Free Range Friday ~ More Photo Round Up

One of the things that's been an issue with my computer is photos. As most who read this know, I take a lot of them. I can't say how many times I've crashed various computers because of overload, even when I put them in the cloud, on flash drives, on cd's back in the older days, it seems there are always too many. So when I get my computer back from wherever happy place it goes for repair, there is always some photo disarray. Which, if I choose to let it, can be fun. 

Here's a little photo fun, old photos showing up from who knows where they were hiding...

This isn't 100% Culebra, but I think you'll guess pretty quickly where that line crosses.

Remember Jane's Hound Dog? Now happily living with
David and Debbie, with yearly visits back to Culebra

Oops. This is from the Flea Market in Florida.
They say mild porn can make a big boost in blog readership.

Also from Florida. An abandon coral rock home,
right up there as one of my favorite homes ever.

A flight heading home

Full moon at Zoni Beach

Capt. Pat and some Wise Guys

Why do iguanas with their tongues out crack me up?
Rhetorical question.

*sniff* old photo of the shack
Elijah's dog Nesta keeping Cwim on alert mode

Old friends

First time I ever liked broccoli! Well duh!

Dick just turned 90 on the 4th (at home in the States, this photo was awhile back)!
Happy birthday, Dick!!

Because it's beautiful

A cool water catchment system

John doing what John does (with friends)

A rainy day across from El Batey

View from a housesitting hill

Helena's sunlit hair

Mario's fine work at Melones

Some goods at Alicia's shop in town

I stopped this Mom and her daughter's and friends
because they looked so shiny happy. They were super nice too.

My 2nd oldest granddaughter Nesta

Rainbow surpise

Does this ever get old?

I like the old traps!

John doing his thing

My little boy

Don't stand under this tree on a windy day!

Just because they are beautiful

Ditto

Chicken on the beach.
It's not just for picnics anymore.

Another Zoni beach full moon

Because bark is amazing

Because Gil is adorable

May this always be a traffic stopper on Culebra

Oh my!

Belly fulla Bella!

I've always liked this place. It was looking particularly good this day.

Bee happy!

Will ride for food

Because they can!

This also isn't Culebra, obviously, but I love it for its
Florida iconic-ness and the osprey nest. WITH THE OSPREY!

A bit more current.

Yes!!! There are anchovies at Heather's Pizza!
Thank you, Anita!

Every birthday I make a little cairn on a beach to remember those loved and gone,
but Nature made most of this one.
I'm pretty sure they are prehistoric sea elephant lion paws.

Is this really Judy and Rebecca's old place?
Yes it is! Welcome to the new Galleria.
Felicidades!

It is Free Range Friday, after all.

We all know that yard with the most glorious mango trees!
Hell no, I didn't pick one off the tree, I was lucky enough to find two perfect ones
that just happened to roll my way...
Is this gorgeous or what? It was that delicious too.

Hope you had a little fun. I'm still putting things together but sharing them on the way makes it more enjoyable.

Have a go with the flow Friday. Do something fritteringly. 

Free Range Friday - A Puerto Rican Surprise in California

From deMilked

I woke up last night thinking about a subject that won't really leave my mind, in the tedious way some thoughts do, for years, until you come to a satisfactory action or at least a 'so sick of it you give up' sort of resolution and move on to whatever comes next. I was thinking about how these days, people just expect there to be bugs in new products, especially of the electronic sort. How marketers have us serving them instead of them serving us. We're expected to pay big bucks and then report the problems they know have not been addressed, so they can fix them and add them into the next model which will be bought immediately and the round of madness will carry on. And it's considered normal now. As in, the norm. The par. The...ok, you get it.

When did we stop expecting to get service that was serviceable? In our large and small possessions, how many are really made to keep working, long after the successive models come out? When did we stop being satisfied with something that actually really just met our needs, with a little extra bit more to keep us smiling and touting the company?

I hope when you wake up in the night it's just for a glass of water.

If you've never seen mistletoe before, here you go, that big green ball is it.
(and this time I'm pretty sure I'm right...if not, let me know)

I love the roof of the cabin

Afternoon light

Hello, little mushroom in pretty leaves
I wish I knew if you were edible

Ferns still thriving

Just as we were getting ready to do the final seasonings and serve dinner last night - 

oh! Here's a little Free Range Friday for you. Anyone who has read this blog much knows I love lamb. But I have never had ground lamb before. Maybe once in a tri-ground meat meatloaf but I don't think it was lamb...Anyway, my whole thing about ground lamb, that it wouldn't be 'lamby' enough, was absolutely proven wrong last night. 

Garlic and onion sautéed in a bit of bacon fat, the lamb went in after both, browning beautifully and of course, adding its own fat, but really not much at all, just enough. With it we had black beans and rice and yes, those little round cabbage things, Brussel sprouts, that I just might as well admit I now like when they are cooked the way I've been lucky enough to have them cooked and served (no bugs included). 

Ok, back to the rest of the story. Just as we were...caught up now? Nesta barks and The Girl says someone is here but it's dark. It's cold. It's dinner time. Who could it be?

It's Dave!
 (and Elijah, but he was already here)

And his merry band!

If these folks look familiar it is because they, as students, Occupied Culebra over Christmas a few years ago at Jorge's Arte Fango, saving it from the bulldozer - well the lovely studio and home were torn down but no 'underground parking lot and 3 story hotel' was built - along with all the hard work behind the scenes of dealing with legalities (and mainly, illegalities - that work continues as more people show up happy to throw Culebra under the 'wreck it for tourism' bus).

Dave and The Girl weren't there but the other three were. There are all sorts of permutations to why they are out here but the high part is that they are here and we got to talk a lot about home, the things that stay the same and the things that don't. We talked as we shivered, talked and laughed and shivered some more. It was a great surprise!

And that's all I know about that.

Have a fortunate Friday the 13th. Do something with finesse.