I've been moving AGAIN for the past month it seems (I'm really getting tired of it now, but I'm very close to being done!)... and the one thing I'm really going to miss is the Oceanside park that I've been frequenting since I moved to this area of north Tavernier.
Recently, while taking a break from packing (it seems like that's all I do lately is pack & work, work & pack)... I took my usual bike ride down to the park, stopped on the jetty for a 1/2 hour to enjoy the sun, listen to the wonderful sound of the water rolling up onto the rocky shore, do a chakra clearing... then continue my bike ride down the path. A few WEEKS ago the water was so high and coming onto the land past the barriers they installed (moreso to keep people off the coral I think than to prevent the water from coming onto land :-D), and of course, LOTS & LOTS of trash rolled in as well. Do you know that that trash stayed there for several weeks... people would just bicycle/run/walk/picnic by it but nobody would stop and pick it up!! I guess you can tell this is a "pet peeve" for me. I can honestly say that there are 3 other neighbors who make an effort at cleaning up this park. Three neighbors out of possibly over 200 houses in this development! :-/
So as I rode my bicycle past, I noticed there was a blue fishing bucket that was sitting there amongst the trash. How convenient that this bucket was here ... for me/us to collect the trash in this bucket to put in the trash can. I got off my bike and started to pick up the trash... I filled 1-1/2 trash cans full of ocean trash and there was still more!! But I felt like I did my share of taking care of God's land... he gave us this land and waters to take care of. It felt good to clean it up... I wonder if anybody helped to clean up the rest of it. The most interesting find this time? A ping pong ball! :-D LOL
So how is it that a person who is busy moving out of the development has time to stop and clean up the park so that everyone else can enjoy it? So many other people need to take time to notice their surroundings more and not think that "somebody else" is going to always do it. We're all in this together. I have considered writing a letter to the Editor of a local newspaper about this... but I don't have time... I'm moving!! '-) And I'd rather pick up the trash! :-) It makes ME feel good about it... and that's what counts. '-) Hope you do the same!I guess I have to add here also that I volunteered to clean up the small stretch of beach at the resort I work at. I talked with the timeshare manager and he said they had to cut back on personnel who would normally do it and "what comes in with the ocean, can roll back out with the ocean". I did my :-/ face and said I would clean the beach... in my spare time. I can only imagine what kind of a message is sent to the resort visitors when they stroll amongst the seaweed & garbage (as well as a LARGE tarp). A little volunteering can make it a nice, enjoyable place for everyone! '-)
I've always been interested in cleaning up the environment... and since I started living in this area with the oceanside park, it's just amazing how MUCH trash rolls in with the seaweed: flip flops, plastic bottles, fishing line containers, styrofoam... but it's certainly great to see that people aren't bringing glass on their boats, but nonetheless the plastic & styrofoam aren't the greatest for the oceanlife NOR the flip flops!!It was explained to me that the county is understaffed to pick up the garbage that rolls in from the ocean... so neighborhood volunteers pick up the trash. Yesterday my bike developed a flat while at the park, and lately there's a lot of foreigners (outside of Miami) visiting the Keys (this is the time for them... Sept./Oct. must be REALLY RAINY over there now!). So I just felt the trash was rather unsightly and I started picking it up and putting it all into a pile. A young visiting boy said hello to me while I was doing it. Hopefully it stuck in his mind to do this himself at some point in time! '-D I read something somewhere about "courtesy", and if you see something that fell on the ground, don't walk around it... pick it up!! It makes me feel good to give back to the county and to the visitors who visit our chain of islands, AND to the neighbors (like myself) to enjoy our beautiful park! :-D I also noticed that there are specific "groups" (noted on a sign) that are supposed to be helping to keep the park clean... I don't know that they exist anymore. It would be great if some local groups adopted it since it IS such a big park!I've always wanted to be involved with ocean clean-ups, i.e., when dives