A dark and stormy night...really

The Bay was angry tonight my friend. Like an old man sending soup back at a deli.

guiding lights

Tonight the smell of the Bay came up and hit me smack in the face. Calvin Klein would never choose to make a perfume based on this smell, but to me, it's delicious. It smells like foamy waves, seaweed, mussels and all things earthy, even though it's the sea! If the bay were a wine it would be described as "complex" with a nice "fishy finish." Waves were strong and the moon was overhead and about half full. (I don't think you can have a half empty moon.)

A quiet sound

Today when I went down to the beach I was struck by the absolute silence of Smithtown Bay. It was so quiet that I had to stop and stand still for about a minute before I could hear a noise somewhere far off in the distance. The engine noise of a large freighter sitting far across the bay finally reached my ear. It was like everything and every creature was holding its collective breath. Long Island Sound without a sound? I walked to the Big Rock and was disappointed to find no seals. I have not seen any this season so far. I wonder what that means?

Moonlight adores you

I am very proud of myself because I actually read the instructions to my camera and learned how to take photos at night. I hate reading instructions, so this was a big accomplishment. But I had to get a photo of the moonlight. Moonlight is amazing, but I guess that is why so many poets write about it and why Van Morrison dances under it. It looks like diamonds on the water and you can see your shadow down at the beach even though it's after 10 p.m. The half moon seemed to be hanging directly above Eaton's Neck Lighthouse and the path of moonlight ran across the bay right to my feet.

Morning breaks

Took a few extra minutes this morning to visit the beach before going to work. It's such a beautiful way to start the day. Puts everything in focus and let's you know that the world is still turning and functioning even when you have a problems. The sky was pretty in pink.

Lucky me

I got to visit the beach four times today. The water was clear and calm, with lots of Common Merganser ducks hanging out. This is just my best guess regarding what these beautiful black and white ducks are called. They are shy and I can't really get too close to them to be sure. They are good divers and very striking. The sun set at about 4:50 p.m.

Reunion

My former co-worker and friend Eric came to visit today all the way from Albany, along with my friends Sarah and Kim, who came all the way from the south shore! (Long Beach and Oceanside)We all got soaked. The bay was flat like a lake today. We went looking for seals but only found more rain.

Glorious day

What can I say? Thank you for the perfect January day. I found a starfish and saw a Red-Tailed Hawk.

Night creature

Weather report: Dark, with increasing light towards morning. Everything about tonight seemed soft. Soft, gentle waves, soft, low hanging clouds hang over Smithtown Bay like a giant sweater. Even the sounds of the night time seem muffled and low. The sky was inky black in the north east. No stars or night critters. Well, except me.

Deep freeze

My fingers have just thawed out enough to write. It is freezing down at the beach! The tide is high, the temperature is low and the rocky shore has an icey coating on it making walking slippery. But who is walking on the beach today? No one. The water was pretty choppy and whitecaps could be seen way out beyond. On days like today I have to remind myself that there is an up side to this weather. No mosquitoes!

Come Saturday Morning

After not visiting the beach in the daylight for four days, I couldn't wait to go down the steps today to make sure it was still there. It is. I know most people do not have anything good to say about winter once you get past the first snow fall or two, but I would like to compliment winter. The cold air makes everything so much clearer! You can see further (Farther? Well, you can see farway). This morning, Connecticut looked like you could reach out and touch it. At night, the stars are so much brighter! I used to think that this was my imagination, but my Uncle Carroll told me that the cold winter sky IS clearer. It has something to do with less heat in the atmosphere and I am not a meteorologist so if you are interested in that go look it up. Why do you think there is such a thing as Wikepedia? Or you can just take my word for it. There was a flock of those black and white ducks flying by and and the water's edge was very frothy. What's that about? I noticed some rabbit tracks in the snow going down the staircase to the beach. I'm a regular Jeramiah Johnson.

Sunrise pastels

Since it is dark when I get home from work I went down to the beach this morning to see the sky at sunrise and just to make sure that the water was still there. Although the sun rises opposite of the bay's horizon (a.k.a. LIPA plant), the morning light is beautiful with all its pinks and oranges. A nice way to start the day before work.

Can you say "Long Johns?"

I will go out on a limb today and say this is the coldest day of the year. The Bay is coughing up all kinds of large objects-cement slabs, large tree trunks and junk that makes me amazed at how strong the water and currents can be. It's almost like the water is saying, "Here, take this crap back," as it cleans house. There is brown, frothy foam on the shore too, but other than that it was too cold to observe anything else.

2010 first snow

Yesterday, January 1, came in still and serene. The Bay was at super high tide due to the full moon the night before and the water, like glass. I hope the new year is as peaceful. Today, however, the Bay is rough with whitecaps as 2010 gives us the first snow of the year.