Well, I guess this isn't working, for whatever reason.
Karen
Still ponds and all advice/input
It's really pretty though -- I just love water of any sort -- oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps -- I'll take any of it. I find it incredibly beautiful and soothing to the spirit.
I went to take a pic of my ocean but my dumb camera batteries need recharging. I'll try again. My beach is all sand but if I drive up the beach about 2-3 miles it gets rocky with coquina rock (make mostly from compressed shell pieces). That rocky stuff lasts until you get almost to Cocoa Beach which is about 8-10 miles from me. Then it gets real sandy again. It's nice to swim on my beach because of the sand. We get more shells in the winter when the storms kick up the ocean and there are on shore winds.
My area is a major sea turtle nesting area. That is absolutely incredible to see -- those big huge turtles coming out of the ocean and digging up a nest with their flippers and laying eggs. Watching the hundreds of hatchlings head for the ocean is wonderful too. They're so tiny compared to their mamas! The season is from May to November and no one can turn on outside lights when it's the season cuz they scare away the mamas. For those who don't know, sea turtles always return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. Fascinating!
Karen, tell us more about what your beach is like!!
As a total aside my hot tub pond is doing so well and my two goldfish have actually grown a lot! I just added three more little fish. I love watching them.
-- Vicky
Vicky, so nice to hear that your hot tub pond is doing so well and your fish are thriving. My fish are doing nicely, too, but the algea is starting to take over. Need to do something about that.
That is so cool that you get the sea turtles out your way. Nothing so spectacular here. The shells we find are kind of 'ho, hum' compared to what I've found on Floriday beaches. The sand here is not as nice, either. When I went to Marco Island last year I was so thrilled with the pure whiteness of the sand there, and the amazing variety of the colorful shells. I spent 5 out of the 7 days there spending a couple of hours or so on the beach just collecting shells. I had a blast. And what sunsets! Here is a great photo I got while I was there, one of my favorites.
Karen
Anyhow, even though the beaches here aren't the same as the ones there, they still have their own beauty. And we do get some great sunsets here. I just haven't had the opportunity to get any on film yet. Seems I've always left my camera at home when I've gone to the beach around sunset.
I always love looking at and listening to the waves. And I love swimming in the ocean as well. We do have whales off our coast here. They are humpbacks. And we have harbor seals also. The sand isn't as fine as in florida, and it's off white in color when dry, more like beige when wet. And there are many smooth stones everywhere, all different sizes and sapes. And we have sea glass here. Do you get that there? It's glass that's been worn smooth by the waves and rocks. I'm often collecting it. I have lots of craft projects I've been meaning to do with my shells and sea glass. Maybe in the winter when I have more time.
Here is me with my friend Cathy at the beach on Marco Island.
Karen
Just so there is no confusion, I'm the one in the purple shirt in that picture. :-)
Karen
Hi Karen, Enjoying your posts and pics. You have in Mass. what i really love, are those beach washed pebbles!! We haven't any interesting stones on our beaches, most of Fla. is limestone..i like to make cactus/ succulent gardens and must BUY my stones! We do have nice shells i will admit and providing there are no hurricanes the beaches are nice..they do differ on the West coast and East coast..the East reminds me more of my "native" New England. Fla is great, but i miss the quaintness of the New England architecture and the less "jungly" vegetation. Conn. yankee in the south..sue
I miss grass!!! All the grass in FL is like crab grass. When I visit up north one of the things I have to do is lay in the soft grass. And you don't have to worry about fire ants or sand spurs either!!
The beaches on the west coast of FL are wider than the ones here, although up by Cocoa Beach and again up by Daytona it's kind of wide. The did beach replenishment 2 years ago all up and down the barrier island I'm on -- they have huge pumps that move sand from out a ways up onto the beach. It had eroded so badly from storms they built it back up. My opinion about that is still open. While I'm glad they saved the beaches (and restored ocean front homeowner's property at taxpayer's expense!) it seems every time they mess with mother nature they totally mess things up. We'll see....
I used to live on the Long Island sound -- out east in Sound Beach. I would imagine your beach, Karen, is more like that. I liked all the rocks and walking on the beach was interesting. We do get some sea glass here and also sea beans. I've been told some of the sea beans are actually carried all the way from Africa. Of course we also get Portuguese man of war and stinging jelly fish!!
-- Vicky
Karen,
I went up the block to the beach today to see how the waves were doing. They're still big but not as big as they were before. Here's a couple of shots.... -- Vicky
Here's another....
love the shot with the birds!! sue
Sue, if I lived where you are I would miss the smooth beach stones as well. I collected many for around and in my little pond. I love them. And yes, I love the quaint New England architecture here as well.
Hey, my favorite place by far, even though there is no ocean there, was the deserts and canyons on Arizona, and the wide open spaces of the west. And the mountains out there are something else!
Vicky, nice pics. Love the white ibis. We don't have them around here. I saw some in the Everglades when I went there.
I know what you mean about the grass in Florida. I couldn't stand that Saint Augustine's grass. They have that in Texas where my sis lives as well. Also Bermuda grass. I will take the cold season grasses any day. If I lived there I don't think I would have much lawn. It would be mostly gardens. A lawn is very labor intensive, anyhow.
I've never heard of sea beans. I've never seen any around here. We have a lot of crabs. Mostly I find dead ones, but it's neat when you find live ones. We also have lots of starfish and sometimes sea urchins. I love tidal pools.
Karen