Sunshine on my Shoulders

Green Eggs and Ham was on the menu at a local breakfast place.
Seriously.  Green Eggs and Ham.
I ordered them just so I could take a picture and post it in honour of my beautiful grand-peeps.
The "green" is spinach and advacado.
And it tasted really good just like Sam-I-am says.
Nothing to be squeamish about.

This was a little gecko lizard keeping me company in the lanai.
I find them fascinating and friendly little things.
The one that jumped out from behind the pillows when I pulled the bed covers back however,
... not so much.

Dining and fellowshipping with niece Nicole is a wonderful annual treat.
Each time we decide to dine out we've been able to do so under a canopy of stars and a moon that is almost full now!

...the cloudy skies were exceptionally notable today.

Can't seem to get enough of this panaromic option on my phone ever since Lilly pointed it out to me :)

A school of dolphins were at play (and definitely on a school break) not far from this rock reef.
Sorry, I enjoyed that so much I forgot to take a picture.

The ocean is terrifically cold, mesmerizing to listen to and watch but preferably from a seat on the beach.  Where you can knit a beret with a towel across your legs.  :)
If my mother and sisters could see me now....

Knitting on a beach.  Pfft!  Enjoying it even.  Me oh my.

A tribute to Nikki - one is never too old and no situation too hopeless!

 What was that?! she exclaimed ... on sighting a small but decidedly owlish figure sitting in the sun on a stake, surrounded by orange tape around a makeshift "pen".  

The man behind the wheel pulled a U-turn & stopped long enough to satisfy my curiosity.  

Up popped another owl out of the ground (see the mound?)  

Then I walked over and found this sun bleached warning about "harassing" 

these protected burrowing owls.  

Burrowing Owls and Gopher Tortoises are protected and there are signs and warnings about fines everywhere to demonstrate the gravity of the situation.  

This is all well and good except that it seems like these species enjoy more dignity of life 

than the American unborn child.

It's disturbing.

 We are crazy about long and linear palm trees.

They look so fantastic in Christmas lights!

 Naples 5th Avenue is a happening place day & night if parking 6 blocks over is any indication.

The tree pictured above is one tree (a Banyan) coming up out of the ground with more multi-stems than you can count.   That is apparently its primary characteristic.
A new house is being constructed around the tree.

 The sunset I almost missed - the sun dropped into the ocean at lightning speed while I was photographing the Robinson Crusoe tree not fifty steps away.

Galactic God

Got a free hour today?
This video will change you.
You will never be the same afterward.

The Global God Who Gives the Great Commission

Thank you Jon for sharing this.
It is a worship experience like none other....

All Creation Sings.

The Universe is His Symphony...

Praise him, all you shining stars!  Psalm 148:3

Song of the Whales
Praise him, you great sea creatures and all deeps.... Psalm 148:7

Seriously, you cannot remain untouched by this... this... uhm... "experience" ??
Watch it and go have a blockbuster week!

Hummingbird Bumble Bee

It's not what I had envisioned at all.
Immobile on a holiday Monday and wincing with every little turn of the back muscles.
Felled by the simple act of filling the kiddie pool with tap water, one (too heavy) pail at a time.
But look, not all is lost.
I am fixed to a comfy outdoor chair on the front porch.
Sans hurry and hassle, I've been able to spend time putting the final touches on my first ever blog book and I can pause randomly to marvel at the gardens before me with warm summer breezes on my face.
Moments ago, during one such break noting the brilliance of the purple petunia's cascading out of the urn, a very odd looking oversized bumble bee with an equally oversized beak suddenly appeared out of nowhere, relieving that same profusion of purple from some of its nectar.
I am amazed.  A bumblebee behaving like a hummingbird.
A quick google confirms that that is precisely what it is.... a hummingbird bumblebee.  The smallest bird in the world with a maximum length of 2.5 inches, is often mistaken for an insect.

Delighted to have witnessed this pleasure amidst the pain.  That is a wonder-full treat!