more photos of storm

Aftermath

How depressing to walk down the stairs this morning and find that the usual way down to the beach had been replaced with a five foot drop. I had to walk through some bushes to get down there. (Nothing stops me) The whole bottom landing to the beach had been washed away. I guess someone is going to have to figure out how to re-establish the landing. A five foot jump down to the sand is not practical. But more tragic was to find my beautiful beach bench gone. Swallowed up by the water that BASTARD! I loved my bench. It was really more of a work of art than just a bench, but I guess nothing lasts. It couldn’t be tied down to anything so it always ran the risk of being temporary, but philosophy aside, I am still VERY upset. The water came up further than ever and it tore trees out by the roots, toppling them onto the sand. Root systems are now exposed and new treasures never before seen are also exposed. I found what I thought was an archeological dig! I uncovered a bunch of old-looking bottles and a horse shoe. I am not an expert on old bottles but I took a few with me and of course the horse shoe. I was kneeling down in the sand digging with an old spoon like some crazy person. I thought I was going to dig up a buried body at one point but it was just an old tire. The horse shoe is intriguing. I hope it’s a real artifact.

Moonstruck

I took a bath in the moonlight tonight. It was just glorious and I let it send its moon beams down onto me and my pale, tired skin. It's like plugging yourself into a charger! The moonlight is so powerful! We don't give it as much credit as the sun, but it sparkles and energizes me as much as the sun does. If it had not been 20 degrees I might have taken a real moon bath, but I kept my clothes on. The beach was bright from its light and it seemed like a spotlight was shining over my shoulder. As I look across the bay I wonder why they don't put some Christmas lights on those ugly LIPA towers in Northport. Wouldn't that help to dress up that eyesore? Note to self: Write to president of LIPA with my brilliant idea.

December days

The beach has been empty except for some deer tracks in the sand. There were some lively dancers down there on Friday night listening to music and burning a log, but I only heard about them. Well, okay, I was one of them, but let’s keep that quiet. We don’t want a large crowd down there next time. I am looking forward to the lunar eclipse tomorrow morning. I say that now, but when it comes time to get out of bed at 3 a.m., we’ll just see if I move out from under my blankets!

Saturday bliss

Yes, I now have proof that there is still day light. I took a long walk on the beach yesterday, something that I can't do during the week. I leave for work in the dark; I come home in the dark. I do go down to the beach to say hello sometimes at night. Friday night was so calm and quiet that for the first time ever I did not even hear the water lapping at the shoreline. NOTHING! Yesterday it was great to see clear across the Sound in the light of day. I saw both Port Jeff ferries out in the Sound. One coming; the other going. I did not see one other human being for over an hour. How many places on Long Island can you say that? Here is a photo of a great rock.

Seagulls and Flying nuns

I love to watch the seagulls on a windy day. They remind me of Sally Field in the old show "The Flying Nun." They zip around this way and that, effortlessly on the wind. Everything was so beautiful-the sunset, the waves, the birds and the clouds.

Sunday, November 21

It seems that the only time I can get around to taking photos of the beach is on a Sunday. There was a spectacular full moon this weekend, but I did not photograph it. I just stood there on the shore and bathed in its silver light. The sunset on Sunday was better than any football game that people might have been watching at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon. It's a magical time of day and the positive energy and beauty that surrounds you makes it impossible to be in a bad mood. I am also including a close up of my favorite giant rock that lies on Old Field beach.

Sunday glow

Last night's sunset was a glorious orange. I missed the sun going down because I am in denial that it sets so early. I can't deal with changing the clocks back right now. But the colors at the beach were magical. It was down right cold last night. Only the hardiest of idiots go out in this weather.

Is this color for REAL?

I almost blew off going to the beach to watch the sunset tonight because it was cloudy most of the day. I figured, just my luck. One of the few nights during the week when I am home by 6 p.m. and there’s no sun. But what nature lacked in sun today, it made up for in PINK. Gorgeous, florescent pink! The sky was filled with storm clouds of pink. There was pink light on the water and even the seagulls looked pink. It really was a rare phenomenon that I was so glad I got to see.

