Beach stuff/erosion

Sanibel Island is a barrier island off the Southwest coast of Florida.  It is about 12 miles long, shaped like a crescent or boomarang.  Its beaches on the Gulf side vary in width and in popularity.  Unlike many other beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, Sanibel's beaches are not groomed.  No machines run up and down the beach combing up cans, seaweed, driftwood, shells, dead fish, abandoned sand toys.  That's probably why shell collectors love it - - I myself cannot leave Sanibel without carrying home a shell or two to add to the bags that rest semi-forgotten in a corner somewhere.

I've posted a few photographs of some of the things I saw this month - besides birds, people, sunrises and sunsets.

At low tide, the sea leaves behind seagrasses,
big barnacled pen shells, and many fragments of smaller shells.

A close-up shot of a barnacle-covered pen shell.



I think these are Florida Fighting Conchs, about 2.5 inches. 
When a very high tide recedes, sometimes these animals are exposed.
I saw a child picking them up and tossing them back into the sea.
 He didn't realize in six hours or so  the next high tide would cover them again.



This little olive shell's animal left a distinctive trail,
despite its unbelievably slow progress.

The receding tide also left behind this damaged sea star.
Four of its arms are damaged, and five are intact.
It's about the size of a dinner plate.

One morning the tide left behind many tiny silvery fish -
sardines, like this one, killed by a recent red tide.



These plovers peck around in the sand, seeking something so small I couldn't identify it.  
These birds  are not solitary; seldom is one seen by itself.



Sometime during the past year, the sea crept (or swept) up and
stole away part of the barrier of grass and shrubs.  

That presents a problem for the owners of the condo building
whose boardwalk  now ends abruptly some 4 feet above the beach.

I doubt that the sea carried this hibiscus blossom ashore.
More likely the wind carried it here.

People build things in the sand, using molds, shells, sticks, leaves,
long seeds of the red mangrove, anything that comes to hand.

Here are two formal and geometric structures,
along with some of the "sculptor's" tools.

Sanibel is famous for its sea turtle; the females lumber ashore
in summer months to lay their eggs.
Here's a carefully  created and highly individualistic sea turtle.

Dotting the shore are dead shrubs ornamented in sea-worn, sun-bleached shells.
 Kind of the way hikers in the Scottish mountains will add a stone to a cairn,
Sanibel's beachcombers will add a shell to this.

A lone spot of brightness to end the visit.

Second Inauguration

President Obama continues his journey into the history books. Officially sworn in yesterday, the big showy ceremony occurs in a few hours, down at the US Capitol. As with most of these four-year events, the weather is semi-cooperative.  The day dawned brightly. There's a threat of some rain, but to the West the sky is gray, just light gray - not the threatening black sky of downpours and gully-washers. And it will be cold. The temperature is forecast to be in the mid-forties - - not so bad. Certainly warmer than 2009's Inauguration Day.  And what will the crowd estimates be?

I've lived in this area most all of my life, except for brief periods in Massachusetts and the Deep South.  And I've only gone (with Joe) to one Inaugural Parade - never to the swearing-in, to a ball or a brunch.  I'm not tall enough to see over most people's shoulders, and I am not fond of being squeezed in a crowd.  So if I participate at all, it's as a couch-potato, sitting in my living room.

On Saturday, however, I decided at the last minute to do a bit of public service - I went to Swain's Lock and checked it out.  Surprisingly clean - - I found only one beer bottle and two squashed aluminum cans.  Very little debris and litter.  About a dozen bottle caps, both metal and plastic.

For some reason, folks like to move tables around.  So now Site No. 5 has no table, Site No. 4 has two.   Site No. 2 has no table, Site No. 1 has two.  Those tables are VERY heavy - my guess is that a bunch of men want more seating for their late-night partying.

One very odd find was a Grumman canoe, rather dingy both inside and out.  It contained two paddles, a beat-up PFD, a beat-up flotation cushion and some scrapy pieces of foam insulation.  It had a yellow painter at the bow.  Two boards were screwed into the gunnels for seating.  And a smallish soccer ball - - or volley ball.  I'm not sure I know the difference.

Then I moved downstream to Great Falls and walked out to Olmstead Island.  The river is very high - word is that Billy  Goat Trail was closed (or at least part of it).  So here are some photos of the muddy-brown and raging waters from the Overlook (above) and from one of the bridges (below).

Finally, I checked out the one remaining replica canal boat - the packet boat "Charles F. Mercer", on drydock at Great Falls.  There's been some work on the rubbing boards.  It looks as though the boards are being replaced.  I'd noticed last summer that they'd been looking somewhat splintered; perhaps a harder wood was needed.

The Charles F. Mercer in drydock.
Just below the lower blue-gray area the rubbing board has
 been  removed and the interior ribs are exposed.  The rubbing
boards protect the hull while the boat is in the lock and when locking through.

Aberdour Village

A fanciful signpost at Aberdour's station.

September 2012 after St. Cuthbert's Way.  We made our way via motor coach and train to the village of Aberdour and the hotel of the same name.  Pat, Tina, Helen and I had stayed several years ago after our Speyside hike.  I fell so in love with the town that I dreamed about staying on until my bank account was drained.  So here we were, again, in this little town.  So far as I can tell, it has no grocery store, one convenience store, a postoffice that's in a dusty second-hand bookshop.  It has a library/town hall, a large lawn bowling fields, a tea shop, and two hotels.  I think there's more of the town that stretches eastward (?) along the road but I've not travelled that far.

No, what made this town so appealing were the two beaches, the tiny harbour, the stationmaster at the village station.

