It's kind of a study in neutrals, I guess.  But I love this photo.  Reminds me of the expression, "seeing things in black and white"?  Well I never really understood that. Other than taking a white piece of paper and black crayon or paint and starkly applying in such a way that those are the only two colours, there is no such thing as just black and just white.
Can't apply it to life certainly. There are too many variables, too many exceptions, too many colours! Take the statement, "I don't like hunting. I don't believe in killing animals".  Okay. That sounds like me. But, while I'm mostly a vegetarian, I confess that I do occasionally eat meat. I love a BLT sandwich for sure. Well that little piggy died for my sandwich. I didn't kill him sure, but somebody did. And hey, I killed that spider that snuck in the house the other day. And any blood sucking bug that manages to get into my house dies the instant it is discovered without a moments remorse.  So you see, conditions! Not just black and white answers.
Life is complicated. But it sure is beautiful.

Yesterday, Tim and I took a tour of Ybor City.  This little jewel in the Tampa area is approximately one square mile of brick streets and fascinating history where cigar smoke is soaked into the lintels of all the old buildings and Cuban Sandwiches are on the menu.  At one time this little town was the cigar capital of the world with over 200 cigar factories employing thousands of workers.  All gone now of course and while the history still lingers, in it's place we found a plethora of restaurants, bars, tattoo shops and a giant Church of Scientology.  Still the historic architecture primarily reminded us of the French Quarter of New Orleans which is so very charming and the history of the town is colourful. There was a barbeque restaurant nearby that smelled incredible and some day we will return to eat there.  One of my favourite bits of information:  There is a little gated park in Ybor City and once within those gates, visitors are technically in Cuba.  When the original owners of that land died, they willed it to Cuba. Yes, Cuba inherited that tiny little park.  So Tim and I were, technically in Cuba in the photo below.  No passport required.

Credit where credit is due.  Tim took this photo. It's always been one of my favourites. For a long time it was the wallpaper for both my computer and my phone.   I've long been a sky watcher.  Did you do that ever?  Lay in the grassy lawn watching the clouds and seeing the pictures in the shapes.  I took an astronomy class in college that meant many a night atop the building with a telescope peering into the heavens and seeing the pictures in the starry skies.  And even before that, when I lived in California there was this school trip to the Mount Palomar Observatory that was life altering.   I was a huge NASA fan too. I still marvel at the pictures that are sent back to our little blue marble and I dream. Wouldn't it be the most amazing thing to see it for myself.  (can you tell I was also a big Science Fiction fan?)
Well that's not going to happen. At least not in this lifetime. But future generations?  It's possible. They might travel to  faraway planets, go to other galaxies and plot different star charts!  I wonder what their dreams will be?

Isn't this just the very picture of Peace.  Quiet, no other people around (well except me sneakily photographing them), beautiful quiet ocean, even the sea birds were quiet, sun starting to set. Very Zen. Ahhhh  And I do see all that. But I also see the sand. Lots and lots of sand. I think I swept up that same amount of sand in the house yesterday.
​That's the thing nobody tells you about living at or near the beach. Sure, sure, everybody cautioned about summer humidity which was no big deal, we managed that. The warn about the bugs, but we only see them outside.  They scare you talking about the alligators, and we haven't seen one yet...and are kind of disappointed about it.  The tell you about the predominant  elderly population and it turns out, it's kind of nice to be the youngsters on the block.  All those warnings. Nobody mentioned that my house would become a sandbox.
​It's not that I don't love being so close to the beach. I do, I do I do!!!  And I go there at least once every day (so most of the sand in the house is probably my fault) but somehow I never put 2+2 together and came up with the endless sweeping.  I don't mean to complain, it was just a surprise. And no matter how well you sweep, or how often you sweep, somehow, there is always more.
​Totally worth it for evenings sitting on the beach, watching the water and waiting for the sun to go down.  Peace.

It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  Here are my eyes. Can you see into my soul?  Really?  What does it tell you about me? 
​I ask sincerely.  It is so easy to be fooled nowadays, it seems.  I read about scammers and con men (and women) on a daily basis.  I read, yet another case, in the newspaper over the weekend.  To my shame, my first instinct is to blame the victim, call them fools, too trusting, too gullible, too naïve.  But really that is not fair.
​We are already aware of the harm that sociopaths and psychopaths can inflict, those folks who have no moral compass. Their internal wiring is so damaged that they simply do not have a conscience.  They can be very charming and convincing. But are all con artists sociopaths? Or are they just amazingly good actors?
​There are some actors who are so good at the roles they play that fans get carried away and confuse the actor and the role they play on television or in movies.  They aren't really trying to "con" anyone, but yes, in a way, in that period of time they do want you to believe that they are the character they play. Still, it's not with the intention of doing anyone harm.
​I  have no guile.  It's just not in my construct. But here are my eyes. What do I see?  I see those lines between my eyes, probably from years of squinting. Too much eye liner. Well that's happens when I'm in a rush. I'm almost always in a rush.  My eyes are blue. Lots of people don't know what colour my eyes are. Probably because of my glasses. All you really see is the glasses.  And if I'm outside, the sunglasses. My eyes are hidden most of the time, as it turns out.
​But I'm not intentionally hiding anything. I'm not trying to trick anyone. I'm a terrible liar, not convincing at all. I have no intention to hurt or steal or anything else nefarious. But I don't blame people for being wary and careful. There are way too many people out there who are far too versed at lying.
​It's a scary old world out there. Be smart, be careful, be safe.

