Another week has come and gone

It's been another lovely week here in Myrtle Beach.  John and Grace have arrived and we've been able to enjoy a fun couple of rounds of golf with them.  We feel so blessed to be able to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

Golfing has been a lot of fun.  Most of the time the courses aren't that busy so we have never felt rushed as we've played.  The courses are all in good condition however at times they can be pretty wet in places.  I think it must rain at night because for the most part we haven't had very much rain during the daytime.

While out for a walk I spotted this jellyfish on the beach. It was huge.  I put my room key beside it to give you an idea of size.  I find it sad when I see these on the beach as they look so beautiful swimming in the ocean although I understand that they have a pretty wicked sting.

After golfing at True Blue we went back to Caledonia Golf course to take a few more photographs of the Oak tree's with the moss hanging from them.  They are so hauntingly beautiful!!

While walking along the beach I spied this gull with what looked like a beard or puffed out breast.  It almost looked like a goitre or tumour.  I did some research to see if I could find what this was thinking maybe it had to do with looking for mate but I couldn't find anything.  Needless to say it certainly set this gull apart from the other birds.

We have been truly blessed with amazing sunsets and sunrises.  The warmth of the sun is always reflected so nicely by the ocean and it's one of my favourite times to shoot photos.  I often get out for a walk just before dinner to share this time with the birds on the beach.

Taken at mid-day directly into the sun

Today the forecast was for rain for most of the day. When I woke up the sky was very promising so I went down to the beach and looked for some different compositions.  While I don't find these fences very attractive, they do add some interest to the pictures.  The wind was blowing slightly and as a result the grasses reflect some motion as well.  I'm glad I went down as the colour reflected in the water this morning was beautiful.  I'm always amazed at how quickly the colours change and then all of a sudden it's gone.

A day of rest

Today is Sunday.  I love Sundays, getting ready to go to church and listen and learn as the pastor preaches on a chapter in the bible.  Today we had a sermon from Isaiah 5: 8-30 on the Six Woes.  It was a very interesting sermon and very thought provoking.  We met several members at church today as well.  One lady reminded us so much of Mrs. Buikema.  She was very friendly and made both of us smile.  Ralph particularly enjoyed the way she caressed the back of his neck when she was talking lol.  You will have to ask him about that hah hah.  

Prior to church I had woken up early so I decided to go down to the beach again to take photo's of the sunrise.  The sunrise itself was very muted and had a really heavy cloud above it making it a bit disappointing but it was still nice to be by the ocean enjoying the waves crashing.  I tried a few different things but wasn't overly happy with the results.

After lunch we decided to spend the afternoon again at Huntington Beach.  We really love it there enjoying the birds.  This time, the Herons were pretty active.  I think mating season is upon us and they were very animated with each other.  It was fun to watch.  The grey heron kept chasing the white heron.  She didn't seem particularly interested which only made him try harder.

Hah, hah, hah, this was so funny the way the heron would swing his head back and forth trying to impress the female.  When he became too obnoxious she would turn and take flight.  

As the tide was going out, it became fishing time.  These herons are amazing at catching their dinner.  Ralph and I are so amazed at the size of the fish that they catch and the way they slowly turn their catch (head first) and swallow them whole.  It's quite a process to watch and we are just in awe of how God created these birds.

While we were there we saw the Osprey but sadly the Eagle only few high up in the sky and didn't come down to do any fishing this time.  Oh well, we have plenty of opportunities to see it while we are here.

We decided to take a walk to the other path and enjoyed seeing the turtles and some night shade herons.  There was a alligator but I didn't see it.  The heron's were well hidden in the reeds and we couldn't really capture a nice picture of them.

On our way home we drove to Caledonia Golf course to capture a photo of their beautiful drive into the course.  I love these majestic Oak Trees and how they line the entire road into the course.

Since I didn't quite have my 10,000 footsteps, I went down to walk the beach when we got back to the Condo.  Since leaving for vacation, I have achieved a minimum of 10,000 steps every day.  This is something that I want to keep doing when I get home as well.  I feel so much better when I'm out walking.,

I was delighted to see a sun flare.  It was beautiful to see.

Where does the time go?

This morning I woke up and looked out of the window.  Oh it's going to be a beauty today I thought.  As I got dressed I wasn't sure if I should go down to the beach or simply stay on the balcony.  I haven't been to the beach to take photo's yet and the temperature wasn't exactly inviting.  As I waited for the coffee to brew I made up my mind to go down.  Todays colours were very promising and the fact that it was so cold (2c) meant that I wouldn't have to worry about anyone walking in front of my camera.  So with coffee in hand, riding boots on and my camera firmly mounted to my tripod, off I went.  The wind was blowing quite strongly so I had to take my camera strap off to avoid any kind of shake.  That done, I settled in and set up my shot.  Wow, I thought!  This morning is absolutely amazing.  The colours were so vibrant.  The reds, yellows and blues.  I loved how the sun reflected on the sand and water.

Since it was going to be another cold day, we decided to make a nice pot of chilli.  As I sat and worked on developing some prints I could smell the chilli cooking in the background.  It smelled delicious and made me anticipate having a bowl later today.

This afternoon we decided to go to Huntington Beach to see if any new birds had returned. To our surprise and delight there were many Robins present. The tree’s were filled with them. It was hard to capture them on film but the photo below will give you an idea. They were in many of the trees.

As well, there were hundreds of Cedar Waxwings which were also very difficult to capture on film because they were so small.

We enjoyed watching the Merganser ducks and the marsh regulars. We also saw a Kingfisher but it was a little too far away to capture any detail.