This, That, and the Other

After a long hiatus from my blog I am finally back to share a few photos of what I've been up to.  Hold onto your hats my friends because it's been non stop excitement around here...*rolls eyes*!!!

Actually, the truth is that I have spent most of this summer pulling back instead of pushing and running myself ragged like I sometimes do.  Instead, I have been relaxing, staying unplugged and really trying to soak in all that this summer has offered us, most especially the glorious weather we've been having.  Even as I am typing this on August 25th, historically a blazing hot time of year here, we have our house wide open and a cool breeze almost becomes chilly as the sun goes down...it is pure bliss in my book!

The photos in this post are a random hodge podge of things we saw on a recent kayak outing.  Nothing to write home about, and some of them are quite grainy, but I like them non the less.  The photo above shows the hate/hate relationship between the eagles and osprey each summer.  The osprey's talons say "I mean business," as the eagle swoops below the osprey as it wings its way past the osprey's nest.   The eagles seem rather unaffected by the constant warning cries of the osprey, and although I wasn't able to capture it, the eagle above did roll over and show his or her own talons as if to say...you wanna piece of me...I didn't think so!

The marsh mallows were closed for the night, sure to open in the early morning light of a new day.

There is something mesmerizing about marsh grasses to me....

It's as if they sing me the song of my people in hushed tones...so relaxing!

The muskrats get so close sometimes as we kayak that I worry they might try and climb in the kayak, but they always manage to dip below the surface and go about their merry way just before I am forced to figure out how I would fend one off should it become too curious about the crazy lady with the camera!

This was a sight we hadn't seen before...a Green Heron.  I had never heard of these before, but apparently they are quite common in our area, but also quite elusive, which likely explains why we have never seen one until this summer.  I would have missed him altogether if Mr. Tide hadn't noticed him far away on the edge of the creek up ahead of us.

By the time we made our way out to open water, the sun was setting; it was quite late

Twilight is a magical time on the water, everything is more intense and somehow a little eerie.   I can remember heading back in off of the water as a child and always hoping we would reach the dock before complete darkness fell on the water.  I'm pretty sure that means I'm not from good seafaring stock, as I prefer to be out on the water during the day, though I do love to sleep on a boat and feel the rocking motion...it's a complicated emotion I suppose! ;)

The beach is always quiet at sundown, another reason I like twilight on the water.

As we reached our pier that evening, the sun's rays were dancing on the water and it looked like liquid gold...so pretty!

As fall is quickly approaching, I feel even more compelled to spend time outdoors and soak up the rapidly diminishing daylight.  Unplugging has been such a wonderful and freeing thing for me, and I can't really think of any downsides except for being a little more out of pocket with those blogs I so enjoy reading.  I still take a peek, but for now, I will allow mother nature to hold my undivided attention.  Cold weather will be here soon enough, the computer will once again fill those long dark evenings, but for the moment, I will breath in the brackish air and dance under the moonlight!

Wishing you all a lovely end to August!