Fall Came, It is Almost Winter

In the few weeks since I last posted the fall has come and gone. I kept waiting for the perfect day to take pictures but it never came. Sure there were beautiful days but they did not coincide with the beautiful colors which were sometimes fleeting this year. The summer was so hot and then the torrential rains of early September did not do favors for the brilliant colors we have so often. One tree I use to gauge the progress of color simply dropped its leaves this year. There were many lovely sights but not the crisp ones I have grown to expect since moving here.

It is now the 8th of December. The leaves have fallen and I should be getting ready for Christmas. Before that, here are some photos taken in the last few weeks to show we did have autumn topped off by a Thanksgiving trip to Cape Cod.

Along Wagamons Pond.

Above Milton Memorial Park

Outside our front door

The geraniums are still blooming but are much bigger and prettier today

Dave is showing Jake how to pull carrots

Geoff and Jake on Cape Cod

Kicking the ball and enjoying the out of doors

Bentlely loves running at the Cape

Jake and Bentley (that's Bill's leg in upper right corner)

Just after sunrise looking out at Cape Cod

The worst part of the past few weeks has been a neverending cough and congestion. I am getting too old for this stuff. The best part is that I made it through another year. Yesterday was a significant birthday for me. More significant is that we travel to Arlington this weekend to celebrate Jake's "Happy Birthday."

I guess it is time to get ready for winter now.

Summer is Gone

It has been a few weeks since I last posted. I have been going through one of the phases when I allow boredom to seep into my pores. I really have no reason for this except that it almost always happen during summer. I have always liked the fall and being here in Delaware has not changed that. Gone are the stifling hot last days of summer and first days of autumn. The first really cooling storms have come and after the storms the days have been extraordinarily clear. The season's change was special for us this year as we were fortunate that our friends Terry and Ray ventured to Delaware from Oregon for a visit. Then a week after their visit, our friends Robin and Dave came from Cape Cod. What a boost to my physic those visits were.

Autumn has come to Delaware. We are not into peak color but that will be in a few short days. I love to load Bentley and the camera into the car and travel around the back roads. I take picture after picture of stuff, mostly trees and come home and look at the pictures and say to myself, "Not too bad."

Here are some photos of the first of such outings. These were taken earlier this week. I hope to be out on Sunday when the changes will be more obvious. I also have to force myself to be more inclined to go out in the morning light, much nicer water scenes then.

The Broadkill River at Milton Memorial Park

Different angle of the same area

Wagamons Pond – sun too bright to show depth of color

There will be more later as I travel around Sussex Country and more.

Can It Be? Christmas has Come and Gone

Bent and Bill strolling the beach

Here it is December 29. It is 20 degrees cooler than yesterday, the sky is clearer and the wind is not blowing as hard. It reached 72 yesterday. It was off to the beach time for us and several hundred, I am sure, other water loving souls. We went to a beach we have not been to since we moved here. It is one of the nicer areas in Cape Henlopen State Park. Herring Beach appears to be the beach where surfers congregate if yesterday is any indication. It also has distinctive rock out-croppings that make for more a secluded feeling of the area. It is very difficult for me to get down to the beaches here because the sand at the accesses and to the shoreline is so deep. That was a problem at this beach also but because of the great overlook I was able to enjoy the wind and the view without the sand. Bill and Bentley got in their requisite time walking the beach. I think we will return to this beach soon because I want to spend more time exploring some of the history, flora and fauna.

"T'was the night..."

Our Christmas was a very quiet affair. Bill and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day opening gifts and talking with family and friends on the telephone. The most special time was when Erica called on Christmas Eve and read The Night Before Christmas to her Dad and baby Jacob. Bill read Erica the poem every year from her first Christmas (she was four months old) until she started reading it to him sometime between the time she was 8-10. That has continued each year since and even the years when she is away she telephones and reads through the wires. Now Jacob is part of the tradition. I do not know about Erica but I do know that Bill probably looks forward to that moment more than any at Christmastime.

Our decorating frenzy this year was quite subdued when compared to other years. I think that was wise. The tree held all of the eclectic ornaments collected through the years and has been a comfort to have in this season. It will be up for a few more days and then all the ornaments and other decor will be carefully stored away for another year. Getting them all out and up and then down and stored is a whole lot like opening an old family album, full of precious memories to share and recapture year after year.

Update -- Still Waiting

Thanksgiving came and went and I spent a few days under the weather. We have done a couple of community things since then but mostly we have been waiting. That little one is not in any hurry at all to make her/his appearance.

Just to prove we haven't been total bumps on logs. Here are some photos of a recent outing to Prime Hook Game Refuge and Broadkill Beach. The amazing thing about Prime Hook this time of year is the number of migratory birds making a stop. On this particular day there were what seemed to be thousands of snow geese in one of the waterways. There were so many that the perspective was distorted.

Snow Geese Making a Stop

Heron & Duck butts

Bill & Bentley Back from the Beach.

More on the happenings in this part of Delaware later in the week.

Quiet Pleasures

One of my very favorite things to do is to take my camera(s) out and try to capture birds in flight. Here is a seagull who was overhead on Saturday when we took some time to visit the beach on a outing just because we needed to do it. You know I think the reason I like to get pictures of birds because they seem so free.

The short outing took us to Ellendale just eight miles away to visit a little shop there. I had wanted to stop on our many trips to the Washington, D.C. area but have never taken the time so we just went there on Saturday. Interesting, I will probably go back there as we get closer to the holidays. Right now I just like to feel and see the seasons change.

