sanderlings

One large sea gull stood on the beach as I started my walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge yesterday. It stood, it walked a bit, then it flew off leaving me on the beach without any bird companions.

I walked a bit further before encountering a large flock of sanderlings. These small birds have always fascinated me as they run down the beach, running in one direction then changing direction as a group. Do some of their chirps signal direction changes? I'd love to know how they communicate with each other.

outbound tide

With a projected high temperature in the mid to upper-30s an afternoon walk on the beach sounded good. Luckily I checked the tide charts early, changing my beach plans to late morning to coincide with the outbound tide. Today's destination was the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

The sky was clear this morning but as I neared the coast a layer of clouds appeared. As I walked south, there were layers of gray. When I turned back the sky started to wear blue again.

I love walking on the hard sand left by the receding tide, the sound of the ocean creating music and a sense of calm.

Maudslay morning

As the temperature slowly edged towards the freezing mark I headed to Maudslay State Park for a walk in the woods. The trails show signs of muddy conditions from days ago, frozen now into an uneven surface containing footprints and ruts from mountain bikes. Luckily the grassy surface to the side of the trail was smooth.

I heard creaking and cracking noises as ice settled on streams and ponds, and the Merrimack River showed a mix of open water and ice. In spite of the lack of snow, winter has made its mark.

to dream

The mural "You can't untangle my roots", created by Angela Gonzalez, can be used as a trigger for dreaming.

It features a person, a head filled with dreams of beautiful places, roots leading down her back expressing a desire to hold onto those dreams.

cake first!

After venturing down an alley in Salem I found this small mural next to the back door of a building. Usually exercise comes first for me but this mural's saying brings a smile to my face: "Life's short, cake first!".

Maybe my priorities should change.

on the wall

Brr! It was a cold day today, a day when it would have been easy to stay inside, to curl up with a book. Knowing that it was the start of several days of temperatures forecast to stay in the 20s, I dressed for the cold and headed to Salem.

My destination was a neighborhood called The Point, the home of the Punto Urban Art Museum. The project is led by the North Shore CDC with the following goal stated on the website.

The Museum was created to break down the invisible, but undeniable socio-economic barrier between the Point Neighborhood and the rest of Salem and the North Shore. Through stunning, world class art, we want children in the Point neighborhood to grow up with pride, and we want the rest of the community to have a reason to visit and discover the welcoming community that we know and love.

I love walking through the neighborhood, peeking between buildings, wandering through alleys to find murals in many shapes and sizes. Some were easy to capture with my camera, some were very difficult. I plan to visit many times to try again!

More photos of the murals can be seen in the gallery murals in Salem :: 2019.

blue and white

The sky wore decorations in the form of pure white clouds. Blue and white shaped reflections on the still unfrozen surface of a pond.

curves

The curved petals of an orchid reach towards the curved lines of a leaf.

sunshine

A reflected image of the sun forms a star in the waters of Field Pond.

icy

It was a cold winter day, with an early morning temperature of 18 degrees. Brr!

Some of the ponds in Harold Parker State Forest still show areas of open water; others are fully frozen. The icy surface of Stearns Pond reflects the blue of today's clear sky.