Kite Festival Weekend and a PSA from Our Daughter

Well, I don't know how this posting about the kites got past me - this event was actually two weekends ago but I'll catch up someday.  I've added something at the end that has had us holding our breath over that I can now share.  

But let me start with the kites - we were able to sit atop our friends' deck which overlooks the dunes on LBI where once again this year the kite festival was happening.  The weather promised to be cool, but it wasn't too cool to be outside enjoying the day.  The funny thing is, though there wasn't too much wind at our level or below, there was too much wind in the upper level for most of the larger kites to fly that day, but we enjoyed what we could see there nonetheless.

Like this dragon.......................

And this lovely colorful spinning circle kite that I was able to use to frame the sailboat in the distance.

This pteradactyl kept popping up and down just at the height of the dune as if it were spying on us.

And we were treated by the antics of several whales just off shore.  You can't see from this picture, but there was a large crowd of people along the shoreline taking in the whale show rather than the kite show.  This is not something that you often, if ever see.  

I had seen this on our way in the morning on a street corner on the mainland and hoped that it would still be there on our way home and it was.   Why it was there I don't know for sure.  There didn't appear to be any signage explaining it.  There was an autumn/wine festival going on further down the street in that area but not within walking distance of this area, so it's a pretty puzzlement.

Moonrise was before 6:30 that night - the Hunter's Moon, as the full moon in October is called, was just about at it's peak.  Here's what I wrote on my Instagram post: 

Mere minutes had passed since the moon 

broke free of the horizon in the east

and the sun slipped under it in the west.  

Though sometimes it would appear that way

Nothing stops time.

The sun was indeed setting at the same time and it was impossible to be in two places at one time, but the clouds were missing in the back, so I gave my attention to this view.

I found this free app for my phone that will remove objects from photos - how do you think this worked out?

And now for the PSA

Late this summer, our daughter let us know that she was having a suspicious mole removed from her back.  Her husband noticed it and thought that it appeared to be two colors and urged her to have it checked out which she did.  Below is her PSA that she was brave enough to share on her FB profile.

After the initial removal and it was determined to be a melanoma, the dermatologist told her that it was just slightly over the margins of acceptability by .01 which meant she had to see an oncologist.  In addition to going in again and removing more tissue, they also removed and tested two lymph nodes to rule out any spread.  Thankfully all looks normal and she will not need further treatment.  She will have to have more frequent skin checks going forward.  My daughter is not a sun-worshipper and hasn't spent a lot of time out in the sun.  I think I can remember only one time when she was in her early 20's that she might have had a bad sunburn.  So I do encourage everyone reading to get your skin checked by a professional.  Especially those parts that we can't see on our own.  It could save your life.