Sky Watch

This Sky Watch picture is from my current favorite place, Cape May Point. However this was taken earlier in the year when it was very cold and there weren't any birds around.

If you would like to participate and/or view other wonderful sky watch pictures from all over the world, please visit Sky Watch.

Hello! My name is Lisa and I am addicted to....

books. And this is just in my closet. There are also books on my end table next to my sofa. And let's not forget the cookbooks in the hutch. I can't help myself when it comes to books. Today I went to Wal-mart for dry food for the kittens. As I was walking to check-out, I could hear the book aisle calling me name. I resisted at first, but the pull was just to strong. I ended up buying two books. Janet Evanovich's "Fearless Fourteen". If you haven't read any of her books yet, I recommend you do. They are fast reading and will make you laugh. The second, Linda Howard's "Death Angel". Also a good read. Walking to check-out, I am arguing with myself. "You have a closet full of books to read. You don't need anymore books, let alone two more. Oh be quiet. These are two of my favorite authors." I don't know who won, but I added two books to my collection. After leaving Wal-mart, I went to Shoprite. I picked up fixings for salad and chicken. When heading to check-out, what aisle did I pick? The freaking book aisle. I stopped. Scanned and saw another author I enjoy. I picked up the book and started arguing with myself again. I was getting ready to put the book back when a shopper said, "I just finished that book. It was very good." We talked books for a while and guess what? I walked out with another book. This one by Iris Johansen, "Silent Thunder". She is a good writer. Sometimes off the wall, but her books are still good. So I ask you, what is up we me and freaking books. I live right around the corner from the library where I can check books out for free. But NO, I spend a small fortune on books. And it is not like I have the time to read all these books. I am a slow reader, so by the time I finish one book, I have added several to the collection. I think I may check the phonebook for "Book Readers Anonymous" or "Book Buyers Anonymous". Or hey, maybe I'll call Bobbie and have her talk me down. Like she would really want to be bothered with this, right? I bug her for too many things. No, I think I will just try and have willpower next time. Or look the other way. Or avoid the book aisle. Or ignore the little voice in my head. Or????



Okay so now that you know about my book addiction, let's talk about another freaky addiction of mine. SHARKS. Especially the Great White Shark, my favorite. I have been wanted to blog about this, but have been putting it off. Why now? Well tonight starts Shark Week on Discovery Channel. I am fascinated by sharks. I don't believe they are the mindless killing machines that most people make them out to be. Yes they have many rows of razor sharp teeth that can rip apart flesh in an instant. But in most cases an attack is mistaken identity. Yes I know what you are thinking, but think of this. The ocean is their home. What would you do if someone entered your home uninvited? You would attack to save yourself and your family. Not to much difference. Okay here I am defending sharks and that is not what I wanted to do here.

Everyone has a bucket list. What do we want to do before we die? Well here is one thing on my bucket list - I want to go to Africa. The home of the jumping and largest Great White Sharks. I want to see and take pictures of this phenomenal two ton fish jumping out of the water. And after that, I want to be in a cage with a Great White or two swimming around.

Okay, I have given you a little insight to the private world of me. I am a strange person with some off the wall passions and addictions.

Think about what is on your bucket list and let us know.



Today was weigh in day. Same as last week. No weight lost. No weight gained. Still holding at total weight loss of 18 pounds.

Camera Critters

This is my first time participating in Camera Critters. For my first post, I am posting Mama duck and her ducklings. The pictures were taken at Cape May Point, New Jersey.

Stop by Camera Critters and click on other's to see their cute little critters.

My Blogger friend up dah pawkway, Dianne of Forks Off The Moment, gave me an award. She is witty, sincere, creative, oh gosh. The list goes on and on. Stop by her blog, see for yourself and say hello.



There are so many blogs that I would love to give the award to. Every one I read makes me smile and leave great comments. So reluctantly, I have narrowed the list down to this:

Mmebenaut My blogger friend from down under. She has a wonderful blog and definitely worth visiting. She writes from the heart and is so compassionate to other bloggers with her comments.

