Hello

I seem to have writer's block.  Possibly even photography block.  What I am clearly having is hip block, as my left one is experiencing technical difficulties keeping me off the beach for a bit.  Still, there are tons of images taken since our arrival at my disposal, lots of experiences not shared and ideas not brought forth to my blog.  My poor, sad, neglected blog that so desperately needs a change.

We are fortunate to be living close to a beach.  Photographing sunrises has been a favorite activity of mine since our arrival last March.  Walking along this pier, watching the fishermen and women hauling in all manner of creatures (and letting most of them go), staring at the waves crashing beneath me, marveling at cannonball jellyfishes, sharks and stingrays cruising around, avoiding the pelicans and gulls who think they're going to get fed, then leaving through the store, buying locally made ice cream, is such a treat.

Riding the ferry brings intense joy.  No matter how many times we passenger the Cape Fear River ferry to Southport and back again the trip never grows boring.  Never.  Ever.  Such a peaceful calm.  Watching the pelicans, gulls and terns swoop and dive for lunch, and the gulls pacing the ferry hoping for a handout is so cool.  Occasionally dolphins will mirror the ferry for a bit before disappearing toward the mouth of the river into the ocean.  Once, we spied a bald eagle.  There are always sailboats, fishing boats and even ships to watch.

The salt marshes lend an exotic, mysterious, amazingly beautiful palette of seasonal colors.  Bright greens in the spring, purples and browns toward summer ending in the luscious golds of autumn.  I am in love with the salt marshes with its crabs and grackles, herons and egrets, snakes and oysters, dragonflies and damselflies.  The salt marshes are the magical fringe between brackish waters and the maritime forest housing creatures and plants unique to that environment. 

The coolest thing EVER is that we have our own turtle nest incubating at the end of our walkway to the beach!  These little guys are due to hatch sometime in October.  I hope and pray I will be here for their birth and slipping and sliding into the ocean.  How incredible!  What a miracle! 

So I'm pondering my blog again and considering even changing to Wordpress, thanks to a creative genius friend and blogger who encourages that direction.  Blogger always seems to have spacing problems, unless it's the blog-ee (me!) and not Blogger's fault.  No matter how tight I make spaces in between photos and text there are sometimes these large spaces that I can't make go away.  But, since it's just a blog let's just Let It Be.  For now.  So that's my random blog post for now!  I hope you are all doing well - I really miss you all!

Sense of Place

Shannon and Jessica walking toward our rental from the community dock that fronted the salt marsh. Ours was the first yellow building from the right. There were very few people in the area all week. Rentals stood empty and dark, roadways were lightly traveled, beaches were sparsely populated. PERFECT, in my book but clearly the current economic woes were showing.

From the community dock one could launch a kayak and travel all the way to the ocean. Kayla and Lance had a wonderful time. However, there was no formal "launch" and one had to physically lower one's self down to the kayak. Not possible for most of us and was even difficult for them. Still, what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Me, Jessica and Shannon would wait and watch, and bring them water when they were finished playing in the marsh.

Shannon enjoying the view, looking at wildlife and pondering.

Shannon spied these mussels attached to various plants in the shallow marsh. I'm assuming they're a mussel of some sort, anyway.

From our northern-most deck, where we spent the afternoons cooling down and sipping wine, sharing stories about our day. This deck overlooked a wide expanse of shrubs and weathered, wind blown live oaks. These snags attracted all manner of birds and dragonflies. The house beyond the oaks fronts the beach and was a landmark when we walked the shores. The architecture is typical for the area. The houses were amazing - most were brand new, huge and empty....and for sale or rent.

Sunset over the salt marsh.

Field of live oaks as seen from our second floor deck.

The southernmost deck is where we enjoyed morning coffee and solitude, reading and listening to the marsh birds, the call of grackles and hum of insects. This afternoon a storm was brewing. We had storms all around us the entire time but never had any rain. We were in a bowl of sunshine. There's that phrase again...but that's what we were in!

It was hot and humid, wreaking havoc with our cameras. Condensation was common and this was the usual first shot! Hope this gives you more of a sense of place. We really enjoyed the peace and beauty of this spot. However, being adventuresome we are already planning our NEXT family reunion elsewhere so we can explore another section of this awesome country of ours. Any suggestions? Next, I'll show you some birds & critters that I spied and captured - digitally, of course!