Steve's New Earrings

 
We were clowning around on the patio the other night, and these towel clips became the prop of choice to make each other laugh. For all I know, the coquis were calling to him!

Sitting at the end of the runway

 
 
I sat out here at the end of the runway this morning watching the Saab take off, and talking to a friend I haven't seen in a while. I had to post these pictures because the sky was just so glorious! Incidentally, about 2 hours later, it turned black and night and poured pretty much the rest of the afternoon. I love the ever-changing weather here!

A hazy night on the lookout

 
 
Even with all the wind, it was still really hazy Saturday night. This picture is from on top of our spot on the lookout; the airport is the bright lights behind me. The next picture is yet another reason why we love living here so much... I think this is the prettiest, most peaceful neighborhood.

Did I mention the wind was howling that night?

 
 
 
 
Steve and I run past this tree every morning and we both love it - we've been meaning to take our pictures in front of it for forever. I think it's pretty easy to determine where the prevailing winds come from....

Skies on Fire

 
 
 
 
The only reason we're not STILL in the yard playing with the puppy is because we had to get to the cliff for this sunset...isn't it amazing?

World's Cutest Puppy

 
 
Saturday night, we went for a walk and found two kids in the neighborhood playing with this ball of pure joy! Seriously, I dont' think I've EVER seen a puppy this cute in my life. He's 6 weeks old, and is so small that he can't get over the tall weeds in the grass, so he literally hops like he's on springs. Steve and I were both terribly smitten!

jalapeno roaster

 
We got this jalapeno roaster a few weeks ago, and we are 100% hooked on finding new and tasty ways of stuffing and roasting jalapenos. The ones in this picture are a mix of seasoned meat, cream cheese, queso fresco, and just a hint of ranch. YUM.

Amazingly dynamic skies

 
 
The weather really has been crazy for a few weeks - it been the extremes of clear skies and pitch black storm clouds. I love watching it roll in on the water. This is from one of the beaches near the house.

Love that face

 
After a walk, it's been mighty nice to sit out in the gazebo and talk and listen to the coquis

Night Time Meanderings

 
 
 
Ok - I'm getting backlogged again. Time for some new pictures. It's been rainysunnyrainysunnyrainyWINDY here for a couple of weeks now. It's made for some spectacular walks around the neighborhood. These are just a few shots of our nightly walks that I especially like.

Whole lotta shakin goin on

Dude. Our earth quaked last night! We got shaken out of bed at 1:15
this morning; bed shaking, and armoire rocking. No damages, and no one
hurt, but it sure did feel funny! It was a 5.8 and was located at
18•67• lat/long. That happens to be the name of our favorite
restaurant, because that is it's exact location. Nothin like zeroing
in on the epicenter!

Here's a link to the details:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/glossary.php#magnitude

Sent from my iPhone.

Why must it always be me?

Why is it that I'm always the only one who has these ridiculously enormous frogs fall out of the most unexpected places? This was was tucked up inside the lawn mower cover. He came heaving out at me when I was getting the mower out yesterday. All I could think about the whole time I was mowing was Uncle Trig's story about the little toad who kept hopping around the blades. Thirty two years later, I still remember that story :-)

The way I figure it, this toad's about a women's size 7.

(incidentally, the spellcheck didn't like the word "women's". It did, however, recommend replacing it with "womenfolk's". I'm thinking it's an Appalachian dictionary)

Steve's automatic gate opener

Trying out panoramas

It was such a cool, breezy, wonderful night tonight! Steve and I went up to the lookout just after sunset, and I tried a new panorama setting. Not too shabby, I'm thinking...

GOLD!

 
There really IS gold at the end of the rainbow!!

(and I got drenched taking this picture...)

Afternoon storm clouds

 
 
 
 
After we got back from diving, we threw some potatoes in the oven, and walked out to the cliff to watch the afternoon storms roll in. I love the way the sky looks when it gets dark like this, and the sun is still shining brightly on the trees. The first 2 pictures are from our front yard. The next picture is on the cliff, and if you look closely behind me, you can barely see the first rainbow of the evening. The last picture is rain shafts and sun spots on the ocean. I think this is one of the most beautiful things about living here!

Scorpion Fish

 
 
 
Steve was trying to kill another Lionfish, and almost got it - but they swim surprisingly fast! In the process of chasing it around the reef, we startled this Scorpionfish out of hiding. It's amazing how good their camoflauge is - when they're stationary, it's almost impossible to pick them out of their surroundings. These guys are totally non-agressive, but if you step on them, or tangle with the spines on their back, they're toxic. At least toxic enough to put a hurtin on you. Fortunatley, they're hell-bent on getting out of your way and staying out of your way.

Swimming into and out of the tubes

 
 
 
 
I've never seen anything quite as intriguing, as beautiful, and sometimes as creepy as diving through all the little tubes and caves here at Blue Hole. The great thing is, you can always see daylight somewhere along the way, so I'm not worried about getting out, but it can be a little creepy as you approach the darkness and wait for your eyes to adjust! There's nothing like watching the sunlight dance through a hole in the coral 50 feet in front of you though...amazing.