The other day, I decided to go to the beach and walk as far west as I could. By “could,” I loosely meant as far as I felt like walking or until I ran into some kind of obstruction. I ended up going about 3.5 miles. Barefoot.
My feet felt a bit raw afterward, and my legs were tired, but it was a lovely walk. I hope to do it again soon, if I feel like it. 😊
I decided I’d share my favorite capture here.
An apparent creek on Dauphin Island, Alabama, where it almost reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
The scene intrigued me for several reasons. The first reason being that what clearly seemed to be a creek flowing onto the beach actually stopped on the beach, forming what was essentially just a big ole puddle of water. I walked around the nano-lake on the beach without even getting my feet wet. And there were fish living in there, too.
The second reason was just the way the photo turned out. I try hard to compose compelling scenes when I’m shooting pics, and I think this one fits the bill. Not only can you see the mini-pond on the beach, you can see the dramatic skies as rain clouds were moving into the area. Also the creek and pond make for interesting lines.
The third reason was to remind me to look up the actual name of the creek and check the map to see if the creek flows out the other side of the island. As it turns out, it’s not an actual creek. It’s what I can only describe as pond or swamp overflow. I’m sure the locals would have a better word for it.
I only wish I’d gotten a pic showing the shore around the watery anomaly. 🐸
Things are going great, mostly. The not-so-great thing? I am STILL struggling to find my missing writer mojo. You know, that hard to describe thing that makes a person want to write. My writing muscle! I’ve apparently lost the desire to use it. I have also run out of rational explanations and plain old excuses to explain the problem.
Rather than waste any more time trying to understand why, I’m just going to move forward.
I figured I would try and ease my way back into blogging by combining two crafts that I enjoy; writing and photography.
Recently, I’ve come to realize that photography is really just a lazy way of capturing and sharing memories with people. When I look at one of my own nature photos, I “see” more than an image. I can usually remember the feeling of the place, too. And why I took the pic in the first place.
I’ve always just assumed others look at my images and experience the same thing. I figure people see my photos and either can see/understand why I took the shot or can at least appreciate the photo for its quality.
Turns out, I may have been wrong.
Right or wrong, as a form of exercise for that atrophied writing muscle of mine, I’m going to start doing posts about particular pictures. I can only share one image per post and I need to write something about the image. I’m thinking the writing will happen in the morning, so the pic may be from the day before. I may throw in some old pics, too.
The rules are loose and may change. Why create pressure? I want this to be fun for me and, hopefully, something others will enjoy, too.
Wish me luck as I struggle to get back into shape. 🐸
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Harry the Heron
We’ve been at our current location for about three weeks now. We are staying at a campground on the eastern end of Dauphin Island near the mouth of Mobile Bay in Alabama. The campground is adjacent to the beach AND an Audubon Bird Sanctuary. It’s also across the street from the Mobile Bay Ferry landing.
When we first arrived on this small barrier island and I visited the beach, I was delighted to see large bird footprints in the sand. I thought that meant this was a “wild” beach. As it turns out, those tracks were Harry’s. He is, indeed, a heron, but he’s not particularly wild. He is a regular on this beach. So much so, that campers know him by name. I see him on the beach often.
The other day, while walking around with my camera, I was taking pictures of a heron on the beach that I thought was Harry. I even said, “Hi, Harry,” as I snapped some pics.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I heard some honk-squawking to my left and turned to see the real Harry gesturing wildly at me from the water’s edge.
That other heron was an imposter! Or an interloper. Maybe both.
Harry made some crazy poses for me and then, after I had had time to snag a few pics, took off.
He is a proud, handsome fellow, isn’t he? Not only did I capture a great pic, but a fun story, too.