In the film, Forrest Gump, Forrest famously philosophized that, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get."  And he was not wrong. You don't know what you are going to get. But according to him, regardless of which one you choose, you still have a chocolate. And well, hey, chocolate. Right?  Chocolate is celebratory, it's special occasion (even if the occasion is Tuesday afternoon) it's decadent (death by chocolate anyone?) and has some serious history behind it.
​I maintain that in addition to the above, life is also like a batch of good home made biscuits. Stop laughing.  Biscuits are simple things, as life should be simple.  They are cozy and homey and comfortable, as your life should strive to be.  Making biscuits is easy, as long as you follow directions and pay attention, just like life can be easier for the same reasons.  Much like life, a person get really good at making biscuits with practice.  As simple as they are, one mistake can ruin a batch, just like one mistake can ruin your life.  The best biscuits require a lot of leaving it alone, don't mess it them too much, just like life, stop messing with it.   And just like life, it takes heat to bring them to perfection.  I've never met anyone who didn't like homemade biscuits, although  some more than others. Same goes with life.
​I think I've made my point.  Move over Forrest, Chocolate is wonderful but sometimes, life is also like a batch of biscuits.

When most people who live in Florida hear that there is a Category 4 Hurricane heading their way, their first thought isn't,  "Surf's Up!". Nope, rational, reasonable, regular, ordinary people think things like, evacuation routes, go-bags, boarding up windows, buying water and candles and gas for generators.

​To be fair, the worst of this massive storm is on the east coast where there are hundreds of thousands of people without power, seeing flooded homes and businesses, and storm damage to face upon their return.  But while we have been spared the eye of the tiger this time around, there is still plenty of wind and rain and the authorities keep warning up that power outages are very possible here too.

​I have to admire the optimism.  When I headed to the beach this morning, I had a feeling I wouldn't be the only one there.  This photo captures the very essence of lemonade out of lemons.  And while I have no intention of grabbing a board and heading for the waves in my lifetime, I am glad that there are those who do.

I remember, what was it 12 years ago?, Hurricane Charlie dropped in to visit the Port Charlotte area of Florida.  My parents lived there then.  As I recall, the anticipation was that the Hurricane would hit farther north, so that is where the bulk of the preparation was. Charlie however, had other thoughts in mind.  My parents were fine, minor damage to their home, lost the pool cage of course, but other homes in their neighborhood would just totaled.
​About six months after the storm, Tim and I flew down for a visit. My dad drove us around on the "Hurricane Devastation Tour". We were dumbfounded.  Six months after that hurricane had passed, the trail of destruction was still jaw dropping in it's intensity.
​And now, these many years later,  here comes Hurricane Matthew which is predicted to be all that and a little bit more.   Of course, here we sit on the west coast (or left coast as I hear people say) and the expectation is that the storm is aiming for the east coast. But still, even we are under a tropical storm watch/warning and will get the outer bands of rain and wind.  And we have family, not just here in Florida but also in North Carolina which is on the target for hurricane's roll.  To say nothing of the larger sense of community, the family of mankind.
​Hope everyone stays safe. Please do whatever you need to do to stay out of harms way.

I do love to take photographs.  As anyone on my Facebook feed is well aware.  Maybe I should apologize, but I won't.  I can't draw a straight line with a ruler so let's call this my "artistic" expression.  Sure, sure, cameras are so darned smart these days that everyone takes great pictures, I know. But I find such unadulterated joy in capturing something, a moment I guess, that I feel is special, I cannot resist sharing it. 
​The photo below I took last night at the Jetty which is Humphris Park here in Venice. Tim and I were going to bike over after dinner but only got a short distance when it started to rain. Dang!   So we turned around and biked back and by the time we returned, the rain had stopped. What the heck? On again off again rain.    We drove over instead.
​Hadn't been there since the advent of Red Tide.  Red Tide, as I understand it, is an ocean born algae which, I don't know why, occasionally "blooms".  The results of which kills fish, which wash up on shore and the smell, lord a mercy, the smell. Gack!  Obviously I had avoided the stench for about a week.
​Last night, as Hurricane Matthew bears down on our state, but has not yet arrived, this was the moment that I captured.  Not a traditional sunset photo, although it was taken at sunset. But, as I have always maintained, there is beauty everywhere.
​Today, I challenge each of you to find the beauty. It's there, I promise.