Faces of Winter

Skies and waves take on hues and textures inspiring awe

The sea creating an illusion of softness from

chill, raw power of coastal waters.

Harsh and ever changing, the winter winds 

scour the sandy shore...

Breathe...

Breathing in, my breath grows deep.

Breathing out, my breath goes slowly.

Breathing in, I feel calm.

Breathing out, I feel ease.

Breathing in, I smile.

Breathing out, I release.

Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment

Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment.

~ from "How to Sit" by Thich Nhat Hanh

January Beach Walk

Feeling inclined to walk the beaches this weekend, I took my camera and had a great time snapping shots of some of the locals who joined me.

At Damon  Point on Saturday

On the ocean side on the sunnier of the days (Sunday) - it was beautifully warm and bright:

The Olympic Mountains in the distance.

There were dozens of these little ones feeding in the sand as the waves pushed them into formation over and over.

I think he's glaring at me...

 As I walked, I remember the words of a dear friend that she penned on her Facebook wall this morning:

"Breathe in beauty and peace... Breathe in all that is good, right, and lovely... Breathe in the calm presence of the moment... Breathe in the life energy that flows in and around you..." ~ Hendel D'bu

Her words inspired me today, may they inspire you, too.

Another Beginning

This month starts a new chapter of my journey. I've officially moved to Ocean Shores and am settled in my 'happy place'. I've had a glorious Summer enjoying the beach, working with Liz in her beautiful, beach-friendly gardens, purchasing all I need (I hope), riding mopeds (Liz and Chuck were very patient with me!), crashing said moped, sharing much laughter and new ideas from our Summer reading, visiting with family. 

Now it's time to really feel like I live here as my new job officially begins tomorrow - a week's worth of meetings and training and getting the finishing touches completed in my classroom. I am really excited! I'll be teaching a 5/6th split class and am looking forward to meeting 'my kids' when they come next week!

So, as the Summer winds down, I've put together a few random pics of the last few days of vacation:

Random little ones running along the beach always make me smile.

My new miniature garden

Fog

 As I drove up the coast yesterday in the bright sunshine to spend some time prepping my new classroom, I noticed a dark fog bank hanging out on the northern horizon. On the way back, I stopped at one of my favorite spots to walk... The fog bank had migrated south, apparently!

The fog was so thick that I couldn't see how far out the tide was until I walked quite a ways. I shot into it hoping to get something interesting. However, I had to tweak the next two on my computer to even see what I had gotten.

My favorite pic is this little sanderling:

And his buddies:

Birds and Waves

A few shots from my walk at Damon Point yesterday. I'm pretty sure these birds are red-throated loons, male and female.  The sun was shining, the breeze cool as the tide rolled in. 

This brown pelican looks like he's swallowing whatever he ate. Odd pose to catch, but interesting.

Nearly Forgotten Splashies!

I forgot to post my favorite splashy pics from last weekend!

This cutie was fearless approaching the water - Dad was right behind her, so don't worry!

Ocean City Beach

I ventured further up the coast a couple of miles pulling out at Ocean City just for some place different than my usual rotation. 

From a distance, I saw this large group of birds that drew my attention - there must've been at least a hundred of them all together. It looks like we have a few black-bellied plover, some who still may have their winter plumage, and what I think are Western sandpipers, or maybe Rock sandpipers...

Personally, I think it's very hard to tell some of these birds apart when they change color according to the season and all hang out together.  They look so funny all standing on one leg, like little puffballs on sticks from a distance.

These gulls looked enormous after seeing the others. Again, I can never be sure what kind of gull I'm seeing as they seem to change color depending on their age.

This part of the coast was littered with literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of those velellas I saw further south earlier in the week. The provide food for the birds if nothing else. The smell of decay was pretty strong back from the current.

This one was much larger than any I had seen, measuring about 4 inches, the others I'd seen being around 2 inches or so - here they varied in size from this large one to many only a half inch or less. As you can see, I think they're really interesting!

Another Beach Walk...

After a day of puttering around home, doing mundane things like laundry and yard work, I headed to the Audobon trail near Damon Point for an evening stroll. I walked toward the North Jetty end going further than normal and came across a winding river. Lovely.

Heading back, I caught this guy in a funny pose with his empty clam shell behind him.

The common loon was bobbing in the water too far enough out that I had to use my zoom to see what he was.

A few treasures

Half Way

 Today, I'm half way through Spring Break with another few days to spend in my happy place. The day started with one of the many mallards hanging out across the canal and some cheerful but tiny flowers growing from of a moss clump outside my slider door.

I then headed for Centralia on a mini-day trip to do some shopping at the outlet stores, passing through thriving Oakville on the way (there's more to the town than just this building, but not much). As an aside, whenever I see something old like this 1890 store front, I realize how young it is in light of the ancient places my besties are frequenting in Greece.

I got back home in time for a walk on the beach to catch the sunset and found this guy playing around in the water. He was friendly, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to ride the waves, he gave up.

Of course I caught a splashy pic!

And a spectacular cloud display as the sun lowered on the horizon.

"The heavens declare the greatness of G-d"