Adieu, Adieu

Today I went for what is probably my last walk to Harris Beach.  My last because, if all continues to go well, 3 weeks from tomorrow I will drive away from the Pacific Coast to a new home in Georgia, far from these beautiful beaches and redwood forests.  And since it is, after all, winter -- days like this are not the norm.

I hadn't planned to walk -- but the weather is so beautifully warm and sunny that it seemed a waste to stay inside.  I need the exercise, too.  From my house it's about a mile to this spot, almost all of the walk within view of the coast and one spectacular scene after another. It generally shocks outsiders to find that we can have days like this, this time of year, at such a northern latitude -- sunny, 60 degrees, balmy, beautiful.  Shhhhh -- it's a secret!

I wasn't the only one enjoying this day at the beach.  The seagulls seemed to be having a bit of a hey day, and there were other humans and dogs as well.  Up at the parking lot some folks with binoculars were looking for -- and finding -- whales.

I love this beach.  It's always beautiful, regardless of weather.  When the tide is low, which is really isn't here, it's a great place for tidepooling.

No critters here -- they're a bit further out. Still, I love the clear pools sparkling in the sun.

A beautiful day at a beautiful place.  Adieu, and thanks for many an hour of soul-soothing over the past months.

An Early Morning Walk in the Fog

There's something magical about a beach early on a foggy morning. Maybe it's the mystery, maybe the peace. Hard to say. Our weather this summer has been a roller-coaster ride of warm, sunny days followed by cool, foggy days. While I would prefer more of the warm, sunny kind, there is something to be said for the balance. Houses never get hot and we appreciate the sunshine all the more when it finally breaks through. This morning I walked from home around 7am, headed to Harris Beach.

Fascinating how the variety of flowers blooming along the path has changed so completely since my last photo essay of this walk. These are a variety of fuschia. They glow even in the fog.

This early, even the morning glories were still showing themselves, twined amongst all the other greenery.

Too bad there's not something here to show scale. These were tiny flowers massed low on the ground.

These wild roses have been blooming for awhile and look as if they may be on their last legs, but they are still lovely and there are many of them.

Wild sweet peas are showing in all their spreading, glowing, rampant beauty right now, all along the highway and on cliffs. Everywhere!

I find it tough to capture the feel of a foggy beach completely, but somehow this photo works. These houses have never looked so good!

Lots of birds out on the water today, including some very large ones that I couldn't see well enough to identify. These two caught my eye on shore -- particularly that black one with the long red beak. My birdwatching friend tells me he is an American Oystercatcher. A first for me!

Back on the path headed home, the fog had lifted a bit, but still held a little magic. What a wonderful way to begin a day. Thanks for coming along.

Small Things -- a Photo Essay

The overcast we've lived with for the past couple of weeks broke today so I took the opportunity to go down the road to Harris Beach once more. While the rocks and surf are as beautiful as ever, I was more captivated by the wildflowers and other small vignettes that greeted my walk.

Look at all the life on this rock! Those sea snails and such are alive and thriving, waiting for the next tide to wash over them.

I wandered up into the dry sand and driftwood near the cliffs until the hot sand sent my bare feet back to cooler, surfaces. I was surprised to find wildflowers thriving in the sand here.

I wasn't the only one happy to see the sun today. Lots of kids and dogs out there, and this rather photogenic little bit of sea flora.

The path up to the parking lot was lined with blackberries and other wildflowers.

Something about this old wooden bench near the top of the path appeals to me.

Another surprise -- wild Azaleas blooming at the top of the path.

I hope you enjoyed this little walk on the beach with me. This is one of those days when I'm so grateful to live here. My soul is satisfied and happy.

Dive Bombing Bee

I've been happily lazy for the last week, but yesterday even with the threat of thunderstorms I needed to get out of the house and into nature, so I walked down the highway to Harris Beach again. As always, it was a beautiful walk on the beach, very peaceful and calming and satisfied my needs perfectly.

This is an empty lot right on the highway that has an incredible display of poppies and other wildflowers and I couldn't resist stopping to try and record them -- even with the lack of sunshine. I'm always a sucker for California Poppies and I'm glad that I finally live far enough south that they grow in profusion. But -- check out the bee that's frozen in time just left of center over the background of water. I wasn't sure what it was when I first saw this photo -- but it's clearly a bee if you look closely. Cool. Click on the photo to enlarge it -- see for yourself .

I promise to have more interesting posts coming up, but it may be a few days. We are due for thunderstorms the next couple of days, but I'm planning to hike with a local group on Saturday, so expect to have good photos and stories after that, as we're going in search of some rare plant up in the hills complete with old mines and great views.

Stay tuned!

Harris Beach State Park

I finally, FINALLY, got my feet -- yes, my bare feet -- upon a beach this morning. And as so often happens, after my fruitless driving and hiking in search of a beach, this one is actually within walking distance from home, within the Brookings city limits. Since the morning dawned bright and sunny and fog-free, I satisfied my early-riser instincts and left home around 7:30am for the short walk north on the highway. It can't be more than a mile, door to door, with perhaps only half that actually along the highway. There are paved bike and pedestrian paths for much of the way nearer the park.

This is not a place where one can walk right onto the beach. The parking lot sits on a bluff and you just about have to at least get out of your car to take in the entirety of the view. A paved path travels in switchbacks down the bluff to the beach, but it's fairly steep and takes a good effort to walk back uphill, so if this degree of activity doesn't appeal to you, I'd advise finding another beach. It worked just fine for me.

It's no secret to anyone who's been reading this for awhile that I love the early morning light on a beach. There's a sparkle, a magic, that appeals to me. This was a great beach for walking barefoot -- lots of clean sand, easily avoidable rocks, and while the water temp certainly wouldn't fool anyone into thinking they were in Mexico, an occasional wash of surf against ankles felt good. On the other hand, this area is a marine sanctuary and at the right tide shoes would make tide-pooling more feasible.

Another reason for barefoot beachwalking is the many streams that cross the beach as they funnel out of the hills. Almost always, these are too deep and too wide for crossing without getting wet feet. Mostly, I do it because it just plain feels good.

I could have walked further along this beach in either direction -- it's expansive and varied -- but once I was at least temporarily sated, I retraced my path home. In total, about an hour and 45 minutes of walking that couldn't have been much nicer -- that warm sunshine felt fabulous. And just because this one is so available doesn't stop the quest for others that are less available. It's the search and exploration I enjoy, as much as the fact of actually finding a beach.