Halloween Dawning?

This halloween morning the sun was already up and shining in a nearly cloudless sky when I managed to roll out of bed and get to the beach. I did wear my orange shirt and black shorts as homage to all saints eve but no orange sunrise like we had yesterday — the day BEFORE all hallows eve. I'm going to share the October 30th sunrise with you anyway. I've decided that perhaps the sun, looking more like a UFO, arrived to remind me to get ready for the haints that were to come. Happy Halloween.
(Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it so you too can see the sun looking like a UFO arising out of the depths of the sea.)

Reflections, of all kinds

The sunrise this morning was spectacular. Then again, aren't they all? Hopefully I'll never get to a place in my life when I find the sunrise ordinary or even mundane. But I digress. Here is the stunning sunrise with the two-for-one appearance of its reflection on the wet sand.
Later, the dark cloud makes the sun's efforts even more wondrous. 
As if the sunrise wasn't enough, one of the remaining eight turtle nests (out of a total of 611 this season) had a few hatchlings still heading to the sea. There were 14 little hatchlings who emerged today — 3 days after their nestmates. Us beachgoers were certainly treated to an additional thrill. Like icing on the cake of a beautiful day. (I just love their tiny footprints, especially when you consider how large their mother's tracks are. Perspective... a truly amazing thing.)


Orange & stormy dawn

When I went to the beach the morning of the 15th it was just below high tide and the seas were rough indicating that walking would be difficult. The radar at home also showed a big ol' rain cloud just off the coast and I almost decided to stay home. The operative word here is almost. Because if I hadn't gone I would have missed this spectacular dawning of the new day. 
The large cloud to the south looked like the foothills of a mountain range and yet, the sun was determined to show it pumpkin colored rays with the promise of blue skies tucked inside. Lesson here, don't let doubts cloud your agenda because you may miss something spectacular. (Remember you can click on the photo to make it larger... thus more spectacular.)

Seaside art

Having made drip castles as a child or simply upturned buckets of sand surrounded by a moat, I am amazed and intrigued by the imagination that's often on display on our beach. One particular youngster (I was told by spectators that she was in her mid-teens and toiled for hours) left these wonderful creations in sand. I so enjoyed them I had to share. 
The first is a family of critters with looks on their faces that let us know how they feel about having the rest of their bodies trapped in the sand. Quite expressive and made me grin. I especially liked the whale emerging from the sand behind them.
Of course the turtle and her nest of eggs appealed to me in a very special and wonderful way. You know how I feel about our sea turtles.
Another mom, this time a dolphin with her young'un, can be seen behind the turtle mom. 
I loved admiring this young artist in the making. Hopefully she will continue to hone her skills and not lose her talent in the everyday chores of just plain living.

Turtle Nest News


If you have been keeping up with my blog, you may have rightfully gotten the idea that I am thrilled with the sea turtles that come ashore each spring and summer, lay their eggs then head back to sea. 
That leaves our all-volunteer turtle patrol to tend the nests, watch out for the tiny hatchlings, then when the little ones have left the nest and headed to their life in the ocean, turtle patrol cleans the nest, counts the egg shells and if there are any unhatched eggs they go back into the nest with hopes those remaining eggs will be viable.
Above: About one foot down, the first of the hatched eggs are found then set aside for a nest count. The eggs are about the size of a ping pong ball.
Notice how deep the nest is (estimating about 2 feet) and in this particular nest there were 70 successful hatchings with 26 unhatched eggs found at the bottom of the nest. 
Back into the empty nest they go and are covered with warm sand with hopes they will emerge when they are ready.
 
Oh yes, the turtle patrol is an important part of our beach scene and I was delighted to happen upon them this morning for a nest cleaning. Happy to have a camera at the ready, too.

Strelitzia Nicolai

Strelitzia Nicolai... say what? Back in August I posted photos of my bird of paradise that has produced flowers for the first time since I planted it as a small plant four years ago. I'd never seen white and blue flowers on a Bird of Paradise and was fascinated.
Fortunately I have a very savvy friend who sent me a link to Strelitzia Nicolai, the White Bird of Paradise. When I first wrote about it there were four blooms, those are now gone but there are currently seven blooms and I can see a few more coming along. Unlike the red, yellow and orange varieties, these blooms are tucked deep within the fronds. Demurely hiding their beauty.
The information I received also said that this lovely plant could grow up to 30 feet tall and 10 feet wide! Yikes. I'm thinking I may eventually be overtaken by this behemoth. The same friend said it was reminiscent of Audrey 2 of Little Shoppe of Horrors fame. 
If I disappear, you'll know where to come look for me. 


Red skies in the morning....

We'll have to see if this morning's red skies are a true prognosticator for the "sailors take warning" saying. I think it has to do with the sun's reflection in relation to high or low pressure systems (i.e. weather) but science aside... this was a spectacular awakening of the day.



Just had to share

Time marches along. We have ended the month of September and are now looking at October, fall, and of course, the return of the snowbirds — people who live in colder climates and migrate here for our warm winter weather. Better for the local economy but worse for traffic and crowded stores, restaurants, etc. Not complaining, mind you, just saying... 
Anyway, things on the beach are as ever — lovely, enticing and awe inspiring. Here are dawn photos of September 29, September 30 and October 1st. Three different days and three wonderful ways to start the day.
September 29, 2013
September 30, 2013 (Birthday for 4 of my friends.)
 October 1, 2013 
(The rain stayed away from shore so I'm deeming it as no ill omen for the rest of the month, unlike the March prediction of in like a lion, etc.)
Happy fall, everyone!