Lisa The Butterfly Farmer. She has had a rough go of it of late, but she is coming along. She doesn't post a lot, but when she does it always brings a smile and a good laugh.

Rachel Sliding Through Life. She also has a lot on her plate, but she is always upbeat with a fun story to share. Every Sunday she posts a Sunday sign. Always guaranteed to bring a smile.

Christine Possumlady Place. She does a lot of posts about, yes my favorite subject, pets and animals. She is very sincere when she writes and I always learn something from her.

And last, but definitely not least. My good friend Bobbie - Almost There. I call her daily, with most times during the week, a rant about what happened in work that day. She always has good advise and her voice is calming and yes she always brings a smile to my face or has a good comment that always makes me feel better. And there are laughs. Just yesterday while on the phone with her, her daughter came over. What Bobbie said had me rolling. I asked if I could blog about that. With a laugh, the answer was NO. Sorry folks, but that is just between us three girls.

I hope that everyone takes some time to visit my chosen recipient's. They are good people and I am glad that I have found them.

I went to Cape May Point aka the Point on Sunday. I took a different path this time. This is a long dirt path with dunes on one side and a lake on the other. There is always birds of some sort in the lake and I enjoy watching and taking pictures of them. At one section there were three baby ducklings and then I noticed mama or daddy on land watching over them. (I have a picture, but your gonna have to come back tomorrow to see it. I have decided to participate in Camera Critters and this is the picture I decided to use) I watched them for a while because they were just so damn cute playing around in the water. I went over the dune and started my walk along the ocean. It was windy and the ocean was very angry. I kept scanning for dolphins, but I couldn't see any for all the whitecaps. I felt very uncomfortable walking because I couldn't find my stride. I finally gave up and started back. I did stop by the Least Tern nesting area. I was laughing my ass off at them. They were trying the damnest to attack me, but the wind was to strong for them. When I got back over the dune, I decided to take another path to see where that would lead. I ended up at another lake with a pair of swans and Canadian Geese.

(I love this shot. The swan on the left has dipped her head and the reflection in the lake looks like a heart.)

On my way back to the car I stopped at the lake hoping for another look at the ducklings. They were in the middle of the lake with mama/daddy. They were darting around having the time of their little lives. And mama/daddy was just as proud as can be.

Further along the path, I came across mama/daddy on the bank just standing there as if on the lookout for danger.

My day was over and I was hoping the next time I came, the three ducklings would still be there.






I haven't been doing much walking this week. Not because my foot has been bothering me. It has, but not as bad. But because it was so damn hot and humid and I haven't been feeling up to par. For some reason, the heat and humidity really bothered me this week. Tuesday I got ready to walk out the door, but I changed my mind. I ended up on the couch reading a magazine.

Wednesday night I went to ceramics. Our ceramics teacher was in a bad mood. This isn't something that is new. I think because she is around a bunch of women she feels she can vent to us and it won't go any further then there. Which is true except now. She was saying that her husband asked her to do one thing this summer. He belongs to a club and they have a barbecue every summer. The barbecue was on Saturday so he asked her to close the shop at 3: PM and come with him. She said that the regulars for that class didn't come until two o'clock. She told them that they could only paint for an hour because she was closing at 3. They were fine with this. She said that when she was getting ready to leave, a lady and her three kids came into the shop. She remembered them from last year because her daughter had broke a bell. She explained to the lady that she was closing in a couple of minutes. The lady acted as if she didn't hear her and continued to browse. The son started for the back room and my teacher told him he wasn't allowed back there. Finally my teacher said to the lady, "Look. I have to close. My husband and I are going out and I am already late. I really need you to leave." With that the lady left with my teacher following shortly after. When she got in on Monday there was a message on her answering machine. She played it for us. "I was just in your store and I just want to say how rude you are. I don't know how anyone as rude as you is still in business. You have an attitude problem. I will never come back and I am going to put a Spout-Off in about how rude you are and people shouldn't shop at your store." Personally I thought this was funny. My teacher said she checked both the paper and the internet and there wasn't any Spout-Off. We started saying that we were going to put Spout-Offs in about how wonderful she is and so on. A little later on my friend said something that got teach going again. I said, "Oh boy. With an attitude like that, I'm going to change my Spout-Off to agree with that lady." That got teach laughing. We just joked about that all night. For me, this is what ceramics night is all about. A night out with friends having fun - joking around.





