There is something deep within us that sobs at endings. Why, God, does everything have to end? Why does all nature grow old? Why do spring and summer have to go?
~ Joe Wheeler
My summer of sun and fun at the Jersey Shore has come to an end and I’m back in ATL to wait out the off season…
We packed up the cars, the dog, the bunny and at least 5 gallons of beach sand in every nook and cranny of my belongings and took the long way home along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’ve seen these mountains in Spring, but in late Summer they show their true glory framed by blooming Joe Pye and Black-Eyed Susan. It was already feeling like Fall last week at 6,000 feet above sea level, even if there were still a couple Least Tern chicks waiting for the sky back on my NJ beaches.
I’d thought I’d be despondent at leaving the beach and its birds, but it was time; the work I was there to do was done. My last week on the beach had been filled with gray days and a cool northeast wind. I felt the season beginning to shift gears, felt the summer fading into the wind. The birds, for the most part, had already moved on.
The idea that I’d have time to blog about any of the work that I was doing was ridiculous! I hope to revisit some of the highlights (and the failures) here in the weeks to come, and to process all that I saw and learned. I miss the beach already, of course; I miss staring out at the sea for hours, miss the little dramas that played themselves out among the beach-nesting birds that I was privileged to know, miss being a part of something important.
Anyway so… stay tuned! And in the meantime, tell me about what you’ve been up to…
So glad you took the opportunity (and the made the effort) to come back this summer! There will always be salt water in your veins and sand in your shoes (and everywhere else) once you have lived on the Atlantic Coast…
I spent my summer photographing and cataloging spiders (and freaking out poor Delia by posting the photos) without moving more than ten steps away from my house! Who knew there were so many and I’m still finding species that are new to me…
Looking forward to more detailed accounts and fabulous pictures from your summer!
I’ve been pointedly avoiding your spider posts Wren!
😉
It’s sweet to see you here once again, Laura. Same blog name, same header photo, and lovely thoughts from you as always.
I’ve been tending to my little granddaughter since May 🙂 NOT tending to my blog 😉
Looking forward to your thoughts on the summer.
Plenty to do here in the Pac. NW – monitoring the spawning habits of surf smelt (an important food for salmon and the many local herons) in our local bays and shores is always interesting.
Well … I’ve been …
… to Yosemite. Twice.
… to the Galapagos. Once.
… and spending a lot of time getting settled in in our new home in the Pinelands. Where we have Joe Pye Weed and Black Eyed Susans in our garden. 🙂 The butterflies and hummingbirds love them.
And the birds are starting to pass through. Today we had a redstart. Yesterday a blue-winged warbler. We’ve been home 43 days and have a bird list of 37 species. And plenty of other critters.
It has been a very nice summer.
Happy to have you back down South once again, but know it was a wonderful summer being able to be immersed in what you love. Welcome home. xo
No blog post here since January of this year. It’s about time to make a decision one way or another. As my Daddy used to say, “S#^% or get off the pot!”