A Sunrise Reserved For One

 I know that no one “owns” the sunrise, but there should be some rules or a reservation system or  something for viewing.

Let me back track.

My last morning at the ocean I was the first one up (thank you legs!).  

I walked out to the balcony and looked behind me.

  Still dark.  Roads were quiet!  No one was about. 

Perfect.  

Looking east I could see the start of a beautiful morning with just me and the ocean and the sun.

 I settled in with my camera phone and my coffee

 to enjoy the beauty of nature

 on this last day of my trip to the ocean.

I had just these few last hours of my long weekend away from home.  

I wanted to make the best of them.

And from the looks of the horizon I didn’t have long to wait.  

There she was, the sun peeking just above the horizon.

And the ocean giving me a gentle wave - to tell me the best was yet to come.  

I was ready!

And then I heard it!!  

 Running feet from behind me.   This lady was running down the street with her camera held up high in the air in front of her trying to catch the sunrise.  Seriously ... running with a camera held in front of her!!  As she passed me her feet were loudly slapping the pavement and she was totally unaware I was watching her - because her eyes were not focused on her surroundings but focused entirely on her camera!!!  You can even see the brightness of the sun reflected through her lens.  AND standing between me and the ocean and the sunrise, no less!

This was just like butting in line!  How rude. It shouldn’t be allowed!!

And then I immediately chastised myself for my unkind selfish thoughts.   
 So I re-adjusted my camera so that
it seemed as if I was the only one capturing the moment.  Just me, the ocean and my camera!

Out of nowhere, the woman and her dog casually wandered into my picture frame.  
On “little cat feet” she was (except she had a dog)!  
Dang!!  Dang!! Dang!! (Deep breath ... be calm.)

Ok, she has a dog.
And at least she was quiet - not pounding her feet down the street.
   Be kind.  Pet people are good people.
Just get over yourself, I kept saying.

I readjusted my camera again!  *sigh* And again, just me and the ocean and the sunrise
(and these “almost late-to-the-party” folks.)
  
 Just look at that sunrise and the beauty of the colors 
reflected on the waters. Like a beautiful painting.  

You have GOT to be kidding me!!
 I looked to my left and I saw MORE PEOPLE!!
 
Hey, guys, this has happened every single morning since the beginning of time!!!!!
Go home, please.
  

Back through my lens again - things were not getting better! No beach space without people.

CARS!!
They were now pulling up in cars!
I checked the street behind this guy to see if buses were lining up!!!!!

More new folks. And you will notice, now I am taking pictures of THEM and not the sunrise!!!

Focus, focus!

My last picture, with the sun light pouring down between the clouds
and the ocean taking a bow with the lovely splash of a wave.
AND NO PEOPLE.

Ok, this is my last picture! The rays of sun, just needed to take this last picture.

  

I knew it was mean of me not to want to share this beautiful event that happens every single morning since the beginning of recorded time (and before.) 

But, seriously, next time I am going to put up a sign at the end of the entrance to 94th Street - 

stop

Private Showing!

Only One Reservation Accepted

This sunrise is booked!

Try again tomorrow.

Signed

The Atlantic Ocean!

The Phone Call ...

I live by the old adage “No news is good news.” 

Leaving a handicapped husband behind results in spending as much time preparing him for my absence as I do packing for myself. But I have done these short trips with no problems.  Except I guess my mind is always “on the ready” to respond, to anticipate, to assume the worst while I am gone ‘cause that is what my mind did on this occasion!

Important to the following story is this face. Remember this face! 

My cousin and I were on a short shopping trip to purchase some seafood just outside of town. As we traveled down Ocean Highway, I enjoyed the opportunity to see older housing structures from Ocean City’s early years. The original buildings of the 30s, 40s and 50s located near the original point of the town were more “old-time beachy,” painted in typical light colors, older, only one for two stories high, more weathered from years of use and storms.  I pondered about the history those old buildings could tell! In my youth during the 60s, Ocean City was just a summer beach town and a destination for students Spring Break adventures and family summer trips.  Why I remember a time ....

And then my cell phone rang dragging me out of my head and into the present!

