Cuddle w/ an Elephant Seal . . . for Real!

I know this is a departure to our normal blog, but we felt compelled to share an amazing video. I don't have any reason to doubt the authenticity of this vid; it seems very real on all accounts. 


We're guessing that a tourist/scientist/conservationist/or all of the above visited the island and cautiously, patiently got the attention of an elephant seal pup. The video captures the pup's delightful response to its new found friend. 


It looks like it was taken on South Georgia Island between South America and Antarctica. Michele and I were thrilled with the 5 minutes or so of footage and had to share.


Click here for, "How to Cuddle with an Elephant Seal" or, in the eyes of the pup, "How to Cuddle with a Human."


Hope you enjoy!
Andy

Sunday (7/25) Bug Pix

Yes, that's right, bugs. Often they get a bad rap among people, but we all know, really, that they are part of the entire ecosystem and all other life depends upon them and what they do. (And, in a larger sense, everything is interdependent; life flows into life. Distinction between species/life becomes very fuzzy when you realize that everything depends upon everything else.)


Bugs are always challenging to photograph; they take a lot of time. I never seem to get the shots I want, but hopefully these are still of interest.


Andy

One person's trash....

...is another person's treasure!

The conversation will go something like this:

Me: Look what I found at a tag sale today!

Andy: Oh, what are you going to do with it?

Me: Put it in my studio.

Andy: Oh, and then what?

Me: I love it, I will just enjoy seeing it while I'm in there.

Andy: Oh.

~Michele

Sunday Flower Pix

Michele and I have been waiting for one of our lilies to open. She noted it a while ago and has been keeping her eye on it for at least week. One opened on Friday and then one more popped on Sunday. Luckily, I had the morning free to take advantage of the lighting. 


Enjoy!
Andy

. . . and, music we added!

Can you beat a gorgeous summer evening on Northport Bay, enjoying a picnic supper and listening to local jazz? The Neptune Quartet, lead by Don Julin, hit another home run on Friday night. Their self-described form of "Mediterranean Jazz" is a favorite of ours and luckily they offer CD's so we can listen to them through out the year. 

And, yes, dogs enjoy "music in the park" as much as people. I'm not being critical when I say the following--I think it is a fun observation: is it me, or do most dogs and their masters resemble each other?!   ;->

Andy

Just add music...

As Andy mentioned in his July 17 post, we enjoy relaxing on Friday nights with a picnic dinner and "Music in the Park," in Northport. So far tonight's meal consists of wine, cheese and chocolate. (I know Mom(s), we must have more than that, and don't worry we will, there are't many missed meals around here!)

We do not often have cheese (the waistline, you know) but when we do, we love our locally made "Raclette." It is made just a few miles from us, at Leelanau Cheese and it has won countless awards. The cheese shop is located at Black Star Farms, which is also where both of tonights wines are from. We picked up the chocolate bar there as well. Some of you may already know that we kinda like chocolate! This bar is most interesting, as the texture really is stone ground, if you will. It's very good and worth trying. If you can't find it locally, we order from "Chocosphere."

Wishing everyone a winey, cheesy and chocolate filled weekend.

~Michele

Still no rain...

It has been so hot and dry here, I thought I better take a few more pictures of the flowers before they all wilt!

~Michele