“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach — waiting for a gift from the sea.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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After nearly eight years of blogging, two other WordPress bloggers — Steve of PortraitsOfWildflowers and Linda of Lagniappe — and I took advantage of an NPSoT event in south Houston to work out a plan for us all to meet in person. When it was suggested we do it along the coast, Scott and I could find no good reason not to. It is the coast, after all.
We started at the Kelly Hamby Nature Trail and meandered the beach and boardwalk in search of wildflowers, birds, shells, and generally anything coastal and nature-y. The chatting was non-stop in between stopping and shooting (that’s what photographers do!) and occasionally discussing which species was what and where. The American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover were pleasantly present, as the automobiles, loose dogs, and rambunctious teens were all pleasantly absent.
The normally huge and voracious dune flies and mosquitoes were minimal (so long as you didn’t stand in one place for too long), and the gentle steady breeze off the ocean helped keep the early autumn heat from being too sweltering. The temperature had just dropped into the high 80’s, but it still felt like the 90’s with the sun beating down late morning.
With another cool front looming out ahead, Scott and I broke away to see who in feathers might still be hanging around the oak canopies of LaFitte’s Cove before a final migration push southward. While Steve, Eve, and Linda finished their coastal outing in the comfort of an air-conditioned automobile at Brazoria NWR, Scott and I braved the mosquitoes instead, adding another life bird as a bonus — Black-throated Blue Warbler. We were surprised to see so many feathered individuals gorging themselves on insects and berries prior to their impending journey. A great end to a great day!
It was a full and exuberant day of old friends, new species, and fantastac coastal hum-drum. Thanks, Steve and Eve and Linda, for giving us the break we needed to bring us into another autumn, full swing.
~ Shannon @ DirtNKids
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Goat’s-foot Morning Glory
Ipomoea pes-caprae
Herring Gull and Fisherman
Ghost Crab
Quintana Beach
Woolly Tidestromia
Tidestromia languinosa
Shark-eye Moon Snail
Seaside Goldenrod
Solidago sempervirens
American Oystercatcher
Smoothed Barnacle Rock
Sisterly Ocean Waves
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Life Bird!
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Related Posts and Links:
- Portraits of Wildflowers Blog | Steve Schwartzman
- Lagniappe Blog | Linda Leinen
- ‘Beach’ tagged posts | DirtNKids … love the coastl!
- Kelly Hamby Nature Trail | Brazoria County Parks
- Galveston LaFitte’s Cove 10/6/2019 Checklist | eBird.org
DirtNKids Blog 
Lovely photos Shannon!
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Hi Belinda. You got caught in the spam net. Released! And thank you for the nice note.
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Hard to believe it was six days ago already! As we’ve said, it took people from Austin to get you coastal folks together—and a happy together it was.
I must’ve been wrapped up in one or several plants when you guys found the shark-eye moon snail, or else I’d eagerly have done a macro of it. I did manage a few close-ups of the barnacled rock.
Likewise I missed the chance for a picture of the nun in the water; I’m glad you managed to record that. Your off-center placement works well.
So that’s what the blue-throated black warbler looks like. Too bad we didn’t see your excitement first-hand. My pictures of the oystercatcher came out so-so and require cropping, given that I can muster only a little less than half the effective focal range you can.
As we discussed, and as you said to Pit, next time you’ll have to come to central Texas.
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Or we all meet at the coast again. Who knows?!
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Or maybe both!
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🙂
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Yes, as of today a full week in between. Time sure flies when you’re having fun! We are out birding again this morning … saw a family of Least Grebe (cuties!!) already and lots of migratory swallows.
I like Pit’s idea. A trip to the Hill Country seems dreamy. Of course, any time you want to go Coastal, let me know. I’m happy to play hooky from work to get sandy toes with friends.
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Going coastal always is better than going postal! It was a wonderful day, and such fun to meet you and Scott. I’m thrilled that you found your birdie, and I really was glad that the sweetly-scented goldenrod still was blooming and fragrant. Right now, the wind chimes on my balcony, that only ring on a N or NW wind, are ringing for the first time since … well, a long time. I think they’re playing a song called “Let’s do it again!”
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Our wind chimes are singing as well! It was a brilliant day outside with 4th grade and special ed kids, planting lima and bush green beans. I hope this cooler season sticks around for a while longer. I’ve got soooo much work to do outside.
Looking forward to our next meet-up, Linda. Such a pleasure with you both!
PS – Thanks for tipping me to the sister standing in the ocean. It’s one of my favorite pics taken that day.
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Wonderful impressions, Shannon. The moon snail is gorgeous.
How fun that you met Linda and Steve in person!
I hope your autumn is lovely,
Tanja
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Super fun! They are beautiful people and such an extraordinary day together. It was too short, Tanja.
The story of our first meeting is still my favorite though!
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That was a very special moment, Shannon! 🙂
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Shannon, you take the most beautiful photos! Hope they go into a book someday!!
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Thank you, Olga. There is so much beauty outside, it’s difficult not to capture it with a camera. You should take the time to visit Steve’s blog. ‘Portraits of Wildflowers’ is truly what he creates. Cheers!
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Isn’t it always fun to meet fellow bloggers in person?
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So far, I’ve only had one face-to-face blogger meeting which eventually fell short, but that is one in about 6. Bloggers are pretty cool people!
Perhaps we’ll meet one day, Pit. We are way overdue for an Enchanted Rock climb; the beer in town is this mom’s favorite reason to go!
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Whenever you’re in our neck of te woods, just holler! Both Enchanted Rock and German beer sound enticing.
Btw, I’ve met Linda [shoreacres/lagniappe] two years ago in Galveston. And John Howell of Fiction Favorites a few months ago in Austin, where he now lives. At that time Steve wasn’t there, otherwise we’d have met, too.
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