are scheduled to specifically clean up under the water. There can be a lot of junk while diving underwater like glass bottles (there they are!), rope/line, fishing line, hooks, weights... all kinds of harmful stuff! A few years ago while diving in the Bay, I found a crab with a lot of fishing line wrapped all around it. I felt like I was performing surgery on the poor thing, cutting all of it off, freeing him to move around more easily... it made me feel SO GOOD to send him on his way free of all that line! '-DTonight I went for another walk, this time down the end of my street (the first time earlier was to the park - remember I have a flat tire). My street seems to go a bit farther down than the other streets, or so it seems. Anyway, down at the end is a place to put a kayak in and paddle around a small lake, Dove Lake I think. Kids/couples go down there for "other" things as well! People fish there too... and I heard recently that there's a salt water crocodile resting in there -- so you won't find ME there!! :-O Anyway... as you can well imagine, people like to leave their their trash: beer bottles, fast food containers, etc. and there's no garbage can. Some day when I have nothing better to do (like when?) I'll go down and clean it up and LEAVE a trash can there! I'm surprised the county doesn't leave a can there... but I guess we can only expect so much!So-o-o... what have YOU done lately to decrease the amount of litter in your area? :-)
I have a *new* blog... called My Angels' Kisses. I'm still fine tuning it, but it does appear to the right in the Blogs To Share section. Just click on it, then put it in your Favorites for the next time. :-)There are several interesting links so far, and there's also a *free* Angel reading you can do for yourself, guidance from the Angels... it's rather accurate. I have some angellic items to offer in the future... so as soon as I figure out HOW to post them on the blog, it will be done! :-) I've also moved a few links over to that blog since they pertain more to Love and the Angels, and less to the "Green" life. :-) I hope you enjoy reading my new blog... feel free to post comments on either.
In the late Spring, I took a class about growing herbs. It was given by a woman who owns Redlands Herb Farm with her husband and son. It was a very interesting class and she brought lots of herbs for us to grow in either pots or gardens. She said the herbs were very hard to grow in the heat of the Summer, not only in So. Florida but especially in the Keys. I remember reading that the Community Garden down in Key West had been harvested in late Spring/early Summer, and all will be replanting again in the Fall. But undaunted by this "impossibility", I purchased two herbs and two veggie plants, and repotted them in pretty clay pots and set them out on my front porch, which gets a bit of sun in the morning, then mostly shade by the afternoon.What did I buy? Mint -- which has been doing rather well, believe it or not; I'll make some mint tea soon with those leaves. Another plant which is a cross between Parsley and Celery, but smells like Celery. I was fortunate to have some of this in my chicken salad one day... but that one has (just recently) unfortunately bit the dust. :-/ I thought it was "Borage", but I guess I got the name mixed up with another, 'cause borage tastes more like cucumber. I also have some mini carrots -- they have to be the SWEETEST little carrots I have EVER tasted!! It's too bad their so tiny!! Perfect for a tiny person the size of an ant!! :-D LOL She said they should be potted in a deep pot so that they'd grow deep & long, but that hasn't happened. Maybe I'm supposed to do something else, I don't know. Maybe you know? :-) ...and English Lavender... she said this one was especially difficult to grow because of the Summer heat, but so far so good! It smells SO NICE when I run my hands through it! And believe it or not, it's holding up rather well!! I'm looking forward to drying & using in sachets maybe, or in my bath... or maybe in my food! '-D The woman who hosted the class made some sugar cookies with lavender sprinkled on top... how simple and how fun! :-D When I lived in IL back in the 90's, I had a HUGE garden full of lavender, right out in front of the house! It was wonderful... did I do anything with it, not then... just enjoyed the flowers and the scent mostly. NOW, I wish I had a garden full of lavender since I use it so much.So, I've made it through a good part of this hot Summer with most of the plants! I'll take a picture to show... so you have a better idea! Coming real soon... '-)Somebody recently gave me some pole bean seeds... but I'm not a bean person, so some lucky person may be receiving those from me. If you're interested, let me know! '-D
