smooth

The sand is undisturbed, smoothed by ocean waters.

on the beach

The entire beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge closes each year on April 1st for the piping plover nesting season. It reopens when the birds are finished it, with the tips of the beach often opening before the bulk of the beach. On Monday I received an email from the refuge saying that the beach south of parking lot 6 was open.

Yesterday I walked the beach at Parker River for the first time since early March.

It's still greenhead fly season so I wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt plus I was covered with bug spray (which admittedly doesn't work againt greenheads). Perhaps the wind kept them away.

The walk felt wonderful!

If I remember correctly the full beach opened last year just before Labor Day. I'm happy to have the small piece that opened this week for now.

goldfish on a wall

Yesterday afternoon I headed to Salem to visit the murals. While most are in a three block radius in the neighborhood known as "El Punto", there are also some in other places.

These goldfish live on the edge of the neighborhood.

To see more murals captured during yesterday's walk in Salem, click to the gallery murals in Salem :: 2021.

solo

A single coneflower decorates the garden with a splash of pink.

a ship in the distance

A ship exiting the Piscataqua River is seen from the shore at Odiorne Point State Park.

in an alley

Thursday was a walking in Portsmouth, NH day.

A walk down an alley uncovered a set of murals created by Brian René Bergeron. The black & white paintings show the subtle beauty of the coast.

patterns of green

Grasses and cattails form patterns of green. Wildflowers embedded with the cattails provide a small pop of pink.

delicate

Cosmos plants have a delicate flower; they wear a gentle beauty.

purple

An open bellflower in purple provides a pop of color in Maudslay State Park.

a mushroom walk

Today's walk in Maudslay State Park gifted me with memories of my mother.

I remember her looking for big mushrooms or fungus, placing the cap on a piece of paper and waiting for the spores to fall onto the paper. The resulting patterns were always interesting.

This morning I walked with my eyes scanning the ground around me, looking for interesting mushrooms.