Feeling Kelpless

Sea Ranch again for today's post. We had some pretty good storms while I was up there this year and that always means some interesting things get washed up. I liked the way this particular piece of kelp had coral growing in between the roots--Nifty :)

A Marvelous Bird is the Pelican....

A marvelous bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his bellycan
and I don't know how in the hellhecan.

As a kid I loved that poem...parental sanctioned swearing. Nothing better for a 6 year old! :) This particular pelican was spotted of the The Sea Ranch in California this Christmas. He (or she?!?!) was kind enough to fly right in front of me and pose for the camera!

A Little Birdie...

Another picture from Christmas 2008. This is one of many a birdie who came to visit the feeder on the back porch of my parent's house. I like the seed in his mouth and the slight tilt to his head. My parent's have a Great Pyrenees dog--a 120 pound fluffball who works hard to protect us from the finches and chickadees. :) He has been up at Sea Ranch for over 10 year sand the birds have learned that his bark is MUCH worse than his bite. As soon as he turns his back they come flocking in :)

To Be or Not to Be

It has been a while since I did a post based on my summer travels of 2005 but I was talking about this castle the past weekend so I thought I'd share!

Frederiksburg

Frederiksburg

Frederiksburg

Kronborg

Kronborg

(6/23/2005)
What better way to start out a day than with 2 castles?!?! First was Frederiksburg Slot. When the Rosenburg Slot (from Copenhagen) became too small Frederik II had this castle built up north of the city. He built a pretty modest one, but then his son, Christian IV (the builder king) got a hold of it and the construction went on for 20 more years! It was the seat of the monarchy during the years of absolute monarchy (1600’s to 1840’s I think) so the kings and queens were all crowned here during that time and lived there. So, it’s a bit over done at times, but not as out of control as say, Versailles. Actually, much of the interior was gutted by a fire in the 1800’s and they have had to reproduce the interiors, but you could still get a feel for how it looked. It does stretch across three small islands on a lake though so it has a very impressive look.
And then off to the next castle. “To be or not to be…” That is the question. My next stop was Elsinor and the castle now called Kronborg Slot. It was in this castle that Shakespeare set Hamlet! Kind of fun to be wandering the halls of the supposed castle. Didn’t look anything like I imagined Hamlet’s castle to look. Still, it is a fairly good castle with a view across the water to Sweden. It is pretty bare inside because, at least according to our guide, after the Swedish royalty stayed they took (stole!) everything with them on leaving. Not sure if it’s true, but makes a good story!

The Fence to Nowhere

OK, it has officially been too long since I posted. I had the chance to go to California for over 2 weeks this year to spend time with my family and had a great time. It was the first time the family had been together for any time after mom survived breast cancer (GET CHECKED!!!) and so it was nice to reconnect. My Fiancee also came out for a week and it was great to be able to spend time with her and my family. We even did the tour of Doug's childhood locations and visited with many a friend. We went by the house I grew up in (from 1 year old to 28) and the new owners were there and kind enough to invite us in! It was fun to see the old house again and what the new family has done with it. Courtney and I also wandered around my old elementary school and high school. it was fun reminiscing and showing her where I came from. The picture above came from The Sea Ranch where we spend Christmas and New Years. I have walked along this fence many a time and though the day was cloudy I loved the way the light hit the fence highlighting it in certain points.