Of beaches and birds

Another Florida visit last week, and we found ourselves at two of our usual haunts, the beach and the state park. I must have hundreds of photos of this beach, but I never seem to tire of it. Maybe because it always looks a little different each time, or sometimes quite different if there has been a hurricane.



It has a very different look of late with a whole new boardwalk, which was not quite finished when we were there. The new boardwalk might be partly attributed to hurricanes, as the rash of them in 2004 ripped off some of the steps to the beach and some were closed for a couple years due to beach erosion from storms. No danger of splinters now if you are the type to leave your shoes in the car, as the decking is all composite.

          

The ocean at work washing away the sand.  Next time these rocks could be covered again.

               

The gulls seem unconcerned by me photographing them, or the waves crashing in.



I got a bit too close this time.

           

















Keeping an eye out for the waves.

 





Beachcombing... never know when you will spot a shark's tooth!





Myakka River State Park is a good place to spot alligators and and all sorts of wading birds. The bridge here is a popular fishing spot, there are always families all along it's length. One little girl was apparently bored with the fishing, and wanted "to get in the water"!



 

A pair of Sandhill cranes wintering in Florida, we see them in Michigan too, in the summer of course. There is an armadillo next to the cranes, but he blends right in being just the color of the grass. You will see him in a bit.

  

The Live oaks at this park are always draped in their finery of Spanish moss.



Late afternoon light is wonderful for pictures, a studio photographer who took a family photo of us called it the "sweet light".  They like it the best for shooting outdoor portraits as it is a softer light and kinder to faces.  And it turned this brown grass golden.



I couldn't capture it with the small lens I had with me, but there was a whole flock of Sandhill cranes on the opposite shore, along with the usual egrets and herons. Sometimes we see eagles here, and one year we saw spoonbills, a very distinctive looking bird to say the least.

 

See the warbler?

    

We saw a skimmer too along this shore. They have a long bill and skim the water with their lower bill to catch fish as they fly low along the shoreline. Fascinating to watch and it reminded me of Dad as he had named his sailboat after them.

It's Winds...day

Windy and cold (well, for Florida) here today. Sunny though and our last day this visit, so off we went for a short walk on the beach.



These two were having a great time at the dog beach.  The smaller one in the red collar would bark at his companion if he didn't get the toy until the other one would give it up.  Every time.




There was even a dog in the sky.



                    

I hope I look this good at 91. And can still walk the beach... on a super windy day.





 

Walks on the beach

I managed to get out to the beach four more times while I was in Florida, and made it a point to go to a different one each time. Since I hadn't taken my camera, I had to dig around in my computer files for some appropriate beach photos. It wasn't difficult. All these photos are from previous trips.

My second week there I went to Brohard beach, on Venice Island. I hadn't been there in quite a while and thought it might be less busy than some of the others. I wasn't disappointed.

We used to go there quite a bit when our girls were younger because it's a few minutes closer to their grandparents, and we would be hurrying to get to the beach for the sunset.

The day was beautiful and sunny, but windy and cool, so although I was there during the usually busy afternoon, there were few people to disturb my thoughts. I was able to find a spot out of the wind where I could relax to the sound of the crashing surf and the sight of the waters of the gulf that were like diamonds from the sun.

Time flies...

no matter what you're doing. Hard to believe it's been over three months since I've posted. I don't do New Year resolutions, but I have made some goals for myself for this year, and posting more often is one of them. If I can do at least one a month, I'll be happy.



North Jetty beach at sunset

I find myself in Florida again, visiting Mom. Although "visiting" may be generous, as Mom has little to say these days. But we are comfortable together, so the silence is OK. The ladies that come and care for Mom during the day keep the conversation going, and my nephew came for dinner last night and brought Karma and they livened us up for the evening.

Yesterday I walked the beach at the North Jetty. It was very windy and somewhat cool, but I love those sorts of days. Other than the serious walkers and shellers, I had the place to myself. I rarely pick up shells anymore, but the heavy surf brings in lots of new ones, and the lack of people to pick them up meant that I found things I hadn't in over 20 years of beach walking. Sea urchins lay on the beach by the hundreds, I could have picked up a bucketful. And different varieties of clam shells, still hinged together, which is very unusual when thousands of shells are being washed together every day and scrubbed by sand and waves. I threw a few live ones, and some live conchs back into the surf, so perhaps they could live a little longer.










Dolphins between the north and south jetties

I didn't take any photos, a bit out of character for me, as I didn't bring my camera along on this trip. At some point in my packing, taking the camera seemed liked just one thing too much. So of course I regretted it yesterday with the crashing waves and the birds and the shells. But I do have my laptop here and have photos of the same beach, taken a few years ago, although at sunset instead of morning.