§ On the Third Day of the New Year...

While walking along the quiet beach
I saw an incredibly beautiful sky!  Even tho I have been suffering from a severe cough and a feeling of being worn down, I had to get out and get some sunshine.

I just couldn't stop looking up most all the time. The cloud formations were dazzling!

As I tallied up my steps I took some other snaps of the shutter. Along the dunes, sometimes you'll notice crosses placed here and there [3rd photo in series]. Usually it is a swimmer or surfer that got caught in rip currents and didn't make it out alive...

Surfers and brown pelicans entertain those of us that do our walking along the shoreline...

I loved seeing the long, long shadow of the tiny sanderling on the sandy shore, flattened by the ebbing tide [below] making him a giant in the world of small!

...on the drive out of the channel's parking lot, these two images appeared in my viewfinder...

I was tired, but happy to be outdoors in the fresh air.  I don't like feeling sick.  I did go nap  in the afternoon.

§ Somewhere Beyond the Sea...

When I share my beach walks, I'm usually aiming my camera lens to the sea [or focusing on birds walking the shore or flying high above me]. Today, I thought I'd be a bit different, and show y'all what is behind me...behind the beach and the Gulf. After walking on the sand, dodging the seasonal influx of seaweed, I walked along the jetty clear out to sea, to the very end, then I climbed the sand dunes this time; for a work out.  By the way, if you notice the cross erected on one of the dunes, I must tell you this is a scene that can be a frequent sighting.  People put up memorials for those lost at sea from unfortunate mishaps ...drowning or perhaps totally lost from being caught in those dangerous rip currents.


The dunes...

...and the sea:

§ White Shifting Sands...

After I left the turtle hatchlings [link] at Malaquite Beach on North Padre Island, I took the 'back' road from the parking lot. With a sole purpose of birding. Some time ago, when Bud and I drove the area I took, we saw Bobwhite Quail. So, naturally, I take that exit instead of the parking lot exit. lol Well, in the golden light of the early morning, I didn't spot any quail - BUT...I saw two white tail deer. They looked young...one had new antlers in velvet. Naturally, they no doubt spotted my car long before I saw them. They were grazing on all the green grasses! And it IS green. Usually, by mid-July the dunes and surrounding area are parched and drying...

After stopping to photograph the pair, I headed out of the federal park land with a short detour onto another park road that traverses through the dunes to another beach access. Again, looking for birds. No special sightings; year 'round residents, gulls and pelicans. Railroad vine and sea oats dotted the landscape...

...one last pit stop back on the park highway, a duck pond with a duck blind. Looking out the peep holes, some of the turtle watchers were leaving and the white sand along the dunes lit up the backdrop...

§ Sandy Dunes - Or...Slip Slidin' Away!

Back in September, I posted a short section in my blog about some ruins on a hill near the Port Aransas Texas beach/South Jetty. I then did some research online and found out it was at one time, during World War II, a gun emplacement. It was short lived, built to protect the Corpus Christi coast from any enemy invasions [mainly submarines or U-boats; a few sighted in the Gulf nearby] after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. I say short-lived since the emplacement of large artillery guns and the end of World War II near, the protection lasted two years...1942-1944.

Sunday morning, after a week of below freezing temperatures and a possible threat of snow [one day 26 degrees and windchill 19 degrees!], the morning was windy and a frigid 40 degrees... I thought it'd be an ideal time to climb the dunes. Cold air, clear skies...no rattlesnakes out!! The sandy dunes are notorious for venomous snakes. I wanted to make sure they were still underground for warmth before I did any climbing! Climbing was a challenge...the trail is almost straight up in spots, and consisting entirely of loose, soft sand, keeping foot traction almost nil. With each step I took, I slid back a  half step in the sand!  And I had my hiking boots...no help here. Not wanting to utilize my hands for balance and snake bites, I tried to remain upright and moving forward little by little. Finally making it to the top, I was captivated by the view, looking out to sea. Stepping up on the emplacement foundation, I turned a full 360 degrees and tried to envision the Army's and Navy's involvement at the time. The morning wind was brisk, the views clear and I could almost smell the iron and the odor of the howitzer residue when fired.

Along with the Texas State Historical Society, volunteers and historians of the area, it was dubbed a valuable historic landmark.  The town of Port Aransas paved a pull-off parking area adjacent to the ruins, along with an historical marker being moved from the channel to its proper place, the public is welcomed to learn and see the background of this site in Texas history.

And, of course I took pictures...

Before climbing I took these two photos off the diorama boards by the parking area, making them black and white for a 'time frame' from the 40s era...

  Then..........................................................................Now

The climb up the dunes...



...arriving at the ruins



...the view as I stood on the emplacement

Walking back down the hills was another slip and slide experience. The sand was laughing all the while, thinking this ol' lady shouldn't even be UP here in the first place! Back in the car, I then headed to my birding refuges...on FLAT GROUND again!!

Read more HERE and HERE