Sometimes you wake up to the weirdest sights

You never know what you might wake up to if you fall asleep in the pasture.
Just be careful deciding on what to use for a pillow.

some days you just want to lay around

Yes, there are some days when you don't want to take your head off the pillow. This was one of those..although against my better judgement I went hiking for 3 hours, took my mother shopping (another two) and that was the more strenuous of the activities (at least for me) and went shopping for gourmet food items that I really didn't need (possibly because I was so exhausted from the previous activities that I forgot all I really went out for was a pair or pillow cases.
Yes maybe I should have just rolled over and went back to sleep today (as if that were possible)
well you have to have a dream..even if the dream is dreaming while you are awake that you would rather be sleeping : )

One of my favorite songs

Comet, Freckles and Petey

Comet, Freckles and Petey
Originally uploaded by Playful Pirate

OK so I got a little carried away, and have far more than 9 Koi in the pond now. By the way these fish would no longer fit in this bag.. : )

Sarasa GoldFish Known as Sassafras

Sarasa GoldFish Known as Sassafras
Originally uploaded by Playful Pirate

When selecting fish for your pond..remember that you don't have to just choose Koi..there are quite an interesting selection of goldfish out there. This little fellow is a Sarasa goldfish, they come in striking red/white patterns that are very similar to some high priced koi. They won't get as big as Koi..but sometimes this is a good thing if you have limited space in your pond. Their tails are usually much longer than the average "feeder" goldfish, giving them a very exotic look. They are similar to the "comet" goldfish

Walking alone

Walking alone
Originally uploaded by risquillo

Magnificent photo by one of my Flickr friends.

The Shelter Island Ferry south

****Never assume that anyone knows anything...that way you will always be prepared.
I recently asked some friends to dinner on Shelter Island, a quaint little island located between the north and south forks of Eastern Long Island.
Little did I know that even after they said yes, that they had no clue where Shelter Island was or how to get there. They were renting a home in Sag Harbor at the time, so I thought they must have at least heard of Shelter Island. ********review the first sentence here
Dinner was planned for 7pm (and you don't want to miss your reservation for a restaurant in High Season (any time between Memorial Day through Labor Day) but especially in August and especially on a weekend in August...heaven forbid otherwise you may never be allowed to eat there again..at least not during summer months.
There are two ferries that take you to Shelter Island one leaves from Greenport, New York (this ones takes you to the north side of the island) and the other from North Haven, New York. (which shares the same zip code as Sag Harbor, 11963****this is perhaps one reason why I didn't take my own advice) , this ferry takes you to the south side of the island, and once you are actually loaded on board the trip generally takes 4 minutes to the cross over to the other side.
This is certainly not allowing for boarding the ferry, disembarking or the true horror ..waiting on line for the ferry.
Shelter Island itself is very small and one can easily go from the South Ferry Drop off to the North Ferry Pick up in 10 minutes even doing the speed limit. (which is recommended since...
A- It is the law, and since money is spent on nice signs telling you what the local speed is, the police feel it is their job to see that you stick to it...who would have guessed
B- There are deer everywhere and no one wants to use one as a hood ornament.
C- it is a relaxing scenic route and you should enjoy the trip.
D- Locals don't want you to miss any of the local stands that sell honey or flowers among other things.
E- Islanders hate to think of their home as merely a rock that is a short cut to the north fork or vice versa.....even though Shelter Island is known by natives and others as "The Rock"

When I venture to Shelter Island with my husband I like to leave extra time.. especially on a weekend during August.. and since there are so many things to do at that time of year we got to the Island at around 5:30pm on the evening when we planned to meet friends for dinner @ 7pm and then proceeded to walk the beach and search for shells ( I am also known as the Shell Keeper by some ..but that story is for another time)
I also like to throw business in when I can ( it doesn't hurt that the ferry fare can then be used as a tax ...nevermind) so I also went around and updated some rental photos. It is much nicer to see photos of a pool when it is a sparkling clear blue and surrounded by breathtaking flowers..rather than a black tarp with dead leaves rustling about. *****I am a real estate broker so if you are looking for a nice summer or even fall rental on Shelter Island drop me a note*****
At exactly 6:23pm of that same evening I received a call from the aforementioned friends that we planned to have dinner with....I know exactly because ..well cell phone technology is a wonderful thing..and the message was worth saving for a bit.
They were having difficulty finding the bridge to the island and could we please call them back for directions...
this was not a good thing.
I returned their call less than 2 minutes later, and informed them they needed to take the Ferry from North Haven.
A boat??? you mean we have to get out of the car and ride on a boat?
No I said..you don't even have to get out of your car you can drive onto the ferry and stay inside your car the whole time..but you will have to roll down the window to pay the ferry man. *****This is when I remembered my own rule that I had previously forgotten*** you have to buy a same day round trip ticket for $15.00 and they prefer cash.
I honestly wasn't sure if they took anything else, and I wanted to make sure they were prepared.
I could hear my friend's husband in the background saying: "is it extra for the dog?"
"No." I said "that includes all the passengers in the vehicle..canine or otherwise .."
and then I heard "we better stop and get some of that thunderstorm remedy for Skipper."
A dog with a name like Skipper that needed thunderstorm medication to calm him down for a 4 minute boat ride? Who am I to judge.
The whole time I am doing the time math in my head worried that they would never make the 7pm dinner reservations.
I explained that the ferry line might be quite a bit long at this time and they should try to get there as soon as possible..I even suggested that perhaps Skipper could skip his thunderstorm medication to save time and mentioned how sort the ride was.
I then gave them precise directions on where the ferry was and after disembarking how to get to the restaurant.
My husband and I arrived at just a bit before 7...not wanting to get there too early given the current situation.
We were immediately shown to a table rather than asked to wait at the bar..those Islanders are very prompt and prepared unlike some Manhattan establishments that make you wait until you feel you need to shave again.
My legs his face..you know what I mean.
Anyway our drink order was taken and within 5 minutes or friends arrived!!! Yes there was even Skipper in a lovely shady spot with his head out of the window.
I can't believe you managed to make it on time I told them.
There was a bit of a line at the ferry they both agreed but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
What do you mean? I asked ..a bit worried..I do a lot of business on the rock and would like to continue to do so.
They then informed us that realizing that they would never make the 7pm time with the long ferry line they drove to the front of the line and explained that their dog was about to have puppies and that they wanted them to be born on the island...poor Skipper did seem to need his Thunderstorm medicine after all, even for the car ride..and was circling and howling in the backseat unable to get comfortable...they were allowed to board the next ferry and had no problem then finding the restaurant.
I glanced out the window again at Skipper now content and sleeping in the backseat.
I guess he is so fluffy they didn't notice he was a boy huh?
Well, my friend's husband said "you know Lassie was really a boy too"
I may have to swim the next time I want to go over to "the rock".

Ferry Rates
for the South Ferry are:

One Way Vehicle (includes passengers)								$12.00
Same Day Round Trip Vehicle (includes passengers)								$15.00

One Way Bicycle								$4.00
Same Day Round Trip Bicycle								$6.00
Motorcycle One Way								$7.00
Motorcycle Round Trip								$8.00

Foot Passengers Each Way

$1.00

Bike/Platforms/Pool Carts/Snowplows,etc. Each Way

$2.00

South Ferry Schedule (make sure you check the time or you will be sleeping in your car with Skipper)

June 13th thru Labor Day:
5:40am - 1:45am daily

Labor Day thru June 12th:
5:40am - 11:45pm, Sun-Thurs
5:40am - 1:45 am, Fri & Sat