Far Pavilions

What an astoundingly beautiful and intricate sand castle I discovered this morning on the beach! It brought to mind exotic locales, intrigue and mysterious liaisons. I can't imagine the time this castle builder spent. I certainly hope he or she was transported away on a mental magic carpet during what is evidently intense labor.

This exotic look transported me back to a wonderful book I read about 30 years ago... Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye. I haven't thought of this amazing story for years but I remember it as being one of my favorite books. Set in the Himalayas it is a big fat saga where the panoramas are as important as any of the characters. It was exciting, passionate and I remember hating that it ended.

It's amazing and delightful how one sand castle can evoke such memories. I suppose with all these exotic thoughts renewed I'm going to have to find a copy of that book and hopefully be thrilled once again.

'Twas a turtle day!

For the past 10 days or so, I've been somewhat glum in my morning walks despairing the lack of nests by sea turtles along our beach. This morning I was greeted by three, yes three new nests plus one false crawl. (A false crawl happens when one of these giants comes ashore then turns around and heads back out to sea without making a nest and laying eggs. There are any number of reasons why they do this including not liking the consistency of the sand or being disturbed by lights, noise or other obstacles.)

The top photo is the actual nest set way back in the seaside grasses. Just below that a photo of her tracks to and from the sea. The third photo is the second nest I came across where the turtle made her nest right on the sand. The experts can tell which tracks are coming in or going back out; whether the nester is a green turtle, leatherback or loggerhead by alternating or simultaneous right and left flipper marks; whether there are tail marks visible down the center of the tracks; and by the relative width of tracks indicating the size of the turtle. I'm trying to learn how to better read these marks in the sand. No easy task.

This year I've been concerned about what seems to be fewer nests than in years past, except 2004 when Florida was hit by 4 hurricanes. Though I can find no scientific correlation between number of turtle nests and the number of hurricanes, there are old wives tales and old sea captain's lore that believes the turtles have some kind of instinct that keeps them from nesting where there is a possibility of being destroyed. Animal instincts are often keen in these matters but I have no proof, just conjecture probably peppered with a bit of fear about that inevitable black cloud which hangs over this wonderful paradise where I live. Hurricanes. As the season progresses we will just have to wait and see.

So thoughts of hurricanes aside... there was excitement and joy for me this morning seeing the overnight work of these marine giants. A turtle day, hooray!

Sunrise dazzlers

Arriving at the beach I thought the sunrise was interesting though not spectacular. See top photo. Some nice magenta tones hiding behind some streaky dark gray clouds. A nice way to start the day in any case.

The dazzle came a little later when the clouds in the northern sky picked up the magentas of the rising sun. Wow... now that's a pink cloud, no doubt about it. See second photo. Nature's paint box is certainly full, always interesting and rarely the same. However, my delight really came after glancing westward and catching sight of the full moon in the middle of a clear sky with contrasting clouds acting like bookends. Gray skies on one side pink on the other. What a picture.

No matter which way I looked I was stunned by the colors and the contrast. So, are you thinking what was happening to the south? All I can say is that it looked very strange. I apologize for the last photo above not being of good quality but the dark and threatening clouds had these strange pink cone-shaped blobs hanging near the horizon. The thick, thick dark clouds were impervious to the sun's magenta hues except for those few little patches. Interesting.

North, south, east or west... I was given an entirely different perspective on the day, um-m-m maybe there's a lesson to be learned in that, you think?

Artful fisher

This early-morning feathered fisherman was not a bit shy about posing for the camera. However, shooting directly into the sun is a nightmare and I was almost sure the photo would be a disaster. With a digital camera who cares, so I clicked away. What a pleasant surprise when I found that purely by accident I had actually achieved an artful shot. The rich golden colors of the sun and our heron fisherman in silhouette was very pleasing to my eye. I even liked that he had one foot raised as if posing on purpose.

There are always pleasant surprises at the beach but this was a bonus with a pleasant surprise at the computer as I downloaded the pictures. I guess you'd call it two-for-one bonus day with two entries in my grateful log for the price of one.

Lovely ride

It was high tide again on the beach and slogging through the deep sand did not have much appeal so I decided to take a long and leisurely bike ride instead. It was a quiet Sunday morning and I headed down one of the older residential streets in town. Cool and peaceful, the street is lined with big old oak trees. It is narrow and twisting and the houses that line it are the kind of homes that dreams are made of. There was not a soul in sight — only the songs of birds and a gentle breeze. It was almost enough to transport me back to a kinder, gentler time. For that I am grateful. Also glad to find a lovely and tranquil respite from my daily beach walks while still being able to get some exercise. I'll have to do this again!

Simply spectacular

This morning's sunrise was just simply spectacular. There is no other way to describe it. As I left the house, I could see the oranges, pinks and blues in the sky and was hoping it wasn't just a tease. As I got to the beach I realized that the colors were even more vivid than anticipated with streaky clouds highlighting the show. Hurrah!

A spectacular start to a spectacular 4th of July weekend. Celebrating nature and the birth of this great country. Wow!

Pot of gold?

What a great start to the day... a great start to the month of July! There was just a little sprinkle of rain as I walked along the beach (it actually felt good) then I glanced to the west and lo and behold... a little bit of a rainbow tucked in behind the clouds. It has been a while since I've seen one and since I'm so easily thrilled, I was delighted.

Naturally a song leapt to my lips almost as quickly as the camera leapt into my hand. Then I had to groan... oh no, not that song! "Sunshine, lollipops and RAINBOWS." Leslie Gore is living in my head once again. If you've been reading my posts you know that dreaded song stuck with me for about a week back in May when we finally had sun after six days of rain. (See May's post called Sunshine, lollipops...)

Hopefully I'll carry the glorious sight of a rainbow in my head and leave the song for someone else to enjoy.