Myrtle Beach - January 16 - January 23

January 16 - today we woke up to pouring rain.  I was disappointed as I was looking forward to a walk along the beach today.  Thankfully around 3:00 the rain stopped and the sun came out.  The waves were huge so I thought I would go and check them out and bring my camera along.

January 17 - today we went with John and Grace to Huntington Beach.  It was really windy while we were there.  We enjoyed a nice walk through the park.  We were lucky once again to see the Barred Owl.  What a treat.  John also saw a Palliated Woodpecker during our walk.  Many of the birds were in hiding today although the white Pelicans were there in a large group swimming together.

Earlier in the day we went for a walk along the beach.  We were amazed at the number of star fish that had washed up on the sand.  I'm trying to dry a few out.  I also found 8 sea urchins.  This must be the result of the high winds yesterday blowing lots of new things up onto the sand.

 

I also spotted this Horseshoe crab.  I tried to see if it was still alive as it was washed up high on the beach but sadly it wasn't.  I was prepared to bring it to the water to help save it.

Tonight was going to be a full moon and I recalled a couple of years ago around this time that it came up really red in the sky.  I set an alarm to remind myself and had my camera set up nice and early.  It's so far away and I think I had a bit of shake in my camera but I'm still happy with the result!!

January 19-20 - Golf days!  We golfed at the "Cats" which is a favourite of ours.  On Wednesday we played Panthers Run and on Thursday we played Lion's Paw.  Both are nice courses.  It's interesting to play with all the dormant grass but it makes for a fun game.

We were blessed with an amazing sunrise both mornings as well.

January 21 - today is an interesting day.  The weather has changed again.  Yesterday, I wore shorts and a sleeveless top while golfing and this morning (on my walk) I had a winter coat and vest on and still felt the cold.  The weather forecasters were having a hayday predicating all sorts of crazy weather.  They were calling for freezing rain and recommending that everyone stay home.... don't venture out etc etc.  Most stores and all schools were closed and we saw all sorts of Hydro trucks driving down the roads in anticipation of many tree's falling.  So far, it's drizzled a little and the temperate has hit "0".  No major storm yet although now they are saying it's coming in the evening.  We'll see what happens.  Needless to say, it was a quiet day.  I walked the beach 3 times looking for treasures and then later in the day practiced with my camera and new tripod head.  We decided to replace the head on my tripod to one dedicated to birding.  Its a really nice addition to the tripod as it allows you to scan left and right and up and down very smoothly as if you were holding your camera freehand. It helps to stabilize the weight of the camera as I am starting to find that it's very heavy to hold with the larger lens and extender on thus causing more camera shake and blurry pictures.  From the balcony on the 15th floor I shot a few birds down by the beach.  I think I'm going to like it, but I won't know till we get back to Huntington.  

January 22 - we woke up this morning to a world of glittering ice.  Thankfully Myrtle Beach didn't get any snow - however up north near Florence which is about an hour away - they got 3 inches.  As we looked off our balcony we didn't realize how icy it was until I went down for my walk.  Wow - the palm tree's were frozen, as were all the flowers in the gardens.  Even the artificial grass that leads to the beach was like a skating rink.  I didn't dare walk over it and decided to delay my walk until the afternoon after it melted.  I was surprised that even later in the day - there was still ice everywhere and it was quite dangerous with it falling off the palm tree as it came down in long shards which were like daggers.  I wasn't able to get access to the beach until around 2:45.  It was an interesting day for sure.

Myrtle Beach - January 9 - 16

January 9 - the sun is shining brightly today and the weather forecast is calling for warm temperatures.  It might be a "shorts" day after church.  We decided to take our lunch and head out to Huntington Beach again.  I've been struggling with getting clarity that I find acceptable on some of my pictures.  With Ralph's help (he did some research) and practice, we have figured out the best setting to use with the lens that I have chosen for the bird shots.  It was time to practice.  Overall, I am so thrilled at how well the shots turned out.

January 10 - today we went golfing at River Club.  It was a little chilly when we started out but then the sun warmed things up.  We played quickly and finished our round in 3 hours.  While our scores weren't the greatest, the game was fun and we both enjoyed ourselves.

January 11-12 - these past two days have been quiet.  We've been walking the beach daily and early in the morning we went to Costco and also did a little Consignment shopping.  I really enjoy looking through the consignment shops in Myrtle Beach.  There are some amazing deals to be had.  

January 13 - today we left early this morning for Huntington Beach.  What a great day we had.  We were there at around 10:00 and got back to the condo by around 3:30.  The highlight of the day was seeing that juvenile eagle (Ralph got some amazing shots as I was further up the causeway) and we also saw a Barred Owl.  Overall there aren't alot of birds out but we're hoping that more come as the days progress.

January 15 - we headed out to Huntington Beach again.  This time we wanted to take an early morning sunrise.  We were up at 5:15 and on the road by 5:50.  Hah hah, we were a little early and sat in the dark enjoying our coffee.  We had arrived around 6:20 and didn't see any light until 6:45.  It was pretty cold out in the middle of the marsh as the wind was blowing across the water.  I had left my gloves in the truck (not smart) but we stayed out and enjoyed the sunrise.

Afterwards we did some exploring.  We saw two Barred Owls first thing this morning but didn't have our cameras ready to take a shot.  We found one of them again later in the morning which was nice. The juvenile eagle was out again as well and he went after the fish that the osprey was eating.  He chased the osprey for quite a while.  Off in the distance we also spotted two mature Eagles but they were too far away to capture a good shot.