I glanced at the screen and was surprised to see my downstairs neighbor’s name.  In lightening speed the scenery was forgotten and my mind went to all the reasons (bad ones) that she could be calling me while I was out of town!  Topping the list of reasons was my husband and that something had happened to him. I could feel my heart rate start to climb. 

I answered!

She said hi - just like that. “Hi!” ... like there was no emergency, just a friendly neighborly call.  Confusion peppered my brain.  I was thinking ...  Seriously?  I am out of town, and you are calling to say “hi?"   It was like she was speaking in Greek and I was listening in Spanish!  All that in one little word ... “hi.” 

And then she said ... “I think I have one of your window screens. Found it on the sidewalk.”

While I did my best to put “window screen” and “husband” in the same sentence meaningfully, she went on. “Yes, I am outside now looking up, and I can see it is missing from your  window.  Should I bring it up to you?”

Ahhhh ... ok, window screens ... my heart rate began to slow. 

   #1 She did not know I was out of town. 

   #2 She isn’t calling about my husband. 

   #3 How the heck did my window screen spontaneously fall from my window?  

Although my mouth was still bone dry at this point, my tongue was working again.  After letting her know I was out of town, she agreed to keep the screen at her condo till I returned.  I think I managed to end that call without letting on how fracture my brain-tongue connection was.

I hung up and immediately called my husband.  He picked up - sounding like everything was fine too!  Of course, he had no idea a screen was missing, so he really was fine!  We spent the next 15 minutes ... him opening and closing windows, and checking for the screens - and once he identified the one that was missing, he shut that window so the bugs wouldn’t come in and Aja wouldn’t fall out! 

And Aja.  My mind had already jumped to the cause and the culprit! 

The story behind the story!

A few months ago, I discovered what I thought was a defect in a new window screen.  The screen company replaced it - because it wasn’t even one year old.  That screen had a slit near the bottom edge of the frame.  No biggie.  It was apparent to me that the slit was a manufacturing defect.  The screen company honored their guarantee.  All was good.  But with this second episode - the “screen-jumping” episode,  I began to put 2 and 2 together.  One damaged screen, one screen leaping off the second floor spontaneously ... and birds ... lots and lots of neighborhood birds, and some who like to play chicken with my cat - birds with an obvious death wish!  

It is cool-ish outside now.  Our windows are mostly closed.  

Yes, that is a mini-screen in front of the window screen - clamped in place
by the window above.

The windows that are open, now have a protective window screen shield. No other window screens have been forced into taking that leap to the ground since the use of these mini-screens.  

So what do you think?  

Not naming any names, of course, and I have witnessed nothing. But the evidence is piling up. Do you think this charming little face - is hiding “killer intent” that no thin screen material will keep her from achieving her goal? 

DEATH TO ALL BIRDS!!

 😍

Well, she is a cat, after all, and cats are only partly domesticated.  And she is female which is the “business end” of her species and designed for hunting down prey to feed kittens.   And finally, she is a hunter as evidenced by her stalking of flying insects who might have accidentally stumbled into HER condo (through an open screen I might add) and sadly became an amusement as well as an appetizer for her.  Those birds were just too much for her!  Thank God she didn’t fall from the open window.

Now in addition to my own prep for travel and my husband’s needs, I have added Aja to my travel check list! 

Assess cat related hazards.   (check ☑️ ) 🐈

Next up: A Sunrise Reserved for One

 

Part 2: Art Show - All the Rest

Again, I will let most of the pictures do the talking! 

 

I wonder what this picture is saying!

Beautiful renditions of crabs done in various textures.
These were really lovely to see in person. 

hmmm ... an attempt to involve the viewer in the creation, maybe?  

More wearable art.  Not as breath taking as the items from a previous post.

But very interesting up close - again, created using the printed word.  Very ingenious.

Artistic creations being worn. 

Overhead lamps were beautiful as well.

One of the light fixtures seen up close.

Painting on Silk - stunning use of color.
My personal favorite after the chain link dress.
  I love the use of color, the flow of the lines and the use of dark and light.  
Here is a fabric I would enjoy wearing.

