Someday I Will Live By the Ocean

Every morning and every night on Padre Island I walk the beach.  This is  the north beach.  If I walk the north beach in the morning I walk the south beach in the evening.  I walk it barefooted of course.  The sky is overcast and the wind is brisk..

This is the south beach.  The turtle rescue group patrols the entire south island every morning searching for turtles leaving tire tracks in the sand.  The sand farthest from shore is soft and deep.  Next comes a short band of crusty sand that is soft underneath.  Then a band of  harder sand that is still dry.  Then the layer of  hard wet sand between high tide and low tide.  I love to walk in all the kinds of sand.  I see people walking down Gulf  Drive getting their exercise and I wonder why they prefer to walk on asphalt between the traffic and the condo driveways..

Straight out view.  A laughing gull in the foreground.  An angler farther out.  It's time to say goodbye to the beach and return to normal life of work, responsibility, alarm clocks, packing lunch, buying gasoline, and shoveling snow..  How lucky I am to have had this break!

Birds, Birds, Birds

I'm not the only one who goes for a morning and evening walk on the beach.  Walking in the sand is good for my feet.  The sand softens the skin and walking in it without shoes gives my feet the full range of motion and burns more calories than walking with shoes on a hard surface.

The path to the beach has a long, blue plastic rug that keeps the sand in place.  Plants like sea oats and cactus grow on the dunes on the way to the beach.

The Sea Turtle Institute is right next to the birding center so I walked over there to see the rescued turtles including this beautiful 3 legged one with a beautiful shell.

At the birding center this tri colored heron posed for a photo shoot in the sun.

All of the American wigeon had white head stripes.  Some had a brilliant green head color in preparation for breeding and others were still dull.  I thought they were two different species of ducks.

I went on a guided bird walk today.  This is a showy egret.  Earlier, before the tour, I was so pleased with myself.  I found a long billed curlew all by myself and I identified it correctly.  Another lifer for me.  The long billed curlew has a long bill.  How long is the bill?  The bill is ridiculously long. Cray Cray long.  It's a Pinocchio bird.  If I had a lens as long as the bill of the curlew I could have taken a picture to show you just how long it is.  Google it.

This little blue heron is admiring it's shadow.

This is a pied billed grebe.

I think the great blue heron is one of the most magnificently beautiful birds ever.

Here is a list of all the beautiful birds I've seen here on Padre Island (a place where I can envision spending a winter some time in the future):  great tailed grackle, long billed curlew, laughing gull, ring billed gull, brown pelican, red winged blackbirds, roseate spoonbill, mottled duck, American wigeon, American coot, gallinule, pintail duck, osprey, double crested cormorant, rock pigeon, Eurasian collored dove, Caspian tern, Royal tern, great blue heron, little blue heron, snowy egret, reddigh heron, tri colored heron, great egret, white winged dove, redhead duck, white ibis, red breasted merganser, albino egret, black skimmer, sand piper, black crowned night heron, blue winged teal, and greater yellow legs.

I Could Get Used To this Island Living

I got up early enough to see dew drops on the beach grass.

Looks like a snake den.  Sounds dangerous.

I took the public transportation to the Bilding Enter (seriously the Birding Center).  I climbed to the top of that tower.

from where I got a good look at the sewage treatment center

and the nature boardwalk

and the causeway to Port Isobel.  Beyond that is Mexico.

On the boardwalk I saw a couple collared doves in a bush.

Great tailed grackles are everywhere here.  They make many different noises including the sound of the return key on an electric typewriter.  I know I'm dating myself with that analogy.

Better look at the Eurasian collared dove.

I saw American wigeon, Northern pintails, mottled ducks, redhead ducks and coots.  See the long yellow toes of the coot?

A showy egret sees a tasty snack and stretches it's neck out.

Missed it!

American alligator aligns it's body to catch the most sun exposure.  We have much in common.

This is the very first gallinule I've ever seen!

Blue crabs under the water.

I think that turtle is a red eared slider.

Holy alligator!

After the nature center I had lunch at the Grape Vine.  This message is displayed in all the establishments that serve liquor.  Interesting.to see what other states deem is important.

This Moment Is Worth Half the Price Of This Trip

Here is a laughing full wading in the water.

This bird (willet?   dunlin?) makes it hard for me to identify because either it is a double amputee or is pretending to be a double amputee.

Each room has clips to hang wet swim wear below the window and hurricane shutters above the window.

I watch the waves roll in and rearrange the sand.

Besides walking the beach I walked to the grocery store, sat by the pool to read a book, took the free public transportation bus around the island to get the lay of the land, went out for dinner, and went for a swim.  You know that moment when you are totally happy and think, "This moment here is worth half the price of this trip?"  I had 3 of those today so it's been a bargain.

Fly The Friendly Skies

 Today I flew United Airlines to Harlingen, Texas.  The service was exceptional.  As I truly deserve, they gave me seat 1A which is both an aisle seat and a window seat with plenty of leg room. I was next to the galley.  The attendant and I had long talks about teaching school and grandchildren.  She even offered me a bottle of wine to take back to my hotel.  I declined because I don't drink wine but then I wondered what kind of fuddy duddy doesn't drink wine?  I guess I'd rather chew my calories.  After a long lay over in Houston I flew into Harlingen and took the shuttle to Padre Island.  I arrived at the same time as the sun went down and a fog rolled in.  Already my hair is curier, my skin isn't as dry, and my winter allergies are calming down.  Feels good to be here on Padre Island, Texas y'all.  Palm trees are waving in the breeze.  Bees are invading the personal space of flowers.  Ants are crawling across the sidewalk.  Some kind of grackles with extra long tails line up on the telephone wires.  I love it here already.

Time To Blow This Frozen Popsicle Stand

In 8 days I go back to work. I feel much better.  There were a few days after surgery where I felt very, very, old.  Now I feel younger.  I have pretty much graduated from using the cane.  I no longer sleep 11 hours a night; only 9 or 10 now.  I wonder how much of that extra sleeping is due to recovery and how much is due to having absolutely no schedule that I have to keep. I am not complaining about sleeping so long.  I actually like it.  I enjoy sleeping without having my right hip throb in pain all night long.  So how do I want to spend my last week off of work?  Continue what I have been doing?  Physical therapy exercises three times a day and two long walks a day plus working on craft projects and reading books and watching movies?  Fuggetaboutit!  My blood is thin and I am sick to death of walking around my block watching out for icy spots. My eyes are continually on the road so I don't slip.  I am also sick of walking in stores and malls.  So I am taking things into my own hands and traveling to a place where I don't have to dress before I go outside as if my life depended on it.  I have the time off so why not?

We Are Water

I read Wally Lamb's novel, We Are Water.  Although the book was compelling it was disturbing.  Like all the books that Oprah recommends it included child abuse, alcoholism, neglect and secrets.  As I read it I would think, oh, no, we're not going down this alley are we?  Yup!  More child abuse, more alcoholism, more neglect and more secrets.  It was almost too much to take.