Swimming & Splashing

Google wanted to race. Nice tail!

 

Stella was quite the swimmer today. She had a blast chasing the squirt from a super soaker.

 

Wheaten or Jaws?!?

 

How could she possibly stay awake after a full day of swimming?!?

Long Walk

Stella went to the groomer this morning to get her summer cut. After work she wanted to take a long walk so she could show off her new hairdo.

 We went to the forest & on the way, I shot some nice details ...

Rustic rusty bench

Manhole cover

My tuckered out pup! Time to rest up for the weekend!

Spring Park Coffee

After the photo workshop, we went to Spring Park Coffee, a REALLY cool coffee shop in Green Cove Springs.

They have an amazing variety of coffee specialty drinks. I had an iced Tag-a-Long (espresso, peanut butter & dark chocolate). Next time I'm going to try an iced Almond Joy (espresso, almond, coconut & dark chocolate).

Awesome! LOL!

Photo Workshop

Today I helped Mary teach a photo workshop at Camp Chowenwaw Park in Green Cove Springs. It would be cool to go back & camp out in the treehouses. I can't believe I didn't get to shoot any pix of them. This wasn't our workshop cabin!

We had a beautiful cabin with 2 large meeting rooms, a kitchen & 2 bathrooms.

I didn't realize that dragonflies come in different colors ...

This light blue one was pretty cool!

Fishing?

These mushrooms look like sea urchins.

I hate spiders but there were some really cool webs!

Happy 4th!

There's nothing more American than a classic Airstream!

... and a dip in the pool!

Iron Mountain

This morning I went to Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh with Chris to shoot some post-tournament drone pix of the course.

Nice clubhouse!

In the afternoon, we went to one of the absolutely COOLEST places on earth. Nestled in the hills of western Pennsylvania, Iron Mountain should be considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Definitely watch both videos in this link. AMAZING!

Most people know Iron Mountain (founded in 1951) as a paper shredding company but it's much, much more! A few stats about the former limestone mine: 220 feet below ground, 2700 employees, 26 miles of roads & only one tenth of the mine is developed. The largest active vault is 220,000 square feet ... the size of 6 football fields!!! INSANE!!! The history is fascinating & security is really tight.

Driving out of the mountain after an AWESOME day! I can't wait to go back!

            

YUM!

Stella got her own cup of whipped cream at Panera Bread.

My friend Bill was in town while his son Stephen was playing in a junior tennis tournament.  After his win, we went out to dinner. They brought me cupcakes from Sweet by Good Golly Miss Holly, 3-time winner of Cupcake Wars. They were AMAZING! I can't believe I didn't know this place existed.

Frozen Mocha Snapshot

Stella LOVES her (actually my) frozen mocha!

Awesome packaging ... beer for photographers!

New Weekend Ritual

Stella loves going to Panera Bread for breakfast! Everybody smiles & wants to meet her. Can you blame them?!?

My first selfie ...

After breakfast, Stella didn't hesitate to clean out the yard.

 

Hank Playdate

How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the waggly tail ...

Rebel Homeowner?

One of the joys of living in a gated community is getting a dreaded violation notice in the mail. I got 4 of them & I'm on the homeowners board LOL! I guess that's what happens when they do a walk-thru during THE PLAYERS.  ;-)

Notice #1: Pressure clean house, driveway & roof.
Notice #2: Substandard lawn maintenance (I apparently had a few dollar weeds).
Notice #3: Replace mailbox.
Notice #4: Replace mailbox (yes I got 2 for the mailbox).

All of the work was done in the past couple of weeks. I think I have the cleanest house in the hood.  No more mud daubers, bugs, webs, dirt or violation letters for me. LOL! 

My new mailbox is up to the neighborhood standard.

Newly sealed front path, side patio, brick pavers & bulkhead should keep the mold away.

Totally up to code now.  :-)