The Promise of Beach Plums

 Hubby and I went to Sandy Hook just in time to see the beach plums blossoming. In order to have beach plums, we need pollinators. So, I was delighted to see this bumble bee helping out the process. Beach plums are not very big--about the size of a grape, though not as sweet. But the fruit makes a very tasty jam. Of course, other animals like beach plums. For instance, the herds of deer on Sandy Hook enjoy the fruit, too. 

Hopefully, there will be a few beach plums for me to nibble on come fall. But simply seeing the white blossoms all over the Hook was a cheerful site. Kudos to the bees, too. 

Wildlife

    Every winter, from November to April, harbor seals spend time lounging around in New Jersey. They migrate from colder areas in the north and enjoy the somewhat warmer winter in New Jersey. A large colony usually hauls out of the water near Sandy Hook, which is part of the National Park Service. 

     I enjoy Sandy Hook in all seasons of the year, but I go there in the winter specifically to see the seals. Sometimes, I get lucky—like last year. But this year I haven’t seen them though I’ve been there three times so far.

     The park now has specific parking spaces for those who hope to view the seals. You can usually tell where the seals are expected to be seen by the horde of people grouped together with large cameras. 

      Typically the seals haul out at low tide. But lately the weather has not been conducive to seal sighting due to some nasty storms. I tried to see the seals yesterday but the wind was so strong, I thought it might

knock me over. Lately, the seals are reported to haul out in an area visible from Officer’s Row, the former housing for officers from the time when Sandy Hook was the Fort Hancock Army base. Some of those houses are being repaired but some are in a state of severe decay. 

     Yesterday, any smart seal would have found a small cove somewhere where there wasn’t any wind. Disappointed, I headed for home. On the road out of the park, I saw a fox who apparently wanted to cross from one side of the road to the other. I stopped the car and grabbed my camera. I took off the lens cap. The fox crossed the road. I pushed the power button. The fox turned to look at me and I tried to focus on him. But he turned around and went on his way. I got a picture of his back end.

     

     I thought I might be lucky and get a few photos of the deer in the park, but they weren’t in their usual areas. They, too, probably found some nice cozy spot away from the wind.

     I’ll be back though. 

💗💗💗💗💗

The Bubble Lady

Image by misku from Pixabay 

On Palm Sunday, since it was a beautiful day, hubby and I went to Sandy Hook. We parked in Lot A to watch the surfers. The surf was churning and the surfers had a tough time catching those huge waves. We watched for a while, worrying about the guys in the water and counting to make sure they were still there. 

There weren't many people at all on that stretch of sand. Then a woman without any shoes on her feet walked to the edge of the water and held up a bubble wand. She let the wind make bubbles—lots of bubbles. Her legs were bare and she wore a bright yellow skirt. The wind carried her bubbles over the dunes toward the bay. I wondered why she was doing that. Did she have a gallon of bubble juice she wanted to get rid of? Was she celebrating something? A divorce? Or was she simply trying to cheer herself and others and relieve their coronavirus anxiety?

I'll never know. It was chilly that day and after a while, hubby and I wanted to be warm again, so we walked back to the car. We passed a pair of lovely white sandals with iridescent straps. I figured the sandals belonged to the bubble lady.

A few days later, Sandy Hook--along with all the state and county parks in New Jersey--was closed. Maybe, when the parks open again I'll make bubbles to celebrate.

The Beach in the Wintertime

I love the beach. I love it in all seasons of the year--although sometimes even the beach is too hot in the summertime. And too crowded.

Since the temperature hovered near forty degrees on Saturday. I went to the beach. The photo above is on the bay side of Sandy Hook, looking toward what's known as Skeleton Hill Island. I wanted to see the harbor seals who spend the winter on that sandbar. There's no way to get close to the seals. They are protected by law, but they are also rather smart and stay on their little sandbar while people stand on the shore and use binoculars to gawk at the seals.

However, I also needed a nice walk. I signed up for JeRoWriMo, the New Jersey Romance Writers' writing challenge this month. I've finished the first week of the challenge with a respectable amount of words toward the goal of 30,000 for the month.

But I needed to clear my head, get some fresh air, and exercise. So I did--at the beach. It was beautiful!