Life on the Bay

Courage is the price

that Life exacts

for granting peace.

~ Amelia Earhart

Daily life at the beach starts slowly. We have vets here who don't blow their own horn. We have people that we miss both in the glory of service, and just in the glory of their lives. The sun comes both red and brilliant. It's early and the wind is just beginning to gain the strength to move the flags.

We are here, and we remember.

Happy Memorial Day 2010

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Legends say that hummingbirds

float free of time, carrying our hopes for love,

joy and celebration. Like a hummingbird,

we aspire to hover and savor

each moment as it passes,   embrace all that life has to offer

and to celebrate the joy

of everyday.   

Life is rich,

beauty is everywhere,

every personal connection has meaning

and that laughter

is life's sweetest creation.

~unknown

Enjoy this holiday weekend and be safe!

If there is magic on this planet,

it is contained in water.

~ L. Eiseley

I frequently think about the first dip of my paddle, I think it does so many things metaphorically for me, as the paddle breaks the tension of the water I literally can feel the tension drain from my body, it's when I get that aha moment,,, to take each second and realize what a gift it is to just be in the present. 

 

This morning was the first day of my kayaking season, right after sunrise M and I launched out into the bay, feeling the warmth of the sun and the thermal breezes rolling across the water, the herons and ducks were just waking up and our kayaks startled the fish making them jump creating round circles of water ever expanding and leading M to great fishing spots.  What a blast to be able to live so close to this amazing place....

Go this weekend and find your piece of paradise on the waters of our bay...

You must live in the present,

launch yourself on every wave,

find your element in each moment.

~ Henry David Thoreau

The company makes the feast.

  ~ 17th century proverb

 

    The seasons reluctantly melt into one another. We have melted into the (high season).  The high season has both it's fun and it's work.  The morning can bring a flurry of planting flowers, lettuce, and herbs.

 

We all are on the look out to spot the beaver. He is about four feet long and swims right along the side of our sea wall. He can stay under water for a long time and it's always a guess where he will pop up next. He kinda looks like a dog swimming in the water.

  After the spring work is done, some of us get a respite by rowing out into the bay for some peace and solitude.

 

Today was the first day that was warm enough for all of the neighbors to stay outside until dark. We took the time to catch up on summer plans, family stories, and all of the latest news. We also took the time to once again enjoy each others company in our own tiny little village.

Nothing is nicer than a warm summer night with simple pleasures.....

I hope you can take the time tonight to find some of yours......

Home sweet home.

This is the place to find happiness.

If one doesn't find it here,

one doesn't find it anywhere.
~ M. K. Soni

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave,

but not our hearts.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

It's all changing! I don't mean it in a bad way but I am having trouble finding a parking space for my car. It's high season and little kids are screaming with joy, and the wake from all of the big boats is smashing against the seawall.

      There are stories and speculation surrounding a certain brood of ducks. We have a squadron of 10,,9,,or 8,,,,depending on when and where you see them,,,,,,the thing is that there appears to be (two) mothers working in tandem to take care of this little group. We have never seen this behavior before.  We (the skeptical), are still trying to sort all of this out? 

 

The male ducks suffer this time of year as they cruise and cruise looking for that special someone in their duck life. Actually they are non discriminating, hopeful, opportunists!

 

     We now have a few boats tied up in the front yard which is comforting. There is however always major tension at the nearby boat ramp. If  you are a boater you know the truth,,, putting your boat in for the first time in the season usually coincides with swearing season. It's a stressful time that can only be washed away by the glorious floating feeling you get when it's all over.

 

The bay is a beautiful place to sail. All of the sail boaters are stretching their wings and testing their rigging for the season. They don't realize that they are also providing the show for all of us who are lucky enough to live on the bay.

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.  ~Montaigne

A bad day of fishing

is better than

a good day of work.

~Author Unknown

 

What a perfect way to end our day, fishing off the dock with a glass of wine, a beautiful sunset and my best friend...ahh, life is good today!

A friend is one who knows us,

but loves us anyway.

~ Shaw

Spring

an experience in immortality.

~ Henry David Thoreau

  Wednesday's are magical on the bay. It's sailboat race night. No matter what you're doing around the house or water, there they are making a beautiful painting that changes by the minute. There are now three verified clans of ducklings. we call them by the numbers of how many babies there are. Sometimes the disappearance rate of the little ones is alarming. They are taken by fish, raccoons, dogs etc. So far this year we have a 10, a 4, and a 1.The 10 is curious,,,,,sometimes she has 9, and then she has 10 again. M says he saw a lone mother kid-nap one of the 10 but there are some holes in his story. This mama seems determined to hang on to the the whole bunch,,,, even the chicks seem to have some attitude.

And then,,,, another amazing sunset.

It's the greatest time of the year to be on the bay!

The summer night is like a perfection of thought.

~ Wallace Stevens

It's a great art, is rowing.

It's the finest art there is.

It's a symphony of motion.

And when you're rowing well.

Why it's nearing perfection.

And when you reach perfection

You're touching the divine.

It touches the you of you's

Which is your soul.

~ George Pocock

It's sunny and becoming more beautiful outside by the minute.

So go out and see what touches your soul!

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

The secret of getting started

is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks

into small manageable tasks,

and then starting on the first one. 

~ Mark Twain

Yep, it's that time of year again and since the weather looks a bit rainy and cold maybe it's time to start my Spring Cleaning......

.... or maybe it is just time to take a break..... what ever you decide to do today take time out to enjoy a good cup of coffee and don't work so hard!

Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and as sweet as love.
~Turkish proverb

It is a happy talent to know how to play.

 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life on the beach this weekend is still a little cold and windy. The adults all have their winter coats on....but the kids, well, they were born with soaring spirits that make them oblivious to the cold breezes.  The older ones teach the younger ones the art of living at the beach.  I don't think they even know that they are teaching. Their gift is the simple act of getting a kite to fly, or showing how to take a fish off of the hook. 

They chase after the mother ducks and throw bread to her and her babies. On any given day at the beach you can hear shouts and giggles, big wheels, and basketball thumps, jet skis and the splashes of paddles but mostly you hear the joy they are sharing.

Then, the sun sets and everything starts to quiet down. The fun and adventure moves into their dreams to become sweet memories for another day.

When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the lake, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a bay, a flickering candle or children playing on the dock? ~ R. Marston