These past two months I've experienced various electrical INfrequencies... what about you? My internet connection has been down most of the last two months, so getting on here to update this Blog (and a *new* one)... has been extremely difficult. And a visit from the AT&T Tech Guy gets it to work for a day, and off it goes again! :-/ I've been going to the Library to use the computers within the last hour that they're open! I don't mind this though because it reminds me how much I used to really love going to the library... sitting in a quiet corner and reading; and it's amazing how fast I can do my e-mail in an hour compared to how long it takes me at home! :-) This is quite an adjustment for someone who used to check her e-mail boxes twice a day... I don't want to tell you how many I have! :-D LOL I don't check them that often anymore... maybe it's the Universe's way of telling me to GET OUT & SOCIALIZE!! LOL That there IS life outside the computer! Yes there is! '-)Besides the computer... it seems like I also have to replace the batteries in my digital camera a little too often as well. I just about put them in, and I have to change them again! Guess my camera isn't used to taking so many pictures... I'll share when I get them uploaded. '-)AND my cell phone battery has decided to "bulge"... as I was told by the Verizon guy, it's not very good when your battery does this... it's from "overcharging"... it can explode if you don't replace it soon. EXPLODE?!?!? That's all I'd need... So if you can't get in touch with me, you'll know why. It's either the computer or the cellphone!So what else is new besides the electrical issues? Not a whole lot... Guess I should be writing about "green" things... just wanted to gripe about something else! I guess it all has to do with "change"... something we're all in the midst of presently.Have a GREAT evening!Note: The cellphone issue has been fixed... with a new battery! :-D
Morning glories were the flowers of my youth. When I was young... just outside the backdoor of our home, I planted some morning glory seeds and had a wonderful scape of intertwining vines of this beautiful flower. I think it's the color... sort of a periwinkle color that captured my attention. Wherever/whenever I see this flower, I always smile... as it reminds me of a peaceful & happy time of growing flowers.Apparently it has some medicinal properties (China) as well as hallucinogenic properties (Mexico)... but I enjoy it for it's pure beauty!
I was reminded of these beautiful flowers while on break this morning. In back of the gallery in which I work there's a fence with the morning glories' vine trailing along the top. I just noticed today also that the inside of the flower sports a "star"... sort of like a sea star! It's nice & warming to see this flower of my youth... :-)What's your favorite flower, and why? :-)
I was invited to do an art show with a fellow glass artist this past Sunday @ Hawk's Cay Resort just north of Marathon. Veronica Guitierrez is a stained glass artist in Key Largo, dabbling in mosaics. To me, she's a "master" glass artist... having been involved with glass for over 20 years!Anyway... it was BLOODY HOT, as I like to say!! It was a trial show for the resort, they offered it *free* to Keys' artists, whoever wanted to come out and BRAVE the HOT Marina area for the whole weekend. Keys' artists don't generally do Summer shows here because it's just too hot all around; that's why many travel up to New England or the Midwest & do those shows -- it's A LOT cooler! '-D I don't know... maybe they do down in Key West, but they may be on the waterfront where it might be cooler. I believe 7 artists showed up on Saturday, and only one came back on Sunday (Gyotoku - fish prints). We did the show on Sunday... so there were only 3 of us there. We did well... made a few customers, Veronica gained a new student (thanks to me), and a possible commission (also thanks to me, I think!). I'm hoping that when I step on the scale tomorrow, it'll tell me that I lost a few pounds due to all the sweating I did that day! LOLIt was FUN to do the show... I haven't done one for several years and that was when I did the jewelry shows. I enjoy seeing customers, but I really don't enjoy all the set-up and breakdown and sweating it out. But this wasn't a bad one considering there were only 3 of us there... the odds were with us! '-)
These ring colors are popular these days: 
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