A Little Somethin' Somethin'

Remember on Tuesday when I mentioned my badge reels needed a little somethin' somethin'?

Welllllllll I worked on them, and although they are far from perfect, and need some touch ups, I did give them a little somethin'.

Some seashells and alligator gar scales made some cute flowers. The red ones resemble poinsettias :)

I do have a miss spot....okay, 2 miss spots where I need to go over and apply a touch more triple thick. And my gar scales flecked a couple of specks onto the shell. They really are much cuter in person. I'll be much more careful the next time I work with dyed gar scales!

I have some larger gar scales, and some smaller one's too. They certainly do have a Christmasy look to them. I bought them back in June or July at the shell shop in Treasure Island not having a clue what I would do with them. Maybe a clue, but not much of one :P I also wanted the green, but they were out. I really need the green!

My poinsettia is starting to turn!

I took these pics of it last week, and was looking at it yesterday between my comings and goings, and the bracts are getting larger, and darker! I'll have to get some new pics this weekend.

The bracts of my bougainvillea are amazing this year, as is the entire plant!

This is the biggest and prettiest it's ever been. I have a hard time believing that this was once in a hanging pot in my screenroom.....but I assure you, it was!

I am always amazed with nature, and the beauty that surrounds me :D

This weekend I am taking some time to relax and play!

Have a great weekend!

Caching With Kim

Hello! I have a special guest today! I'd like you to meet an awesome blogger friend of mine, Kim from Snug Harbor Bay.

Kim is fun, sporty, and a geocacher! I've asked Kim to tell you about her caching experiences here in Florida...particularly Sanibel! You just might discover a new hobby!

I’ve been asked by my dear friend Della from Del’s Shells to do a guest post and explain a little bit about my favorite hobby, Geocaching.  She thought her readers would enjoy hearing about my fun excursions while looking for hidden treasures.

Geocaching is quickly becoming a popular worldwide hobby.  Here’s the basic premise:  Geocachers hide objects, post the GPS co-ordinates on the geocaching website, and then other geocachers go find the object.  It’s kind of like a modern game of hide and go-seek.  Once you find the object, you don’t take it.  You sign the logbook inside, replace the geocache where you found it so others can also find it and then record your find online at the geocaching website.

Here’s the official geocaching website:  http://www.geocaching.com

.    It’s free to sign up!

One of my favorite places to visit is Sanibel Island, Florida.  Every time we vacation there, we make sure to find a couple of geocaches.  All the caches I’m going to show you are hidden on Sanibel Island.

This cache was hidden under some exposed tree roots, near a beach….

This box was hidden on a gazebo, overlooking a nice stream….

 Sanibel has an historic lighthouse and this cache was hidden close to the lighthouse.  The lighthouse is located at the eastern end of the island and it’s an interesting place to discover and explore.

There’s an intriguing story behind this small cemetery and it’s a beautiful setting and its fun to walk around and look at all the headstones that are decorated with seashells.  There’s no cache hidden here, but you do have to get some information off of a particular headstone and mail in the answer in order to get credit for the cache.  This is the cache number GCD6EE (Near the Chapel).  Click on the link to see what a cache page looks like. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4a626de4-4819-4bc1-9173-e39a242abb0c

This next cache was hidden almost in plain sight on the street, in front of someone’s house.  I’ll bet a geocacher lives there…..

I really enjoyed this next cache.  We had to walk about a mile down a beach in order to find this nicely hidden cache.  We also looked for shells the entire time and then swam our way back afterwards.

 This cache was hidden behind the island grocery store, and very near a small pond.

The location of this cache was outside a mobile home park, and inside the park is a small petting zoo for kids to visit.  Check out that cool tree!

Another thing I really like about geocaching is that it takes me to places I would probably have never found otherwise.  I’ve been going to Sanibel Island for years and never knew about this great lookout tower.  Yep, a cache was hidden there and the view from the top was wonderful!  Imagine looking all over this structure to find a hidden cache.

I’ve tried to show you several different types of hides and different kinds of cache containers.  I can almost guarantee you that no matter where you go or where you live, there is probably a geocache hidden very close by.  Geocaching is really lots of fun and kids in particular enjoy the thrill of the hunt. 

I’d like to thank Della again for letting me share this with you.  If anyone is interested in giving it a try, please feel free to visit my blog for lots more information on the topic.

Happy caching!

Thank you, Kim! That was a terrific post! I really enjoyed your pictures, and the caches that went along with them! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Wasn't that fun?! Now hurry on over to Snug Harbor Bay, and I'll see ya back here real soon!

Del