Sand art

Long time between entries in the Smithtown Bay Journal, but I have been on my post as the Guardian of the Bay and haven't missed too many days on patrol. Windy days last week that had the waves crashing on the shore and measuring about 5 feet! The tide came up and swept away my log tables and seats. It looked as if a vacuum had come down the beach and cleaned up. All the crap is gone, no seaweed left or garbage. So nature did her thing and did a beach clean up without anyone's help. Tonight was cold but lovely and there was some beautiful sand art on the sand bar.

September Splendor

The sunset skies lately have been breathtaking. This one tonight couldn't make up its mind. It was pink to the south, peach to the west, with an explosion of orange everywhere! Owls were hooting, birds were chirping and the fish were literally jumping. It's the universe's gift to me at the end of the day.

Labor Day 2014

Good bye to the crowds! Well, really I don't get crowds here on my beach. But there was that one guy who walked by TWICE in the past two days. So good bye to him. I played "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess tonight while I watched the sun start to sink. Janis Joplin's version of course. It was a nice send off to the summer, but I know the season will linger for another month. The water was so warm today I had to search for the occasional cold spot to feel refreshed. So we still have three more weeks of Summertime, and the livin' is easy; Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high; Oh, your daddy's rich; And your mamma's good lookin';

So hush you little whiny bastard and enjoy what nature has given you!

Horse Shoe Crab Alert 2014 for Smithtown Bay

I am sounding an environmental alarm. This year I have seen so few horseshoe crabs (HSCs)that I am genuinely worried. Where are my little arachnid buddies of the deep? May and June are usually prime months to see the HSCs coming onto the beaches to mate and lay their eggs, but this year so far I think I have seen fewer than five. What gives Mother Nature? This is alarming and I want to know what the experts are saying? Does it have something to do with the harsh winter? Or is nature telling us something about the water? I am not marine biologist but I know what I see, or what I don't see, and there ain't many HSCs this year! What have you observed? The photo was taken last week;

one of the few times I saw my Smithtown Bay friends.

Nature's art

I saw this jellyfish at low tide tonight. It was etched in the sand by the tide and Mother Nature. I always have the feeling that the bay is really like one giant organism that breathes and moves and has a good sense of humor, too. The beach was also smiling tonight. See other photo of sand bar...it sure looks like a grin to me! Where is spring? The migrating ducks and geese are still hanging out. I wish it would just creep up to 40 degrees this week.

Winter's lockdown

I am back! Seems a virus had my blog in lock down for three months and I just had a very good friend fix the problem for me. Hello! Smithtown Bay has been in lock down, too-frozen solid like the Arctic Circle. The winter brings such a beauty to the beach. I love the desolation and quiet. Sometimes I just lie on the sand and rocks in my big, fat down coat and watch the clouds go by.