Bye Bye summer

I have been in denial for sure. I took this photo a week ago to help me say good-bye to summer but I refused to publish it. I am torn between loving the fall and the end to mosquitoes and feeling very sad that my last swim may have happened last weekend. The water is still so warm! But it's all out of my control because the seasons march on. I was down at the beach tonight and it was raining and windy and gloomy, but I still love that beach! I guess it is like a really solid relationship where you can still show someone what you look like with no make-up and know they will still love you. That's how I feel about my beach and bay. I can cry there, burp really loud, and wear my sweat pants with the holes and it doesn't mind. The beach can rain on me and be hostile, but I know it is just testing me. I love it unconditionally.

Peachy day

The sunset tonight was beautiful; all peachy and moving over to the south of my horizon. The moon rises over my left shoulder. The trees on the Crane Neck peninsula are taking on a different hue from a few weeks ago. Fall is giving everything a blush already. I am happy that my favorite season is here, but I am sad that I may not go swimming in my bay again for a while. One more dip! If I had someone here to dare me I would have gone in today.

9-11

In memory of the 2,752 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. That's all I have to say today.

Starstruck

I found a starfish tonight and was going to take him home because I liked his shape, but then when I rested him on a rock while having a glass of wine, he moved. Well I couldn't very well kill him now that he moved, could I? Starfish do not really make good pets. They are not very animated. I sent him sailing through the air, back to his home. Over the winter there will be hundreds of dead ones that I can take home without disturbing the balance of the universe. This one got a pass. The low tide was spectacular tonight.

The Perfect Storm

Earl really was the perfect storm on Friday because here in Smithtown Bay it was hardly a blip-just BIG waves. This photo from Saturday almost looks like the sky is on the bottom, but that's just the reflection in the sand (Just in case you thought I took that standing on my head.) My boat with the fishes in it moved way down the beach again. I am still seeing horseshoe crabs here and even a starfish, which is unusual. The water temp is like a bath!

My personal fish bowl

This boat has been stranded on the beach since the winter, but lately it has gradually moved down towards my beach. The power of the tides is really amazing! Last night I noticed that dozens of little fish were inside the boat, having found themselves caught without a ride back to the water. I hope they were able to get back to the bay once the tide came in. I scolded them with my old lecture, "Well, what did you expect would happen once the tide went out?" but they ignored me. The sun is setting much earlier now and most days I don't make it home in time to see it. Last night the sun was gone, but a bright orange band of color still hugged the horizon. The water takes on a silver-gray-metallic blue hue at this time that is so beautiful and impossible to replicate with any paint color or crayon. Who makes a silver-gray-metallic blue? Not Benjamin Moore. Only Mother Nature.

Meteor shower!

This is one of my most favorite events of the summer! THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Perseid meteor shower is underway. Earth is passing through a wide stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, and each time a fleck of comet dust hits Earth's atmosphere--flash!--there is a meteor. Forecasters say the shower will peak on Thursday, August 12th, and Friday, August 13th. You can see Perseids flitting across the sky at any time between about 10 pm on Thursday evening and sunrise on Friday morning. Observers who get away from city lights can expect to count dozens of meteors per hour, especially during the dark hours before dawn.
I will be out at the beach this evening. Please come down and join me. I will be the woman in the lounge chair staring up at the sky.

YUCK!

Last night the bay spewed reddish-brown disgusting water, almost looking like a blood bath! It must have been caused by a red seaweed or algae that is very abundant right now and then the storm from the other day. But it made swimming last night impossible. My camera is not working so until I get it fixed, you'll have to settle for this photo of red seaweed I got on the internet. It doesn't really illustrate how gross the water was.

