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!

Beach Treasures

My personal goals for this beach adventure are simple.  Rest, eat healthy, walk abundantly, explore unceasingly, breathe deeply, reconnect with myself and my spouse.  We have been extraordinarily blessed with visits by friends and family since arriving so in between various Me Times I've enjoyed this place through their eyes as well.

A favorite time remains the early mornings.  Long, early walks with Baylee followed by long solitary walks on the beach picking up treasures.  Amazing finds continue to be these fabulous green rocks that the wild, wild sea throws up onto the beach.  Some were too large to carry back, sadly, but the ones I could manage were hoisted under one arm and slogged back to the house, soaking my t-shirt and making my arms quiver with exertion.  What fun!  Free rocks!  Free BEAUTIFUL rocks!  I'm saving up for a rock garden that I'm designing in my head.

This is the first one that I found, all nestled among the dunes next to our walkway. It's a chaos of blues and greens with what I thought to be rusty places embedded throughout.

Upon closer inspection these appear to be fossilized areas of some sort.  Still, there is rust or something there.  I purchased a rock and minerals book to help me identify these rocks but no such luck.  I need a degree in geology simply to understand what they're trying to get through to me.  I'm as dense as a ... rock.  I have scads of these rocks, various shapes and sizes lining the front hallway just waiting for their place to be created.

Some have barnacles crusted on them.

They are so beautiful.
(Blogger refuses to let me center this...go figure...)

This one is small but spectacular.  The camera just can't do it justice.  Shades of chartreuse with these same rusted fossilized places.

I see a face.  Can you? 

When there are no rocks to be found I pick up bits of beach stuff like these bits of petrified wood, likely from the gazillion shipwrecks that line the eastern coast.  At least that's what the romantic in me likes to believe. 

The big surprise has been discovering WWII 50 caliber machine gun bullets driven into the sand by the waves.  These are very heavy, but if the Wild, Wild Sea can hoist boulders onto the beach a "little" bullet wouldn't be a challenge at all.  These come from Fort Fisher, just south of where we are.  During WWII Army soldiers stationed there would fire practice rounds out into the ocean.  Amazingly, these bullets tumbled around the sea and ended up back where they began.

 And then there are the shark's teeth.  These are all fossils, except for the grey one which I suspect is in the process of fossilization.  ?  The two large black blobs at the top are chunks of fossilized turtle carapaces, and the little white circle is a vertebra from some huge fish, likely a shark.  I was quite proud of my little collection until a neighbor showed me a fossilized shark tooth he found that was, I swear, about 4" long and very thick.  Wow.  These are mostly white shark teeth.  Some are too damaged and some too odd for this amateur to identify.

The power of this ocean always thrills me.  Huge waves, powerful currents, the ebb and flow of vast tides, the migrating birds and sea life, the grandeur of this place - I'm blessed to be here.  Looking forward to seeing what Autumn is like on the beach.  Thank you all for hanging in here with me.  I have missed reading your blogs, missed keeping up with you all, and have missed writing and photographing nature.  However, I think my personal tide is still in the process of changing.  Blessing to you all...

Walking the Labyrinth

I'm shocked that it's been so long since I've posted here.  We have been making our acquaintance with the local hospital and cardiologists as the hubs decided to have another "event" as soon as we arrived.  Nothing major, but enough to cause concerns.  Sigh.  Two rounds of company later - already planned and sorely needed - the hubs on new meds - I finally got a haircut - we are back into Relax Mode.

This place is paradise.  There is a magical, mystical quality to the air here.  It's fresh, clean and fills my lungs like nothing else.  Remember as a child that feeling you got in your lungs after swimming all day?  Or being outside all day?  How fresh the inside of your lungs feel?  And how relaxed your body is?  It's that.

