Good Trees

The smell of these flowers is heavenly. This is part of a magnolia tree in my parents' backyard.

The tree in our front yard has leaf buds-- fascinating little things.

This is another tree in my parents' backyard. I remember when it was tiny. You can't tell from this picture, but my son was pretty high up in it. Trees are awesome.

Contrails and Distrails

 It may be strange, but I've always liked contrails. When I was in elementary school, a teacher asked if anybody knew what they were. I didn't often raise my hand, but I did for contrails. Did you know that the word is short for condensation trails? It makes sense. They're also called vapour trails-- artificial clouds made by airplanes. Next to rainbows , sunsets, and sunrises, they're on the top of my happy sky list.


I found the following image on Wikipedia.

This is called a "distrail." It's the opposite of a contrail, but also made by an airplane. The word stands for "dissipation trail." This happens when an airplane passes through thin clouds and breaks them up, turning visible water droplets back into water vapour. I don't think I've ever seen one of these in real life.

The World Deserves to See This

If I used facebook, I'd post this picture of my parents. Since I don't, it's going here. These are my recently-returned-missionary parents on my oldest daughter's motorcycle. I'd say a mission in the Caribbean did amazing things for these two. We're glad to have them home.

More Fun than Homework

Succulent

I saw this while out on a walk this morning. That spring green color is starting to show up here and there. The leaves of succulents seem almost unreal. I admire their hardiness.

Where I Went: Digest of a Vacation

My oldest daughter and I spent a week on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. My parents have been there serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They come home in two days. It was the best vacation I've ever had. Here are a few favorite pictures.

Iguana at Charlotte Amalie and Crown Bay. My parents herded the one on the left toward me. Funny.






On a landing going down stairs from the Pissarro Art Gallery and birthplace. On the right, shells and sea glass we collected on a few beaches.









Brain coral on a beach. We chased a sunset one night and this on the right is part of what we saw.




Coki Beach at the left was my favorite snorkeling place. Down among those rocks you see are a ton of fish. My daughter bought a dog biscuit to feed them. She let me have a turn holding it. I was surrounded by fish--that's when I managed to touch a parrot fish. There were all colors and shapes of fish at this place. Earlier, while snorkeling at Hull Bay, I swam with a sea turtle. Later, we walked along the dock at Red Hook and saw this pelican dive for fish.






On a beach near Iggie's at night and a view from inside Blackbeard's Castle.

Looking down on the spiral staircase of Blackbeard's Castle and flowers on the grounds. It was fun and surreal to go from winter to summer weather.




"I've never seen anybody do that before," said a man who worked at Blackbeard's Castle. I was lying on my back to get shots like this on the left. The amber waterfall on the castle grounds. There's a fascinating amber museum there.






We had a fun ferry ride over to St. John and rented a scooter. I'm not a good passenger, but it was fun to ride out in the open air. It was definitely more interesting than being squished into a taxi with twenty other people.

Besides hiking and snorkeling on St. John, we visited the ruins of the old Annaburg Sugar Mill. We enjoyed trying johnny cakes, passionfruit punch, sugar cane and coconut.








My parents have some friends who live on a sail boat. We rode in this dinghy through salty waves to get there and back. On the way back, he took us in two trips, but my daughter and I were still soaking wet after our trip. Mom stayed dry.





We went to the bright yellow public library and also inside an old Jewish synagogue in Charlotte Amalie.









We went to a bunch of beaches, but we stopped at one last one-- Magen's Bay-- on our way to the airport.

All I hoped was to enjoy visiting my parents and to see that gorgeous blue water. I got my wish and so much more.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for an unforgettable visit.

Not in Utah

I'm on vacation with this lovely twenty-two year old. Enjoying every minute. That blue water is everything I imagined it would be. Gorgeous.

Bee Bread

I tried fresh bee pollen (otherwise known as bee bread) for the first time yesterday. My friend from Thailand believes it's very good for health. She and her husband buy it fresh from a local bee farmer. They eat a tablespoon of it every day. It has a very unique taste--sweet and weird. She took a picture of me right before I tried it while I was at her house. Then she gave me some I could take home to the family. Everybody only tried one tiny granule and made funny faces. I think you need at least a teaspoon to catch the full variety of its flavor. She also gave us yummy honey drops, rice crackers, and fabulous panang curry. She's a good and unique friend.