I made myself to to the Point Thursday. I took the same path as Sunday in hopes of seeing the ducklings again. There were a lot of egrets, a pair of swans and Canadian Geese. When I got to the spot that I had seen the ducklings, I stopped and started scanning. I didn't see them, but something close in the water caught my eye. I got closer and was shocked to see this.



A crab. I said to myself, "Uh. I thought this was a freshwater pond." Something else caught my eye. A snake. Well I started doing my "oh-oh-oh" snake dance and started to walk away from there. A gentleman was coming down the path looking at me strangely. Who wouldn't seeing that little dance. I said there is a snake. I don't do snakes. There is also a crab in the lake. He came over and asked where the crab was. I said, "I got it's picture. Wouldn't you rather see that?". Of course the answer was no. So gathering courage, knowing that if the snake appeared again, I would throw him in it's path, I walked back over to the lake to show him the crab. He said, "I'll be damned. I thought this was a freshwater lake. There must be enough salt in there for them to survive." Turned out we saw many crabs flitting around. he then asked where the snake was. To which I promptly said, "I don't care where it is as long as it is far away from me." We talked for awhile. I asked him if he saw and was attacked by the Terns. He said that he saw them, but no he wasn't attacked. He said that he was never attacked by Terns, but his wife was. He said that his wife told him that not only to they try to attack, but when they attack, they try and crap on you. He said that he never heard of this and she must be nuts. I laughed, but told him his wife wasn't nuts. I was a victim of one of these attacks. We chatted a little while longer and then parted ways.

It was low tide, which was good because there was harder sand to walk on. The ocean was very calm and the waves crashing were very soothing. There was lots of dolphins and they were very close to shore. I stopped to watch them and one jumped out of the water 20 or 30 feet in front of me. There was an older couple walking close by and like a little kid said to them, "Oh my gosh. Did you see that? Did you? Wasn't that awesome? That was so cool." Yes dear. We saw it. They have been jumping all day. Oh. Well then. We chatted for a while and on our way we went. I kept scanning the ocean and in the distance you could see a dolphin slapping it's tail on the water. Very cool. I met up with the same couple. He pointed out a school of bluefish close to shore. I asked them if they seen the dolphin slapping the water out yonder? Out yonder. Where are you from? With shoulder back and head held high I answered, "born and raised here." I love the strange look that people get. Makes me laugh. It turns out that they are both in their seventies and walk the beach everyday. I would have never put them in their seventies. Early sixties yes.

I found my stride and off I went. On the way back a family asked me if I would take their picture for them. Of course I would. I hope it turns out for them. I was scanning the lake again looking for the ducklings hoping to see them and that they would okay.

Yesterday morning this guy was walking down my street. I think he has lost his way.

Yesterday when I got over the dune, I was immediately attacked from behind by a sneaky little Tern. This time I was minding my own business and no where near their nesting area. You can't help but laugh when they do this. When you hear them, you think it is some huge bird, but when you see them, they are so small. It was low tide again and easy walking. There were some dolphins, but not like the day before. There was a seagull that landed in the water. He started spinning like a top. I slowed to watch and try to figure out what it was doing. I realized that he was trying to catch a bait fish. He was doing pretty good until a larger wave came in. He seen it coming and tried to fly out of the water with his catch before it hit him. He did not succeed. The wave hit him and he went under. He popped up a short distance away only to be hit by another wave. He was finally able to get out of there. I felt sorry for him. He lost his fish.