I've begun to do something I call "walking the labyrinth."  Solitary walks along the beaches, or boardwalks, or pathways.  Mainly the beaches.  Most times the camera isn't invited because of the constant wind and sand.  The companion in my hand is a net/bag within which I place treasures.  Pieces of metal and pottery from shipwrecks that line the coast, usually just offshore.  Shipwrecks from Civil War and the WW's.  Special shells.  And trash, of course.  I'm only now beginning to learn the local history.

At the river/lake my Summer Toe color was a cool blue.  Here, I've found a bright shade of turquoise called "Ocean," which fits my new persona.  Turquoise, fuchsia and bright white are my new colors.  The beach is sinking into my psyche.

This is a terrible photograph of a moss or seaweed covered rock.  These dot the shoreline in a particular place.  I've discovered (thanks to Sky) a place to go photograph that looks like Ireland.  Not that I've been to Ireland, but what my mind envisions Ireland to look like.  One day, one day.

Is this not the coolest thing?  Old bricks?  This one was found along a rock barrier sea wall.  I'm not sure what they are, but I've found some in the yard as well and will investigate with the locals at some point.

Intriguing.

Sometimes one has to get off the computer, walk the earth and soak up new things.  This is my time.  When the temperature outside reaches 500 degrees Fahrenheit, I'll be back inside doing computery things.  In the meantime, you'll find me out walking the labyrinth. 

It Starts With ME

Easter Sunday

April 8, 2012

This morning Baylee and I rose before the sun, walked to the beach and waited for it's arrival - my own private, personal sunrise celebration on Easter Sunday.  To the right, a gentleman was far down doing the same thing.  To my left, closer to the pier, was another gentleman.  All of us standing still. Waiting.  The sky lightened just before a bright white dot popped over the horizon.  I stood until the sun was free, rising higher into the morning blue, counted my blessings and then headed for home.  Happy Easter.

Today marks the beginning of a new project.  Researching North Carolina habitats, native plants and critters, looking for preserves, gardens and conservation areas I unexpectedly stumbled upon a cause.  A younger, more savvy person thought up this cause and was running like crazy with it. I was ready for something proactive to do and this cause totally fits me.  Basically, it's something I can do when we go to the beach.  In my down time I'll be doing something worthwhile for our planet.  I like that.

Danielle lives to make a difference.  She is the kind of motivated young woman who is truly inspirational - a fabulous role model for kids of all ages.  To say Danielle's blog is about picking up litter would be an understatement.  Words here cannot fully express the depth of her project and how far reaching it is becoming. Her beach butts project got my attention.  How many cigarette butts have I seen on the beach since being here?  Tons.  And how many had I picked up?  Not one.  Until now.

Danielle and I have made contact and I am doing my part for The Daily Ocean.  Above are the fruits of my labor at Fort Fisher's public beach.  In 20 minutes I found 150 cigarette butts and a whole lotta trash....including a bright orange plastic Easter egg. 

For my part I'll walk Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Fort Fisher to clean up and give her counts as often as possible.  Also, the preserves, conservation sites, gardens, etc. that I visit to blog about I'll do the same.  Danielle is keeping up with all this stuff but I'll also keep a running tab in my sidebar.  Please visit Danielle's blog - I made a BIG BUTTON linking to her in the sidebar - or you can link here to It Starts With Me.  Tell her I sent ya and give her lots of kudos.  She deserves it.

Historic Fort Fisher

The scent of musket fire remains in the air, and if you listen hard you can hear cannon fire, screams of soldiers, orders being barked, horses neighing. Fort Fisher is a National Historic Civil War Landmark found on a slim finger of land below Wilmington, North Carolina.




A boardwalk takes you through the wetlands. A relatively short walk, the boardwalk takes you around the earthen bunkers, through the salt marsh and beneath towering live oaks.

It is very quiet.

Ocean-going vessels can be seen traveling to the Atlantic where once a great battle raged.

Besides our talking the only sounds were of wind and birds.

A great place for reflection.

Wind-swept live oaks.

My favorite trees.

Fort Fisher has a marvelous website. For more information go here.