Missing Willow Farm

I was reviewing our vacation photos one last time before getting busy with the holidays and I came across these.  Nothing is more gorgeous than the skies in the Pacific islands.  Since I’m an early riser, my sky photos are mostly from sunrise.  At sunset we’re more likely than not in a bar on the top deck having a fabulous cocktail.  🙂

The laundry’s done and there’s food in the house again so I can finally sit down and share a few photos.  We had the best vacation of our lives, hands down.  We cruised on the Seabourn Sojourn to French Polynesia and Hawaii, all places we’ve never been before.  We discovered we much preferred the Polynesian islands over Hawaii and would love to go back some day.  I’ve only been snorkeling once before in the Caribbean.  I’m officially hooked on it now!

We found lots of gorgeous isolated places.

We visited Nuku Hiva, which is where Survivor Marquesas was set.

Fanning Island has no electricity or running water. It was a fascinating stop.

The children of Fanning Island greeted us.

We went scuba diving for our very first time in Moorea which is a much nicer first dive spot than a public pool! Underwater selfie time.

This sea anemone was bright pink and super soft to the touch.

We spent as much time as we could in the water. That’s our ship in the background.

Snorkeling in Bora Bora.

We swam with black tipped sharks.

And got to feed and pet stingrays. I could have spent all day here.

A deeper water snorkeling spot.

We purchased an underwater camera before we went and are so glad we did!

The fish were unbelievably colorful.

These guys were everywhere.

A cluster of sea urchins.

Someone painted this one.

This big guy looked out of place.

We spent a long time with a pod of dolphins. So cool!

We saw the most gorgeous sea turtles.

When you buy banana vanilla juice and ask the ship’s bartender to turn it into a boozy milkshake then drink it on your balcony…

We booked a snorkeling excursion that included lunch on a private island.

Th food was served at picnic tables set into the shoreline.

The food onboard wasn’t too shabby, either. Lobster and pork belly with baby leeks.

Room service. On the Sojourn, it’s all included.

The trip was to celebrate our 30th anniversary.

We’d go back in a heartbeat!

The November full moon is called the beaver moon and boy was it beautiful!  I got these photos on November 4th and am pretty pleased how they came out since I was on a ship in pretty rough seas when they were taken.  We just returned from the South Pacific, I’ll share a few photos when I get everything sorted and groceries in the house again.

The beauty berry bush we brought with us when we moved here is in it’s full Fall splendor.  I can’t grow a pumpkin to save my life but this spray of color outside my kitchen window puts me in the pumpkin season mood every year.

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We plowed our potato patch a few months ago.  Brian discovered a vine growing in it a few weeks later and soon two watermelons showed up, nicer than any melon we’ve ever grown ‘on purpose’.  We decided to pick one and it’s fully ripe and totally delicious.  The thing is, we didn’t plant watermelons anywhere this year.  What a lovely surprise!

One of the foxes that lives in our property next door is getting pretty bold.  We’ve seen it a few times in our back yard at dusk and recently on our driveway close to our house in full daylight.  This is a bit blurry because it ran a little ways when it saw me out with my camera, but turned to get one last look at me.  🙂

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My one attempt at flowers this year.  Petunias from WalMart.  Our vegetable garden keeps us so busy there’s no time for pretty things.  I do use quite a bit of the thyme growing in the top of the planter.

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We have a new addition to our flock.  A pretty little red hen.  Don’t ask where we got her…  😉   She has a little apartment in the hen house where she’ll be able to get adjusted to the rest of our girls.  It’s a goat carrier modified with a feeder, water and some place for her to feel secure at night.  We’ll let her join the rest of our chickens after about a week.  She awarded us with an egg about 2 hours after arriving at her new home.

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I took this photo from our hot tub.  The blackberries are close enough to pick to add to a glass of champagne.  Life is good!

The only basil we have this year is grown on our back deck in pots.  I’ve made pesto twice now with the basil leaves, garlic, toasted pine nuts, parmesean, lemon and olive oil.  Toss that with pasta and some sauteed shrimp.  Yum!

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