It’s several days since Jul 4th. Many homes along the beach are occupied, probably through this weekend. More pleasure craft are parked along the beach, all power type except for one tiny sailboat.
A tiny pier, more of a short platform about six feet long with a short ladder on the water side, is close to where we first enter the beach. This is near the onion patch on the bank and a patch of morning glory flowers are on the beach below. One day a small front end loader was parked at the base of the bank. No stairs are present for the home at this point so it looked like preparation for some stair building; however, the tractor was gone the next day.
The tiny pier had been missing the platform part until a few weeks past. One day several pieces of treated lumber appeared and a week later they were gone but I didn’t see where they had gone – to repair the tiny pier. So the tiny pier is at the start of our walk, then comes the fancy pier, then the low pier – previously damaged and now repaired.
Being on this river across from the populated areas offers a view of multiple fireworks displays every Jul 4th. We could see eight going on at one time this year, the weather conditions being just right, except for mosquitoes. The disadvantage is that the displays are tiny because the closest one was about eight miles off.
Most days, now, a single heron is present somewhere on the beach. One or two eagles, too. Oftentimes no commercial boats are working or just one crabber will cruise along during our walk. A flock of about twenty-five starlings sometimes swoop about between the tiny pier and fancy one. Aircraft activity is more limited, too. Even though we are walking earlier, that shouldn’t make a difference.
The bald cyprus have grown new seed pods. These are green balls about the size of a ping pong ball. When ripe they turn brown, cracks form and open to release seeds. The pods also exude an aromatic sap. Crushing the pods or a handful of leaves releases an aeromatic smell. Storms with winds strong enough to rip leaves from these trees leave perfumed air for several weeks afterwards, a small positive result compared to damaged from such storms.
We’ve been walking the access road more often this week because of increased human activity on the beach. Trees and brush are slowly intruding on the road as summer progresses. Walking earlier allows us to see more wildlife. Most days we see several deer. One time it included a six-point buck in the middle of the road. This morning was the first time I’d seen a coyote crossing a hay field and the road in front of us. They are not numerous, yet, but the newspapers reported they are about. Bears are also coming back, so that could be an interesting encounter some morning….