Stationmaster first.  His name is Trevor.  Years ago that was all we knew.  He was very helpful and very interested in our comings and goings.  He certainly did more that just sell tickets.  We'd planned to visit the Falkirk Wheel and do some walking at the same time.  Trevor said we could take the train, walk along a canal to the wheel, take a ride, walk back up the hill and through a tunnel to the other canal, walk from there to the next tunnel, which we'd avoid by going down the stairs to a different train station.  Or something equally complicated.  Anyway, it all worked, we rode the trains, walked the canals, climbed the hill, and had a whirl in a boat on the wheel.

Trevor, it seems, has become famous.  His villagers nominated him for an MBE, a Queen's Honour, and it was awarded to him in June.  http://www.forthone.com/news/scots-make-the-queens-birthday-honours-list/
To say he was excited and thrilled, even three months after receiving the award, is quite an understatement.  What made it special to him is that it was an award initiated by his friends in the village.



So here are some of my photographs; there may be lots and lots of the Black Sands beach because of the drama between high tide and low tide.

But first:  Trevor Francis and his station.

Here he is, working away on his day off (!!) and as friendly as ever.  Yes, he remembered the four American women, even though two of us (Barbara and Sandy) were not the originals.  And once again he gave us good advice for travelling to various nearby places, including how to get to Edinburgh's airport without going into the city.




And his train station, with the Victorian cast iron columns and decoration beneath the eaves, the flower boxes and hanging plants and hillside across the track filled with all shades of green foliage.

Trevor keeps the station  in good order,
does all the painting, cleaning,  maintenance,
all the while suffering from arthritic knees.  
He has a small greenhouse nearby and tends to
all of the hanging baskets and plants himself.

The hotel is three stories high, rooms on the upper floors,
dining room and public bar on the ground floor,
and more rooms in the old stable/laundry.
It's an 18th century building., so we were told.

One of the brief commercial strips in the village.

The green one is a shop selling handmade things, from jewelry to knicknacks.

A very important-looking house, set back as it is.
But not forbidding:  the gate was always open.

Homes along the road to the harbour.  Most all buildings are
constructed of stone - in ample supply in Scotland.

If memory serves, this is the Aberdour Boating Association.
To me it looks more like a  movie set for a film about gremlins or goblins.

Boats in the harbor, at high tide.  What's the body of water?
Why, the Firth of Forth.  We are across the Forth
from Edinburgh, more or less.

Same boats, same harbor, but at low tide and from the opposite seawall..

Looking to the East from Black Sands beach at high tide.

Same view as above, but at low tide, and I backed up a bit.

See why it's called Black Sands?

The islands on the horizon house an abandoned WW II lookout
and ruins of a medieval abbey.
Beyond, on the other side of the  Forth is Edinburgh.

Farther along the Forth is the Silver Sands beach - -
well, the black rocks are gone but a sign warns of soft sands.

Silver Sands has a car park and tables, benches, and a modern cafe..
Sandy is wearing the hat; Pat is sitting down.  Barbara is somewhere,
probably taking some very nice photographs.  She's good at that.

Most of our dinners were eaten in the bar.  It's very cozy and friendly.
The bartender is very helpful (and is the owner,
with his wife).  Quite nice, quite comfortable.

On the last morning, there's a rainbow to see us on our (very wet) way.

My Dad's Family - chapter two

Several weeks back my brother Paul posted a vintage photo of some young men/boys, a sign, and an old car.  He challenged us to identify the people, the car, the sign, and the event.  So many responses came in - - some cousins (Clare, Leo, Elois) could easily identify their dads, others of us guessed about identities, and Elois chided the rest for ignoring the little person in the lower left corner.

"Down on the Iowa Farm" was Paul's caption.

As for the sign, it clearly referred to a happy event involving a horse owned by Henri Lefebure [father of all the photographed subjects].  And Elois' son Tom researched the well-known [among family members] mare named Anna du Balcan, who'd been chosen the Grand Champion Mare at the Iowa State Fair in 1914 . . . evidently a great triumph.  I blogged about this on December 26th 2012.

So there remained that car, which we thought was the Ford Model T.  What about it?  Just coincidentally,  Joe and I flew into Ft. Myers International Airport earlier this month. On display in the lobby is this car, on loan from the Edison-Ford Winter Estates, a museum in Ft. Myers, Florida.

View from the driver's side

Two views from passenger's side - roughly the side
that appears in the old family photograph

The identifying plaque:  Ford 1914 Model  T

If you cannot read the plaque, here's what it says:

Edison & Ford Winter Estates

Ford 1914 Model  T

A crank was used to start this vehicle, which has four cylinders and a maximum speed of 20-25 MPH.  Original price: $460

Note the carbide generator on running board for supplying acetyli\ene gas to the headlights.

Home, sweet home - ??

Ah, the beach!

I think we've settled back in.  Unpacked and laundered the salty/sandy clothes.  Put away another batch [small this time] of special shells.  Uploaded several hundred photographs.  And recall the joy of walking outside without coat/hat/mittens/etc.  Sanibel, I love you a lot.  Especially this year - the warmest two weeks in January I've ever known - even counting those years I spent in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida!

So here are some of my photographs of the beaches, the birds, the shells, the people.

dog fanciers and friends

Bikes for rent

Practicing the Sanibel Stoop

Early morning traffic stop - for white ibises with
their curved pink bills and long pink legs

"Happy New Year 2013" on the beach -
from a Canadian visitor?

An island pond next to the inn

Beach art at foggy dawn

water's edge with pelicans and gulls

Another kind of water's edge

Trimming the coconut palm to protect the inn's guests

Beachwalker at sunrise

A flock of gulls about to land.
Is Alfred Hitchcock filming here?

Sometimes dawn can be spectacular - - 

As can sunlight through dark clouds

Another of Sanibel's spectacular sunsets over the beach.

Fashion-conscious photographer:   did he choose those pants knowing
 he'd see the roseate spoonbills (the pink birds).