Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Second Trip to Achilles Art Cafe in Orlando
I made it back to Achilles Art Cafe today and the good service and truly unique atmosphere have not changed at all. That’s a good thing. The hours have changed, however; they no longer open one Saturday per month.
If you’d like to read my detailed review from the first visit, go to my posting Review of Achilles Art Cafe, a Coffee Shop which I published on March 26th of this year.
I received very good service and my Latte was fine. Hearty and frothy, the way a Latte should be. Could have been a trifle hotter, but I didn’t ask for that, so I’m not going to whine about it. They were quite busy on this overcast Central Florida day, but that’s nothing unusual.
I am bummed that their Saturday hours have gone the way of the buffalo, but since a huge chunk their patronage consists of VCC students, I understand. The new hours for Achilles are 10 AM to 10 PM Monday through Thursday and 10 AM until Midnight on Friday.
Achilles A.C. features a good and diverse menu, a cheerful, well-trained staff, Wifi, a couple of TV’s, a smoking-permitted patio and hookah supplies. Of course, they’ve got just about any coffee-related thing you can think of. Last but not least, this place has a unique and very cool ambience. Check it out!
To visit their very good home on the world-wide web, follow this link.
Achilles Art Cafe ~ Metro West Community ~ 2869 Wilshire Blvd ~ Orlando 32835 ~ 407 704 7860
It’s September 1st and I’m Thinking About…
It’s the first of September and I have some pleasant thoughts associated with this particular milestone in our annual journey. It means college football is about to start. That’s a marvelous thing. I look forward to it each year.
It means that Labor Day and cooler temps are right around the corner. Love both of those things, bring it on!
But it’s also true that when I see the first of September roll around, I think of Hitler invading Poland. Yeah, I do that. That reveals two very significant things about me: the first, that I’m a boomer and so many of us had Dads who served in WW II. So that whole “Nazis streaming over the border” thing isn’t as bizarre as it may seem.
Well, that and the fact that I minored in history and have studied that conflict and our Civil War in a serious way; those things factor in, too.
So the second thing that pervasive thought reveals about me is that I do worry about stuff more than most folks and more than I should, truth be told. Not in the sense that I think we’re about to be invaded, but just that I often see the darker side of things in general; I’m more inclined to see the potential for trouble, drama and disappointment rather than the “good stuff” which may happen as I navigate some new juncture on life’s path.
It would have been much better for me if Hitler had chosen the 2nd of September to send his Panzer divisions and Storm Troopers across the Polish frontier; that date would not have bored its way so deeply into my grey matter!
Two things I’m going to do today to get past this less-than-rosy recollection: get focused back on the arrival of those crisp Autumn days, and reach for a beer! That’ll work!
The last bulwark against the Nazi Apocalypse, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Fave Fotos: My Star Spangled Futon
Several months ago I found this amazing specimen of patriotic folk art at a discount store and brought it home. I’ve still not found a suitable place to hang it on the wall so it’s living against one wall of the dining room.
I haven’t hung it, but I sure did snap it! Truth be told, taking shots of it was my aim from the beginning. It may never adorn my wall but I’ve made it into four or five photos that occupy a special place within my patriotic heart. For this one, I laid the flag on my futon while the light was streaming in from the bedroom window.
One of the more clean, simple results of that shoot has been featured here on my blog before this; that post is called You’re a Grand Old Flag and was posted on July 4th of this year. This shot is just a bit more artsy; I thought the way the shadows lay across Old Glory made for a good photo. The shoot produced more than those two pics but I’ll stick with these two for now.
I hope you’re doing well today as we reach the 1st of September. Labor Day is right around the corner. It’s not autumn yet, but we’re awfully close. It is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. A lot of photo opportunities and a lot of good sports going on. Ah, but those are topics for other posts on other days.
I hope you like this flag-futon foto. The American flag wall hanging, residing on my futon with beams of light from the bedroom window cascading over its surface.
Shelby Turnier on Instagram: “So I grew up a little today. I’m so excited to start this next chapter as an assistant coach at UNF!”
