Got a few minutes? Go get your cup of tea or coffee I'll wait. Ok now, let's take a photo journey and you'll see some fish that were tickling my feet, butterflies that were providing the fall color display, dancing birds, one very colorful bum, beyond gorgeous sunsets and don't forget about those flippers!

The hustle and bustle of the prime season had passed and the beaches were still warm and welcoming the first week in October.

Let's get up early and catch a glorious sunrise before heading down to the beach ok? I was lucky to catch a bird soaring overhead in this shot. This mornings sunrise wasn't as spectacular as the previous day shown below but it's still great to get up early and catch a sunrise!

Humm...looks like someone was here before us.

 Maybe it was this guy???

Ahhh...to swim like a fish with these baby's on! As youngsters we would lightly pinch tap a foot or leg while swimming underwater while the counterpart watches the victim person from afar, the water is way too clear here for that type of fun.

 These guys were tickling my feet! I saw a crab to scurrying on the bottom and watched as he buried himself as I was approaching, then when I was digging around him, he raised and opened his claws while his body stayed buried. That was cool to see! If only I had an underwater camera you could have seen it too!

The butterflies photographed above were kind that were flying over the azure blue water as I was relaxing on a raft and the fuzzy Oleander caterpillar was munching on lunch. Life is good!

You do it like this...you put your right foot in and take your left foot out... ok stop, that girl is watching us again!

 How peaceful...another perfect ending to a fun day!

I see you Mr. Moon peeking out of those clouds!

There he is!

Well this is the end of this little holiday and I gotta get back to work so I'll leave you with the colorful bum I promised in the title. Not what you expected??? Tsk, tsk on you!

A visit to Barnsley Gardens nestled in the foothills in Adairsville, GA is the perfect getaway for romance & relaxation. The grounds are absolutely breathtaking, the manor ruins and surrounding grounds are steeped rich in history. This place is no ordinary retreat but a magical serene setting to celebrate something special or to get away from it all and relax!

This is the approach to the homestead ruins affectionately called the 'Woodlands' built by Godfrey Barnsley in the mid 1800's located in Northern Georgia. The manor style was clearly built outside of the the typical Southern 'Greek Revival' architecture. Godfrey Barnsley was a disciple of Andrew Jackson Downing and the manor reflected Gothic and Italianate design, very different from the standards at the time.

Daytime inside the manor ruins. Weddings, parties and intimate concerts are still held here. In the evening it must look magical with all the candles lit!

The large boxwood parterre was geometrical in design with serpentine walkways that wound through large flowering border beds.

The heirloom gardens Godfrey Barnsley planted and built for his beloved Julia are what first
attracted me to visit this extraordinary resort. It contained many exotic species at the time including this China Fir tree. When planted it was as nearly as tall as the mansion!

Above is a very small sampling of the magnificent gardens here at Barnsley Gardens. These are the true colors of the flowers, no color adjustments were made. The flower gardens were spectacular to  see in person and the spacious cottages had their own unique garden and landscaping!

This photo was taken from a different angle of the ruins at dusk which was previously posted here. In the maze of boxwood is a replica of the fountain Godfrey had built for his wife. After her death he tried to find solace wandering the gardens and it's here he stated she came to him in an apparition. The manor was not finished yet and she encouraged him to finish building their 'Woodlands' homestead dream.

This photo on the left was taken standing inside the front foyer looking out at the formal boxwood parterre. The next picture is of my husband standing by the arbor and side perennial bed and path that leads down to the bog pond.

Barnsley Gardens Resort has it all for you to enjoy in lush setting. Whether you want to enjoy a ride through the hills on horseback, spend an afternoon clay shooting, master a round of golf, learn to fly fish, hike through the trail, take a magical walk through the manor ruins and heirloom gardens, cool off with a dip in the pool, fancy a spa visit or treat yourself to fabulous meals it’s all here waiting for you! If you decide to visit, check their monthy specials on line.

