August endings

What happened to the month of August? It has disappeared, just slipped away without my permission. So here it is the last day of my favorite month of the year. (There are many reasons for it being my favorite month starting with childhood summer memories, birthdays for me and many many of my longtime friends, my parent's wedding anniversary, summer travels, etc...)

So in honor of August, here's a hodgepodge of final days photos. Starting with three of the seven shrimp boats lining the horizon this morning.

 Followed by the sun showing up with all her glory.

The birds enjoying breakfast on the beach,

 and finally an unusual plume of cloud that really struck my fancy.

Goodbye August, I'm sorry I let you slip by but I'll try to savor each and every day of you next year.

Turtle thrills

They are so tiny but grow up to be so huge. Palm sized to as much as 350 pounds and 6 feet long.

Today the Turtle Patrol found two baby loggerhead turtles still trying to get out of their nest. But that's not the whole story...

They also know that I walk a certain area of the beach every morning. So, because it was my birthday this week and as a member of the Turtle Patrol myself, they brought them to me as a special treat. There is definitely a unique thrill to helping these tiny creatures start their journey to the sea. 

This little guy was so cute as he lifted himself up on his front flippers and with nose in the air, caught a whiff of the ocean and headed on his long journey. Hopefully it's a female and she will return to this beach in 25 years to lay her eggs and keep the 25 million year old cycle going.

It's all here

I was awed, as usual, by the colors that greeted me when I arrived on the beach. But couldn't ignore the incongruity of boats and planes intruding upon such an idyllic setting. 

It does, however, make for an interesting picture and the boat and jet contrail keep me grounded in reality when I'd rather be like a bird and just soar above all the madness below. 

(Remember you can click on the image above 

to get a closer view of the details.)

Energizer Bunny Gone Awry

I still do that childhood thing of trying to picture objects and creatures that are depicted in cloud formations. The morning I saw this cloud I immediately thought about the Energizer Bunny. Perhaps he is a little out of shape and has gone totally awry, but to my mind he's definitely there. Do you agree? Or do you see something different in this tremendously colorful, and huge, stand-alone cloud?