It has been a hiatus for a few weeks. Two weeks ago was the family camping trip to the Catskills. Last weekend, I sailed one kilometer out of Browns River when frequent thunder started coming from a cloud that I had my eye on. I couldn't tell if there was a line of storms behind it, so I turned back. I failed to make this decision in a timely fashion two summers ago and had a frightening time of it when the storm hit. This time, I was proven wrong several hours later.
In any event, I sailed to Davis Park on 13 August, failing to remember that this was the weekend of the Casino's summer fireworks show. If I had, I would not have even tried. As I was coming in, an acquaintance from my gym was leaving his slip, which he gave to me. Although there was a nice breeze blowing, it was HOT. The slip was close to a wetland that is a mosquito breeding ground. I probably killed two dozen mosquitos from Friday night to Saturday morning. The dragonflies should be in profusion in a couple of weeks. In any event, here are the photos.
Here's the one sailboat shot. The air was hazy, hot, and humid. So the photos have a soft look to them.
I got shots of a few motor boats as they sped by:
Once in my slip, it was a dismally hot afternoon. Because of the haze, the sunset was dull. I got only one shot before nightfall, a hibiscus growing on the side of the walkway.
Nothing interesting was on the beach. I spent most of my efforts fending off the mosquitos. The barn swallows were nowhere to be see, after eating their fill.
The next morning was a bit more photogenic. The sun looked angry. You've heard the saying, "red sky in morning, sailors take warning." Well here it is:
I saw a buck near the firehouse. If you look closely, you can see his tongue. He was munching on a shrub near the garbage can when I walked up. He wasn't raiding the garbage.
There's a red buoy planted in the sand along the walkway. I used it as a backdrop for some artsy shots. Here's one of a dew-laden grass stalk.
Here's one with the eye framing a wildflower.
Here's one of a different flower of the same species.
And here's what happens when the flower has a bee-mediated good time:
I suppose this would be a moment make some comment about my love life, compared to the flower, but I will spare the reader. The thorns on the seed pod are evocative.
Here's a different shot of the same hibiscus plant from the night before, but in morning light.
Here's a shot of the aforementioned buck with the aforementioned, mosquito-infested wetland in the background. Looking at it, doesn't it look bucolic? However, if I turned around 180 degrees, you'd get a shot of a boat infested marina. What a contrast.
One of the boat residents was feeding table scraps to the buck and his mate. This gives me the opportunity to get up on my soap box. There are two things that are damaging here. Number one, deer don't eat people food. It's not good for them. It provides none of the nutrients that they need in their diet. Number two: wildlife gets accustomed to the generosity of strangers during the summer months. This inflates their numbers and leads to hardship when the summer is over and the vacationers leave. Another example, there were numerous mallards hatched at Davis Park this season. Many of them will die a painful death of slow starvation when the human handouts go away. Don't feed the animals.
The time came for me to leave, although I was sorely tempted to stay for the evening's fireworks, or at least auction my slip on E-Bay. I got two shots of baymen in the sultry summer sunrise.
That's it for this week, folks.