The service was impeccable and if you happen to need a special touch they have a fairy godmother there to make it happen for you. When checking in she had her wand there by the desk hanging on the wall. If only I had gotten a photo of it!

For more information about a visit to Barnsley Gardens located in Adairsville, Georgia click here.

Well it's time to say goodbye to my very yummy friends!

Sniff, sniff. I will miss them terribly when I go make my homemade pizza, salsa and mile high sandwiches on homemade bread. They made my food mouth-watering this summer with their crisp fresh taste that only homegrown veggies and herbs can deliver.

What a tasty and delectable way to add some vital nutrients the old fashioned way, through your food! If you haven't tried growing your own favorite foods this year give it try next year you won't be sorry, neither will your belly. Besides they look so colorful and pretty in the garden bed. Below are just a few types of veggies I grew this year. I grew many more but was too busy munching away to snap their delicious photo!

Then once you nurture and grow them you will be rewarded by using them in your favorite foods. One of my favorite food groups is pizza. Pizza is a food group right? I'm sure of it!

Ok, ok, My name is Cyndee and I'm a pizzaholic. There I've said it and I'm proud of it!

I must leave you now to go eat that one slice of left over pizza :D

I was walking along the trail with Ted my husband when I felt a tiny brush upon my shoulder thinking it was him tickling me with a blade of grass. Oh that Ted of mine is a playful soul! I looked down and much to my surprise I saw a butterfly, so with camera in hand I quickly took a snap but only got a shot of the ground behind me.

Hey the butterfly was till there! Ted took the camera and shot the next two photos of my lovely hitchhiker. Guess what? This charming creature stayed there for around 5 minutes while we traveled the trail, it tickled and I liked it!

Say hello to my new little friend!

It tickled and I liked it!

We had passed a flowering bush a few minutes earlier and three butterflies landed on my belly, they were pretty fast fluttering around and this gal wasn't fast enough to capture the moment.

Looking back at these photos brings me back to that peaceful mindset I had that day! I can't help but smile when I get a chance to view them again.

When you are having a not so good day do you have something that brings you back into focus?

Maybe it even tickled you!

Well for me it was a simple fix. But it took at least 24 hrs. or more before I could figure out how to correct my W-I-D-E blog problem.

I asked our Active Rain help desk, they were quick to come to my rescue but they hadn't a clue what I did to cause my blog problem. They even called in for reinforcements.

Now for an OCD stager this was extremely off-putting. Yikes, I'm thinking my blog wasn't staged very nice, it sure looked sub-par and it's especially a pain in the bum for anyone to read. I know I hate to scroll back and forth to read a blog post.

I had been trying to place those pictures oh so perfect. Those buggers were disappearing while editing the post when I hadn't deleted a single one of them! Where did they go? Heck, I just kept fiddling with the post and then it hit me.....

Where was that darn cursor? I hadn't seen it blinking when I went in to edit so I hit the backspace button for a long time and there it was... it was hidden to way to the right of the blog. After I placed the cursor next to the last letter the problem was solved!

Got W-I-D-E Blog Post?

• Make sure the cursor is by the last word of your post!
• Don't make those photos too large!
• Someone's comment or photo in your comment section can cause this to happen also!

I hope this helps you in case you run into the dreaded W-I-D-E blog problem.

Yeah, I’m reading you and here’s why, I'm your target audience right here on Active Rain! I may know someone who is relocating to or from your area. Or I may have a client out of my service area. Heck, I never know when my own household may be relocating. That is exactly why I started reading some of YOU!  Since I’ve gotten to know you through your blog I'll be referring you out to a client or I may even need you myself.

I’ve referred out AR members a few times and will continue to do so because I’ve gotten to know you through your blog posts. I read you, commented, and saw how you treated your readers so I felt comfortable passing along your name. Heck I did last week!!!

I want to see how you treat AR members when we comment. Are you user friendly? It may certainly be an indication of how I or someone else will be treated once we are YOUR client.

