Happy New Year

This sculpture is called "Dance of Peace," by Anne Mimi Sammis.

It reaches into the sky at the seawall in Narragansett. Have a safe, happy and peaceful new year! To see some beautiful sky images from all over the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Got snow?

A dump truck hauls away a load of snow under the Towers at Narragansett Beach. Last weekend's blizzard dumped about a foot of snow on the area. Maybe the folks down south would like it delivered there?

The Best Laid Plans...

Our plans for a family dinner on Cape Cod this Christmas Eve came to a screeching halt when the kids came down with the flu. Instead, we delivered presents and headed back to Rhode Island. Thank goodness for China Garden in Wakefield; the Chicken Wings with Sticky Sauce made for a tasty Plan B.

Church of the Holy Cross

Driving down busy West Main Road in Middletown, I often notice this tiny old Episcopal church and its interesting architecture. It looks like a throwback to another time, seated in the midst of box stores and traffic lights.

Last week when I stopped to photograph the church, I was especially enamored by the seafoam green front door, and the matching pink wreaths. Lucky I caught them when I did, because they changed the wreaths for Christmas.

From Wikipedia: "The Church of the Holy Cross in Middletown, Rhode Island, is a parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island of The Episcopal Church. The church is located at 1439 West Main Road, Middletown, Rhode Island. It is an early example of Richard Upjohn's work in translating Gothic architecture from stone to affordable designs for small, wooden churches. Built in 1845, Holy Cross Church exemplifies the architecture made accessible by the publication in 1852 of Upjohn's book, Rural Architecture. In its survey of Middletown's architectural resources, the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission recommended the Church of the Holy Cross for inclusion in the National Register, along with Upjohn's more luxurious Italianate Hamilton Hoppin House.["

Finally, a tree

Tom Geary of Bedrock Tree Farm in Wakefield, Rhode Island made last week's search for a Christmas tree a pleasant adventure. Tom is a lobster fisherman in his other life, and he is the kind of guy who will help you change a tire, even give you the gloves off his hands if need be.

We finally have the tree up and decorated! The cabin ornament was crafted by my daughter.

Shadow Shot Sunday

This time of year, the dogs are free to run on the beach. It makes me smile to watch them- they are so happy!

It is Sunday in Australia, If you want to play, go to Hey Harriet 's blog and sign up. Have a great weekend!

Green Animals

One of the Newport Mansions, you won't find Green Animals Topiary Garden on Bellevue Avenue. It is miles away to the North, in Portsmouth. I had the opportunity to walk around the other day and check it out. The Garden is closed to the public for the most part, only open some holidays and weekends, so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Catch a Wave

Since coming to Rhode Island my affinity for waves has become almost a surfer's obsession. When the surf is up I rush to the beach with my camera- a Canon Digital Rebel with and 18-55 mm lens. Over the past few months I've taken hundreds of photos of waves. I long for bigger, better lenses- and bigger, better waves. These are a few of my favorite shots.

The Barbara Ann at Sunset

The first three pictures in this series are of the Barbara Ann, a fishing boat in Gallilee, Rhode Island. The boat caught my attention because my mother's name is Barbara Ann. I included the last shot because I love how the sun illuminated the windows of the small passenger boat.
Gallilee is a working fishing village and part of the town of Narragansett.

"How Galilee Got It's Name:

In 1902, the story goes, Thomas Mann a fisherman from nova Scotia who had settled here ,felt the village that had sprung up with it's fishing shacks should be called Galilee, after the fishing village of biblical times. One day, an old timer sat on the docks repairing his nets when a stranger called out to him, "Where am I". The answer was "Galilee". "And what is that?" the stranger asked pointing to the other side of the channel. The old timer thought for a minute, nodded his head and replied, "must be Jerusalem". And so the name of Galilee and Jerusalem have been used since to denote a most picturesque part of Rhode Island."

-from Narragansett, RI.com