Congratulations to Chicago Bandits pitcher Shelby Turnier on another milestone in her stellar career. The former UCF Ace is now on the UNF staff. We UCF fans are fine with it. The Ospreys are not in our conference! Good on you, Shelby!
See this Instagram photo by @shelbyturnier7 • 303 likes
Fave Fotos: My Pigeon Friend from Crane Creek Streaks By
I was very pleased with the pix from that visit to Crane Creek Promenade in Melbourne. The one featuring Pete the Pigeon doing Warp 10 right past my face just might be the best one from that afternoon.
I’ll let you decide. It certainly is a fave of mine.
This park is known for being a spot where one can spot manatees; I didn’t have the good fortune to see any of those guys, but had decent luck with the pigeons.
By the way, the wall art adorning the back wall of a business on the street where the park is located is not a part of the park itself. But you see the murals easily once you’re on the park grounds. I loved them. I’ll make a couple of them a part of this posting, too. You may have seen those pix already two posts before this one.
It’s way later than I thought. Time for me to make short work of a grilled cheese, power down this computer and get some shut-eye!
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Fave Fotos: Mr. Pelican Broods in the Surf
It’s so true that gulls and pelicans make marvelous photo subjects. Here’s a pensive pelican from Brevard County who didn’t stay in this pose very long. I think I was just a bit too close for comfort and he took to flight. I got a good shot of him in full bug-out mode, too, as he cruised by.
Very rainy in Central Florida today. Not going to make it to the beach. But I have photos, don’t ya know…
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile
Fave Fotos: Crane Creek Promenade in Melbourne
I’m on vacation right at the moment. Will visit some great settings for photography before I have to turn myself in next Tuesday.
I visited Crane Creek Promenade in Melbourne two or three vacations ago. Liked the pix I got while I was there.
Will be heading somewhere in the next day or two to get a new passel o’ pix! But at this moment I’ll enjoy a few from a previous photo excursion.
Photo credits Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Fave Fotos: Loved the Yard, Loved the Deck
Loved that yard. Spent a couple of thousand hours mowing, trimming, clipping and pruning over many, many years.
We had a deck put in about six years ago. Don’t have the house anymore but here’s a photo of the deck and two Adirondack chairs I bought at a yard sale. Not long after this photo, we had some serious patio furniture put on the deck, but I like this simple photo best.
The house and the chairs I loved so well are gone. Not gone, but gone. Nevertheless, the memories remain.
Obama to create the largest protected place on the planet, off Hawaii – The Washington Post
Expansion of 2006 monument will protect rare corals, fish, birds and marine mammals
Source: Obama to create the largest protected place on the planet, off Hawaii – The Washington Post
The Chicago Bandits Do It Again
On Tuesday night the Chicago Bandits took the Cowles Cup for the second straight year. I know that Professional softball is not on the typical sports fan’s radar, but I’m a serious fan of the game and watching the National Pro Fastpitch Championship was pure delight!
Those of you who know me from the real world, know that I have long roots in Central Florida; a part of my interest in the NPF league stems from the fact that the Chicago Bandits took former UCF pitcher Shelby Turnier in last year’s draft; I just loves me some Knights sports! She was the first pick in the second round, eleventh overall. Shelby had a very good year as an NPF frosh and really shined in the post-season.
Turnier got nine innings of work in three games in the NPF playoffs and didn’t allow a single run. Her ERA was 3.69 at the end of the regular season and shrank to 3.22 with her strong performances against the Scrap Yard Dawds and the front-running USSSA Pride.
As a staff, the Bandits performed well overall. Angel Bunner was solid — as was Michelle Gascoigne — but when you look at the stats, Shelby was on fire. She has positioned herself as one of the best relievers in the business, and she — and the Bandits organization — have to be very pleased with her inaugural season.
For more about National Pro Fastpitch, the only Womens’ Professional softball league in the U.S., follow this link.
Photo UCF Athletics used with permission
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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