The Last Picture Show

I just now realized I didn't post anything yesterday. I must have been traumatized by the fact that my camera is now broken. One of the shutter curtains has a rip in it and without that incredibly important mechanism functioning there are no photos to be had. I did take a bunch of photos before the incident yesterday so will now post what could be the final images from my digital SLR. Sniff.

We found this place a while ago but I hadn't been because it seems pretty popular. There are absolutely no signs indicating there is a beach here, not on the road, not at the entrance, not even when you pull up. If you didn't know where was a boardwalk you wouldn't know there was a boardwalk. I simply drove up and around until I found the walk way by accident. In fact, I found the place by accident because I could see a line of cars parked when I was approaching from the other direction. If you don't know its there, you drive right by. A local secret perhaps.

The morning had seen heavy rain but the afternoon lightened and while there was still heavy humidity in the air it was a glorious, calm, still day for an outing. We arrived for only our second visit to this beach and the dogs knew the drill. The boardwalk leads you through some brush toward the beach and the first time we were here the dogs figured out the hard way that the boardwalk is not at the same height at the brush - even though it looks like it should be. They also think it's a total gas to streak up the path a light speed, thundering on the wood, and then turn around and come barreling back. Leeloo especially thinks this is an absolute riot.

Leeloo also thinks bounding through the grass is super fun too. Bound bound bound and then onto the boardwalk and off again into the grass. It's pretty hysterical.

This isn't actually a very good picture except the expression on Leeloo's face. She is closing her eyes because of the sand Raimi is kicking up. Everytime the dogs sped past I had to turn away because I'd get a sand shower. Late last night I found sand in my ear and thought WTH ... where did this come from? It pays to be the lead dog ... I only managed to get one photo of Archer (and none of Halo) before the camera died - he is still sidelined a lot of the time from the big dog play but I've noticed in the last week or so he's had a growth spurt ... he'll be Big one day.

This is the postcard image of the east coast.

Of course the dogs roughhoused for part of the time ... they don't care about the view. Often though they spend most of their time sniffing, wandering and simply exploring - I think they cue off of my mood a lot when we're there. Halo was way back behind me in her own little world of exploration, eating various tidbits she'd found on the seaweed from the high tide. She keeps tabs on me but as long as I can still see her I let her do her own thing. That's probably part of the reason I don't have any photos of her this time, she was always waaaaaay off in the distance.

This area seems to be a breeding ground for Great Blue Herons - finally determined by my mother - and yesterday there were three sitting just off the shoreline. The tide was out and they were in shallow water about 30 feet off the edge of the water. This is as close as I got to take a photo, not because they flew away, but because the camera died. Apologies for the crooked horizon line.

Of course the day my camera dies is the day where there were so many photo ops I was going mental not being able to take any. The Herons stayed put for us to walk past, get within about 30 feet, and the dogs to walk about 5 feet into the water to 'get a closer look'. The Herons simply stood and watched us. Perhaps they've seen Ridgebacks before and knew they were safe if they stayed in the water. They eventually flew off one by one, not by harassment from the dogs, I think they simply got bored watching us, or the fish weren't plentiful, so they opened their great wings and silently skimmed the surface of the water for about 200 feet before turning inland. Leeloo took off down the beach after one of them and as it flew over her head I think I could hear it laughing.

I did get one photo that I just love to pieces. Of course it would be of The Boy and if my camera did take its last gasp yesterday I'm very glad to at least have this photo as a keepsake. To me it possesses the Periodic Table of beautiful.