I meet up with the same couple as the day before. We chatted some more. They are a really nice couple and look forward to seeing them again.

I went up to the Terns nesting site. I was immediately under attack. I don't do this to disturb them. I do this in the hopes that I can see a baby tern. But I must say that I do enjoy the spunk, determination and fire of these birds. While I was laughing and ducking, I heard, "The bird that is defending it's territory from the lady is a tern. This is their nesting site." I turned around to see the Whale Watcher boat close to shore. The way the wind was blowing, it was easy to hear them over the PA system. If I were the type of person to embarrass easily, I would have been. But I'm not. So I waved.

Well tomorrow is weigh in day. Hopefully even though I didn't walk for a couple of days, it still lost something.

Well that's it for now. I have really rambled on enough for one post. Don't forget. If you want to see a picture of the three little ducklings, stop by tomorrow. If you don't stop by, have a good weekend.

Sky Watch

This week I decided to post pictures of my true passion. Boats, especially sailboats (or blow boats as my friends son calls them), the bay and ocean. No matter how you feel, when you are on a boat or close to the water, nothing seems to matter. All the stresses and tension just melts away.

(Taken March of this year)

(Taken March of this year.

Cape May Harbor)

(North Cape May Canal. )

(Cape May Point.)

How can one not feel better looking at something like this. Almost full moon with a beautiful sky, sailboat, ocean and waves.

Sky Watch Friday has become so popular that it now has it's very own site. Please visit, participate and/or view other Sky Watcher's from all over the world. Trust me when I tell you, you wouldn't be disappointed.

This is a one of the last pictures of one of the swallows nest. They are so big, they can hardly fit in the nest. Even though you can only see four, there were actually five in this nest. By the end of the week, they were out of the nest and testing their wings. Another pair built up another nest, so I am curious if we have even more babies this season.

I have been going to Cape May Point just about every night for a walk. Every night has been cool except for one night. It was hot-humid with no sea breeze and the gnats were horrible.

One time I was standing at the ocean's edge watching the angry surf and scanning for dolphins when I looked over and seen this little bird.

(It is hard to see, but it is a Least Tern, I think.)

One day I took a different route. The beach is not as nice. Very course sand and a lot of shells and rocks. There were a lot of seagulls just resting on the beach with an occasionally seagull flying. There was a tiny big chasing one seagull. Curious, I watched where the little bird went after chasing the gull. I then noticed an area that was roped off and I went to check it out. I got dive bombed by little birds. I called Bobbie and told her I was under attack by piping plovers. Well I was wrong. I was under attack by Least Terns. Let me tell you that these are funny birds. They swoop in real close to you and even try to shit on you (that part is not so funny). While on the phone with Bobbie, a lady came over the dune, I think unaware of these birds. One swooped in on her she ducked and started walking fast. It was funny to watch. Just waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. They use the sun to their advantage. They also wait until you have your back to them and come at you that way.

This is what they are protecting.

(There is a little one on the lower right side of the picture.)

Here is another little one. I was able to get these pictures before they went further into the roped off area.

On another walk these two birds were flying over the beach squawking. After they landed, I was able to sneak up on them to get their picture.

Black Skimmer

A pair of Black Skimmers.

These little ones are piping plovers.

I'm not sure what these two are. I think they maybe Least Sandpiper's but I'm not sure.

More piping plovers.

On my way home last night, I went to Higbee's Beach. This was the sunset. My dad always told me that with a sun that red, it would be hot the next day. He was right. It is very hot and humid today.



When I went out for a smoke this afternoon, Ralphy boy gave me a pathetic meow. He came in to cool off. He was being quiet. To quiet. So I went looking for him. I'd say he was chillin. I have also given him yet another nickname - Fat Boy.

There is a barn owl webcam if anyone is interested. I believe there are four or five owls in the nest. I must say they are so ugly, they're cute.

