Robert and I drove down to Ponte Vedra FL with daughter Amy’s “Coastal” in the back seat for a week at the beach.
“Coastal” is an English Cocker Spaniel, with according to Amy, “liver roan” coloring.” Okay.
What a beautifully loving little being.
Marveling this Sunny-in-Ponte-Vedra Monday.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts
1. Finding this little tree-looking leaf perched comfortably on the passenger mirror of our car (why did she decide to land there?) as we headed out to go who-knows-where the other morning. I was mesmerized for four or five seconds. (It doesn’t take a whole lot to mesmerize me.)
Robert: “Neal, get in! What are you staring at?!”
2. Young love.
Seriously, there’s such a day?! What about “National Arthritis in My Wrists Is Absolutely Killing Me Day”?
3. The ability to drive a car. And to have a car to drive! Everybody certainly does not have that blessing.
4. Walking along the Jacksonville Beach FL boardwalk and coming upon the iconic Art Deco Lifeguard Station.
5. A few sights of Autumn here in historic district Savannah.
My blog category about quotations (or truths in any format) that ring true to me (and I hope to you, to us).
Marveling this rainy day and Monday. (Which didn’t get me down.)
Perspectives on southern Gothic-ish Spanish moss in Savannah.
Morning walk on Skidaway Island.
“It’s actually not a moss. As a flowering plant, Spanish moss is a bromeliad—and a relative of the pineapple.
And it’s actually not from Spain. According to legend, the name memorializes a Spanish conquistador who, while pursuing a Native American princess, got his beard tangled in the dense branches of the trees. A lesser-known Native American legend has it that the old, cold North wind lost his hair in an epic fight with the young, warm South wind.
It isn’t hurting the trees.
It changes color. While Spanish moss appears gray in dry weather, it takes on a greenish hue when it rains.” Jekyllisland.com
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts
1. A lone magnolia leaf I found on this bench in a churchyard in Augusta, Georgia.
Wait, you can’t see it. Let’s get closer.
I love everything about the leaf. Its golden hue as it revels in the sun’s warmth. Its courage to shine. Its willingness to sit by itself as all the other leaves are hovering ground-ward. Its bendy-waviness. Its refusal to see green as the only color advertising life.
2. And when I got up from the bench, seeing the parent from which my little leaf was launched …
… and her beautifully colored, cone-like seed pods.
3. Robert and I decided to step inside the old church.
Heavenly beauty!
4. Being able to appreciate. And letting that appreciation be known.
5. Spanish moss and Robert in the sun.
May you have an appreciative weekend ahead.
I agree with Anne …
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts
1. Finding the perfect evening spot to read …
The beach at the Ponte Vedra FL condo we have been fortunate enough to enjoy several times this summer.
2. Seeing and realizing that there is strength in leaning, in bending.
3. Silly but getting a jolt of happiness when the Atlanta Braves captured the 2026 National Championship.
4. Back in Savannah, Robert and I are house and dog sitting for daughter Amy.
5. The arrival of Autumn!
And it’s actually cool in Savannah today. For a change.
Happy First Weekend of Fall, Y’all!
An old tree trunk, pretending to be a gigantic chicken foot.
