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Art Event, Black and White, Events, Florida, Indian Harbour Beach, Nature, Photographers, Photography, Satellite Beach, Walking
“There are no Strangers, here; only Friends you haven’t met yet.”
-William Butler Yeats
I ambled along in November afternoon, the murmur and chatter of the crowd mingling with the cool, easy wind. Booths sprawled before me, art glittering in shards of lemon light. I came upon the words, “Sunrise Greeting Cards” and found myself amongst a glossy scene of flitting photos pinned up in a glorious display of majestic beach sunrises. Lissome slate-blue shadows of oaks and palms filtered through the white, billowing sides of the inviting tent. And then a friendly voice, rife with jubilance and bonhomie, beckoned me. Sue, the sapphire-eyed, winsome photographer invited me to take a more intimate look at her passionate captures.
“It all began with a photo-a-day e-mail list. I thought, ‘why not share some of this incredible beauty we get to see every day here in Florida with some of my Northern friends?’ It just spread from there,” she said smilingly, photo-cards of glorious pastel and neon sunrises, and gamboling sea, scintillating all around us.
“I just want to share the beauty with as many people as I can!” she exclaimed.
A life-sentiment I could not help but profoundly admire- not only to share captures of our daily splendor here, but also to share beauty of Spirit and Passion; and to ignite and inspire such in others- such was my encounter with wonderful beach photographer with the lilting name of Sue Dafoe. Aye, she certainly inspired me as I tottled away in my typical ibis-fashion, and continued down the path of tents, that brilliant November afternoon.
“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
-Jack Kerouac
Event was the Annual Gleason Park Arts and Crafts Show, in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida.
Ebullient cheers,
Autumn Jade
A Day in the Brine 
Hi,
I love the composition of the fifth photo, nice shot
I was exceedingly exuberant over that shot as well. Thank you for oozing by and leaving a comment, much appreciated! Cheers,
Autumn Jade
Stupendous pitchers , with as ever exultant writing. Thank you fore taking us with you , Autumn…
Always an absolute joy, Mr. Ken D. Williams!
Strangers , are friends we have yet to meet. As I travel the highways and the byways . I have met many , though words exchanged vi text , a bond , fertilization if you will , of friendship , next came an exchange of numbers , the friendship , continued on , just like we had know each other fore ever , no beginning , with no ending.
Aye, aye!! MOST indubitably!!
awww….lovely snaps and wordsmith… the encounter was a blessing to this friend, no longer a stranger, as well! kind regards~~ S. Dafoe
Too splendid, aye, wonderful meeting you and so enjoyed your work! Cheers,
Autumn Jade
…and you are SO friendly!!! Sounds like you had lots of fun. Did I tell you that I nominated for Blogger of the Year 2012??? I just closed the link, but it’s easy to find! Who could have a friendlier site, but you, my friend????? 🙂
Oh thank you lassie!! You are just TOO groovy to this old briny biddy!! 😀
I’ve missed your for a couple of days! It seems like it takes me all day to blog now! Yikes! Poor V is loosing me to the computer screen!!! I put WP on my iphone now. I’m turning really scary!
Oh dear, if I had an iphone, I’m sure WP would be splattered on it and then I’d never live har har haw. Hahaha, Sir just asked, “Are you back with our favourite blogger again?” he looked over, “Of course! Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” xD Yes, it takes me a long time, too, something up with computer, oh dear! Right now I am enjoying the evening, Christmas lights are twinkling, rabbits are running in circles around my chair and begging to be let outside again, cats are hostages on the ledge of the screens where bully bunnies cannot reach, friend from England is chiming away over the phone- a perfect evening indeed!!
I am so honored by Sir’s question!!! Your evening sounds lovely. V has put lights up on the fence outside, but we haven’t decorated inside yet. I am remorsefully slow at that, I’m afraid. But once they are up, it is spell-binding to sit with the fire going in the fireplace, and some music – or not – sitting with all the other lights out enjoying all the lights of Christmas. No bully bunnies inside, but Kalev would be curling her little body into a tight ball making sure she is touching both of us with as much of her doggie surface as she can. If she can be on both laps at the same time with both of us petting her gently as she falls asleep so much the better. Such a cozy feeling.
