Remembered fun

Ah how quickly I forget the things I enjoyed only a year ago. Fortunately I still have enough brain cells to dredge up the memories again. Last winter during our brief cold spell I discovered a county park with a wonderful walking trail. It was away from the strong ocean breezes and protected from the wind by thick foliage. This winter with our prolonged cold snap all I did was complain and stay away from the beach for much too long until I remembered that wonderful little park. So I headed out, it was a wonderfully sunny day but only 50º and with a strong wind from the North a beach walk would have been uncomfortable. The park walk was delightful.

The first photo above gives you the feeling of intrigue as you start climbing up old dunes, then the heavily wooded area with a tree right in the middle of the path reminded me to watch where I was going. Sometimes I forget as I try to take in all that nature has to offer.

It was strange to see the skeletons of some unfortunate trees amongst all the thick foliage, but their rangy arms against the incredibly blue sky was intriguing. The best part of the day was the rediscovery of past joy, and the prospect of more of the same even on the coldest days.

Grateful to remember this fun, yes I am. Happy, you betcha! Life is good!

Hazy morning

It has been a quite while since I've been to the beach in the morning and this morning it was almost 9 a.m. when I arrived. Much different from my summertime red-hot blistering sunrises, this was a silver-toned hazy day with a cool nip in the air from the Easterly winds blowing across the 50º ocean. It was a different beach from what I've grown accustomed to and a pleasant change. I decided to enjoy it to the fullest since the weather prognosticators are calling for a cold front to arrive this afternoon with temps back in the 30s by Thursday. Drat!

Alas, the weather is the foremost topic of conversation around here as this has been a most unusually cold winter for us. We have cold snaps for sure, but never ones that last for months on end without a respite. If I ever get warm, I have promised to not complain about the heat this summer. Do you wonder if I'll be able to keep that promise? I'll let you know. In the meantime I'll just enjoy this last morning of hazy sunshine and hope for more of the same in the days ahead.

Pool Party!

Two days after the previous post the bird convention on the beach had moved to the water! It sort of reminded me of pool parties when spring breakers come down to Florida. Seems as if the college students cram as many people into a swimming pool as possible all laughing, talking and generally just having a good time.

These feathered friends could be the model for such youthful behavior without the margaritas and beer of course. There must have been 30 large pelicans in this group constantly diving into what I can only assume was a school of fish. Gulls and terns were enjoying the leftovers and the laughing gulls were bringing cheer to the party. Other birds were flying in to join the group and one small fellow stayed ashore either ignoring the action or acting as gatekeeper of a sort.

It was fun to watch, and the off-shore cloud formation was interesting as well. I wonder what it takes to get invited to this kind of pool party. Though on second thought the 50º water temperatures doesn't make it too inviting after all.

Avian Aventures

Finally, back to the beach. I hate to admit I haven't been there since Monday but it has just been too windy and cold to make a beach walk enjoyable. Today things were different. It was in the upper 60s and the winds were only about 6 to 8 mph. Amazing though how quickly my stamina disappeared in those 6 days. Thankfully there were a lot of birds congregating to keep my mind off my huffing and puffing. It was almost like a bird convention. At one point there were gulls and terns of several varieties just hanging out socializing, fishing, fighting each other for food and just generally causing a ruckus.

I loved the regal looking Royal Tern who seems to be talking to the laughing gulls sitting on the sand. These lovely smallish gulls with their solid black heads and lovely gray jackets and white bellies make me laugh out loud just to hear them. If you want a chuckle listen to their call on the link below.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Laughing_Gull/sounds

All in all there were avian delights everywhere and pure laughter from the likes of some gulls and this one human who laughed right along with them.

Wow, oh wow!

I could hardly catch my breath. My heart was pounding when I caught a glimpse of the white tail and white head of a huge bird that launched itself from the ground, headed to the top of a tree. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see this majestic creature. As America's symbol, the sighting of the elusive bald eagle filled me with awe. Yeah, I'm kind of emotional when it comes to things American. The National Anthem at sporting events, and currently at the Olympics, will bring tears to my eyes. I'll admit that I'm a patriot through and through. Having traveled to many countries the world over, there is no question in my mind why I love this country best of all.

What's amazing is that seeing a bald eagle can evoke so many emotions in me. Wow, that's all I can think of to say... oh, wow! Made my day.

Good day sunshine...

What would we have done without the Beatles and their music to guide us through life? Well, for one thing I would not have been walking on the beach today singing:

(sing along now...)