Taking terns

I stood in the low tide last night watching three terns take turns dive bombing into the water to catch something to eat. They hit the water with a distinctive "plunk" and worked so quickly and skillfully it made me dizzy. Then I nudged a crab with my foot and it chased me for several feet. He was pissed! The hermit crabs were everywhere probably feeling secure in knowing that their small size doesn't make them worth the time and effort for a bird to catch. The sunset was spectacular after a dreary and rainy day.

You want peanut butter with that jelly?

The jellyfish have invaded the deeper waters of the bay. I saw this one and about 50 more while kayaking late this morning. They are really so beautiful, but I guess not if you find yourself swimming next to one. Thank goodness there are none close to shore so I still went for a swim. The bay was pretty smooth today at high tide but lots of rolling wakes from boats. Still no sign of dolphins. Too many green flies on shore. I HATE green flies.

Where have you been?

Go ahead and ask. Where have I been? In a slump. Not caring. Too tired. Then sick for a week. But during all that time, the sun still rose and set in my beautiful bay and the fish swam and the water changed its mind everyday about what it wanted to be. "I'm rough." "I'm like a mirror today." "I send you jelly fish and seaweed today. Deal with it." and "I am clean and sparkly today and your only escape from the heat." My bay had lots of visitors on July 4. Boats and jet skis and beach goers. I am making an announcement right now that I am BANNING jet skis from my bay. I hate them. The 4th was also the day of my beach party. See photos of friends. We kicked every other beach party's ass!

The Longest Day

What better way to spend the end of the first day of summer? I paddled out on my surfboard into the sunset with the 3/4 moon over my left shoulder. Horse shoe crabs scooted around below my board. Herons and seagulls flew home across the horizon. The bay didn't even have a ripple on it.

Fly by

Although it rained last night right before the sunset, nature still gave us a pretty nice evening sky. I got home just in time to take this photo. The gulls were dive bombing for crabs. What a shock that must be for the poor crab, who is just hanging out on the sandy bottom when WHAM, he is picked up by a sea gull and flown a hundred feet in the air.

Not a ripple

I don't think I have ever seen the bay so absolutely smooth as glass as it was this Sunday. The mussel beds are flourishing, the fish are jumping and the birds are all feasting on crabs and shell fish. Grandma Dottie watched a rock-skipping exhibition by her grandson. No spectacular sunsets this weekend but that's what makes them special when they do happen. I have also noticed some barn swallows skooting down the shoreline lately.

Sex in the surf

I have been a lazy blogger. I am including a photo of a spectacular sunset from last weekend and one of the frenzied matings that have been going on in the surf. It reminded me of the scene from “Here to Eternity” with Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster, so I am also including that for comparison purposes. The storms and tornados predicted for today did not happen as of almost 8 p.m. It was actually a nice beach day. Yesterday marked my first swim of the season with my trusty surfboard. I LOVE that surfboard. There was a yacht anchored in the bay overnight. It left this afternoon around 1 p.m. I waved but no one invited me aboard for cocktails.

Moonlight and mating

The horse shoe crabs have begun to spawn. The almost-full moon last night made them feel all romantic. I went down to the beach early this morning and the tide had left a few of the males stranded in the sand. I guess the females had left to go have a cigarette. I saved their lives and then got ready for work. Wish I could have stayed and played all day.

Paws that refreshes

Saturday and Sunday were perfect days for kayaking, as the Smithtown Bay was like a lake. Fish were literally jumping and it's not even summertime yet. I made a new friend who did not think the water was too cold yet for swimming, but he has a fur coat on. I am not that brave to go in just yet. No horse shoe crabs sightings lately and May is almost over, but perhaps the full moon will bring some of them to shore. I have been on the lookout for dolphins, but I checked the news from last year and they did not show up until late June.

Thursday, 7:45 p.m.