A section seen up close!

Outside art work!

Materials used to create outside art work.

Close up shot shows the details.
The devil is always in the details!

There was so much more but that is all I have saved on my phone.

Next up: The Phone Call

Part 1: Art Show at the Beach!

Over its history Ocean City has matured from a lazy beach focused vacation spot to a year round destination for visitors. The large and hard-to-miss Convention Center always has something scheduled but tucked away in a bayside neighborhood close enough for us to walk to is this Arts Center! I've passed this building on past previous walks never guessing what wonderful things it contained. The rest of this post will be told with pictures.

In the main hall was this dress made entirely of chain links. 

View from the back.

A side view.  Zipper!

A matching hat - as if the weight of the dress alone wasn’t enough.

Beautiful stone work on the chest!

Beautiful bead work dangling from the hem.

Picture proof, the dress can be worn. (haha) if you look carefully you can see my hand and phone taking reflected in the glass.  Missed that!

This was the first and most impressive display of the art for me. Unusual materials, flattering dress design, interesting small details.  My son, who is into gaming, had made a simple chain link shirt for himself.  I forwarded THESE pictures to his wife - “This is what he should make for you.”  

One final picture of the braided chains that ran down each side.  I just couldn’t get enough of this dress. Setting aside the fact it was all metal, the design features on the dress are so flattering to the female form.

Onward ...

A “Tree Trunk” Coat!

Stepping back for the full effect.

From the back!

Up close picture of the fabric and stitching.  Looks like print out of a book.  Kind of an interesting feature since books are made from paper which comes from trees.

Proof again that it can be worn. The materials listed  for this coat were:  fabric, paper, wood, vinyl.

This is truly wearable art.  Art that is stepping outside the box of traditional definitions of “art.”  I loved it!! Beautifully created and stunningly displayed.  There was no fee to enter this art show but I would have paid to view these beautiful and imaginative garments. 

All the items in the show were priced for sale.  The metal dress was priced at $5,000.  The tree trunk coat was priced at $6,000.  While I am not an art collector - if I had the right setting in my home to displays these items, I would pay the price to own them.  

Next time:  Part 2 - Everything else in the Art Show

The View ... Peace.

The ocean is a peaceful place for me.  It is constant, it has a rhythm, it can be quiet and it can be loud.  And sometimes it can be fierce! Gratefully I have only seen its fierce face on TV.  Being this close to the ocean when it is in a bad mood is not an adventure I seek out.  But on this weekend, the ocean was quiet and mostly at rest.

Nothing graces my eye and mind as the ocean, the sand, and the birds  ... elements in harmony along the continent's edge. Even with eyes closed, the sounds have a slow steady beat punctuated by intermittent bird cries. In the off seasons of fall and winter, the lack of human sound at shore line is like music.   Sadly, I get to visit seldom. But thankfully the ocean changes little from visit to visit.

The view my first morning from the deck.

 

It is all in this picture taken the first morning there.  All my favorite things. The ocean, small waves, the dune, my coffee, my knitting, and the sunrise with reflection on the water.

I am an early riser generally.  Not by choice, but because my legs get irritable in the morning and I have to move or sometimes just get the heck out of bed!  So it was that morning.  And for a change my legs did me a favor.  Because I was up early before everyone else, I didn’t miss this beautiful sunrise image.

At a later time I captured these shots.

Unlike my walks at home that usually are done with my husband, I get the greatest pleasure walking alone, especially on the beach.  I don’t enjoy walking on soft sand, so on my own I am free to stop when I choose, to take pictures of something that catches my eye, to just stand and take in the glory of the ocean or watch the sea birds as they putter around on the sand.  Lately I have been in some turmoil and it was wonderful to just empty my mind out onto the shore line and let the ocean take it all away for a short time. 

I did cut over to the side walk along Ocean Highway for a bit to get my heart rate up and circulate the blood.  The view there is not much different than any other city, but it easier to walk when you have a temperamental left knee that doesn’t appreciate uneven surfaces.

But the beach walk was just for me, the birds and the ocean.

Next up: The Art Center