Good day sunshine

Good day sunshine

Good day sunshine

I need to laugh, and when the sun is out

I've got something I can laugh about

I feel good, in a special way

I'm in love and it's a sunny day

Good day sunshine

Good day sunshine

Good day sunshine

I must admit that I changed-up the lyrics because memory failed me but the sentiments were right on target. It was a good day, there was sunshine, and a temperature of 70º, finally. However the weather prognosticators are calling for a front coming in later this afternoon which will bring rain and cold temperatures again for the rest of the week. The edge of the front is visible in the second photo which I noticed as I headed back North. This one day of typical Florida weather is enticing and song producing and if there hadn't been so many people on the beach you may have found me skipping and singing aloud. (Kind of like dancing when no one else is around.)

The sky was a wonderful blue, people were in the water, walking or just stretched out on the beach. The parking lot had cars from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Quebec as well as Florida. I assume they were taking President's Day off after the Daytona 500 to enjoy some Florida sunshine.

Good day sunshine indeed! An appi-teaser for spring. Hurrah!

Time warp

Lately, when it isn't raining, it's cloudy and cold but why am I complaining when at least we aren't getting deluged by one snow storm after another? Who knows, but today I just had to go out and walk on the beach — cold and cloudy or not. I bundled up... long johns, hat, gloves, heavy parka and I was all set. I was walking fast to generate some internal heat in the face of winds right out of the Northeast. I distractedly started humming "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day, when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May..." Thank you Temptations for reminding me that May is not all that far away. I needed that.

Then as a more visual reminder that this cold weather too will pass, I caught a glimpse of someone coming toward me on the beach. He was barefoot, and wearing shorts and t-shirt. Huh? Maybe he thinks May is already here. It almost made me feel like I was in a time warp. I was struck at my layers and layers of warm clothes as opposed to his definite lack there of. The dichotomy of the moment put a smile on my face and helped warm me right up.

The photo above is as grey and uninteresting as this day and unfortunately I was hesitant to take a picture of the barefoot guy on the beach. Ah well, he gave me sunshine on a cloudy day nonetheless.

Missed it!

I had every intention of being outside to see the last nighttime launch of the Shuttle at 4:15 a.m. I woke up a little early and was sure I'd be able to stay awake for 20 minutes. Next thing I knew I was being shaken out of my bed by the launch. Yes, even being 65 miles from Cape Canaveral we can feel the ground shake and hear the thunderous roar that only a shuttle can produce. I just get such a thrill at the wonder of it all. Since I didn't see it in person I had to go online to find the photos I'm sharing with you. One is NASA's photo the other a photo from the website of one of the local TV stations. Thanks for the images while I stayed warm and cozy in my bed.

At least I heard it and felt it even if I didn't get to see this nostalgic last nighttime launch. I certainly hate to see our shuttle program disappear. The science and advanced technology we have gotten from it, not to mention the thousands of local workers at the space center, is certainly going to be missed. However, I'm grateful to be able to share in these special moments for as long as they last and feel so lucky to feel the thunder in my heart as the thunder of the shuttle shakes the ground.

Harbinger of spring

There were blue skies hiding above the gray which gave me hopes for spring. Then just as I was arriving back at my house I could hear the real harbingers of spring. What a ruckus. There were hundreds and hundreds of robins flying from one tree to another and literally covering the yards. A real sign of hope that this unusually cold, windy and cloudy winter will actually be coming to an end. They made me feel like singing... "When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along..."

Or can one forget William Blake's: A robin redbreast in a cage, Puts all heaven in a rage.

With these thoughts of spring I of course was fascinated with the D.C. area's record snowfall this weekend and equally as glad it wasn't happening here. I have family in that area, spent my high school years in D.C. and this particular weekend had a friend visiting there. He flew up from a warm Key West and arrived with the snow... and no luggage. Fortunately some kind soul loaned him sweater, hat, gloves and a warm coat. I can't even imagine and was reminded to quit complaining... things can always be worse.

I'll rejoice in the happy prospect of a coming spring where life is once again renewed.

Lookin' for blue skies

The Sunshine State certainly has been dreary lately and I've been looking forward to some blue skies again. It rained most of yesterday, last night and this morning so when it stopped raining this afternoon I hurried to the beach with hopes of seeing the sun.

There were some blue skies but they kept skittering away from me as the clouds kept piling up. I was hoping to have just one ray of warm sunshine on my upturned face, but no luck. I did manage to see a couple of patches of blue sky which I suppose will have to suffice for now. Punxsutawney Phil aside, our prognosticators here are calling for more clouds and rain for the rest of the week. I'll just have to be content with these few little patches of blue and hope for the rapid return of sunny skies.