Renewed vigor

I haven't been on the beach at dawn for the past several days... I didn't realize how much I really enjoy the early morning. What with high tide, morning obligations, and some dreary weather I relegated my beach walks to midday or like yesterday not at all! This morning however, the sun was expected and even though a full moon made for an extra-high tide... dawn on the beach was invigorating. There were layers of different kinds clouds, jet contrails and shore birds searching for their sustenance. I was invigorated to say the least.

So what's the lesson here? As hard as I try to relish each little bit of my wonderful life, I too get complacent. So when I stop to "smell the roses..." I'll be sure to take in all the subtleties of the scent. I'll also enjoy my walks, morning, noon or night... but morning most of all.

Beach-O-Lantern

Yesterday was halloween and though this year I didn't celebrate, I took the time for some reminiscence about carving pumpkins. It used to be one of my favorite halloween traditions and though I was not a terribly creative carver, I enjoyed it tremendously and had a good time sharing the event with friends.

This morning on the beach I noticed that some beach goer had their own pumpkin party. This one was made of sand! The red-tinted sand we have here is the ideal color for a beach pumpkin and I thought this was a very clever way to create a jack-o-lantern, and no carving pieces to clean up. Hum-m-m! Happy Halloween, beach style.

Long-billed gull?

From a distance I saw what was certainly a gull, but it had an extra long bill. Huh? Not gull-like at all. What in the world is that? Since I am used to coming across new critters on the beach, I was sorting through my brain but got stumped on this one.

I approached the long-billed gull and realized this bird was struggling with something... something in his mouth. Ha! I finally realized what it was. This greedy gull was trying, without success at first, to swallow a whole fish. The fish was so long and so big that the gull couldn't get all of it in his mouth and down his throat. He spit it out and grabbed it up again several times. I watched from a distance not wanting to scare him away from his hard-won catch but fascinated to see what the outcome would be.

Never one to be deterred this gull finally managed, after several somewhat gruesome attempts, to swallow the thing whole and keep it down. Yuck! Though I must say it was fascinating and another reminder of the incredible things I get to witness if I but keep my eyes and mind open.

Sunset...

It is not often that I get to see a sunset. Sunrises are easy from the beach, but my house is surrounded by so many trees, and faces in the wrong direction that I rarely get to enjoy a sunset. Fortunately I have friends who occasionally send me pictures of lovely sunsets. Such is the case with the colorful clouds you see here. My friend Ed lives just a couple of blocks away and this was taken from his second story deck. Great picture. Thanks Ed!

Laws of attraction... humpf.

A friend and I were having an email discussion of the Laws of Attraction. The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest themselves. In other words, if you really want something and truly believe it's possible, you'll get it. Good, I thought, let's give this a try.

That evening I concentrated on my wish to be able to "put my hands on all the dollars I'll ever need." That was my exact thought... put my hands on all the dollars I need. The next morning I awoke and headed to the beach as usual.

Guess what I found there... that the laws of attraction really work. That morning I found something rare and extraordinary on the beach, dollars, sand dollars. Two of them! The extraordinary part comes because in the eleven years I've been walking this beach I have only seen one whole sand dollar. I rarely even see the little bits and pieces of broken sand dollars. The morning after wishing to put my hands on dollars... I did just that, I had two whole sand dollars in my hands!

Do you suppose Law of Attraction works and I wasn't specific enough? Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, I now have two lovely sand dollars. One (see close-up above) even has a tiny barnacle growing on it. What a bonus.

Radiance

If a picture is worth a thousand words, without doubt this photo's image of radiance is a perfect description of the word. This sunrise was truly luminous, plus the weather was cooperating with cool temperatures and a nice breeze. Doesn't get much better than that!

Different time, different beach

Going to the beach at midday was like going to a different beach. With Florida's summer and humidity, it is imperative to be outside before the sun gets too high and before temperatures rise to the 90s and above. Having spent the past several months being sure to get to the beach before dawn, I found quite a difference in the beach at noon. Very few people, very little humidity, strong breezes and stunning surf. It was like being somewhere new.

Not only was it refreshing with our latest taste of fall, the winds out of the East made perfect conditions for kite boarders. The ocean temperatures were still warm and the kite boarders were in heaven. I even talked to a couple of them about the thrill of flying over the surf at breakneck speeds and being lifted up to 20 feet in the air before settling back to the surf. Oh to be young and strong. Guess I'll have to get my thrills vicariously but that's okay, I enjoyed watching them and enjoyed a new beach feeling.