The colors are really just now starting to show with drama. The soybeans in this photo are about ready to harvest. I love this little field that fills a bend in the road and pushes up against the trees. A few days ago when I was passing there were two deer just visible in the field. Perhaps later this week I will be able to capture more of the color along the roadsides.

Of course, an outing is a chore for Bill unless it involves the beach. So, we went to Rehoboth Beach anticipating smaller crowds because of the season change. Not!! There were a whole lot of people there but we braved the crowds, found a close parking space and ventured onto the beach. Here are some pictures of the area. Notice the mixture of attire – many having problems deciding what season they are visiting. It was fun to see the kites and the football and people enjoying themselves even though I prefer the beach to be more solitary.

I took 299 pictures. Now, what am I going to do with all of those? I suppose I can compose an album of seagulls and then one of beach scenes and one of trees alongside the road. But, I definitely will have to compose one of "My Boys" and their favorite spot.

Then I will have to do one of "Changes on the Pond." We'll see. For now I think I will just enjoy the images.

Silly Dog

Wednesday afternoon I was talking with my sister on the telephone. It was her birthday and I had called to wish her a "Happy One." While we were talking Bentley started barking quite loudly at the television. He has done it a couple of other times recently when there are bells or dogs barking or the such. This time the barking was not at a tone or woof or the like but at Rudy Giuliani. Rudy was being interviewed and Bentley was having none of that. I got him to quiet down and my sister got another call. She called back very soon after that to say that her new grandson had just been born in Tennessee. What a happy day for her!!

After dinner on the same day I was flipping through the channels with the remote when I landed on Greatest American Dog. It is a silly show but there was barking when I landed on the channel and Bentley started barking and got closer to the screen, barked some more and then decided he would watch the show. It was rather intriguing watching him watch the show.

Here are a few pictures of him watching. He seems to be taken with the Maltese but he also liked the obstacle course.

Silly dog, silly owners. Whatever, we love him.

Late 4th Posting

Life here has surely become LSD (Lower Slower Delaware) or did I say just a short time ago? We have each been involved with a couple of projects this week that has taken me away from the blog. But, I did want to share some the pictures I took on July 4 when we went out to Prime Hook. This short drive took us to both Prime Hook Beach and to Fowler Beach. The photos are all from Fowler Beach. The day was not all that hot, maybe high 80's but for some reason when we got out of the car at Fowler Beach it felt like we were under an intense sunlamp. This beach was damaged in the Nor'easter that hit in mid-May. We could not get to an area we normally do and the damages to the marshes and the like were evident. That coupled with the summer sun and heat makes for some eerie sights.

I always seem to be trying to catch a heron. I got a lot of poses of this guy, appears to be in molt but the fact that I got more than one photo while shooting the camera thrilled me.

The next wildlife we came upon were a couple of snowy egrets. This first picture is just after the egret caught a fish.

Here we have two egrets. I was able to get several pictures of them passing one another, from afar and then back around each other.

An outing is not complete without a picture of Bentley.

I love taking pictures of the beach grass.

This picture illustrates how hot and hazy it was.

This is my first photo of a Black-necked Stilt. The two following are of the same fellow.

Horseshoe crab are an almost primitive species. But, they are essential to the survival of many shorebirds. This picture captures the carcasses of the horseshoe crab and lots of shorebirds.

Getting Out

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, the wind was hardly blowing and although it was still chilly there was enough warmth from the sun that we needed to run the A/C in the car. We have been taking care of Frankie and Erica and Geoff got home from their vacation yesterday. So, we decided to drive Frankie home ourselves. It was a lovely day and it had been several weeks since we had ventured very far. It was so good to see leaves appearing on the trees, blossoms starting to reveal themselves and lovely daffodils all along the roadside.

Frankie was one excited dog to get home. Bentley, who loves to visit Erica, was also excited to be there. Erica fixed us a quiet dinner and we were on our way back to Delaware.

I took my camera out and starting taking pictures as we proceeded home. I am still (probably will be for a long time) learning how to use my new camera but it was fun just pushing the button. I will post more of the photos later. Here are a couple of Bentley I took by just pointing the camera to the back. I had no idea if he was in focus or not.

The front window was open a bit bit for him to have more air so his hair looks slicked back. He was quite put off by the fact that he was not allowed to ride up front with us.

Here, he has turned his head to watch out the window. He is looking at the Chesapeake Bay as we cross on the Bay Bridge.

Cold Sunday in Delaware

Yesterday (today, too) was a wonderfully clear day. But, it has been really cold for here. It's the wind coming off of the ocean that makes it so. Of course, it is not the bitter cold of southeastern Idaho but it is still cold. The photo above shows Bill and Bentley heading off toward the the beach. They opted not go all the way over the dune.

This stop on our short outing was at Broadkill Beach. Bundled up against the cold, Bent was ready to check out the surroundings.

We occasionally drive up and/or down the road lining Broadkill Beach. This time of year there are just a few year-round folks in the houses that totally line the road. There are all types of houses: large (too large) and opulent, small and utilitarian, not so large and lovely, and the unique. This house is at the southern end of the beach road and is a seasonal rental. With the beach at its front and the Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge at its rear it seems perfectly placed but also out of place. I love seeing the beach. I don't love the wall-to-wall human habitation of the beach.

The various grasses and cattails bend in the cold wind blowing across Prime Hook.