butterfly & flower

Butterflies are so intent on finding a tasty flower. They flit, land, flit again.

humans welcome!

After discovering yesterday that the land I was looking at from Halibut Point was Plum Island I decided to check the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge web site for the status of the beach. It closes each year on April 1st, reopening when the piping plovers nesting season is completed. I've been there in September in past years when the beach was still closed so I was quite surprised to find that the entire beach was open (to people) as of Friday. I couldn't resist so I headed to Parker River this morning.

I backtracked from parking log 3 to 2 when I found lot 3 was full. I wanted some shots of the inland side of the refuge in between the two parking lots so I walked back along the road before taking the long boardwalk to the beach. At the end of the boardwalk I found clumps of people enjoying the beach. I headed south along the ocean's edge where I very quickly found myself walking alone, enjoying the sound of the ocean. When I turned for the return walk I followed a trio of sanderlings as they skittered along the waters edge, taking to flight as the waves came too close, then landing and skittering once again.

What a nice way to spend a morning!

from a quiet ocean beach to inland waters wearing changing colors...

The first 16 photos in the gallery Parker River - 2013 are from today.

quarry & ocean, Halibut Point

I was thinking about a coastal destination this morning when I realized I hadn't visited Halibut Point since early in June. Ah, perfect! It was a good walking day, crisp temperatures and a clear blue sky. Oh, you're right, I do prefer clouds for more interesting photos; sometimes pure blue works too.

I was happy to find a map of the coast at the high point in the park since I was trying to figure out what I was seeing across the water as I looked to the north and west across Ipswich Bay. I believe I was seeing Plum Island, the home of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

If you look closely you can see a rim of land separating the ocean from the sky in the photo below.

The first 17 photos in the gallery Halibut Point - 2013 are from today's wander.

watching

bright, pink

I find it funny that my favorite photo from Sunday's quick visit to Fuller Gardens, a garden containing thousands of rose bushes, was something other than a rose.

swan in motion

A swan paddling happily, moving across the pond at Boston's Public Garden

flowers and fountains

A need for color pulled me to the New Hampshire coast today. I started with a visit to Fuller Gardens and then moved on to Portsmouth to wander through the gardens in Prescott Park.

a walk in Boston

The CoolGlobes exhibit pulled me into Boston this morning; walking in the Public Garden and along the Charles River Esplanade kept me happily wandering for a couple of hours.

I parked on a narrow street that runs along the Charles River in Cambridge, then walked across the under construction Longfellow Bridge. Cars can only run inbound to Boston but there are no restrictions on walkers. I found it interesting that while there was only one travel lane for cars there appear to be two bike lanes, the normal to the right of traffic lane for biking from Cambridge to Boston and one to the left of the traffic lane to reverse direction. I headed up Charles Street, then started around the Boston Common in search of a large population of globes. For anyone who heads to CoolGlobes, the globes on the Common are on the Tremont Street side of the park.

I always enjoy my next stop, the Public Garden. I looped the pond, watching the swan boats and the swans too.

Luckily there is a pedestrian bridge at the end of Arlington Street that flies above Storrow Drive, giving me a way to jump over to the Charles River Esplanade. There I found a few more globes and lots of people walking, biking, enjoying the river and the sunshine.

More photos from today can be seen in the gallery a walk in Boston, 2013.

layers of light

The setting sun created subtle colors and reflections.

on the beach near the tip of the Phippsburg peninsula, mid-coast Maine

fastened

I love that the fasteners on the (new) Memorial Bridge are wearing a coat of blue.