Boating Season's End

We are coming to the end of the boating season.

The days are getting cooler and the breeze off the water can be quite chilling.

There was a time when we took the boat out into November, fishing or just watching the sunset.

I'd wear foul-weather gear, with hats and gloves and water repellent fabrics.

Those days are over. Is it my age that makes me intolerant of the cold? Or is it just that I'm at the point in my life where being uncomfortable is not necessary.

I realized a few years ago, that I can choose my environment, no longer confined to a work schedule.

Give me warm days all year. I want to live like the snow birds!

Ruddys

Ruddys, a photo by Alida's Photos on Flickr.

At the Jupiter Inlet, Florida

Just like Long Island, the birds stand around in groups enjoying the sunshine!

Skimmers at Nickerson Beach

skimmers, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

~~~~~

I went over to Nickerson Beach yesterday, Nassau County.....yes, I left my zip code!

Just kidding, of course!

I've been wanting to go there to see these beautiful nesting birds but waited until after Labor Day. During the summer, parking there is pretty expensive for non-residents, and it's not like I was staying all day. (The gas to get there was cost enough!)

I just wanted to see the birds.

*Nickerson Beach*

~~~

If you had told me 30 years ago that I would be traveling to see birds, I would not have believed you. After all, I was a "Brooklyn girl" and the only birds I ever saw were pigeons and sparrows.

There are birds in the city of course, but I just never noticed I guess.

It wasn't until I moved to Long Island, and became an adult, that I realized the variety of birds that we have.

I always enjoyed nature, but I was young and too involved in my own world to realize the pleasure that birding can bring. My parents enjoyed nature also, and would take the family to parks and rivers. We would pick wild berries in the country and clams and mussels on the beach.

So, I knew from very young that I enjoyed being outdoors.

I now have a "life list" of birds that I've seen. I buy bird ID books and use binoculars to see the differences in the coloring and beaks to help with identification.

Yep, I never would have thought........

Our lives take different turns, and the journey is often unpredictable.

That's a good thing.

~~~