July roundup

Hard to believe the month of July has come and gone so quickly. It has been filled with sunrises, turtle nests and hatchlings, plus birds and all kinds of beach critters either alive or made of sand. You know, same-old great starts to the day. I hope not to let it get too routine.

This morning I started out early and was greeted by stunning contrasts of dark and light with some magenta thrown in for good measure.

Looking west, I was delighted to see a bright pink cloud... say what? With the trees in shadow, this photo could almost have been taken in the mountains.

Then finally the sun making its full mark on the sea, the sky and me. Adios July, thanks for the fun and sun.

Cloud figures

There was such an interesting and diverse array of sunrise views this morning I'm just going to share an assortment with you. Use your imagination and decide for yourself what some of these cloud figures invoke. I had fun viewing the ever-morphing shapes!

I see a whale tail, two energizer bunnies, a big boomerang, and... well, what do you see? From near dark to full-blown day this morning was a delight in many ways.

Great ball o' fire

The sunrise from its humble pink beginnings to this outstanding great ball of fire was a great way to start the day.

A wonderful, refreshing and inexpensive attitude adjuster as well. Thank you Sun!

Hodgepodge

Oops, I haven't been here in a while then went for a couple of days where I couldn't sign in to this google account, for whatever unknown reason, so I have a variety of photos to share. I've also been busy, and heading to the beach at near dark leaves little opportunity for picture taking.

The full moon in the morning's dark was quite a sight though.

The next day I managed to get another shot of the moon, barely visible in the western sky surrounded by clouds and blue.

The sunrise this morning was lovely with a tropical low just off shore bringing great cloud formations. One beach friend said I'd missed the vibrant colors by just a minute or two. Drat. I was impressed nonetheless.

So there you go, many images crowded into a hodgepodge of beachside sights. Including this pile of marshmallows with blue sky above and glowing sun below.

Turtle thrill

I went to the beach really early this morning (5:45 a.m.) and about 15 minutes into my walk noticed one set of turtle tracks. Quite a large rare* green turtle at that. But only one set of tracks... going in to shore, not another set coming back out. Huh? It was much too late for one to still be nesting, but sure enough there was a hole where she had started a nest, it was empty.

Sleuthfully I followed her tracks and there she was... throwing sand everywhere as she dug another nest. It was barely light and I didn't want to scare her so I didn't get too close and didn't use the flash on my camera with resulting bad pictures but wonderful memories for me nonetheless.

One of my usual beach buddies stopped and used my phone to call his wife whose sister works for the turtle patrol, hurrah. Help would be on the way. It was getting late (6:30 a.m.) the hot sun would be harmful to the nesting mom and people would begin to gather and terrify her. I took one photo from behind so she wouldn't see me and if you don't know what you are looking for you may have trouble making out this lovely large lady who covered herself with sand. She was probably 3.5 to 4 feet long and maybe 2.5 feet wide. A big girl for sure. A big thrill for ME.

Alas, I had to leave because of other commitments and left with a heavy heart because I'd have loved to see a successful conclusion to this little drama. As I set out towards home I saw the turtle patrol truck headed that way. She'll be safe now. Good.

* I just went to check how many green turtles we've had this year. Of the 260+ nests, this is only the second green turtle of this season. Just as I expected, this gal is really quite special.

Final Shuttle launch

It was a sad end to a era when the Shuttle Atlantis roared into space today and roar it did!

Due to heavy cloud cover we were unable to get a visual of the launch here, 80 miles north of Cape Canaveral. In fact mission managers even went for the "go" when weather parameters should have said it was a no-go situation.

One thrilling and unusual effect of the heavy cloud cover was that the percussive roar of the takeoff was somehow kept close to the ground and for the first time in all the launches I've witnessed from here not only did we hear it... but the unmistakable sound was much louder than usual and so powerful that the windows in my house shook and the garage door was banging as if we were having an earthquake and it continued for quite a long time. What a thrill.

Sadly no visual, but the physical effects of this launch make it one of the most memorable I've ever experienced.

Fishing buddies

How can you not appreciate mother nature when you get to enjoy the likes of these two fishing buddies. Especially when one stands about shoulder high and lets you get so close without taking off. Amazing. Thanks for the smile, guys.

Happy Independence Day

Independence, freedom, liberty... all a part of this great nation. I'm so thankful that I have the independence, freedom and liberty to enjoy it. Part of my world is the beach, as you know, and here are a couple of July 4th beach treasures.

"Here's looking at you." Jellyfish are everywhere. Like stepping on a banana peel and if you aren't careful, you'll end up with your feel out from under you. Most are clear, this one reminded me of a giant eye. About the size of a baking potato.
Here, another turtle's nest... 253 so far this year! Hurrah. This zigzagging pattern back to sea looks like it had a little too much to drink, but we know she spent a long time laying eggs so a stagger back to sea is okay by me.
Happy Independence Day! Happy freedom and liberty. I wish everyone realized just how lucky we are to live in such a great country, warts and all it's better than anywhere else on earth.