Sunday bird blogging

Peruvian pelicans outside the fish market in Chorrillos, south of Lima.

Views from the parks

I loved the cliffs winding along the coast. I never did go down to the actual beach; by the time I found the stairs that led down to the water I was too tired to think about climbing back up again. Maybe when I come back to Lima after the tour.

Saturday reflections

It's obviously a stretch to call this a reflection picture—a few faint clouds and two silhouettes in the water do not really qualify. But I'm in the middle of a take-home midterm this weekend and don't have time to look for something better.

These are the ruins of Sutro Baths, by Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The baths burned down in the Sixties, but I remember visiting when we were having special occasion meals at the Cliff House next door. There was a skating rink, and for some reason a mummy in a glass case, which I found both fascinating and terrifying. I never even realized there were actual baths there until after it had burned down and the ruins of the pools were exposed. We used to climb all over the ruins and the hills above when I was in high school; like so much else in San Francisco they've now been cleaned up and there are beautiful trails over the hills where we used to skid around on the bare rocks.

Deep breath

I woke up to the news that the long-anticipated attack on Ukraine has begun, and I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything.

Here's a welcome reminder of a better morning: fishing on the Jersey Shore at sunrise.

More Ditch Plains

 

Back to Ditch Plains Beach

I didn't get to see as much of this lovely beach as I might have liked. I'm curious whether it was the winter light that gave it that almost dreamlike feel, but maybe I'll be able to go back in a few months and see.

Ditch Plains Beach

Two more pictures of this lovely beach. I had never been to Montauk before; as I've mentioned many times I don't like sunbathing and I was never interested in party scenes, so summer shares in the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore never appealed to me. I have stayed on Fire Island a few times, and liked it very much, but I've seen the Hamptons only on day trips and never had any desire to stay.

Montauk had developed its own notorious party scene pre-pandemic, but it's always been a little removed. The distance helps; depending on the traffic, it can take four hours to drive there from Manhattan, with the last half hour or so mostly empty highway. And it really is dead in January. Most of the restaurants in the village are closed for the season and there were never more than a couple of people on the beach.

But that's what I wanted. I thought.

The misadventures started when I got to the AirBnB and discovered that it hadn't been cleaned since the last guests left. The beds weren't made up, the garbage hadn't been taken out, and there were wet towels on the bathroom floor. The owner was properly apologetic and gave me one night free, and asked the housekeeper to come over immediately. But, it being Montauk, “immediately” meant that she didn't get there until 8:30. And she spoke very little English, and didn't understand that all I really wanted was for her to clean the bedroom and make up the bed. Instead she spent the next two hours vacuuming, scrubbing and doing loads of laundry, while I sat there with my mask on trying to stay out of her way.

Sunrise, sunset

Omicron upended all of my plans for my winter break. I had invitations for overnight visits with two sets of friends, but nobody wants to have or be a houseguest with such a contagious virus running rampant. Then, of course, I got sick myself and got to spend ten days in quarantine.

So I decided to get out of town for a few days, and booked an AirBnB in Montauk, at the eastern tip of Long Island. Where I had enough misadventures to remind myself of all of the less fun aspects of travel, culminating in having to leave a day early when yesterday's predicted rain turned out to be snow.

But here's something I didn't expect to see on this side of the continent: sunset over the ocean. This is Ditch Plains Beach, on the south side of Montauk Point. The sun is so far south this time of year that from the right angle you can actually see it set over the Atlantic.

Sunday bird blogging

An oystercatcher at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways.

It will probably be January before I can go to the beach again—a lovely time of year for it—but I can close my eyes and pretend I'm there.

Waiting for sunrise

A few more pictures from the Shore.

Bonus bird blogging

The beach at Point Pleasant, full of black-backed gulls.

Breakers

The colors and detail in these images of waves fascinate me. This is one way photography has a definite advantage—freezing the moment so you can look at it without the distraction of motion.

It makes me think of Sylvia Plath: the freakish Atlantic/Where it pours bean green over blue. I do see what she meant.

End of the season, part 2

The beaches are actually closed only to swimmers—no lifeguards on duty—so walking and wading and watching the sunrise are acceptable year round.

End of the season

I am fairly confident that palm trees are not indigenous to New Jersey, but they do give a festive (and only a little tacky) air to this restaurant on the boardwalk.

Sunday bird blogging

A pair of great black-backed gulls guarding their section of the beach at Point Pleasant.

This is the largest species of gull in the world. When a flock of them swoops towards you on the sand, they are quite intimidating, and they owned this beach.

Jersey Shore

The (mostly) deserted boardwalk in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, early this morning.

Sunday bird blogging

Back to the beach.

I remain terrible at telling one seagull from another, but since first-year herring gulls are the only brown gulls in this part of the world, I can at least be confident about this guy.

Once he grows up and turns white, that will be quite a different story.

More pictures from Rockaway Beach

Now that summer is officially over.

Sunday bird blogging

A beautiful oystercatcher on the beach at Jacob Riis Park Wednesday.

I love that the bands on his legs coordinate so perfectly with his beak.

This is how I dress for the beach

Long sleeves, pants rolled up, hat, sunscreen.

(Thanks to Jayne for the picture.)