Myrtle Beach - January 30 - February 5

January 30 - Sunday morning came with bright sunshine but cold temperatures.  The water in the ocean was pretty calm.  I was hoping to see some dolphin today but wasn't lucky.  We enjoyed a good sermon in the morning and then decided to go for a drive to Huntington Beach.  We dressed warmly as by the time we were ready to go the wind was blowing quite strongly and it can make it pretty chilly at the causeway.  As we arrived at the park we didn't see too many birds so we decided to go hunting for the owl.  It's amazing what we have learned these past couple of weeks in where to look and spot them.  We were successful, although it wasn't sitting in the most optimal place for photographing.  We gave it our best try and then moved on looking for other birds.  It was much warmer away from the causeway so we stayed in the wooded area protected from the wind.

We walked a little further down the road and enjoyed watching the Kingfisher.  There was also an Ibis which was entertaining to see.  Ralph captured some awesome shots with the Kingfisher having a fish in it's mouth!!

After enjoying the birds we decided to head back to the condo.  While driving I spotted the owl looking out over the marsh.  I saw a lot of photographers gathered and after taking a few shots, I walked up to see if they had a better perspective.  I saw that they were photographing the Kingfisher and weren't even aware that this beautiful bird was nearby. Ralph had driven down the road to park the truck and walked back to see.  We had to climb over lots of marshy area's to get a shot but it was worth it.

January 31 - this morning I woke up with a start.  I slept in, well not really but it felt like that as the sky was already starting to turn colour.  It was a pretty sunrise this morning.  We are golfing today at Eagles Nest in Little River.  I'm bringing my camera along (just in case) as sometimes an eagle is near by.

I am pretty excited. I had sent a picture away to be developed on acrylic and it turned out amazing. 

February 1 - today we went to Huntington beach in the morning.  We had a fun time photographing the birds.   Teresa and Lawrence arrived later in the day.  We celebrated their arrival with dinner all together.

February 2 - today we golfed at Leopards Chase.  It wasn't a great game for me, but I sure enjoyed the weather.  It turned out to be quite warm to the point where we could golf without jackets and go in t-shirts. We also saw a beautiful red tailed hawk.

February 3 - another round of golf today.  We are playing at Panthers Run and taking advantage of the nice weather.  It's supposed to be 21c today!!  I'll take this over snow any day!!  This morning started with a beautiful sunrise.  It was 14c when I woke up which was great!!

February 4 - we decided to go to Huntington Beach today.  The weather was forecasted to be 21c - a perfect day to watch the birds and to see what other animals were coming out as a result of the warm temperatures.  At the causeway there was a brown pelican for the first time and we saw some small (baby) alligators along the walking path.  The owl also came out for a visit which was really nice.  I was really glad that Teresa and Lawrence had an opportunity to see it as well.  All in all it was a beautiful day.  While we were there we heard about the Cedar Waxwings and Ralph and I thought it would be nice to capture a photo of them so we planned to return again on Saturday.

February 5 - we were up bright and early with the intention of finding the Cedar Waxwings.  They can be very elusive.  We searched for a couple of hours somewhat unsuccessfully.  We saw a few other birds and enjoyed some time at the causeway.  It wasn't till I got back to the condo that I discovered that I had photographed some of them thinking they were robins.  They were high up in a tree and I discounted them right away.  What a mistake.  Oh well, we'll have to go back and keep looking.

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High up in the tree's are the Waxwings....

It was a really nice week with lots to see and do.  

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.