It is finally warm around here! It’s still pretty windy and I’m not ready to give up my gloves quite yet but I have traded my winter jacket in for a heavy fleece jacket. That’s some progress, right?
The sun play peek-a-boo with me today but it was still beautiful in the soft light.
I am still working on this series of little watercolors and here is today’s piece. My mother always said once you had sand in your shoes you’d never leave the beach….
There’s a blizzard heading our way in about 12 hours but right now it is sunny and lovely out. The wind has picked up a bit since this morning when it was quite calm and still but it sure feels and smells more like spring than it does snow.
I went for a lovely beach walk this morning. You’d never know a storm was coming.
The osprey that calls this pole and nest home has returned. In another week or so its mate, or prospective mate, should arrive.
They have moved this nest pole several times but it is still very exposed to winds coming off Nantucket Sound and no nest here has had young survive past the first few weeks but the adults keep trying.
This beach has a lot of grassy dune area and over the winter snow buntings thrive here. This morning I hoped to catch sight of the snowy owl that travels back and forth between here and Great Island in West Yarmouth but no luck. I did see two northern harriers, though, both a male and a female. I see harriers here frequently and this pair looked like it was courting but this would not be a successful place to nest. At least I don’t think it would.
I found this sweet skeleton of a whelk shell…
and the sad skeleton of a great blue heron…
Every walk is different. Every walk leaves me with different thoughts and emotions even though I often walk in exactly the same place I have walked for over 50 years. That is part of the wonder of nature. It is always full of surprises. Always full of life and death and drama.
I leave you with this before the storm blows in…
Yep, it’s a hot one out there….
I’ve been pretty busy so I have to say I’ve been hotter than I’ve been cool these last few weeks. It’s okay…it’s so pretty out there I can’t complain too much…
There have been a lot of days like this one, complete with the kids
and sunsets like this one….
There have been lots of birds…
lots of flowers
and lots of lovely summer moments….
I am presently working on a coloring and activity book with a Cape Cod theme and while doing my programs this summer came up with a small, easily downloadable booklet called “My Cape Cod Beach.Book.” It is printed on both sides of one piece of paper, cut in half and either tied together with string or yarn or stapled. It fits easily into a pocketbook or backpack and is great for those times kids have to spend waiting….
Here’s a quick picture tutorial of how to put your booklet together. Ordering information is at the end of this post. Continue reading
One of the fun things about taking a walk in the snow is following the trails of the animals and birds that passed through before you. Kids love tracks because they often tell a story that is easy for them to follow. These tracks are from a rabbit.
These little bird prints are from the snow buntings….
More snow bunting tracks. Notice the little drag behind the prints.
These prints are larger and heavier and belong to crows….
And these prints show webbed feet. Not ducks, though….gulls!
More gull prints….
You can probably guess that these prints were found at the beach. No matter what time of year it is, the beach is always a great place to look for tracks, especially if you go early in the morning before people tracks cover up the animal ones.