I haven't lost any weight this week, but I haven't gained either. So the weight loss still stands at 18 pounds.

Sky Watch

Hello Everyone and welcome to sky watch. I hope you enjoy these two sunset pictures. They were taken March of this year at one of my favorite spots to see owls, Bald Eagles and other wildlife.

Our gracious host Tom has created a new blog just for sky watch. Please visit, say hi, add your name and post a sky picture and/or view other sky watch photos from all over the world. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy your weekend.

Yes. I am taking you back to Cape May Point. There are so many interesting sights to see. The ocean waves are always different, but so relaxing. The sunset's are spectacular. The park itself always holds something new. And yes, the best part, weight loss.

Swans, ducks and seagulls.

We have a couple of Whale Watcher boats that take people out in the hopes of seeing a whale. More times than not, they see dolphins. Whenever they are close to shore, I am on the look-out. I know that there are dolphins. This was the case the other day. There were several pods in the area. The next two pictures are my attempt at taking their picture.

Sorry. This was the best I could do with my camera.

Thursday and Friday was very hot. This surprised me because there is always an ocean breeze and quite comfortable. One thing I noticed is the sky is even more beautiful.

(lifeguard stand)

(just the view down the beach)

After I left the Point, I drove around Lily Lake and came across a group of Canadian Geese.

Of course I took many pictures, but I liked this one because he seemed so proud and protective of the others.

I have know idea what this thing is, but the waves kept hitting it and creating a beautiful spray.

(I just think this is awesome)

How can you not enjoy this. The wave was receding and it looked like diamonds shimmering on the sand.

I have discovered that they have a water fountain there to wash sand off your feet and legs. After, I walked up toward the museum and the butterfly garden.

This is only a small portion of their butterfly garden. It is quite large and beautiful, but I love these little ponds.

Yesterday I had some errands to run in the morning. On my way back by the airport, I looked up because there is usually some interesting birds flying around. Guess what was flying around? A Bald Eagle.

Yes I know. This is a bad picture, but I promise you it is a Bald Eagle. Can you see the white tail?

I went for my walk and the current was kind of scary. As you can see, the ocean was flat, but the swells and waves on shore were powerful. A couple of times the waves would just crash and be up to my knees, which I generally like, but not yesterday. The current was so strong if felt like it would pull me out. I guess the strong currents are from hurricane Bertha.

As I was walking back, I noticed a disturbance in the ocean. I kept walking and watching. Next thing a dolphin comes flying out of the water. Unfortunately, it was to far away for me to get a picture. What was really fun is there were two pods doing the same thing. Me and several others just stood there for about a half hour watching.

As I was walking back and over the dune I noticed a familiar car. Turned out Bobbie had come down. It was good to see her. I am always asking her if she would like to go down with me, but I am usually there for a couple hours and she goes to bed early. I sometimes think I get on her nerves asking so much, but I just want to share the experience. So yesterday was my lucky day.

On the way home, the sunset was just gorgeous.

(This is Lily Lake)

I have many more pictures of the Point and sunsets on my flickr site. So if you get bored, hop on over, my URL is on my sidebar.

I went food shopping this morning. Not one of my favorite things to do. Hell I don't like shopping in general. Well anyway, I bought a roast. Cut it up into four sections and while washing the knife managed to put a 1/2 slice in my thumb. Did anyone hear me yelling, shit-damn-fuck? It looked worst then what it really was, but it hurt like hell when I did it. Don't know why I brought it up really. Just me rambling.

My foot isn't any better or worse. Most days it hurts and other not so much. I dread the thought of going to the doctor's and him telling me I must rest it. I am having to much fun with my walks. And let me just mention that I have lost two more pounds for a total of 18 pounds. Yippee. I think when I hit the 25 pound mark, I am going to blow the diet and have me a slice of Chocolate Lovin' Spoon cake. Yum.

