Myrtle Beach - January 23 - 30

January 23 - Ralph and I sleep with either a window or a door open to let in fresh air.  Since we have a sliding door in our room, we've been leaving this open about an inch or two.  When I woke up this morning our room was "cold".  We were nice and warm under the covers but oh wow could we feel that the temperature had really dipped over night.  It was -6 with the sun shining brightly.  You know it's cold when you can see a mist on top of the ocean reflecting the difference in temperature.

After church John and Grace came by for a coffee.  As we were enjoying this, Grace noticed dolphins out in the water.  There was two separate groups.  I was lucky to capture a few good shots (rather than just fin shots).  

Later in the afternoon I walked down the beach towards the Pier.  This is the first time that I have been there this year.  It was a nice walk.  The sun was shining although the temperature was still pretty cool.  Thankfully the weather will start to warm up again this week.

January 24 & 25 - golf days at Willbrook Plantation and Myrtle Beach National - South Creek course.  Both days were lovely for golf although the temperature was a little chilly at times.  We still had lots of fun.  It sure is nice to be outside enjoying God's creation.

January 26 - today we went back to Huntington Beach.  It was another cold day and we didn't expect to stay that long.  It was so nice to see the Owl again and we spent some time enjoying the white pelicans by the causeway.  Thankfully the weather next week is getting warmer again and we'll be able to spend more time outside enjoying the birds.

We enjoyed a nice sunset in the evening.

January 27 - the weather forecast for today was cold and rainy.  We hummed and hawed about wether we should go back to Huntington but decided not too.  We did some shopping and took it easy for the day.  We were blessed with an amazing sunrise this morning.  

January 29 - Snow in Myrtle Beach today!!  I really didn't expect that we would see any snow but it's here falling gently.  It snowed for a couple of hours but the heat from the ground melted it quickly.  The day itself was pretty cold.  Thankfully I had a hat and mitts to help keep me warm.  It was a perfect day for shelling as there wasn't very many people out and about.

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.