We don't spend money on flowers, but when we find them...
Each Beachwalk is unique...
We may walk this beach a thousand times...
But no two will be the same!
I can certainly build my entire beach walk around them! Imagine my delight when I found a slightly battered rose tangled in the seaweed along the high water mark today! And even more delightful, I found a second rose! Of course this becomes my subject-du-jour!
I was a little puzzled about why there would be semi-fresh flowers tossed up onto the beach, with nobody around to have put them there. My mind came up with all sorts of scenarios, none of which were happy ones.
Maybe some guy took his best girl out for a boat ride and proposed marriage... and she said no. So the flowers went into the bay!
Maybe they were part of a Burial-At-Sea Ceremony...
Whatever the reason they're here, they gave me some of the best fun I've had in a while
Catching the melancholy beauty in the contrast between delicate flowers, and the wild and dirty beach, made for some really great photos!
As we walked along, we found a small bunch of something else that must have been part of a bouquet. Add that to the very nice sand dollars we picked up, and without even noticing how winded I was, we were suddenly at our resting spot!
I took dozens of shots, and some were obvious favorites... Others I couldn't really decide which I liked the best. So I just post them all! You decide!
On our way back home, I think I got the outstanding favorite for the day! THIS one!
Going...
GONE!
This is another of my personal favorites... although...
THIS one was the Facebook Fan Favorite!
Not to be forgotten... during all of this picture taking, Bruce and I were also steadily picking up sea glass pieces!
Today's collection was the best since TS Isaias! If I can use these to count the bend-and-reach and squat exercises I did today, I would say that probably 50 of these were my physical therapy!
I got the best "workout" since breaking my foot today, even with Bruce insisting we turn back at our resting tree. I'm eyeing points distant for the coming days, just mark my words. Every day I'm getting a little better. I kind of tend to overdo it, and have to take a rest day, but that's all part of the process.
I just can not get over the fact that we have this wonderful beach at our back door! How lucky are we that each time we venture out, we find unique and special things to brighten our quarantine days.
Oh, and as to WHY there were roses on our beach? A neighbor told me that there are a couple of residents who have lost their spouses, and that sometimes they take bouquets out to the beach in tribute to their loved ones. I guess the waves took some of the flowers away.
When we returned to our beach gate, we noticed the flower bouquet in the sand. you can see it in the distance in this photo. I returned these flowers to the bouquet where they rightly belong,.
Sometimes we don't even make it to the beach before I find something beautiful... The orchids are blooming in our courtyard! These tiny white flowers are exquisite!
Each Beachwalk is unique...
We may walk this beach a thousand times...
But no two will be the same!
Haven't seen many of these lately...
Today's beach walk was short on photos. Instead of taking pictures, I concentrated more on the walk and hunting sea glass. We spent some time enjoying the quiet of the palm forrest behind our resting spot...
It's peaceful and cool here...
Then we rested at the other end as well. While we were sitting on the palm that borders our beach path, we spotted some horses further to the east end of the beach. Seeing them is always a special treat. They're pretty wild and roam the river basin, but they must belong to someone.
I snuck up closer to them to get a photo, but it's still a little fuzzy and distant. Best I could do!
Sitting there in the shady breeze, breathing in the scent of nature, feeling good from the endorphins released by recent activity, life is just good.
We're still living in an increased level of lockdown due to an uptick in COVID19 cases here on the island. They've closed our swimming pool again, BUT, the beach is still open for exercising. This is our lifeline! Well, that, and the fact that I can now drive again... but that's not what this post is about.
While I've been down, my stamina has plummeted. I can not wrap my mind around how far down I've come, but finally, with each passing day and with each beach walk, I'm seeing improvement. My problem is that I get a little overzealous and try to do too much. This puts me back a step, and I chafe at having to take a couple of days off per week to recuperate. But it is a process... and I'm finally having some fun taking pictures of beach things again!
So... here are three short beach walks in one post!
First - just two days after the recent tropical storm, the beach is still very cluttered with piles of seaweed and a little more trash than usual. The decrease in sea glass is a puzzling thing, but it still gives me something to strive for, other than just the exercise.
Little bit of clutter...
So we make our slow way to the west, picking up sea glass and interesting rocks... I'm trying to increase the distance each day, but it seems that I can make it to a particular resting spot and Bruce talks me into turning back. He really doesn't want me to overdo it...
The view from our resting tree!
I love a slanted palm, and this one has become our regular stopping spot. It provides a lovely shade, and a comfortable place for us both to sit, AND a gorgeous view. Every day - I know Bruce thinks I sound like a broken record - but every day, I say how lucky we are and how I just can't believe that THIS is ours!
The view. Soon I will continue on this way...
But for now... this works too!
After a couple of rest days, we decided to get out there a little earlier. It's full-on summertime here now, and when the sun is high, it can be pretty warm... even on the beach! If I'm going to increase my distance, I'm going to need more water, and less heat!
Meager collection today
He seems a little offended by our presence
A pattern is forming. We go out and slowly make our way up the beach, stopping to search each big rock pile for sea glass. We rest and drink plenty of water in the shade, then return back to our beach path. Here, we sit for a while, just enjoying the breeze and the view. With the lockdown, our days are not very full, so there's no reason we shouldn't linger here... and just watch the crab-neighbors do their thing!
Another day... another beach walk. Yes, they are blending together... The crabs even seem to recognize us, and they're less afraid. The no longer scuttle back to their hole, but walk boldly around us. Yes, still in an offensive stance, but sometimes they turn their backs to us and go on about their business. It's fun to sit and watch them!
But we've got walking to do, and sea glass to find. With each passing day after the storm, we're finding a bit more. If we stop on a rock pile, the waves bring pieces up and deposit them at our feet! That's the lazy way to hunt!
Yup! Just stand here on this pile and watch the new pieces settle at my feet!
I don't pick up a lot of rocks, but when I find an interesting one... it comes home with me!
Not so many today, but at least we got ONE little blue!
Here, I must pause to tell you how awesome Bruce has been through all of this thing with my foot. Since April 23rd, the day I fell and began this long process, he has been doing most of the work in maintaining our household. He's been my nurse, my cook, and he's fetched and carried every little thing I've needed, ALMOST without complaint. He's kept our home running, and clean, and kept me fed. Now he's keeping a watchful eye over my recovery, and that means he's the voice of reason when I get impatient, which is pretty much always. What would I ever have done without him? I never want to find out... And every morning when we wake up and decided what to do today, he's always up for another.... Beachwalk!
