First Picnic of the Year

We stopped at a Sound Beach in East Marion.  The sky was so clear and blue.  The sun seemed to pick out every pebble and stone and gave each one it's own place.  Across the road on Oyster Ponds the little boat house and crab shack seemed to have settled more than we'd remembered while on the calm Sound gulls gathered by the dozens in a Saturday flotilla.  Before long an SUV pulled up near us.  A mother and her five kids got out, opened up the back and pulled out everything they'd need for a picnic on the beach.  It was still cold, in the very low 40s and there was some wind to add to the chill but none of that dampened their spirits.  The picnic basket was opened and they got right to it hunkered down in a bit of low place.  Soon done they chased each other around laughing for a few minutes then loaded it back in and were gone just like that.  What a wonderful way for them to make a memory of March 6, 2010.

The Quiet of Winter

 

 ...

 All is still.  Now and then a fresh breath of wind... here, then gone again.  The call of a distant gull, the whisper of a wavelet reaching the sand is heightened by the surrounding silence.  Peace, perfect peace.

 

For more Sky Watch Friday photos from around the globe click here.

A Valentine's Day Walk

 

It was a bright sunny day, a good day to walk off some of that cabin fever.  It was cold too with chilling winds.  We really needed to bundle up but it was very worth while just to get out and stretch.  I could feel myself loosening up during our hike through the Inlet Pond Preserve and along the Peconic Bay shoreline.  Nothing could be better than to come back home to share our table and cozy hearth with family.  One day soon we should see the first buds of Spring.

A distant flock of swans

A wave on the sound

 

Driftwood logs at rest

On an even keel

For more Sky Watch Photos click here.

Morning After a Snow Fall

 

This morning I gazed at the apple orchard as I drank my coffee.  The sun had risen to about 20 degrees above the horizon and cast a lovely light upon the trees and barn.  Finally the coffee started doing it's thing and I realized that I was just sitting there when I could be out in the cold taking a shot or two before the scene changed... the rest of my coffee could wait!

 

  

  

For more Sky Watch Friday photos from around the globe click here.

Sunday Sunrise Over the Peconic Bay

We got up around 5am Sunday morning, had coffee and a doughnut, Amy worked at a book design on her laptop at the dining room table while I lazed in my chair catching up on email, facebook and such.  When I looked up sometime later there was pink light coming through a window by the fireplace.  I hopped up to look out and realized that a very special dawn was afoot.  I dressed as quickly as possible grabbed the camera and drove the one mile south to the bay way too fast, these things don't wait until you're ready.  It was very cold.  I shot multiple bracketed exposures until my fingers couldn't take it any more, around fifteen minutes.  By then the best of it was gone.  I went back to the jeep and folded up the tripod, knowing I must have gotten one or two good shots (I'd taken 80 or so!)  As I climbed in I noticed a fellow sitting in his pick-up truck nearby.  He gave me a "thumbs up" as he pointed toward the bay sky.  I waved back, happy.  Click on photos to enlarge.

 

On this shot just right of center one can see a high sand dune on the Southampton shore across the bay that we used to climb for the great view.  It's now off limits as too much playful traffic had become destructive.

 

For more Sky Watch photos from around he globe, click here.