10-11-2008, Download, Nita's Camera

Catchy title, huh? Really though, every once in a while I'll see a bunch of good pictures on Nita's camera and decide that I need to pop 'em on my computer. The problem is, they are usually accumulated over several days (read, "events"), forcing a "stack of stuff" blog post. So, without further ado.....
My previous post on Rache's 4H baking didn't include anything in the way of preparation so here's a few pics of that.
Ready to take to the judging....

After the judging....

Ian judging....

Ian being Ian. Sweet, I mean....

About that. Kids are really something but a grandchild IS different. You hear that from people but until you have one it doesn't really mean so much. It's hard to explain. All I know is I like it!

Emma (daughter #4, sorry Mike & Sheila) and Ian. He had this tongue thing going while they were here. I think it had something to do with teething.

Brother Ty held revival at Clinchfield Baptist last weekend. Three men came forward and got baptised. Oh wait, Bro. Ty was one of them. That explains Pastor Paul up in the Baptistry.

Bro. Ty and Maid Bekah following the ceremony.

Can't seem to get away from that hamburger cake.

Tea party's are very popular here.

Mountain Glory. Rachel always helps me as I do my DBA duties. This year, Anna was here and was up early this morning so we drafted her to help too. We were there at 6:30 a.m. to help the vendors get set up, as usual. Rache and I have been doing this for many years. Freddie Killough says that she figures Rachel will take over for her some day.

Well, that clears the slate. We're leaving for St. Augustine on Monday morning so maybe I'll have something good to share from our trip.

Ian's Visit

Ian came to visit us recently.

Oh, Paul and Sarah came with him.

Don't want to leave them out!Too sweet!

Sarah seemed to always have plenty of help taking care of Little Feller.
Sarah, I know you're going back to work soon but that's a little too
gung-ho isn't it? With the nurse's cap and all?
He love him Mama!

And then they had to go.

We'll see them all again soon.

South of here.

Can't wait!

Stack of Stuff

A few things from the last few days that need posting but with no specific theme. To try to wrap up our (my) week (few days) with Rachel and her friends on her St. Augustine birthday getaway...

Not to overdo any one particular attraction, but we feel like taking guests to Washington Oaks is worth doing and it's proving to be photogenic in every season that we've visited. We'll see what the heat of Summer is like but so far it's been a very worthwhile stop.

Here are the girls at the plantation home that's on the property.

The roses were pretty well bloomed out but there were still many opportunities for good photos. Did you notice anything different about the last few photos? I've got a new macro lens that takes very good close-ups. It's not something you would want to use for distance pictures but it's excellent for the up close stuff. I'm still learning...depth of field, etc.

Some more... Close up: Palm Trunk

I just about tripped over this guy. He looks pretty big but was probably only 3 feet long. Oh, did I mention that Washington Oaks is close to J.T.'s (home of a really good hamburger and onion rings)?It's hard to hold back on lunch when you're really hungry knowing you're going to chow down at Ruth's Chris that evening. We managed to get away on time and got there at the appointed hour despite the time it took them all to get ready. Final touches on the ride to Ponte Vedra. The very picture of savoir-faire. Are these the same girls who jumped out of the boat that day?

The next day, a quick trip to Fort Matanzas. Matanzas translates to "slaughter". Read about it here...

.....after which we had a quick lunch at The World Famous Oasis.....

.....followed by late afternoon sunbathing on the beach. My time was short by now. Even though the girls planned to stay a couple of more days, I needed to return to the mountains, for I had promised my oldest, Sarah, that I would meet her and Kristen and Lacy and IAN in Asheville for dinner Saturday night. We had a real good visit and Ian was, as is usual, very laid back...

He's a pretty cool dude, don't you think?

In Over Their Heads?

Today was the "boat ride" day. And fishing. We fished. I fished. I've fished a lot here. Never caught anything, but I've fished a lot. Well, anyway, we launched the boat at the lighthouse, "Salt Run", it's called. Used to be the inlet until they plowed the new one through at Vilano. We had the bimini top up most of the way, out Salt Run to St. Augustine, old town, then out the inlet about a mile off shore. Then we came back in and up the Tolomato River (intracoastal) a few miles. We wanted to eat at Cap's but they aren't open for lunch until Friday. We rode back to town and put in at the city docks. Everyone was getting hungry so we walked into town and ate at the sandwich shop in Casa Monica. When we got back to the boat we decided to go South and went as far as the 206 bridge. I figured that was far enough for the day and headed back towards town. We decided to put the top down and get a little sun.

I'm not sure which one decided it had gotten hot enough to jump in but about the time we got back to town it was decided.

After many individual and dual dives in they decided that a group jump was needed.

A couple of other interesting things happened today. We passed two men and two young boys in a boat who were in trouble. They'd been fishing. Their motor laid down on them so we towed them in to where they had launched. After that I spotted a really nice cruiser putting along toward town so I decided I would speed up and check out their ride. About the time we got pretty close up behind them they noticed us and laid the coals to it. They ate our lunch. We caught up to them near the city docks which is where the diving started. Oh, by the way, there were many dolphin (Flipper-type) where the girls were diving so they figured they had been "swimming with the dolphins".

Primordial Muck, or Mud Puppies?

You can't make this up!

Five kids + lots of muck = various stages of coverage. You have to wonder what forces influence each kid's decision as to how much mud to apply. Following are pictures of the kids from muckiest to least mucky.

I first noticed them from my balcony throwing their nets into the water by the dock. I figured they were trying to catch some bait. I walked down to the dock and saw this and asked them if they would be there for a while that I wanted to get their picture. They said "we'll go back in for you!" I hustled back to the house and got my camera...
This one thoroughly reveled in the mud.
This one seemed to enjoy it as much as his buddy but took longer to plaster his hair with it!

The one on the right had the right attitude but just couldn't seem to totally immerse himself completely in the artistic medium du jour.

This fellow obviously knew that to come home home looking like the others was not advisable. A quick face rinse would do it!

How sweet is she? Hey, she runs with the big dogs!!

Have you ever heard of mud angels?
OUCH!!

The neighbors seemed to enjoy them.

Ian would never.....