useful thing

I would find one of these signs very useful for hanging off my bookbag on those days when I really didn't want to talk to or see anyone, but had to be in a public space (school, grocery store, park, museum). Anyone else ever feel like this? Maybe we could get a bulk order together. . .

look here

As I was walking the beach on Lake Ontario, I came upon this creature, this crayfish/crawfish/crawdad—what other names do they have? It was 6-7 inches long and stood up as high as possible, claws and antennae waving to make itself look bigger than that. It was headed to the surf and, when it got there, it let it the water take it, tumbling past the waves' breaking point, swimming away quickly. Gone. Funny what one finds on beaches.

thank you

Thank you all for your sympathy. Lumpy was a good cat and we will remember him.

say good-bye

Lumpy, the cat who would let me do this to him, is no more. After four days in the hospital for pancreatitis, he lost his feistiness, didn't care if anyone touched his belly anymore, and became the lump that going to the hospital was supposed to avoid happening. The house is unpleasantly quieter now.

home surf

Technological marvels: I took this photo with my cellphone, then figured out how to transfer it to my computer via bluetooth. Amazing what we can do these days, eh?

And yet, the best thing about it all is being on the Lake Ontario shore, listening to the water sounds and looking out at the green surf which comes courtesy of Spirogyra, a thread-like algae.

one other great lake

Presque Isle State Park off Erie, Pennsylvania, is a sand hook that, if not for these erosion barriers, would keep moving east, spoiling the place for human use. Hm.

closer to home

Crossing the Ohio River is the point at which I know that I am out of the South. West Virginia is a sort of transition zone; because of its very concentrated forest-and-mountain landscape, it is hard to see what is going on there while just passing through. Then the land drops to the river and the sky opens up and I'm crossing another scary bridge into rolling hills and farm fields. And I'm free of the claustrophobia that comes over me in those mountains, in any mountains.

bikes and books

Melissa Holbrook Pierson, the author of The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles, gave a reading at the BMW Motorcycle Owners Rally in Johnson City, Tennessee. She then sold and signed copies of said book. Johnson City is on my way north and I am in a 4-wheeled vehicle, so through a connection or two, I was designated as the deliverer of two boxes of books. And then I hung out at the Rally with her and a couple of mutual friends, and had a delightful time.

The headlight at the far left and closest to the viewer belongs to Melissa's bike. Whoever guesses make, model, and year of the bike wins . . . recognition as a true BMW junkie.

leaving the mountains

Interstate 26 cuts through the Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina and into Eastern Tennessee. Quite a drive.

art in progress

Privacy Glass

variable size

mixed media

tumbling water

The North Carolina Arboretum has many paths to walk, exhibits to view, benches to sit on, flowers to smell, trees to look up at, and water to listen to.

unanswerable question

The Martin Luther King Jr Memorial is in Atlanta, in the neighborhood where he grew up. Most of this area is now a historic district with museums. The tomb is set on an island in water with fountains. These are currently under repair, so no water.

Why is history that of cruelty?

elegance

There is a little place in Western North Carolina called Bat Cave. It's named for, get this, a cave where bats live! Meanwhile, this appropriate sign hangs at someone's driveway entrance.

mobile bay

Hello, Birders! Tell me, what kind of heron is this? And does it really have only one foot?!

are we free

The SockMunky was enjoying the beach at Gulf [of Mexico] State Park, Alabama, this 4th of July weekend. Got a little sun and sand, but was not allowed in the wonderfully perfectly heated water. Too bad for him. The rest of us could do as we pleased.

leave it alone

Twelve hours after parking the car, nature had taken over. Another 12 hours, and who knows how far this plant will have gone.