Moon Jellies

HOLY TOLEDO, RON!!! Your aquarium pictures are through the roof! Did you take them all with a tripod? I have only been in one aquarium with a camera and it was my old p&s with poor ability to take pictures in low light...yours are totally SPECTACULAR! I didn't see all of them, just the first page but I am DAZZLED!!!

This group of jellies is awesome (and your other jelly pictures...WOWWWWW!!!). I never see a jelly without thinking about what it's like to swim near/around them in the ocean. Though I did have a panic attack once when seeing a huge group drifting by, it wasn't the jellies that did it as much as looking above the group and below the group and all I could see was blue water...oh my that was frightening as a brand new diver. But since then I have no issues with blue water, and of course, it's always been so very cool to see jellies when diving. To be honest, I am instantly on-guard. Their tentacles can be incredibly long and can be totally invisible too...can't tell you how many times Steve and I have come back to the boat and found a welt on a cheek from a tentacle we didn't see. So of course we are careful to keep our distance--and much further than it might seem necessary, but only when a jelly is above us and has long tentacles. Little tentacles like these guys wouldn't be an issue and I'd swim close to them to appreciate their incredible beauty and watch them pulsing along. I have also seen the most adorable, itty bitty ones too...one was pulsing in rainbow bioluminescent colors and it was literally no larger than a quarter inch. I motioned Steve to come over and pointed at its exact position so he could see what I was looking at...when he saw it, he gave a thumb's up and together we hovered in the water with big eyes and breathing only the smallest amount to not make too many bubbles and noise, and just watched as this rainbow ocean flower pulsed along in its tiny perfection...oh, I found a picture! This is what we saw! ocean.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/article_full_width/public/12797_mnemiopsis-leidyi.jpg?itok=3x12n-kp
So small, so gorgeous...such a gift to see this tiny, lovely creature in the vast ocean. :)

Yeah, it was too bad the dairy didn't have good cheese. But it's got to be hard to learn how to created an exceptional cheese, isn't it? Or even a good cheese to begin with. Heck, my attempt to make kahlua was met with a very boring disappointment. I am sure their cheeses will improve over time! Or maybe they have a lot of fans who like blah cheese? :D

Re: casual about visitors...you make a good point. Of course, in the US, everything is so litigious that everyone is terrified of being sued etc and I guess that's what happens...isn't it all just so very stupid? *sigh*

Re: freeform travel...just like you guys, we've got countless interests and if we can indulge in things we've never seen, we're all over it!! :) I admit that my pictures are going to bore some but not all, and in the end, it's a travelogue for us and close friends/family...can't please everyone and that's fine! :) (Surprisingly, I've had at least half a dozen people leave comments that I write too much and shouldn't leave such long posts! ROFLMAO...*crossed eyes*)

Heh, I remember you mentioning that you love Stilton blue, the "dirty sock" cheese! LOL, it's a fabulous cheese, isn't it?! I expect you already know that Trader Joe's carries a GLORIOUS and surprisingly inexpensive Stilton. We tried it and oh my yes it's FANTASTIC! In fact, you reminded me to put this on our grocery list...and I interrupted Steve from his space-exploration game to tell him of our conversation and that since he's planning to go to town today, we have no blue cheese and TJ's has that awesome Stilton...heh...he exclaimed with joyful memory and will be skedaddling over there later to ferry a truck-sized wheel back to our house! YAYYYY!!! LOLOLOL...I'm glad you're a cheesehead too! :) *high five* *cuts off a slab for you, another for Steve and Nancy, and all of us float away in blue-cheese bliss* :D

By the way, are you aware of Facerock Creamery's AMAZING Vampire Slayer garlic cheddar? You MUST try it if this isn't already on your favorite's list...Costco often carries it but it's in most grocery stores too. The bite of strong cheddar with a bouquet of garlic and a wonderful texture...it's just so darn good! Goes great as a melt on food, by itself, or crumbled in salads. We ADORE this cheese! facerockcreamery.com/vampire-slayer-cheddar

Onwards!
Thank you for the poem about dappled things! I don't mind poems with religious bits, it's natural to show one's spiritual nature when discussing such glorious things close to ones' heart.

But since you dropped a poem, I must include my favorite with a religious theme because it's perfect and so joyful and of course you know it well...


All Things Bright and Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Re: Coronavirus...your mindset is excellent and really, what can we do but sit and wait to see how things shake out? There's a lot of hype and ridiculous hysteria but no longer something we can just glimpse from afar. We won't be going to places with huge gatherings of people until things settle down and will be careful about extra cleanliness and not touching doorknobs and then ones face, for instance. Normal care, but extra careful.

"Eggenues", lol, that sounds great! For the past few days Steve's been making a wonderful lunch for us...a cheddar biscuit split in half with mayo and ketchup on the surfaces...on top goes fried eggs (for me, poached on his), on top are several pieces of crispy bacon, and then a piece of sliced Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar cheese...the whole thing is then put in the oven to melt the cheese! The result is so darn good that we feel we may need to sprout piggy tails! :D

One last thing...Steve bought a bacon press and that thing is AWESOME!!!! He preheats it on another burner when he begins cooking the bacon...then he puts the press on our bacon and it flattens it all out and cooks it perfectly, consistently, and faster than without! It's so wonderful that we don't know how we've cooked bacon for all these years without it! What a winner!
www.amazon.com/Norpro-8-75-Inch-Bacon-Press-Handle/dp/B0000DDVV9

Ok, have a great day my friend!! :)