October 22nd, 2019

Guess who is back from Yellowstone?  Joy and Bob that's who!   YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!

The photo safari's have resumed!!!  I'm so tickled.  Every singe Thursday now is dedicated to hiking...somewhere...and taking LOTS of photographs with my sister :)

For our first hike of the season we headed out to T.Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve.  We've been there before, of course, but it's been at least six months since either of us have been there.  Joy, because she was in Yellowstone. Me, because I only seem to hike there with Joy.

One of the things we love about it is that it's never ever crowded. That's a big Yay.  They also have multiple different trails. Love that. It's a HUGE place with over 24,000 acres (!!!).  It's local in that it is technically in Venice (obviously not on the island though). AND it has bathrooms.  Clean ones.  Big Yay!

Also there are always an endless array of wonderful things to take pictures of.  Things both large and small. Doesn't matter how many times we go there, we always find new things to photograph.

And then too, it's time for us, just the sisters, to yakyakyak.  We caught up on everything. Her life in particular and Yellowstone in general and then my life in particular and Venice in general.  Her kids, my kids, other people's kids.  Her hair, (she has already made a long over due hair appointment for a cut.  My hair (which is getting so very grey).  Clothes, food, cars and bears.  There were a surprising number of awesome stories about bears which is funny because the entire time she was in Yellowstone, whenever she would call me I ended the conversation with, "Don't get eaten by a bear". 

Especially exciting for me was that this was our first photo safari where I had the use of an actual (and awesome) camera instead of just the camera on my cellphone. So while she is still by far and away the more superior photographer (and always will be), I can now get some of the shots that were impossible for me before.

This is not a competition by the way, we fully support each other.  She points out shots to me, I point out things to her.  We always had a very harmonious relationship  Seriously!  In our entire childhood I remember only one fight.  Of course I don't remember what it was about. I'm sure it was something really stupid.   Whatever it was about, at some point I was in the house folding laundry and she was outside watering Mother's garden.  I most likely said something snarky to her through the open window and in return she turned the hose on me.  Through the window.  LOL!!!!!  And then we both got in trouble.

We didn't have a ton of interests in common other than music.  But even that was different.  She preferred popular tunes that she could sing along with as she played.  I preferred Sonatas and Nocturnes.  She was a dancer and an artist.  I was a reader and a writer. Given the opportunity to decide, Joy would always choose to be outside climbing a tree and I would always prefer to curl up inside with a book.  She was very outgoing, I was very much an introvert.  She was extremely popular in school, I was nearly invisible, by choice.  But we encouraged each other's interests and talents always!  I applauded madly at her dance recitals and plays while she enthusiastically listened to the tapes I mailed to her of music I wrote.

So it's especially nice at this point in our lives to have this shared interest!!  I always loved my sister.  Now we have an interest that we can share together :)  Awesome.

And here are a few of the shots I captured on our hike. An auspicious beginning to the photo safari season.