it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Saturday, February 14, 2009

inspiration


with these as my every day visuals...

...honestly my brain is so relaxed...but my camera is so full of images...i am not sure what to include or what to leave out...i usually err on the side of adding as many photos as i can...

so here goes...friday was also designated a beach day
if the weather would cooperate...and boy did it.
we (meems, marmee, and our mom, gigi) headed out
to eat and spend the evening on the beach.
so it was off to cortez. a small fishing district.
meems wanted to share a unique dining experience with us.
star fish company is a fresh seafood market/restaurant.

the commerial market is up front and center.


then you make your way around back to the eatery dockside.

we lined up with all the other awaiting customers,
which included a traveling quartet. after a 30 minute line...we
ordered scallops, grouper, peel and eat shrimp, cheese grits,
hush puppies... well you get that we were hungry...now to find
a place to sit(not easy)...and wait...and wait...more waiting
... but we met lots of people...saw lots of interesting
birds...and felt the sun shining...all very worthwhile.


plus we were now in a different time zone...

i have been trying to adapt to that
first little sign since my arrival in florida.
so we had plenty of time to take in the sights
right from our outdoor, dockside picnic table seating.

fishing/seafood equipment lined the docks
as if it were the decor artfully placed.

what a charming fish market and place to sit for 2 plus hours.

brown pelicans were plentiful around the docks
but no feeding is allowed...which makes perfect
sense around an eatery.
isn't he a beauty.

the great white egret was on perch.
white pelicans are only here during the cooler months.

we also met another kind of bird seasonal to the florida coast
lines, snow birds. jean was one such kind...with so many interesting
life experiences...84 years worth. a world traveler, she met her
husband, a nasa engineer, while at a gathering for the nasa
workers. she worked in the library for nasa.
but that night was dancing on the table when her furture husband's
friend said "look at that cute red head with the good legs." as she
said, "the rest was history."
she was indeed fascinating...thanks jean...for some great stories.

after eating, waiting, talking, taking photos, we headed to
the fresh fish market for some seafood.
meems got shrimp and stone crabs for our dinner on valentine's.
then we finally got down to business and went to coquina beach.
afterall this is a huge reason for flying down to
spend some moments at this time of the year...
being on the beach soaking up the rays.


the sunset also complied with my hopes of having
a gorgeous evening at the beach...thanks mr sunshine.




and so goes another day in paradise.

11 comments:

tina said...

Looks like a beautiful vacation Marmee. Enjoy your Valentine's Day too.

joey said...

Some days are just 'as good as it gets, Marmee. Enjoy! Hugs for a special Valentine :)

marmee said...

tina, so far it has been a dream.
i had a wonderful day even though i was away from my wonderful hubby.

marmee said...

joey, these last few days have been like that. i am so enjoying my time here. hugs back to you!

Meems said...

Marmee,
You captured some really great images of one of my favorite local places. It wasn't so bad waiting all that time to eat getting meet lovely people like Jean and other folks who come here from the north to enjoy our beautiful sunny days in winter. Not only that but we had plenty of time to take a gazillion photos of this quaint little village. Most of all getting to spend the time with you and gigi ... relaxing ... it's like I'm on vacation too. LOL

Q said...

Dear Marmee,
So happy you are having fun with your Mom and sis! I love the photos! Brown Pelicans are very cool.
Enjoy, enjoy and enjoy some more...
Sherry

Gail said...

Marmee, It looks and sounds like a good place to unwind and just be...I am so glad you're having a good time! Gail

Kylee Baumle said...

What a wonderful day you had! We didn't go down to Coquina Beach this time, but usually we do. I love the shops and eateries lining the other side of the street and the palms on the beach side. All so Florida-quaint. Beautiful sunset photos!

marmee said...

meems,
what a great day we had. it was just fine the waiting. i just think it was interesting to let people know of the wait. i am so glad you choose this place to take me and gigi.
i really did enjoy my vacation at your home...it is such a pleasant place to be.
thank you for all you did for me and all the time we got to spend together.

marmee said...

sherry,
i loved seeing all the sea life and the brown and white pelicans were so neat.
i could not have enjoyed my time more than i did. it was great. i came home to rain and very cool temps but it was okay because i was so relaxed from my time there.
now i am catching up with all here.

marmee said...

kylee,

that sunset was a gift after the day before had been so foggy. i needed to see that glorious of a sun setting over the gulf. it really made me so happy and peaceful.
florida has it's own style of quaint that is for sure.