Lens-Artists #97: Pastimes

This week’s challenge comes from guest host Sue (Mac’s Girl) at The Nature of Things. She has asked us to feature hobbies or interests we have enjoyed over the years or something new we have discovered during this time of staying at home.

During this time of staying at home each day consists of a few of these activities: Reading, cooking, walking and photography. A major outing is an occasional grocery store run.

Reading

I’ve always loved to read and I have really enjoyed having the time to read more than usual. These days I get most of my books digitally from the local library and I often have four or five books on hold. My favorite recently read book is  Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. As you can see from the next photo, I’ve just about worn out the cover for my IPad and my two favorite books have been read and reread many times.

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Favorite reads
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My favorite place to read

Cooking

I’ve had a lot of time to spend cooking and baking during the shutdown. I’ve enjoyed using fresh produce from my favorite produce stand whenever I can.

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Fresh produce from my favorite produce stand

Walking

Before the shut down I walked on the days I wasn’t going to water aerobics or going to the gym at the local YMCA. During the shut down my main exercise is walking. For a while the beach was closed and most walks were in my neighborhood. Now that the beach is open, I walk on the beach at least once a week.

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Early morning surfer
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Horseshoe Crab

Photography

I’m always looking for things to photograph. Recently my garden has been full of birds, butterflies, and blooms.

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Ruby Female Throated Hummingbird

The Tybee Island Lighthouse is across the street from the parking lot for the beach. I was excited when I saw the flag flying Friday morning in honor of Memorial Day Weekend.

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Honoring America’s fallen heroes for Memorial Day weekend

Please take a moment this Memorial Day Weekend to remember all of our fallen military heroes who gave their lives for our country.

Many thanks to guest host Sue (Mac’s Girl) for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Pastimes

 

Adventures with Grandkids

One of the greatest joys as a grandparent is seeing our grand children’s excitement as they experience new adventures.

Our daughter is visiting us this week with her two children. At 12 and 10, they are our two oldest grandchildren. They live 400 miles away, surrounded by the Appalachian mountains, so coming to visit Nana and Papa near the beach is always an adventure for them.

Horseshoe Crabs on the beach
Horseshoe Crabs on the beach

On Memorial Day, we beached our boat on a deserted barrier island after a boat ride through rivers and narrow winding creeks surrounded by salt marsh. The adventure brought back fond memories for our daughter and made new memories for the grandkids. It is a ride we took on many weekends when our daughter was growing up and we are so happy we could share the experience with her children.

Riding through the salt marsh
Riding through the salt marsh
We had the island all to ourselves
We had the island all to ourselves

This is my contribution to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Adventure