Foto Friday - Life really is a beach

I love everything about the beach,
from the salty smell of the air and sand beneath my toes,  to wind blown hair

and that beautiful roar of the ocean where worries are washed away with the tide.

I can't seem to get enough of it and it never, never ceases to amaze me!

Three years ago on August 3rd we moved to the Texas gulf coast and the very first time we

crossed the causeway to get to the island (of Galveston) there was a thrill of anticipation and to watch

the pelicans soaring next to us took my breath away . . . three years later that hasn't changed.

Every minute I spend here is a new adventure with a personality of its own and memories

are made that will last a lifetime. . .
it's the place that when you are still enough you can hear the whispers of your own soul
where time seems to stand still yet everything still moves with its own rhythm. . .
yes, paradise does exist, it's here and it's my reality
. . .  it's where the sun rises and the beach waits.


My heart is full of longing for the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.

- Henry Watsworth Longfellow

So this week I didn't experiment with my camera and none of these are ultra spectacular, but
this represents my typical day at the beach and part of who I am.
It's where you find me celebrating the first day of the last year in half a century-mine!
(wait, did I just tell you my age)

You never have to wonder which way the wind blows, it possesses its own weather vane(s).

  The coquina clams - I could watch them for hours migrating up and down the beach!!

And a cute little hermit crab - can you see his eyes sticking out, just waiting for me to leave?

Then I came across this abandoned basket of beach toys, just begging to be photographed.

(Actually, they were begging to be played with but I resisted)

A beautiful Royal Tern that you can usuallly hear before you can see it!

It's shrimping season and they've been getting quite close to the shoreline, which is where I'm standing.

Now, doesn't this umbrella just make you happy!

He doesn't have along beak for nothin'!

On my walk I came across a surfing camp and this was their first day learning - this little girl was such a natural! 

And then as I came back from my walk I found these two getting their gear ready. I told them it looked like they had quite a setup and asked them what they were going to try to catch. Really? Shark? You're going to go out a mile in those and try to catch 5' sharks? Rich, in the picture above, was happy to answer all my questions and showed me the heavy line and hook he uses to catch such a fish. Since they catch and release these big guys they take cameras with them to document it and go back to post it on their Texas kayak fisherman website. So, curious as I am I had to go check it out and you should too - it will only take a second I promise - just scroll down till you see the pictures (click here). I'll wait right here . . . I love how Mike makes light of his 40" shark catch. That's just too much shark to be thrashing by my feet in a kayak!!

Yep, this was my catch! You're impressed, admit it - haha - Actually I caught these with a 10" child's net and they are quite tricky to get as they are very fast! No worries, I released them!

In one of my previous posts I talked about the sargassum (seaweed) that we get from May until

August. Well, the seaweed is a crucial habitat to a wide variety of marine life providing shelter and food.

This is a sargassum shrimp - the smaller ones tend to be more solid colored, even transparent and as they get bigger they use color patterns to camouflage themselves. They are so good at hiding themselves amongst

the plants that in order to find them you have to shake the seaweed. In fact, I have seen the seagulls do the same - they are nuts for these things! Aren't they cute!!

I found this sargassum crab in the seaweed too. They might have small claws, but they sure can pinch!

And my favorite of all, the brown pelican, ahhhh! There is just nothing like watching pelicans

gracefully soar across the sky.

 
To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truths lie undiscovered before me.
- Isaac Newton

A few weeks ago, I received one of the nicest compliments when a child about 11 years old asked me
what I wanted to be when I grew up!! (I think it was the pig tails) The truth is, I told him I'm not sure!!
Because all I know, is the day that I cease to be amazed by the wonders of this world
and forget the child inside me will be the day I grew up too much!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!!

Love, Kim
XO

P.S. You might be interested in this post: Reflection  . . . and the road to acceptance, a little bit about
my journey to loving where I am at.

See what everyone else has been up to this week at the hollie rogue

and here for more Sundays in my city  at unkown mami

  

and sweet shot Tuesdays with my3boybarians