Some more....

Some more photos from Huntington Beach park, because there was more to be seen than the ospreys. Lots of Great Egrets for instance....







And a Belted Kingfisher



A Snowy Egret



Who got some fishing companion ship from an Ibis.



And that Ibis called his friends to join him. Because just minutes after him landing along the bank, a flock of Ibises landed right next to him.



The young White Ibis was making a splash.



And a smart Little Blue Heron joined them. But must have felt like the blue sheep of the family.



And separated himself quickly from the group.



Later that afternoon I walked for a bit on the beach. Which is beautiful. Lots of shore birds there.



Normally I am always accompanied by the dogs so I don't see shore birds sleeping that much.



But love the serenity they have over them when they do.





A bit of stretching going on after the power nap.



Besides sleeping shorebirds it was the first I ever saw a mushroom growing at the beach. Who knew?



Then I had to walk back a bit faster then planned. Because it was almost sunset time and wanted to watch that over the marshes. Had a feeling that would be a special place to do so. There are nice boardwalks over the marshes at Huntington and so I headed that way.



This seagull had the same idea as I did and decided to keep me company.


The little Blue Herons grouped up and flew to their overnight spot. And so did the White Ibises. Both in opposite directions....





And what a beautiful sunset over the marshes.....

Fort Fisher, North Carolina

Last week I went to Fort Fisher in North Carolina. I usually go to the beach but this time I took a walk around the old fort and went in to see the exhibit which b.t.w. is free of entry.



The trees on the grounds are just fascinating. The wind has blown them all in the same direction.

The drama in them is just screaming to make pictures of.




This fence has dealt with its share of wind too I suppose.




These two came to check the photographer out and posed in the perfect light for a bit.  And I spotted a standard "Bird on a wire", near the parking. Which looked like it bowed when I made the picture. 



Besides all the history that was made around this place, it really is a great area to explore a bit and I so enjoyed the walk.






It already was later in the day so decided to watch the sunset from Battery Buchanan point. Right next to the Port Fisher/Southport Ferry. And it was just beautiful to see the sun go down there. Again the trees added the drama. Absolute perfect ending of a great day.









So serene and calm. Who would have thought an old fort could be like that.

Beacons of Maine

I am back! My body is at least. My mind is still wandering of up North every now and then.





Just love the dramatic lighthouses of Maine. The setting is just perfect.





The tides, the sail boats and the boulders along the shore. Just a perfect.

First & Last Stop

This Memorial Day weekend I went on a little road trip along highway 42 here in NC. Love driving through the backroads. And highway 42 in particular. Some parts along it makes you think time stood still for at least a little while... So I passed this old gas station. And just had to stop to take a closer look.

All the little details the building still showed. Like what was there to love at one point, as it was written In big red letters on the wall? Someone must have painted that on the building for a reason. And then the name of it. First & Last Stop? Thought it was funny. How can a gas station be your last stop? Isn't it supposed to get you further anyway? That alone made me wonder.

At least they had some Coca Cola while you were on your "First and last stop". And bait and tackle, let's not forget those! You wouldn't ever want to be without that right? Especially on your last stop.

I didn't know the place at all, but I'm sure it has provided some special memories to people that were living in this area at a certain point in time. And like all memories.... We don't remember days, we remember moments.

 

Just lovely my dear.......

When I went to Duke gardens a few weeks ago, I noticed that they also had an enormous amount of peonies planted. At that time not in bloom yet. So really I had to go back, because I just love peonies. Besides roses & hydrangeas that is. They come in that order on my favorites list too. And yes indeed, so true. I really love the "drama" flowers. So I took my chances this morning and drove up again. And ah..., they were so beautiful!

As like walking in one of those old English gardens somewhere in Cotswold. They all had the signs of an high tea just waiting to happen. "Just lovely my dear"....

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.  ~Gerard de Nerval

Spring trip to Sullivan's island

This week I went on a short trip to Sullivan's island near Charleston.

There is a little boardwalk along side the harbor which I love.

This friendly and a bit nosy pelican was also there.

Somehow seeing pelicans around me, gives me the ultimate vacation feeling. It means I'm near water and near warmer temperatures ;-)

Even spotted some dolphins in the harbor, that probably were hoping to get some leftover fish from the fishing boats.

Sullivan's island beach in the early morning.

The dogs had a great time on the beach since they are allowed to go off-leash there at certain times a day.

Some of the other visitor's on the beach.

 

There were a lot of Sand dollars to be seen at the beach that morning. And there was me thinking those are very rare shells to find. Not on Sullivan's Island at least.

 

On the way back home the GPS really had a hard time to get back on the I95. And kept directing to all these backroads of backroads. So we ended up passing through a town called Lakeview. Which, as the name suggests, had a really nice lake. Although, more of a swamp if you ask me. It would be the perfect spot to film a very scary horror movie there!

Right at the edge of the lake there was this old cabin. Which said it was from 1870 and was called Page's mill Pond.

The wooden deck had holes and big cracks in it, so did not take my chance to stand on it.

Very mysterious place don't you think? After this little town the GPS suggested to take a right on Chicken road and then a left on Turkey Branch (Seriously! :-) ) and then the first right was I95. Just had to laugh about that! But made it home safe again.