The comments we exchange are extremely valuable in my eyes and I would think they would be to anyone else lurking on the site. I’m talking about the comments that elicit a conversation, give valuable information or they may be humorous in nature.

Do you read and take the time to answer your readers? Or are you a post & ghost kind of blogger?  I have to get comfortable with you and your business ways before I can refer you or consider using your services myself. That is why I’m reading you; my circumstances may change one day and I'll be looking to my ol’ Active Rain bloggers for the perfect person to help me.

 I consider all of you my target audience. Because ya never know my friends you may just refer me one day.

Yep, those buyers are snuggled in the comfort of their own dwelling cruising the Internet right now sans pants looking at your home. They have the convenience to view all those homes without having to hit the road. Potential buyers are checking out your property with intent to make a purchase.

Is your home show ready?

You as the seller need to appeal to one of the most powerful senses, the sense of, “I want it and I want now!” I’m pretty darn sure that’s one of the five senses. Yep, pretty sure!

Is the first welcome photo of the exterior of your property click-able and enticing? Does that photo illustrate the value that lay inside the home? If so congratulations you got them to stay a while and linger for a look around, their interest is peaked and they want more.

                                        You’ve got it baby and it is called ‘curb appeal, sweet!

If not, uh-oh your home is off their list then it’s on to the next property, lickity split. You’ve lost them to that well maintained beauty down the street. You know the type, well trimmed lawns, splashes of eye catching color in the garden, fresh coat of paint, no twinkling Christmas lights in the dead of summer, attractive welcoming face err… I mean front entrance.

No matter the price range of your property, the outside appearance of your home is an important step to tempt the home-buyer to see the goodies you’ve got behind your front door. By creating that all important curb appeal you will have those drive by home-buyers screeching their brakes to sneak a peek. Take advantage of the current season to create opportunities for the best first impression for your home.

• Give that front door a fresh coat of paint.
• Shine up or replace the lighting, kick plate and doorbell.
• Need color by the door? Add a stylish wreath or basket to the front door.  Maybe a new welcome mat will do the trick. Use decorative planters with greenery or colorful flowers to anchor the front door.
• Spruce up those outdoor flower beds by  mulching, weeding and for heavens sake if Aunt Martha’s prized hybrid flower  she gave you died…give it a proper funeral!
• Power wash that moss & gunk off the porch and home.
• Pick up the kiddies’ toys scattered through the yard.
• Leave no evidence of your beloved ‘Bandit’ on the lawn, scoop up the poop, pronto!

Illustrate the value that lay behind your font door by maintaining the outside and tempt that potential buyer to click through and see what else your home has to offer them. Once you've accomplished that, your home will have showing appointments in no time!

Need more tips? Give your local home stager a call and they will be glad to help your home get those lingering looks!

Yep those feet of mine feel pretty motivational to me this morning! I am a person who loves Mondays. The fresh anticipation of what can be, how I will make my day unfold.

No matter what happens today I've got this image (pictured below) in my mind that may not look motivational but instead relaxing, kicking back, doing zilch. Hey I did something to get me there right?

I'm the creative type whose mind is typically running in that inspired mode. It's great to have all these productive thoughts in my mind saving them for later, yet be able to kickback at the same time.

I hope you can do the same, enjoying what's right in front of you. Relish being in the moment, focusing your full attention on who's and what's in front of you right now. Take in every last delicious detail, and saving them for an inspired moment in your life.

Yes these are my feet, no use of a foot model was used as you may view them again in this blog.

This photo reminds me to make the best of the time I’ve got here. I hope you do the same today!

While motoring around in North Georgia Mountains I spotted this cloud formation that was quite lovely!

I popped my head through the sunroof and quickly snapped these two photos before the clouds drifted away. Can you spot the bright heart formation in the photos or is it just me and my dreamy nature? Life is sure good in the North Georgia Mountains, oh yeah!

    Can you see it?...it's dead center in the above photo.

   In this photo the heart shaped cloud drifted to the left.

   This how the clouds & skyline really look here in beautiful Georgia...no image adjustments in the photos.