That the scene you describe truly IS the perfect December scene I know so well from up North with the wood-burning stove. I miss that…there is something so grand about a fire on a crisp December night, with animals sprawled on laps, transfixed by the cavorting flames, little lights twinkling all around, a few candles. OOooo what an evening. Ah yes, and some music too. I had so many such evenings with Sir, Jodi, the cats, and even a few with my big brother Beege (he was often gone, I fear…). Kalev sounds like such an endearing canine companion indeed, reminds me of our cat Buddha, he would do the same thing. Ah, such was the scene of our caroling parties, too, that my mum and I were so avid about. We had a kerosene lamp, some poor victims we invited, giant caroling books my mum and I made and decorated, and a boom-box- out the door we went, into the gelid snows, to sing away through the neighbourhoods. Then to return with goodies bestowed from very surprised listeners, to enjoy in front of the welcoming fire….ooo wonderful, thank you for that, cheers!!
-smiling toad
Dear Smiling,
You have such a lovely family! Our family didn’t go out caroling by ourselves, sometimes with a church group. But my mom played the piano, and we all could sing, so we would stand around the piano and sing hymns mostly. The were fun memories. 🙂
The two of you have the perfect setting for a lovely Christmas and a Merry Christmas to both of you, your families and pets.
Mine is so much different. I am renting a cold almost empty apartment with now three cats, as the day before yesterday I saw a starving kitten in the street and brought her home. She is now called Star, a Christmas present to be looked after and cared for with Sonic and Samantha who have stayed out of the way on my bed, staring at the door as if to say “What is that “THING” doing in “OUR” house.?”
I have been waiting for a few weeks for my lawyer to draw up the papers for me to buy the apartment. I hoped all the exchanges would have been completed by Christmas which seems unlikely. I do not want to do anything to the apartment in case the sale falls through, so all my plans for it are on hold until after the Three Kings on January 6th. So the log fire, air conditioner / heater combo, new double glazed windows, electrics, my new blog control centre, new wooden floors over the cold tiles, painting and loads of new furnishings and drapes are all on hold
So I sit here with cold feet, a new kitten on my lap, a new friend who happens to run this blog, friends who have invited me out for Christmas day dinner ……. what more can I ask for …… for I have the love of Christmas …… that’s all I need. Ralph x
Dear Ralph,
I am glad you discovered that unfortunate kitten and took him in. Ha, ha, typical response of the other two.
Reminds me of our own adventure a few months ago. I was hiking with Sir (me dad) and was ambling along toward the car when I heard piercing little mewling cries. I turned toward it and a tiny kitten immerged from a copse and delicately wobbled toward me, mewling piteously. A minute later, he was in my arms and then suddenly in the middle of the house where Basil, Malachite, Mia, Kate, and Annie Cinder cats looked at me questioningly… (no more cats from here I assure you, if we find another, we’ll foster until we find a home) but anyhow, the biggest, spotty cat, named Basil, a bit of a bully, decided the kitten was his long lost offspring, and he instantly adopted the tiny wee one as his own. They have a very intriguing relationship, indeed.
I am so glad your kitten has found such a loving new home there. Three cats, perfect number! I guess we both cannot resist wandering starving abandoned little kittens. (surprising?? Not really!) I also cannot resist poor abandoned little rabbits either, but I won’t go into that just now.
Aye, precisely so, dear matie, nothing better than that!! Soon, the papers will be through and you will be working away on your little slice of paradise, but until then, you have the haven of love and friendship, the beauty and joy of Christmas all around. P.S. Enjoy the dinner with ebullient chums, sharing glorious moments together of bonhomie and such comity, and have a very happy Christmas indeed! Or as a briny old lass likes to say, her great white sharkies huddling all around her, “Have a very happy Great White Christmas” haw haw har….oh dear……
Cheers!
