example of food chain

caged

what fun looks like

tool shed

tall blue glass at Franklin Park Conservatory

barn

unexpected colors and textures on rock wall

the amazing life of plants

what cabbage looks like in the ground

a Chatelaine breakfast

an omlette of smoked salmon and cream cheese, hidden inside light, fluffy eggs and fresh baguette--perfect

Chihuly glass

belly

on terra firma con mare

not just breakfast, Lighthouse Cafe breakfast

The first morning in Sanibel we went to the Lighthouse Cafe, by tradition and be-
cause of the 364 day antici-
pation.

My father, the early riser among us, started going to the Lighthouse for breakfast well before the rest of us.

Due to his unfortunate insistance one year to go to a much coveted restaurant, memorable only for its horridness, my father's recommendations were taken with only a polite acknowledgement, so it was some time before the rest of us succombed to his insistance of the Lighthouse's deliciousness. We were skeptical, basically.

However, his reputation was well restored by the best breakfast pretty much anywhere.

The setting doesn't hurt. The restaurant is smallish, with odd little rooms, heavy wooden tables and chairs that are well worn, fans only (no A/C blast), and mishmashed framed photos of lighthouses adorning the walls in mass. It's a laid-back, busy, coastal, festive place where people often wear bathing suits to dine in.

The photo features their granola pancakes with bananas and real maple syrup. You can barely make out the bowl of fresh blueberries to the left. There's orange juice, but not JUST orange juice; they serve Sun Harvest fresh-squeezed orange juice which happens to have its factory located nearby on Fort Myers. Fresh doesn't do it justice. And you can make out the large strips of bacon at the back of the plate. Coffee is a requirement. It's breakfast. We're American. Coffee it is!

What you don't see is their house-made strawberry preserves for the toasty English muffins. It has little pectin so it is more syrupy, but studded with real strawberries--kind of hard to describe, but wow! Here, you can't order steak and eggs, but you can get fresh grouper, broiled, served with eggs any way, which--trust me--is a fine, fine meal.

Or there is the fisherman's frittata with crab and shrimp and a buttery roux sauce on top. And the French toast! The breakfast sandwich! The fresh Belgian waffles--with strawberries and, if you like, you can run down to Pinocchio's ice cream just down the way to get some fresh vanilla ice cream for the waffle.

Okay. Maybe now you are getting the picture why my whole family declares the Lighthouse Cafe the best breakfast.

marina

sangria!

Sanibel

Miles of Florida beach--it's impossible to capture the entirety of it. In macro it is one thing, in micro another.

One year, the beach was full of conchs that were washed up from a storm. Last year there were many starfish. This year there was more seaweed and bracken than other years. It's been cloudy with barely a low tide. Usually there are large tide pools to wade through and hermit crabs are plentiful. We haven't seen any so far.

There is a familiarity to Sanibel that comes from 30 years of knowing a place and staying at the same spot of land all this time. But in that familiarity is also the constant change, literally as the tide pushes and pulls, and more generally too as each year the beach's character changes shape.

To fully speak of it or photograph it is impossible. These words and images will have to do.

what the tide brings in

before and after

palms and Florida sky

vacation

Heading to Florida means that new photos will have to wait.

faithful sustinence

all work and no play

ending of a Chinese meal

on terra firma

intruder

symmetry

stainless

Becky's eye view

seed homes

weathered structure detail

lake turf

Kate knees

ant on siding

Does this ant realize that it is on siding and not wood, despite the ripples that are meant to trick the eye? Does it care?

white pine

harsh food chain

When I saw this wing, I thought how one dies so that another lives and how harsh, but necessary, that is.

The day after I found this on our walkway, a robin lay dead at our front doorstep. It's not a good time for birds.

not budging

better than the alternative

bamboo with provenance

My first teacher gave this bamboo to me from his home, which is no more. It took a lot of nursing, but it finally rooted in our yard and is now thriving.

a 19-year old cat on the move

imperfection

This Wedgwood vase was my great aunt's. I don't recall when the chip happened. It could've been there when I received it from her. And if you'd known her, you wouldn't be suprised if that were the case. But whenever it happened, I can tell you that I've looked and looked at this chip.

A chip. On the Wedgwood vase. It's a lovely vase. And it's not a little chip, either. I've nearly tossed the vase several times over that chip. But as you can see, I still have it.

I usually keep it faced toward the wall. I know the chip is there, but no one else does--or did. Often this vase has roses in it, which reflect in the mirror giving the illusion of bounteous richness. (You can just make out the frame of the mirror in the photo.) And it is lovely filled with roses. A perfect accompaniment to them.

I've come to live with the chip. Accept it. I even kind of like it now. It's helped me, that chip.

seeing in vertical

microcosmos

notice

In looking at this series of photos thus far, I am noticing what I notice. Sometimes it's cozy, often it's a perspective I see over and over, or it's a detail, a pattern, a moment that sticks out among the mass vying for attention. It'll be an interesting journey to review the snippets as they accumulate. I wonder what they say.

5 day a week stall distraction

Cuddledown splurge