Day's End

At the end of the day 

gulls wing their way home 

among clouds that inspired Rembrandt 

in a sky that inspired me.

My World photos here.
Skywatch Friday here.

Dedicated to Anna

May peace be with you now at the end of your journey.

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5 AM July 4th and At The Close of the Same Day

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Getting up early in the morning is a gift I give to myself.   Everything looks so clean and fresh and made just for me as usually no one else is there with which to enjoy it.  The solitude mid such beauty never fails to put me in a worshipful mind that seems clearer than normal, more open.  Seeing what is before me on the horizon and in the water's edge at my feet brings the large and the small together as a unified thing.  This is my cathedral. 

 Mist rises from the far side of East Creek as a pair of osprey greet the sun with their new young.

Trumpet flowers frame a sailboat moored on the Great Peconic Bay between Cutchogue and New Suffolk.

Long morning shadows.

It won't be too long before many of the kayaks will be out on the water for a holiday paddle.

The setting sun provided it's own pyrotechnics before fireworks began.  Later, the rim of the bay was outlined by many displays as neighborhood groups came out to enjoy the color and balmy weather.

 

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Strawberry Festival

The last shot first for my Skywatch Friends

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Some friends and I went to the annual Strawberry Festival in Mattituck this past weekend.  The photos tell their own story.  Guess what?  Not one strawberry in any of them!  They have been fantastic for the last three weeks though, red straight through.  They have to be eaten within two days maximum, they are SO ripe.  I've been making Bisquick short cake for them substituting duck fat for half the butter quantity which is pretty good and adds some depth, but it's not even close to what Mom used to make... a light ethereal cake wedge, split in half, smothered with strawberries from our own garden, doused with a bit of milk and some sugar...  (I'd give anything... love you , Mom).

Banquet in a Bun

Sand Art

Might be the longest but it looked like they were using, maybe 6 feet (it was very early evening).

Absolute bubble Joy!  (click to enlarge, that's fun!)

Going Down

Vendors with almost everything...  glass rings here.  You need one, right?

The Dino-Coaster, not to be missed!

Bubbles can be enjoyed at any age...  I popped a few with my nose, messed up my glasses.

Greenport Saturday Morning

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Coming back from an early trip to a state park east of East Marion to pick up drift wood to use as tomato plant supports, we stopped at Greenport for a spot of breakfast at the Coronet Diner then went out on one of Claudio's docks to take a look at the Peconic Bay.  I took these photos from spots no more then 15 feet apart.  Claudio's is the oldest single family owned and run restaurant in the U.S. at 140 years (1870) and has a group of restaurants in their complex suited for any mood or pocketbook and all on the water.   We like being able to tie-up and eat but haven't done so yet this year.  Business is very good now much as it was back in the days of prohibition when, as legend has it, the "runners" used to bring their boats under the building to unload their liquor in the dead of night or "oh-dark-hundred" as my father-in-law would say.


I'd have liked to step back a little further from the harbor-master's cabin to get more of it in the shot but I was hanging part way off the dock to get this one!   S.T. Preston's is the oldest U.S. ship's chandlery, so the story goes... one can see very early photos of it when it still served whaling ships in Greenport Harbor and it was already old by then.  The North Shelter Island Ferry plies the water between the island and Greenport every day of the year.  A separate company runs the South Ferry between Shelter Island and Sag Harbor on the south fork.  The last shot was shot at a great distance.  It shows a "party boat" the Peconic Star coming in from night fishing on the Sound and two shrimp/fish trawlers.

Not to be confused with the main restaurant, this is the raw bar, ice cream and t-shirt emporium part of the Claudio's establishment where live bands play late into the night on weekends...  I'm so glad we don't live near there.

The Harbor-master's Cabin, note the loud speaker for directing boat traffic in and out.

 S.T. Preston, just like it says :)