After the long weekend I just have to say a couple of things.... If you are visiting a beach there are a couple of things you should know. Most of them are common sense, but some may not occur to all.
You visit - we live here. It is home to people, birds, fish, mammals, etc. You are guests. My mother always told me to leave a place better than I found it. Treat it like it is your home. Please pick up your trash, your cigarette butts, your plastic bottles and bags. In a few months we will ban these/plastic bags from the beach and from stores using or selling them. We love having you come and make memories here. We just want them to be good memories.
Don't poke, prod, or step on dead creatures. Many of them can sting and emit poisons even though they appear to be dead. If you are stung by a jellyfish don't pee on the sting. Apply vinegar to the sting. It will neutralize the poison. Most life guards keep a gallon or two on the stand just for this purpose. If you are going to a beach with out a life guard. Please take a small bottle of vinegar with you.
Speaking of things to bring to the beach:
A gallon or two of water - leave in car. Great to wash sand off your feet and hands, flush eyes that get sand in them.
A small bottle of vinegar. Helps neutralize bee stings and jellyfish stings.
A bag for your trash.
Towels, leave at least one clean towel in your car.
Small first aid kit - again this can be left in car.
The number one thing is SHOES. Shoes that can get wet. Do not walk through the shoreline in your bare feet. All winter long we have been fishing and discarding our broken lines and hooks. They have washed ashore and are buried in the sand. Just waiting to get caught in your feet. I have a bowl full of nothing but various hooks and sinkers that I have found on my morning walks.
Watch the weather. Storms blow up quickly and go just as quick.
Rip Tides - these are extremely dangerous. If you find yourself being pulled in the current - go with it. Do not waste your energy fighting it. Lay on your back or pull your feet up so you are not being dragged. Then swim parallel to the shore line till you are able to swim in. Most drowning deaths are caused by these rip currents. If you come to the beach once a year you need to be very aware of them. Remember do not panic. You are not going to be swept out to sea - maybe 50 yards but that is swimmable. Some one will rescue you or use a surf board to help you.
Fresh oysters are to be eaten in the months that have an "R" in them. Otherwise you will get sick from them. If you want to know why - email me and I will thoroughly gross you out.
Enjoy the beach - make some precious memories.
note : Katie asked me why the hooks were discarded in a public place...They are broken off or caught on things, they are not deliberately discarded in the water. Some of these hooks are rather large - I will take pictures, so they get caught up on the ocean floor. I personally don't fish I am just a shore walker. Shore fishing is a big thing here. Flounder is the big catch.
the back steps
I slipped this one in just in time. The challenge was offered last Saturday. This was June's challenge on her Art Freebie blog. The Soartful Saturday Challenge. I was not sure if I would get it finished in time. I have been playing catch up since the air conditioning was fixed. So little time so much to do. This background reminds me of that stuff you make molds out of. I had to sort of step back and think about it so that image did not get in my way. The wings are from my freebies, the girl is one of my French postcards, the sequin waste stamp is an old one from Raindrops on Roses.
Original background image
Original background
Artarazzi's Digital challenge this week was just that - a challenge. The image of the young woman was quite sweet with a very dark background. It almost looked like a negative. I decided to emphasize the dark. I had a fun time in photoshop playing with colors and learning how to turn negative images into positive images. Something I have not done a lot of. "Always" is my entry for this week.
I did this sort of Warhol thing with the original image. I first had thought I might change her color and then play with her. Instead, I did this small repetitive collage. It was sort of interesting. The photo has the tag "mum" on it so I am thinking it is really someone's mum who does the challenge. I thought they might like something interesting of their mum.
original image
Smell the Roses
original image
Original by Faye
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