Sky Watch

This week's Sky Watch is a couple of pictures of the Cape May Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located in Cape May Point, NJ, but actually is situated in Lower Township, the municipality where I live. Cape May Point is a nice little town. Lily Lake is located in Cape May Point, which I try to visit as often as I can. The people at the Point are very friendly and always there with a "Hello. How are you today?"

I have never really been a big fan of lighthouses, but they are very photogenic. I have many more pictures of this lighthouse that I will post at a future time.

If you would like to share a picture and/or view many other Sky Watch photos from all over the world, please visit our gracious host Tom at Wigger's World.

I haven't talked about the swallows for a while so here is an update. There were four in the first nest, but only three survived. They grew so fast and over one weekend left the nest. When I would go out for a smoke, one would swoop in really close to me and then verve off. I told Bobbie that it was one of the babies paying me back for always having my camera in their face. The second nest only produce one chick and soon left that nest. The third nest, which I thought did not produce a viable egg, has produce three.

(Here is momma and one of the babies.)

On Friday I was going into my laundry room and my cat was in the window. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

(I always keep my blinds closed in the summer.)
(Her paw.)

This walking things has become very addicting for me. I went to Cape May Point again yesterday. When I went to park, there was a little boy sitting on a parking bumper holding a toy fishing rod. He got up and started reeling in the line. Intrigued I watch. Here he had a small plastic basket, held up by a stick and the fishing line was tied to the stick. Get this, there was a carrot in there. He was hoping to catch one of the bunnies. He did not succeed, but he had fun.

Yesterday was another hazy day and there was that smell. I don't know if the wildfires are still burning in North Carolina or not, but it sure did look and smell that way.

One the way to the beach, I past a lake and this Egret struck a pose.

I love the reflection.

(Cape May Lighthouse from a path.)

(Cape May Lighthouse from the beach.)


(I think these are red honeysuckle, but I'm not sure.)

(Baby bunny.)

(Is anyone coming? I hear the grass is greener on the other side.)

(Ready. Set. Cross.)

The next series of pictures is from my walk on the beach.

(The ocean seems calmer tonight.)

(but it had it's moment's.)

(This seagull looked so lonely. It was almost like he was waiting for his true love to come home.)

While I was walking back, there was a man and his son surf fishing. The little boy of about three or four was holding the fishing rod. I got my camera ready to take the picture, but then thought differently. I didn't feel right taking this picture. As I got closer the dad started to hoop and holler. Here the little boy caught a sand shark. The dad was alive with excitement and the little boy could have cared less. The dad was yelling to his wife to get the camera and take the picture. I was laughing. What a picture that would be.

I decided to just stand there on the beach and watch the ocean and let the waves crash over my legs. It felt good. There was a couple, which the wife looked to be about eight month pregnant and looking uncomfortable. The husband decided that it would be cool to have his picture taken in the surf. Well it was all I could do not to laugh. He was so worried that a big wave would come along and get him or get his pants wet, that I don't think the wife was able to get a good shot. I have to say that the people on the beach there are not as friendly as they are at the ferry, but they are funnier to watch. People watching in another hobby of mine.

Like I said before, I am enjoying these walks, but a problem is starting to arise. There feels like there is a rock in the ball of my left foot and causing some discomfort. I am thinking that it may be getting time to have it looked at. I'm not one for doctors, not that anyone is really, but it just seems like when you go and they find out how old you are, they want to do this and that. If I wanted this and that done, I would have gone there and asked. All I want is for the doctor to look and fix what I went there for. I guess for now I'll do what I normally do. Ignore it and hope it will go away.

On that note I will leave you with this. I was reading a Woman's World magazine this afternoon and in the "A Moment for You" was this:

"You're "just right" just the way you are!"

"So many of us think we need fixing. But there's so much about you that doesn't! In fact, self-acceptance will bring you more love, happiness and success than self-improvement! So forgive your "flaws", move past any missteps, look at mistakes as life's bloopers and take pride in your strengths. You're already special-----no makeover required!" (Author unknown)