Myrtle Beach -January 2 - January 8

January 2 - in between church services we decided to go to Huntington Beach to enjoy seeing the birds.  It was quiet there, as if the birds knew that a storm was coming.  With coffee in hand, we strolled out onto the causeway to see what was there. We walked further up the causeway and found some beautiful Roseate Spoonbills.  We were quire surprised as they usually head to Florida for the winter.  There was at least 5 there.   We didn't stay long though as the rain came chasing them all away. 

January 3 - today we experienced a really high and really low tide like we have never seen before.   The tide came right up to the dunes and even went into them.  It was pretty incredible to see.  The weather turned colder, but still warmed up nicely in the afternoon.  It was extremely windy and I suspect that this was the contributing factor to the water being so high.  Chairs were blown into the pool and tables were over turned.  It was pretty crazy.

January 4 - today we decided to drive to North Myrtle Beach and explore Cherry Grove Beach.  This area is said to have "lots" of sharks teeth.  Well I don't know about "lots" but Ralph sure found a big one!  We were pretty excited by that!!

January 5 - Golf Day!!  We went golfing at Litchfield Golf and Country Club today, We were really looking forward to this!!  The weather forecast was perfect.  Ralph was evening planning on wearing short.  It's a good thing he didn't because it started rain on the 3rd hole and didn't stop until the 16th hole.  After that the sun came out and warmed things up.  We stopped for a short while at Huntington Beach to enjoy the birds for a while.  Needless to say we were pretty tired when we got home so it was an early night!!

January 6 - we were up early today and on the road by 6:15.  We had read about a Sharks Museum in Aurora, North Carolina that sounded really intriguing.  It was a little over 3.5 hours to get there, but what a fun day we had.  The Museum offered two "sand pits" where you could dig for sharks teeth.  Since our goal was to find a tooth a day for Brody, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to "stock up".  We dug for almost 4 hours and found roughly 270 teeth.  How amazing is that!  It sure was fun!  We were back in Myrtle Beach around 6:30.  It sure was a "full day" but one we will remember for a long time.  We got pretty dirty and it took 3 rounds in the washing machine to finally get our clothes clean.

January 7 - today was a catchup day.  Time to do grocery shopping and beach walking.  It was a nice relaxing day.  We had bible study as well in the evening.  It was nice to be together with our group. It was a good lesson on "fasting".

January 8 - overnight the weather turned pretty cold.  We dressed in our warm clothes and headed our for our daily walk.  Today was the first day that we found shells on the beach.  The waves were blowing in from a different direction and that may be the reason that I was able to find some. Later in the afternoon we went to Huntington Beach to enjoy the birds,   I have never seen as many "white" pelicans before.  The majority of birds right now are pelicans which we find pretty unusual.  The regular osprey was there, but very few ibis, egret and herons were around.  I hope they find their way there.  We miss them.

Myrtle Beach - December 26 - January 1, 2022

We are about to embark on our winter stay in Myrtle Beach.  I've decided to update my blog weekly so as not to fill up peoples "mail boxes".  Each week will reflect the fun that we've had while enjoying our time away.

December 26 - today is Ralph's 63rd birthday.  We celebrated it by being up early and watching a beautiful sunrise this morning.  Afterwards we had a nice walk before sitting down to watch church.  It was a nice relaxing day.

During our walk we found a few sharks teeth. These are actually a pretty good size and we were excited to show them to Brody.

December 27 - Today was another beautiful day.  Ralph and I were out walking early in the morning and wearing shorts and t-shirts.  It's pretty amazing how warm it's been.  I was planning another walk later in the afternoon and had told Ralph that I wasn't going to bring my camera as I didn't expect much of a sunset.  I hadn't gone very far before I realized how wrong I was.  I quickly went back to our room and grabbed my camera.  Here are two of the shots that I took. I really wanted to capture the reflection in the sand as the sky was changing colour.  It didn't last long, but while it was here it was very pretty.

December 29 - I saw my first Eagle today.  That was really exciting to see.  I saw it when we went out grocery shopping.  We are now moved into our Condo for the rest of our stay.  It's nice and comfortable with a great view of the ocean.  This mornings sunrise was nice.  I didn't go down to the beach this time but rather set up my tripod on the balcony.  I prefer the pictures done at the beach level, but I was making coffee at the time and some days the colour changes so quickly

I went for a nice walk in the afternoon.  It was quieter on the beach by the time I went out.  I was amazed at the number of gulls and terns that were making their way to the beach.  There was thousands of them in the water and on the beach.  It was pretty interesting to see but a little intimidating when they all take to the sky and "woosh" directly overhead.  

December 31 - I find it hard to believe that it's the last day of the year.  We left for Myrtle Beach a week ago and the time has flown by.  We're being careful and sticking close to our condo and the beach.  It's busy here right now and I think it's actually busier because of the amazing weather that we have had.  Yesterday was a rainy day and we enjoyed it by reading a couple of books.  Once finished we are placing them outside of our room on a side table for others to enjoy.  We've noticed that people are taking some of them back to their rooms which is nice to see.  

This morning, it looked pretty stormy first thing, but then the sky exploded into colour.  It made me think of fireworks.  What a beautiful start to the last day of the year.

During the evening a really heavy fog rolled in off the ocean.  It was a little disappointing as I had hoped to practice photographing some fireworks.  There were still plenty that were set off, but the fog made it impossible to obtain any form of focus and I wasn't able to capture the beautiful display.

January 1 - Happy New Year!  The fog from last night stayed until a little after noon today.  Everything was damp outside.  The temperature was nice though and made it nice later in the day for Ralph to do his Polar Bear dip.  He wanted to do this to support his brother and nephews - who went into Lake Ontario yesterday.  The water was pretty rough and the waves were quite high.  I was glad that the sun was shining brightly when he went in so that he didn't get too cold.  

It's been a good week.  Next week we plan to get out and golf and visit Huntington Beach Reserve.