves - playing music. 

She's one of the shining stars in our group and she shines on stage, too!

Creekside Restaurant's outdoor patio overlooks a lovely little water spot. 

The marsh grass is so pretty.  I just love looking at it.  The Photo of the Day in the morning will be a shot of the grass.  That dock doesn't look so tempting to me, but if it were a bit sturdier, I'd love to stand out there for awhile and watch the wildlife in that marsh grass.

That long grouping of tables - that's our group.  There were 14 of us who came out on this incredible night.  It wasn't too hot, no wind to speak of, great music, not too loud so we could still chat and good food, too.  All of that made for a delightful evening. 

I hear that they are playing again in a few weeks.

Have a wonderful night!
Kristin

POTD - Beach Fence

POTD - Beach Fence

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I realized that I hadn't been to the beach, even for a looksie, in quite a long while.  It was almost 100º this particular afternoon, so I didn't stay long at all.  I just wanted to make sure that we still had a nice sandy beach and water rolling on shore.   I mostly go look at the ocean in the winter months when there aren't a lot of people so it kind of surprised me how many people were here this day.  I guess the vacation season has begun!

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Take Flight

POTD - Take Flight

©2011 Kristin Corlett

It was interesting the way the birds were circling.  I don't know if they were high from the smoke fumes or if they actually saw something in the parking lot where I was standing.  This was taken in the morning two days ago, when it was so smokey. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

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!

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Goodness, I can really tell that a lot of people are busy this week. My comments have gone to about nothing. Schools not only out for summer, but so are the readers! I guess I'd better get on the ball and make sure I visit all my blog friends.  I haven't been around much either come to think of it.

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Congrats to Mrs. 4444 for the 150th Friday Fragments Day. That's almost three years of Fridays.

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My friend Annie in the UP celebrated her first year of blogging yesterday. 
Congrats Annie!!
Thanks for a wonderful year!

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Did you hear the new California law about fitted sheets? It is now a law that all lodging facilities must use fitted sheets on mattresses instead of flat sheets. I know that most of us use fitted sheets at home, but in hotels it's much easier to use flat sheets for so many reasons
- folding and ironing a fitted sheet is a lot more time consuming than a flat sheet.
- sorting flat and fitted with be more difficult
- cost to restock the hotel linens for all rooms will no doubt be passed on to the guests.

The reason the law was passed was so that hotel workers would not be injured from putting flat sheets on the bed.

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During lunch today I asked my friends if they heard about the fitted sheet law in California for all hotels. Two of the people thought I said "...the feta cheese law." One of them said they couldn't wait to go stay in a hotel in California to see if they got their cheese! Too funny!

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I heard someone say the other day that raw cookie dough was the way to a woman's heart. I thought about it and I honestly don't know anyone of my girlfriends who doesn't like raw cookie dough. I'm not sure it's the quickest route to their hearts but I bet it would certainly make them more receptive!

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In our support group meetings we ask everyone to turn their phones to vibrate so as not to disturb the discussion. On this particular day many of us were waiting on the news of a patient who had gotten the call for their transplant in the middle of the night. My friend sitting next me had his phone out and saw he was getting a text. Good News! Our friend was out of surgery and doing well. I laughed and commented that I didn't get a message and he said, "You should have. Did you check your vibrator?"

To say that the room erupted in fits of laughter is an understatement.

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Hope you enjoyed my Friday Fragments.
Please visit Mrs. 4444 to see read more and to hang out with pretty awesome fraggers.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin

POTD - Concrete drainage pipe

POTD - Concrete drainage pipe

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I found a good spot to photograph the smoke yesterday and it just happened to be part of an abandoned construction area. In a few years the rest of the strip mall project will no doubt get finished, but for now all that's there is a line of concrete drainage pipes and a sign that says No Trespassing. While trespassing I discovered that I liked the view of the smoke, water and cattails through the tube. I also really liked all of the different shapes, textures, color and how crisp the concrete pipes look against that smokey background. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

Smoke on the Water

•♫♪..♪♫• Smoke on the water •♫♪..♪♫•

This was taken at 10am this morning.  Doesn't it make your eyes water just looking at it?  It's smoke.  Lots and lots of thick smoke.

