Anybody Lose a Bird?

If you've lost your cockatiel in the area, someone's found him! One of the great things about living in a small town is this type of community spirit.

Is spring finally here?

It's our second day of gorgeous, sunny weather, and what luck that they're both on a weekend! Today a girl does yoga to the south, while to the north, men stand by the water's edge in shorts with no shirts on, others walk barefoot, and a group of teenagers play catch with a large ball, a plastic ring, and an oversized Frisbee. A few jellyfish have washed up on shore. The shells are mostly broken, which seems to be the case most of the time in Neptune Beach. The surf is too flat to attract any surfers, and the water temperature is still a little too cool for swimmers to venture out. I and the other Floridians mostly keep our shoes and jackets on, however, as the breeze coming from the northeast is still a little chilly. The walk back home, with my back to the wind, is much more enjoyable. Were the benches on the walkway at the foot of my street not filled upon my return, I would pause to drink it all in a little longer. Rain and colder temps are set to move in tomorrow, so this is but a taste of what's to come shortly.

Dawn in the hood

A beautiful orange-and-blue sky greets us this morning. It's a great day for an air show! I have another commitment this morning, but will be back out on the beach this afternoon to see the sights.

Back into the swing of things

Been a while, huh? That's exactly what my lungs are saying as I begin my usual beach walk this afternoon. But this wad of fat that has taken over my midsection is about to win, so I have to get back into my beach walking. Neck injury, paperwork, home repairs and a respiratory infection have kept me away long enough. No camera today; this is all about the walking.

I'm greeted by a gentle breeze from the south, unusually cool for one coming from that direction. The sand feels good beneath my feet. It really has been a long time since I've been down here. As soon as I touch the wet sand where the waves have been coming in, I can tell that the water temperature is cooling now. Not many shells on the sand, only broken pieces. Sandpipers scoot through the wet sand at the edge of the surf as I make my way northward. A couple of loaded container ships, one appearing to be hot pink in color, edge out of the river into the ocean. There are many other walkers on the beach in the warm afternoon sun. Two men with a kayak stand in the water's edge for several minutes. What on earth are they talking about for so long?

As I reach my turnaround point, I look up to see the light on the corner. Red...then quickly green. I turn and face the wind to return home. One of the men with the kayak heads out across the waves as his friend stands behind on the beach. Approaching my street, I notice a kiteboarder preparing to launch. I pause and take a seat on the platform at the end of the boardwalk across the dunes to take it all in for a few more minutes. The kiteboarder glides to and fro just outside the breakers. Leaving him and the others behind me, I turn westward toward home. How could I live anywhere else? Note to self: I must do this more often.

Storm Brewing

Haven't gotten off to a very good start, have I? Business obligations have kept me from my beach walks since my first post. Afternoons are tough this time of year due to storms that move in from the heat of the day, and I'm just not that much of a morning person, so any obligations at or before noon will preclude a daily walk.

Although Hurricane Bill is about 800 miles to the east of us, we had some pretty nasty-looking unrelated storms move through from the west this afternoon. The bands of clouds were actually quite lovely. They reminded me of the beach when the tide is going out and leaves bands of wave remnants on the sand. But you can probably understand why I wouldn't want to be walking on the beach in this kind of weather.

August 17, 2009

(The photo above is me on a winter beach walk in 1980, right here in Neptune Beach.)

This morning as I crossed the boardwalk over the dunes, I was greeted by a flock of hungry seagulls being fed by a family that was allowing their toddlers to run naked on the beach. In today's society, I'm not sure that's the greatest idea, but to each their own. The ocean was gray and fairly calm. Many wispy clouds in the sky, mostly cirrus, a few cumulous and some jet trails from early flights along the coast. Few shells on the beach, but a couple of de-tentacled jellyfish that looked for all the world like the bottoms of glass coke bottles. As I walked, I noticed the beginnings of several tidal pools and sloughs that may turn into dangerous runouts once Hurricane Bill passes us (hopefully offshore) this weekend. On my way back across the dunes after my walk, I noticed a small cherry tomato bush growing amongst the weeds on the dunes, with two ripe red tomates on it, an odd anomaly. I must remember to take my camera on future walks.

So, where is Neptune Beach, you may be asking? We're in the northeast corner of Florida, just south of the St. Johns River's mouth, on what nautical charts have traditionally called San Pablo Island. The island doesn't seem much like one, as it stretches all the way from the south side of the St. Johns River down to Vilano Beach, which is just north of St. Augustine, and is several miles wide in places. Jacksonville is to the west of us, Atlantic Beach to the north and Jacksonville Beach to the south. We're an unusual oceanfront community for Florida, in that only a couple blocks of our oceanfront is commercial; the rest is all single-family houses, with no high-rise condos.

Why am I blogging about Neptune Beach? Good question. I'm hoping that posting something each morning will keep me motivated to continue my daily walks. It's a habit too easy to let lapse. Early meetings, feeding the cat her breakfast, pending work projects, reading the daily newspaper over breakfast, and social networking online have their ways of pushing my beach walks aside. At this time of year, if one waits too late, the day is already too hot to get out there. But with my mother's death last month, my role as caregiver went away. Working from home as a writer and editor gives me more flexibility in my schedule than most, so my excuses for missing a daily beach walk have become fewer. Perhaps by blogging about the beach, I will find an audience that keeps me going on these daily walks that renew my spirit and keep me healthier. The walk may be in the morning or early evening, depending on the time of year and weather.

It seems odd to need an excuse to get out and enjoy God's marvelous creation, doesn't it?