By the Sea

Welcome...and Happy April, everyone!

Spring break is over for us and we enjoyed our long weekend at the sea shore.

This is the scene that greeted us when we arrived on Thursday afternoon.

Even though we had temps in the mid 70's, the water was still quite cold.

They were brave enough to get in...

...but these tough guys couldn't take the chilly waters for very long.

They stayed on dry land for the most part.

  

 I was up every morning before daybreak...my favorite time to take in the wonder of it all.

 

The clouds blocked much of the sunrise but I was still in awe...

...and I never tire of this magnificent sight.

The breaking of each wave creates a totally unique picture than the one before. 

  

I sat on the sand for probably an hour just watching the seagulls as they anticipated breakfast. 

For the longest time, it was just me and the birds.

And speaking of birds, these big guys were quite the entertainers.

 This is the easy way to get the fish special for lunch...

...you just wait patiently until one of the fisherman on the pier throw one to you...

...and down the hatch it goes in one gulp!

See those boats way out there?

The one on the left is the Dredge Savannah, a dredger vessel,
 currently at work pumping sand in to help restore the receding coastline.

source

Here she is up close.

Can you imagine what a monumental task something like this would be?

~

So in between rain storms, we had plenty of fun and got what we came for...
a little sun, sand, sea and Britt's Donuts.

A trip to Carolina Beach without eating one (or five...or six) of them just isn't right!
Visiting here too often is definitely hazardous to your health....oh, but they are SO GOOD!

The view from eight floors up as Dylan soaks up a few waning rays
and finally, Sunday morning's sunrise.

Why is it that the best day at the beach is the day you have to check out??
It's all good though...just being here, no matter the weather is a balm to the soul.

Enjoy your week, my friends :)

Linking with:
Mosaic Monday

Wild, Wonderful Wisteria

Is there something you have seen that is so beautiful you can hardly stop looking at it?
That you take so many photos of it that your SD card is nearly full?
I have...I do...and I did.
It's wisteria.

WISTERIA INTO SPRING
~a poem by Thelma Elizabeth Zaracostas

Upon opening the curtains

To welcome the day

You were standing there

Your head hung low

Your endless array of purple

Clinging to your slender limbs

 

You waved as the gentle breeze

Blew your delicate fragrance

My way

I love spring when you are in Full bloom

My beautiful magical plant

Wisteria.

 

It started out as a single stick, probably about 8 or 10 years ago.
One of our patients at the clinic where I work had brought me a start off of hers.
During a conversation we had I'm sure I must have mentioned something about wisteria
and how smitten I was with this gnarled and tangled up mass of purple-ish pleasure.

I'm not sure about your area, but I never grew up seeing this in Ohio,
or even when I lived in Kentucky, for that matter.

 

For the past few years, it had gotten zapped with an early spring freeze and had little to no blooms.
It was a couple of weeks ago I noticed the slight hint of purple at the bottom of the driveway.

It starts out as these fuzzy little pods sprouting from the l-o-n-g, winding vines.



The vines will climb up anything close to it...in this instance, what once was a small pine seedling.



Let me just say that they became very close friends that have pretty much grown up together :)



I actually think if you stood there beside it long enough,
 it would become one with you as well!
  

These photos were taken over just a few days...


.
...and once you see the first hint of violet, it's quite amazing the change the next day will bring.

 

We have seen many boring bees already buzzing around the house,
 but after the wisteria bloomed...

 

...I think just about every bee in the neighborhood was swarming around it.



I took my life into my own hands getting these shots :)

 

If I had to count them, I'd say there were...too many!

 

 

But I just couldn't stop myself...snap, snap, snap...

And just when I thought I was finished, I turned to go back up the driveway...

 

...and was mesmerized how the early evening sun had made these drooping beauties glow...

...snap, snap, snap...

~

Surely, there will be wisteria in heaven...there just has to be!

~

I will be heading to the sea shore tomorrow for a little spring break weekend with the grands!

YEEHAW...I'm so excited!

I'll catch up with y'all when I get back! 

 

Miniature Spring Bouquet

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!
It was a mix of overcast skies and drizzle here
 but spring is most definitely bursting out everywhere you look.
~
I was out walking around the yard on Friday just to see what all was popping up.

Some of the new growth is quite obvious...other things, not so much.

The wisteria was just loaded with these little baby clusters...

...and on the ground below, my eyes rested on these little beauties.

don't ever remember seeing them growing there before in all 23 years we've been here.

Google tells me it is bugleweed.
 

Let's see...I've got some purple, some blue...

...a little pink is always a good thing...and yellow is a must.

There were plenty of these and I also found a few patches of wild strawberries.

And not to forget what is more obvious than anything else growing in the yard...
 

...one of my favorite things to welcome each spring, these tiny bluets.
They grow in patches all over the yard...so lovely and delicate.

I think that's quite a nice variety for my little bouquet.

  I had just the perfect vessel for them...

...if I could even get them in the house without them wilting in my hand.

 

So I plopped them down into this sweet little vase that my MIL gave me years ago.

I believe it's colored milk glass and I'm thinking it's pretty old.

 

I arranged and then tweaked a bit here and there...

...and was quite pleased with my cute little mini bouquet!

 

And here she sits on my kitchen window sill.

 

So a few days have passed and it no longer looks as perky as it did here.

But I am still enjoying my little touch of spring...

...every time I'm standing at the kitchen sink :)

~

What's blooming in your world? 

 

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