I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Thursday, January 26, 2017

January Walk


Hi! The storm has passed and it's a glorious bright blue winter day.






Let's go to the beach and see how it survived the storm. I'll bundle up, it's not as warm as the weather bug wants me to believe, with a 28 mph wind still blowing.


The storm tide came all the way up to the upper dunes! This high swale hasn't held standing water for years, just  briefly during H. Sandy and H. Irene.


The swales serve as natural catch basins, formed by the eternally growing dunes'  ups and downs. They deflect and absorb  waves that would otherwise crash over the  high dunes and seawall.


This is the cut in the outer dunes, where the storm surge breaks through the dunes. It is kept clear on purpose. There is a second outer swale here where the ocean flows first, then on up to the high dunes.



The beach itself is endless and dramatically open, wide. Not much erosion, maybe some in height, but not in width.













Turning back to look at the dunes we can see where the waves came---up into the path where the summer boardwalk lies.




Up to the dunes that protect the swales.


And flooding the low lying beach to the east. It often floods and is the lowest point of this end of our little island. It does have good ancient high dunes though, so the water is stopped during most storms.




Walking along the shore. The sun is till so low in the sky despite it being 1 PM here.





The wineglass is still there on the fence post. A glass now half full.


On the way home I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the winter bench.


Below the seawall I found this odd conglomeration of  pebbles. They may have been deposited by the storm or maybe they are someone's old collection, set free, returned to their beach origins. [I have found wonderful shell collections like that, with coral branches and pink trimmed tropical shells and starfish. Someone was perhaps decluttering but loved the shells or pebbles enough to send them home?] I chose a few perfect white ''eggs'' ...


for my window sill.


When I got home Mo dragged himself out of bed and insisted we sit on the deck. Our daily dose of vitamin D and mindfulness. (Now that he is a bigger boy and no longer wets the bed, Mo is sometimes allowed to sleep on my bed! Pug heaven!)


I didn't have any applique ready so I brought out my knitting instead. We had a lovely hour. It was 55*.








Tonight is colder, the wind is picking up again, howling and laughing at us:"Fooled ya, didn't I?'', cries Old Man Winter. I'm making meatloaf with steamed cabbage and noodles. Lots of nice leftovers for the weekend to come.True comfort food.


love

lizzy

gone to the beach....


PS A nature note: Mr Mockingbird was strutting and singing away in his spot, in the highest branches of the ugly locust tree. He always returns after nesting in the dunes, then spending Fall I know not where. He has been coming at least as long as I've been writing my blog, since 2009. I looked up how long a songbird might live, and though studies are mostly about robins not mockingbirds, it seems that if the birds survive their first couple years they can live as long as 12 to 15 years! And shorebirds [like my oystercatchers!] can live up to 30 years.  So the is probably indeed my same Mr M, and the two cardinal couples I watch in the marsh, and my OCs---they really are the same birds. Amazing to me.


9 comments:

  1. I love going on a walk with you! What a beautiful day other than the howling winds. What are you knitting?

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  2. Thank you for the lovely walk on the beach. Fun finds.
    So nice to see you out and about. Take care!

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  3. Wonderful walk, so happy you're able to do it again! The beach looks like it's been swept level and clean, the sky is so blue. What was the spiny thing in the sand?

    Cool info about the birds, I had no idea they lived that long!

    I LOVE the purple of your yarn project! It looks like it's coming along well. What will it be?

    Mo looks like he's enjoying the sun after his strenuous nap!

    Your dinner sounds interesting, I've never had steamed cabbage and noodles...are they together?

    Thanks for sharing your day with us! Take care!

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    Replies
    1. Hi! The spiny thing..I thought it was a fish spine but it was a plant stalk.

      The purple knitting is a simple cowl, but the yarns are exceptional Malabrigo alpaca and silk with the center section using sari silk remnant reclaimed ribbon yarn

      I make the noodles separately in case someone does not want noodles. The coarse cut [2" pieces]cabbage is steamed in micro, drain well, add fatfree plain Greek yogurt, 2T?, a bit of butter, and a lot of lemon pepper. The noodles, cooked should then be mixed in. I use No Yolks Dutch dumpling noodles, I think they re called. It's very delicious. You can use sour cream instead. Don t overcook the cabbage, 5 minutes or so.

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  4. Beautiful beach photos. Doesn’t look like a storm came through at all. It's nice to think of someone's shell/pebble collection being returned to the sea...or to be collected and enjoyed again with new appreciation.

    Well, good for birds!

    I get a kick out of seeing Mo all cuddly in your bed. He must be in heaven :)

    Yummy, dinner sounds good. Do you season the cabbage with anything? And, yeah, what Mel asked.

    Mid sixties here today. Hit a couple of thrift stores, came home empty handed. They did have a nice wool, button up sweater for only a dollar. No brainer till I tried it on and remembered that wool makes me itchy, and claustrophobic feeling :(

    Enjoy the weekend!

    Kel

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I love finding returned shell collections, I have three or four that I have rescued.
      Mo is in pug heaven in the big bed. He leaves me maybe 12" on one edge!

      WE like cabbage lots of ways, roasted w/ olive oil is yummy, or plain steamed w a lot of pepper and a bit of butter or olive oil, stir fried with fennel seeds and garlic, carrots optional or the way I make it w noodles:
      I make the noodles separately in case someone does not want noodles. The coarse cut [2" pieces]cabbage is steamed in micro, drain well, add fatfree plain Greek yogurt, 2T?, a bit of butter, and a lot of lemon pepper. The noodles, cooked should then be mixed in. I use No Yolks Dutch dumpling noodles, I think they re called. It's very delicious. You can use sour cream instead. Don t overcook the cabbage, 5 minutes or so.

      The stir fried w/ fennel is really good with pot roast or stew or goulash...

      Your thrifting day sounds sooo fun, I wish I could come. Too bad about the wooly sweater.

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    2. The stir fried cabbage isn t really ''fried'', it is sauteed with a little oil while still wet from washing, so it s more steamed, but made in a flat pan with a lid. Cook for 6 minutes-ish.

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  5. I, too, enjoyed your beach walk. The cowl is a lovely shade. Must try the cabbage with yogurt or sour cream. Yum! Blessings to you and Mo.

    ReplyDelete

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