Autumn Jade
What a great adventure with your kitten that came out of the copse. I hope he grew up to be a cat and not the Beast of Bodmin’s offspring as you have to be really careful what you collect in the woods and I would hate you to wake up one morning finding yourself as the grown-up kitten’s lunch.
I am only asking in a quizzical, nosy, none of my business way. How old are you by the plimsoll line or nautical knots or even years ? As we were talking about cats, curiosity got the better of me. Hugs. Ralph x
Kitten has actually created quite a bit of balance in the hierarchy- he was just what was needed. Basil, deciding to be the kindly father, has become less of a rebel. He no longer gets in trouble with the “law”, which would be the top cat, and the oldest, Kathleen-a-Blue, the cat in the tux. She and I have been wily cronies for fifteen years, now. So felines are all happier with kitten, named Fyodor, and so far, he has not grown into a giant Siberian snow-tiger (though he does rather resemble one…and there’s still time…)
I doubt he was feral- fairly certain someone had dropped him off there, I fear. He had no fleas, and did not even have worms (astounding), so we must have found him perhaps hours after he was abandoned. He was far too wee to have been a run-away.
The rabbits were discarded as well, at a different park, called Gleason. Gleason has a large community of feral cats, unlike the other park with the kitten-containing copse. The clearly domestic rabbits were being terrorised by the feral cats, which is natural. It took patience, but I was able to coax both rabbits into my arms. The first one, Gandhi Poe Lass, took some time to rehabilitate. She is now a perennial puppy that licks, chirps, purrs and frolics happily. They are the friendliest rabbits I’ve ever met, and have even come to love the cats (even though they used to despise them, which is understandable). It is very comical to watch the wee lagomorphs chase the cats, felines all bounding for high places to escape innocent lil’ bully rabbits.
Hope your kitten is not getting along most swimmingly whilst getting to know his two new furry house-mates.
Well, you can see I’m rather elderly, in the gravie photo, see the grey locks?? Many call me gran-babs. Technically, I’ve been loitering about and haunting the planet for about a quarter of a century, but as our dear E. Dickinson might chime in just now in a bold, yet gentle voice, “Age is but of the mind!”
Cheers,
Autumn Jade
I apologise for starting a new thread but the reply button is so far up the page that I will need a ladder to press it. I am for the simple things in life. So here I am on easy street, starting anew. I can see that you are kind to animals with a great fondness for your cats and rabbits. My two older cats were born on my settee/sofa/a very wide chair that fat people sit on without drooping over the edge, their mother was feral and I kept the kittens. They never leave the house as they are frightened of being away from the apartment but they love sunning themselves on the balconies.
I must go I have about 30 comments, 3 emails to answer. Thanks for being open about your age as it just gives me a real sense of whom I am speaking to. Ralph x
Gorgeous story about how your cats came to be there, that is too groovy. Ah yes, I can just picture them sunning themselves, and I can also imagine them soon flobbed in front of a stove as well.
The boisterous cats here are all indoor, but I take them on walks like dogs. I’d like to take all six out at once and see how that goes- my ultimate goal, to get them to move forward all at once, in an orderly progression. 😉
Begin a new thread whenever you find it conducive to do so, I care not. Do whatever ye like, make yourself comfortable, no strict and stringent rules here at this wee blog.
No hurry ever to reply, I understand there are many groovy ones waiting to be replied to. And I really am not supposed to be here, BACK in blog-world again, as I should be finishing up an image for a pal to get printed at zee office store down the road. And I have surfer shots to deliver down the road…Oh bother….And now darkness is descending.
Not easily offended or wary, so ask away, I just trust you shan’t hold my “age” against me, eh?? 😉 I really am a silver-haired grannie at heart.
Cheers, until we meet again, ta la,
Autumn Jade