Winter at Goldsmith's Inlet

Earlier this January we hopped in the car on a very cold but sunny day to see if hurricane Sandy had done any damage to Goldsmith's Inlet Park and to the inlet itself.  Though there was considerable damage in many places on the north shore of the Long Island Sound this nearly pristine spot was unscathed, the timeless tide gently flowing to the sea.   Late Spring finds fly fishermen casting on the outgoing tide for striped bass and blue fish.  During the summer months the park is busy.  Many families with young children come to picnic and splash about in the safe, shallow waters

Goldsmith's Inlet Park Satellite View

Google Maps

A look over the inlet toward the Kenny's Beach community

in the distance.

A mammoth drift wood log longer than our house.

A shot toward the mouth of the inlet.

Riffles of the outgoing tide.

A look toward the basin.

Stony Bottom.

Sound Shore at Depot Lane

A low sun at seven thirty last Friday cast a golden glow on a sand dune with it's weathered trees to the west and on the flat sandy beach to the east, the start of a beautiful, quiet evening.

Northville Beach, Riverhead

Last week during one of our exploratory drives we came upon Northville Beach on the Shore of Long Island Sound between Hallocks Pond and Jacobs Point.  Pier Avenue runs straight to Luce Landing from Rt. 48, Sound Avenue, ending at water's edge.  It was deserted being the last week of the year and quite cold but beautiful in the light of the lowering golden sun, the daylight slightly longer than the day before as the shadows lengthened.

With these photos I bid you a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Seas of Grass

Wind shapes these seas of grass 
near the water's edge

Unable to climb cliffs 
they ebb and flow here

.   .   .   

For More Skywatch photos from around

the globe click Here.

Mattituck Inlet 4 to 5 PM November 30, 2011

The four day Thanksgiving was over, our guests returned home. The day had been a cold windy one, brilliant sun then cloudy in a blue sky, very changeable throughout the day. As the early evening approached I felt I needed to see the sun as it set.  I drove to the east side of the Mattituck Inlet breakwater to the Sound and took a few shots then went around the inlet to the west side for some more.  There was "golden hour" light lasting for an instant then whisked away, turn and turn about as I recalled memories from this day two years ago.

Fisherman on the inlet wall

To the northeast

Sun sets on the boardwalk

A tanker on the horizon

 Volleyball courts, play over for the season

For More Sky Watch Friday photos

click here.

For Evan

Looking east

 the sun setting over my shoulder 

 gulls came to rest on the beach

twilight beginning.

For My World Tuesday photos click here.

For Sky Watch photos from around the globe, click here.

Distant Horizon

Though dark and muted

   this winter palette brings unique hues 

to landscape and sky...

the distant horizon a place for 

quiet thought, reflection.

For My World Tuesday photos from around the globe click here.

Click for more Sky Watch photos

Indian Island Park

For our first hike of the year we choose a park we'd never visited before, Indian Island Park, a Suffolk county parkland of 275 acres.  One can normally drive around and through it but after a heavy snow barricades were up part way inside to keep vehicles off the unplowed areas.  It was a beautiful sunny day with almost no wind.  We walked the perimeter along the sandy shore of Flanders Bay to the white sand causeway then across to the picnic area where we had lunch at a picnic table in a sunbeam.  Descriptions of the park say the best times to visit are in the summer and early fall but the solitude of winter was perfect for us.  There were a few cross country skiers in the park and two kayaks on the bay but that was about it.

Shells as found...

For more Sky Watch photos click here.

On A Colder Note

Sunday morning we rose early to leave our Christmas family in Bayside and head out to the North Fork.  The weather folks warned us of a winter snow bearing up on us, as it was approaching from the south, and we thought it better to outrun the storm rather than get mired in it.  There was almost no traffic on the roads due to the day, the hour and the warnings so the drive was very pleasant as we recalled the events and conversations of the day before, but it was dark and eerie.  As we arrived a very fine snow began, then became suddenly thicker and the winds picked up and up gusting at 50 mph. sometimes higher.  There didn't seem to be much risk of physical danger as long as one used his brains and stayed off the treacherous roads.


So we got in the jeep to see what we could see.  Not much as it turned out.  With such low visibility I doubted that any photos I took would be usable and the chance that a fast moving highway department snowplow could open up our vehicle like a can of sardines sent us back to the nest.


The snow ceased Monday morning around 11 am after accumulating to nearly a foot overall.  It left many deep drifts closing roads.  High tide stacked up by wind flooded many low land areas.  But now we could see for some distance though the wind was still high and so decided to go out again.  Our travels took us from the Peconic Bay in Cutchogue, to the Bay in New Suffolk, on to the Long Island Sound at the Mattituck Inlet and across farmland to the Village of Southold where we stopped at Founder's Tavern for soup and burgers next to a warming fire before heading home.  These are some of the scenes we photographed. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Peconic Bay at New Suffolk

Mattituck Airport

Green Bouy at the Mattituck Inlet

Wind Over Farmland and a Copse of Trees

Soil Eroded by Wind Mixed With Snow

on Potato Harvesting Trucks

Wind on Low Road

Drifts After the Winds Calmed

For My World Photos click here.

For more Sky Watch photos from Around the Globe

click here.