Florida has about 370 wildfires burning right now and in the vicinity of Jacksonville, there are 34.  Southern Georgia is experiencing fires, too and the smoke was drifting our way today.

It almost looks like a foggy morning, an idyllic scene on a beautiful piece of land.

Instead it's an orangy gray cloud choking the city.

Our usually brilliant blue sky cannot be seen at all.

The campfire smell is overpowering.

Ash is falling from the sky.

My car was covered with ash after just half a day sitting in the open garage.


I thought we were going to get more rain tonight, but so far, not a drop.

We need rain and prayers.

We aren't the only part of the country with wildfires.

I'm asking for prayers for them, too.  

I found this very interesting Fire Enhancement Loop.  I'm pretty sure that the loop is of the smoke, but I can't be positive because I didn't read the instructions on how to interpret the map.  I'm sure it's a real good guess!  The photo above is a screen capture from that loop. 


Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Looking Up

POTD - Looking Up

©2011 Kristin Corlett

Looking up through the corn at the cloudy, smokey sky over Jacksonville, FL.  It's been so dry around here that fires are popping up all over and the wind is bringing that thick choking smoke right into the heart of the city.  The smoke sure made for an interesting backdrop to the corn tops which look a little like a frayed rope. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

Trailer Park Chic recipes

I needed something very quick and easy to take to the liver transplant support group potluck dinner the other night.  I had a couple of options, but once I realized that I had only a few hours Thursday afternoon to prepare something hot, I knew I needed some help.  I went over to Mrs. 4444 Cooks to see what she had and this Spinach Ravioli dish sounded perfect!  She got the recipe from Mrs. Tuna, who may or may not have gotten it from someone else.  I made this the night before to test on my husband and he loved it!  And he rarely loves anything I make.  Seriously!


See the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

Frozen ravioli, fresh spinach (chopped), spaghetti sauce, sautéed mushrooms and garlic. I added in 1/2 of the grated mozzarella cheese that was called for in the recipe.  Stir this up real well and pour into a greased 2 qt. baking dish.  Bake covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes at 400º. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top, cover again and continue baking for 15 minutes. Done.


This potluck was our Trailer Park Chic themed event and we had a lot of fun with it.  We named all of the dishes something funny and trashy.  We had mud squars,  lyme pie, slices of red stuff, chicken feed, bend and snap pasta salad, cluck cluck, Pig Cake, half-eaten brownies and many more crazy dishes. 

The tubes in the watermelon were  glow sticks! 
I printed off a bunch of trailer photos and wrote the names on those cards.  They were held by little jello shot card holders, but of course this one had fallen off! 

The table decorations were minimal - newspaper for tablecloths and cans with a single silk rose.  I added the plastic leis. 

The break out hit of the night was the Chicken Feed - aka Caramel Covered Cheetos.  Oh My Goodness, they were like a strange caramel corn without the popcorn hulls!  They were really good.  I'll have to make them sometime and blog the whole process, but for now, here's a link to the recipe.



Spinach-Ravioli Bake
15 ounces frozen cheese ravioli
6 ounce bag fresh spinach
24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional
2 cups mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with minced garlic.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ravioli, spinach, sauce and mushrooms in casserole dish. Cook covered with foil for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and continue covered for additional 15 minutes.

POTD - Baby Corn

POTD - Baby Corn

©2011 Kristin Corlett

The sign said that this was Truckers Corn.  Not sure why it was called that, but it probably wasn't because it grows as tall as a trucker because these stalks were 8-9 feet tall!  It was fun looking up at the tall tops and seeing all of the little baby corns growing.  I almost want to put a smiley face on that corn and pretend the silk coming from the top was a shaggy hair-do.  When I looked up Truckers corn it said that it was an heirloom variety.  That doesn't surprise me since this corn is growing in a little plot next to the Historical Society Museum house.  I think all of the vegetable plantings were probably heirloom varieties. 

Enjoy!
Kristin