View from the bridge

I am one of those people who live on a barrier island and will find any excuse to avoid going over to the mainland. However, today the view from the top of the bridge was so spectacular that I had to share it with you. We are looking south.

Our tall bridge was completed in 1982, before that we had a drawbridge. (To put things into perspective, when my Dad was growing up here you crossed the river on a footbridge.) I know bridges need to have some give, but standing at the top of the crest I could feel the bridge shake beneath my feet. Lovely view or not, I certainly was thankful to get back on solid ground, and back to the beach.

There I found the same sky stock full of jet contrails. Wondering where all those people were going made me even more grateful to be enjoying the peace and quiet of a walk on the sand.

New ventures

This eclectic day had me going from river to ocean to enjoy the blue skies above. It started off chilly and with a high tide I decided to go to the river for my walk. The photo above I call River Respite was comfortable and calming even if chilly.

I then decided to take the trail across the peninsula to the ocean and along the way found a playground with this childhood temptation. Did I succumb? Well, of course. It was fun!

Reminded of my maturity though, this big guy snapped me right back to reality. I'm not yet old enough to be his lunch but maybe a little too long in the tooth to be playing around on a swing. No matter, it turned out to be a lovely day however you look at it.

Looking forward

Our little buddy, Rocky Raccoon, is reportedly doing well. He does not have distemper, rabies or any other dreaded disease. He is eating well, is being well taken care of and he's on antibiotics for the scrapes he suffered in his fall.

We are all looking forward to his impending release into the wild where he can roam and enjoy being a typical raccoon. Hurrah, life is good!

Calling all birds

It was a little chilly on the beach today but with westerly winds it was not as brutal as it would have been if winds had been out of the north. However, most of the shore birds were taking a break and resting on the beach like a bunch of vacationers.

There was one rare Foster's tern standing just apart from the mix on the left side of the flock. One large Herring gull standing taller and a bit apart from the rest and most of the other assortment of terns and gulls had their heads gently tucked under a wing.

Nice way to take a winter nap... so it seems I'm not the only one who enjoys a little snooze on a winter's afternoon.

— UPDATE —

An update on the raccoon from the previous post... unfortunately the poor guy fell out of the tree again and experienced some superficial wounds. He was not aggressive nor foaming at the mouth but was definitely not well. The wildlife rescue person we called took him to a rescue sanctuary and last I heard he was resting and getting the care he needs.

Here is one last photo I took after my neighbor put some tuna in the crook of the tree. Mr. Raccoon enjoyed it before heading again for a higher branch and alas his next fall. We DID have cushions on the ground just in case. Sigh.

Treed

What a morning it has been! After taking the trash to the curb I left the garage door open for an expected service call when I noticed a HUGE raccoon walking across my driveway. I phoned my animal loving neighbor as she was about to phone me to say that one of the neighborhood cats was in my garage.

That's when the drama began. As we watched, the cat chased the raccoon up a tree, then the raccoon fell out of the tree and literally knocked himself out on my concrete driveway. My neighbor and I were beside ourselves with worry over the raccoon who was having a great deal of trouble trying to orient himself and shake off the effects of the fall. Finally he managed to stay upright long enough to flee up the tallest pine tree in my yard. That was two hours ago. He's still there.

Though they are nocturnal creatures, I'm hoping he will eventually feel safe enough to come down and head back to his home, which I'm thinking may be the relative peace and quiet of the nearby golf course.

Of course I had to grab my camera and share. What a way to start the day!

I'm just saying...

Now THIS is what I call partly cloudy. (See previous post as to my confusion.)

It was a very pleasant 70º with light winds and I reveled in it. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to take a walk on a lovely day especially when I get home and see on TV that parts of the country are covered in snow, ice and sleet. Oh lucky me!

Gray-edged day

The weather prognosticators had led me to believe that today would be partly cloudy. Not so, it was heavily overcast and dreary. Bah humbug. By noon I decided I'd go to the beach anyway and it was just plain gloomy.

It wasn't long before I glanced west and saw a definite edge to the gray... and it was a shocking blue. Hurrah. Finally the blue completely took over and it ended up being a lovely day.

Somehow I thought that partly cloudy meant a sky with patches of clouds and patches of blue. I guess it can also mean the morning part of the day as going to be cloudy and the afternoon part of the day would be sunny. Works for me.

Striped skies

It was foggy this morning and just a plain ol' gray winter day. Then the sun came out and the skies were dazzling. It was windy and chilly so I decided to trek my local nature trail instead of the beach. I couldn't get over the skies with the clouds and contrails that crisscrossed it. Amazing.

After I got home, I was enjoying the sun on my front porch and saw an unusual sunspot with a bit of rainbow at the edge. By the time I got my camera the effect had dissipated but there was still a hint of this phenomena and I just had to share.

What started out cold and dreary ended up being a truly spectacular day. Hurrah!

Free lunch

Leaving your chair and your lunch on the beach while you take a walk is an iffy thing... if you want your lunch to be there when you return, that is.

I had to laugh at these bold freeloaders taking advantage of this enticing opportunity. Hope they enjoyed their free lunch.

Birding, beach style

Though I'm not an official bird watcher, one can not walk along the shore and not be attracted to the feathered friends along the way. Winter brings the royal terns that remind me of a couple of college professors I had.

A rare treat is the black skimmer. That's the cute little guy above with black wings, a white chest and long beak with a red strip around it — not to mention his red leggings. I usually see them in pairs but this one was alone, except for his new friend the tern. Skimmers are very rare and it was a real joy to see this one today.

Then I suppose after diving into the cold ocean to get your lunch, it's time to rest on the beach, just like this pelican was doing. He was giving me the eye as if telling me not to come any closer because he didn't intend to get up and move. I left him alone with a chuckle. He didn't move and when I came back 20 minutes later, he was still there... this time with eyes closed taking a snooze. What a life!

Something new...

You never know until you try, right?

Well, my new little beach camera has video with sound and I've been playing around with it. I took a video and sent the link to a friend who said I should post it here because a picture is worth a thousand words and a video is a thousand pictures, plus sound.

It was fascinating watching this gull drag this bit of fish around. The still photo is above, the video with sound is here, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kudGWUpDC_o

Oh yes, the beach walker who appeared was a surprise, so intent was I on watching the gull. Ha!

Sand and stars greetings for 2011

The beach today was crowded with what I call New Year's Resolution-ers. You know those people who are going to go on a diet or exercise more. There were many more people than usual and most were locals (you can tell them from the vacationers.) Cynic that I am, I give the resolutioners about 6 weeks then it will be just us regulars again.

However, it was a beautiful day and nice to be greeted by friends and strangers alike with cheerful "Happy New Year" wishes. So I just had to create one of my own for all of you. Here is my wish for you set in sand with stars... starfish that is. (Yes, there was an unusual number of starfish on the beach today.)

Am I the only one who sees the optical illusion. Sometimes the letters look raised, sometimes they look just like what they are, scooped out with a sea shell. Intriguing.