florida in june~

so, why you may be thinking, did my hubbie and I go to florida in june?

well....

to do the photography

for a friend's destination wedding.

the first two days we were working, but then we had

two days to switch from sweaty photographers to just regular old sweaty tourists.

(hee hee-sue if you're reading this, we really didn't mind).

we stayed at the amazing marco beach ocean resort on marco island.

we don't vacation very often so it was super

fun to be out of our everyday routine (and have a bathroom covered in marble).

 : )

even though we didn't watch much tv- if there's a remote, a man's gotta

hold it and make sure he hasn't forgotten how it works huh.
we had a cute living room, full kitchen and a separate bedroom which
came in handy when yours truly was snoring.

friday morning i took a walk around the resort and took some pictures.

this was the view from our deck. palm trees, blue sky and ocean.

the temperature while we were there was "hotter than haiti".

the humidity was pretty much the same

 and when i walked outside my camera lens would fog up. 

like this.

when that happens, no amount of wiping it off helps, you just have to

wait for it to stabilize.

thursday and friday we were working, but saturday our work was done and
 we put on our swim suits and headed to the sea.

it was a first for us to have a cabana boy walk us to a chair and lay out our

towels. see all these chairs~ we laid in them and relaxed until we 

couldn't stand the heat and then we'd saunter into the ocean and cool off.

i am always on the look out for sharks when i'm in ocean water, but lars doesn't

give them a second thought. i asked him if he didn't at least think about them and

he said, "nope, if that's the way i go, that's a good story". 

i am kind of thrifty but i just had to have that cabana boy deliver me

a $20 frozen beverage. oh yeah.

i was celebrating one of our kids getting married, my work on the island being

completed and the fact that i had escaped all shark attacks once again.
they're out there you know. they are.
(just play the theme song from jaws in your head).

the white sand beach went as far as the eye could see, and we walked the length of it.

i love to hunt for good shells so my head is always pointed down.

                                                   lars

me

my sweetie and i in shadow form. (my shadow is taking a picture- go figure).

 there were tiny sand crabs in this tide pool. 

off in the distance i saw this grandmother and her precious little

one just sitting looking out to sea. 

i stopped and visited with them a little. and made sure it was ok if i took 

their picture. i just loved them together, here in the water~ quietly 

spending time.

then lars spotted a live starfish in the water~

there were hundreds of these birds on shore.

 and a very tame egret

we wanted at least a couple photos that weren't selfies, so

i bugged some other walkers to take some for us.

it doesn't get any sappier than this, but i just had to do it.~

 here's just one shot dale took of me at work...

 we loved the ahhhh-mazing sunsets over the ocean.
we returned tanner and with a ziplock baggie full of shells.
i cleaned them and put them in a pretty dish and i love looking at them
it transports me right back to the island.
i love traveling with my hubbie. he carries all the heavy stuff, makes sure
i'm where i need to be on time, never complains and he's always quietly curious about
his new surroundings,
it was fun florida~ thanks!

it's the last week of july and probably many of you

have either taken a summer vacation or have one coming.

what places are on your vacation bucket list?

mine? let's see:  vancouver british columbia,

 south carolina,  niagra falls, portland,

the new england states in the fall

&

just today i added guatemala.

xox, b.

how bout a whole bunch of flowers for today's post?

i've taken all of these in my yard this summer and although

some of my gardens are looking pretty shop worn after a big storm and

the heat, here's proof that there have been some amazing

blooms.

geraniums

hydrangeas and a sprig of flowering crab

one evening i walked all over the yard and picked a lot of stuff, including some

not quite ripe raspberries and grapevine and made it all into

a bridal bouquet (for the practice). below is the bouquet 

in a vase. it looked pretty for almost a week.

if you like to make garden bouquets, look for some unusual things to add.

in addition to the raspberries and grapevines, i used clematis and some hosta buds that

almost look tropical. see them tucked in by the scarlet rose?

what is it with pansies? it's really hard for me to keep them pretty all summer... and i love them so.

these pink peonies are probably my favorite flowers to have on the table.

ranunculus are my favorite flower, but i tried planting some and the critters ate them off.
dang critters~

grapes on the vine

i think these are called rose begonias. love them~

my neighbor shelly graciously shared these morning glories that she started

from seed. they don't climb up, they trail down and i   l o v e   them in my window box.

cosmos

violas

seester dawn gave me this pot of martha washington geraniums- so pretty

more morning glories

help me out...gazania?

i have these white hydrangeas coming out my ears... i like to mix them with dainty pink

coral bells .

petunias used to be trash flowers to me. now that i'm older and wiser i have come to

realize why old ladies love them... hee hee

impatients in a hanging basket

and another cosmos~

that concludes today's tour of the garden.

don't be too jealous. closeup photos can hide all my weeds and

 the holes that are really there. you've just gotta look at the bright side and
see all the good. gardening is good for the soul.

:  )

it's almost the weekend...haaang in there friends,

xo, beth