Mating season!

I noticed the first sign of horseshoe crabs a few days ago. Unfortunately, they were dead ones, but their appearance on the shore is a sure sign that horseshoe crab mating season is here. They have awaken and are on the move! Yesterday I spotted this one (photo) and so I am heralding the official start to my favorite season! You know that I am crazy for horseshoe crabs. The past few days have been very windy and I am still finding plastic wagon wheels washed up. The other day my son found an old Clorox bottle, exposed by all the storms and erosion. I checked it out and it's from 1930. I am still hopeful that someday I will find an old treasure chest filled with gold coins, so I can retire.

Class action suit

Tonight I was down at the beach after the rain stopped and it was like a sequel to an environmental horror movie: "Little Plastic Wagon Wheels-II". Remember those plastic wagon wheels that washed up weeks ago? Well they were all over the place tonight and I started to get angry. Why is it that someone can unleash all this crap and not pay a fine? So that is when I had the light bulb moment. I will file a law suit against the Marmaroneck Water Treatment Plant that let those little filtration wagon wheels loose. That's right. I am NOT HAPPY. (That's a copy-righted term, so don't try to steal it). Maybe the water treatment plant thinks they got away with this, but they don't know that I happen to have a little time on my hands and I know a very good lawyer. Tonight the plastic wagon wheels were too numerous to pick up, but the photo shows just some of what I collected for documentation purposes. Other than this big news, the mosquitoes have hatched and the beach was deserted.

Ticks

This is my first attempt at comedy on the Smithtown Bay Journal.
I have no respect for ticks. I'm not a big insect lover to begin with. In fact I hate most bugs, with the exception of crickets and praying mantis. I mean, even spiders are worthy of awe with their cool webs and all. At least they make an effort to capture their food in a creative way. They have some motivation. But the tick reminds me of someone of who refuses to get a job. Like that unemployed 30-something kid or house guest who is living in your basement. A tick can't even be bothered with actually moving! It waits for you to walk by and brush up against it. Like it's saying, "Hey, as long as your up, can you get me something to eat?" Even a mosquito puts in some work before it bites you. But not that lazy-ass tick. It just sits, latches onto you and then sucks on your hard-earned blood! Don't we all know someone like that? An ex boyfriend maybe? A relative? I tell ya, I got no respect for the tick.

Fire Fox video

I am a full service blogster.

Unexpected visitors

News flash! There is a beached sailboat down at my beach tonight. It's the Firefox from Boston. Two crew aboard. (Heck, I almost sound like I know what I am talking about, don't I?) I tried talking to the men but could only hear them say that they "lost power". I thought sail boats used the wind! Anyway, the must have drifted into the shore and it's very windy today so I guess they are either waiting for the tide to come in or maybe a mechanic is on the way. Beach Lady will keep you posted!

Ducks in a row

It's not easy to get all my ducks in a row because as you can see, they go all over the place. I have tried identifying these ducks in my Audubon book, but I don't see one that really looks exactly like them, and they don't make it easy. They really do not like people getting close to them. I think might be called common mergansers. I have noticed though that they play well with the sea gulls. They all hang out together. These ducks will never go off by themselves. Sea gulls don't mind being in groups or being alone. If I was reincarnated as a bird, it would definitely be a sea gull.

World turning

Yesterday evening I was feeling as low as the tide. I went down to the beach to hear the water's daily dose of wisdom. It told me that not matter what, the tide moves in and out, the water is always here, and it all keeps happening with you or without you. In other words: I didn't get much sympathy from the bay. It let me know that no matter what is going on in my life, the world still turns. And with that I decided to have a BIG glass of red wine and watch a movie.

pea soup night

No photo tonight, but close your eyes and I will paint the picture for you. The water was calm and barely had the energy to push out a little wave at the shoreline. It wasn't making much of an effort. The Crane Neck peninsula was wearing a hat of fog. Nothing was visible in the distance AT ALL. It was all obscured by fog. Even the LIPA plant was hiding tonight. The whole world of Smithtown Bay was gray and bleak. But then I got into my pirate mode. AYE Matey! Is that a stair case I see washed up on the shore? ARGH! I have been needing one of those since the December storm washed mine away! So I took my peg leg and glass of red wine and went to rescue it from the sea. (I call Smithtown Bay "the sea" when I am in my pirate mode.) I hauled that wood nearly half a mile, Mates! (More like a few yards. Must have been the wine weighing me down.) I fashioned me a nice little temporary stair case so I don't need to be struggling with my peg leg to come up and down the to the beach. A good day, I'd say! Nite!

Spring blooms

These tiny blue flowers were hidden away some where along a path that leads to the beach. It's my private arboretum where I find forsythia, lilacs and other wild flowers. I think at one time years ago it was a well maintained garden path for some very wealthy person, but is now in disrepair and neglect. I just want that person to know that the flowers are still very much appreciated.

Mystery solved

I told you I would get to the bottom of the mystery. Here's the deal: New York State Park Police were investigating a rape that occured at Nissequogue River State Park. The victim, who had been walking on a bicycle path near Old Dock Road in the park and was accosted at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday. A search of the area and surrounding community was conducted by State Park Police and Suffolk County Police personnel and a Suffolk County Police helicopter. The victim reported being accosted by a white male, approximately six feet tall, with a thin muscular build, blonde hair and wearing black gloves. An investigation is underway and the State Park Police are requesting that anyone with information about this case call (631) 321-3700. All calls will be kept confidential. Be on the lookout.
I know this is not my usual "isn't the beach beaatiful?" posting, but the more people looking for this guy, the better. I am including a nice photo from last night. If I had seen the guy that night, how hard do you think I could have bopped him on the head with my flashlight?

Search lights

News flash! This is BIG, but unfortunately, no photos. It's 10 p.m. and there is a search helicopter going back and forth along my beach and then it flies a little deeper into land, around and around in a big loop. The chopper flew over my house a few times and I went outside to investigate. We get choppers, but not one after another. Even medi-vac helicopters just pass by once on their way to Stony Brook. But this was different. REALLY LOUD. I ran down to the beach to see what was going on. I figured maybe it was a boater in distress OR an escaped convict like in the movies. I looked out onto the water as best I could with my pathetic flashlight. I heard and saw nothing. So there I am standing on the deserted beach with my little weak flashlight and watching the chopper follow the shore line with it's sweeping, giant, intensively bright search light. JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES. It's getting closer and closer and then I start to think, "You idiot. They may see you here and think YOU are the escaped convict and start shooting." So...(again, just like in the movies) the light is getting closer and closer and I start to RUN back towards the trees and brush for cover. MOVE AWAY from the LIGHT! The search light just skimmed my body, but my best Sylvester Stallone moves helped me to avoid being seen as I plastered myself against the dirt. Undetected! Then I hightailed it up 60 stairs imagining that an escaped convict was chasing me. Whew. I will find out what they were looking for and report back.

Bay residents

The gulls were very busy tonight grabbing some mussels and then dropping them on the rocks. No wonder they don't move anywhere else. They have absolutely everything they need right here in Smithtown Bay. These are herring gulls. I looked them up in my bird book. The bay spit up a lot of seaweed these past few days and now it looks as clean as the Caribbean.

Spring for real

The beach spiders have hatched so you can't just sit down anywhere now. The water is churning and wavy, like the spring is trying to push that cold water out to sea. I was the only person on the beach today, which seemed odd. What is everyone doing today?