The word “delightful” is just not used enough these days, but tonight was a delightful evening. The temperature was comfortable, the sunset hid behind a low shelf of clouds and a fisherman cast for something, but came up empty. There is no fish report here on this blog. I have no idea what he was fishing for. Sure, I could have asked, but I didn’t want him to think I was flirting with him. I am just a dame on the beach with a glass of wine.

Friday in paradise

A most perfect evening except for the fact that I was alone. The breeze was warm, no bugs and the tide was out revealing nature’s love of design and geometry. The tide has its way with the sand and formed amazing artwork. The seagulls dived for crabs and then hovered above the rocks before dropping them to crash and crack open on the shore below. Who would think that a bird could be so smart? The mussels are still growing in their nurseries and the sand fleas were not around tonight. I HATE those creepy critters.

Everyone knows it's windy

Argh! It’s a night when I would expect to see a treasure chest full of booty (the old kind of booty) to wash ashore! Waves as big as the south shore! Crashing and churning and acting very angry. Maybe the sea is upset about the oil spill. I can’t blame it.

Friday night lights

Sun worshiping is a good way to spend a Friday night. The wind was very stiff from the South West. Problems were discussed; advice was given out and another happy hour faded into the sunset.

Just a Tuesday

Tonight I raced the sun home but lost. I am watching for the dolphins who visited last year.

Weekend comes to close

The sunsets did not cooperate on Saturday and Sunday as clouds moved in late in the day. So here’s an artistic piece of driftwood instead of the usual sunset photo. The wind was steady today from the west and I only ventured out in the kayak once on Saturday. I thought I saw a seal or dolphin out by some fishing boats on and I started paddling madly out to it, but realized it would have taken more time than I had to spare. Next time. With my luck some creature will flip my boat over and I will get to see just how well my life vest works. The osprey that lives nearby has been busy patrolling the beach lately. He is so impressive close up and must have a wing span of five feet. I wouldn’t want to be a small rodent with him around. Well I really would never want to be a small rodent, but you get what I mean.

A crab saves a crab

It was a 9-1-1 emergency night here at Smithtown Bay. The sun was already down when I arrived and the water was choppy; wind was from the…well who knows? Suffice to say it was windy. Dozens of horseshoe crabs had washed ashore and the tide had gone out too far for them to hitch a ride back. At least until morning. But that would have meant death for my little friends. So I went running down the beach, my tea in hand, tossing them back. Not before I scolded them (a Mom habit) and said, “Well what did you think would happen if you came up this far on the beach? Hmmmm?” I saved many lives, at least until the next time these prehistoric spiders push their luck and don’t head back home before the tide turns.

Superb Saturday

Took the kayak out today around 3 p.m. The bay was like a lake, so smooth and calm. It was low tide and even traveling far from shore you could still see the bottom. I was never in danger of drowning. Saw a few horse shoe crabs but no fish. That unsightly barge was out there in my bay again. Later in the day the clouds and wind kicked up and the water got too rough to go out again. Nice sunset though.

Friday Play Date

My friends and I spent our Friday night together laughing, dancing, singing and taking lots of pictures to embarrass each other with at a later date. We also marched. Did I mention there was some wine involved too? The beach was absolutely perfect this evening. A beautiful sunset, no bugs and tranquil seas. My favorite night of the week is over so quickly!

I Love Mondays

That’s right. You heard me. Mondays are perfect work days because I always seem to get home in time to see the sunset. I saw deer hoof prints in the sand tonight and noticed that a very strong person has dragged a huge piece of driftwood over to where my bench used to be. At least it’s a start to rebuilding. My friends and I now have something to rest our wine glasses on!

Anchors away!

What a surprise this morning when I came down the steps to the beach. A GIANT ship in my bay! I briefly considered going out there with my kayak, because where there’s a ship, there would be sailors and I figured, who needs Match.com? But I waved instead. The air is misty and visibility is poor. I was glad I had not put away my winter jacket.

Home early

Monday was a perfect start to the work week because I was able to leave early enough to catch the sunset. Who could ask for anything more?