It’s hard to believe that Christmas has rolled around again. Earlier in the week we made the trek down to Laura’s sister’s house in Florida so that we could spend the holiday with Amy and their mother. It was hot, but so far we’ve had a good time.
The day started with a kayaking trip. I always try to do a sunrise paddling trip on the Winter Solstice. However, our travel plans wouldn’t allow for that this time. So, this morning I got up and paddled several miles out in the Indian River.
Over Thanksgiving there were small craft advisories, so I didn’t get to do much paddling. Today wasn’t too bad. I paddled several miles, making my way over to the spoil islands. I pretty much had the islands to myself.
I headed on over to the mangrove mazes on the river side of North Hutchinson Island. A “vulture tornado” whirled above one point.
After paddling through some of the mangroves my plan had been to paddle back to one of the islands and just hang out, watching the boat traffic on the channel. However, several things altered that plan. First, there were jellyfish. I found what Amy later identified as a cannonball jellyfish. Swimming was not really a good idea.
Secondly, the wind was starting to pick up. So far it wasn’t too bad, but I knew that when the tide turned we could get some pretty rough waters, so it was best to head on back. Finally, Laura had some plans for the rest of the day, and I didn’t want to mess those up by staying out too long. I made my way back, as the waters did indeed get rougher.
We made sandwiches and packed everyone into the car. Our picnic was at Avalon Beach. We can park so that Mrs. Wright can watch the waves, and there were quite a few out today.
Over Thanksgiving Amy and I had bought new kites, and we were ready to try them out. Mine was a two line stunt kite, and she had a traditional delta. We drove over to Riverside Park in Vero Beach and had a great time flying them. I got pretty good at flying the stunt kite. Oddly, we took absolutely no photos. My hands were occupied with controlling the kite. As we flew the kites a father and son were trying to fly a remote-controlled X-Wing fighter. Another group was trying to get a model airplane off the ground.
Mrs. Wright was getting tired, so we headed on back to the house. Laura and Amy made Christmas cookies.
Since it was supposed to be a full moon I had wanted to go paddling. However, I talked myself out of it. I was able to get a decent moon shot with my big camera and long lens. That image is at the top of this post.
I decided that since I wasn’t going to get a paddling shot with the moon, I would create one. I started with this image…
I used a gradient mask to darken it then I blended in this image of of the moon in clouds that I had found online.
I blended and adjusted that image to fit in with the rest of the shot. The final touch was a silhouette of Santa’s Sleigh crossing the moon. Here’s the final result…
The photo was taken in bright sunlight, but I made it look like night.
At some point during the evening I decided I’d take a few photos of Amy’s unusual ornaments.
So, with visions of crystal mermaids and full moons dancing in my head, I think it’s time to settle in for a long winter’s night. Merry Christmas to all!
