Beach blues

I've been working (interior painting) at a house on the beach for the past 2 weeks. I'm telling you, there is almost nothing better. Every day the view is dreamy. The water and sky never stop changing, meshing, and amazing me. Even the bad days are a work of art to behold.

Low tide, high tide, seaweed, deep blue waters, turquoise waters, white gulls diving back and forth, black rocks jutting out for the seals to bask upon. Yes, yesterday I actually saw Harbor seals sunning themselves! It's always an adventure at the beach.

One thing I love about the beach is people watching. This couple was so cute. They stood there for quite a while, snuggling. Most people are walking dogs though. It always makes me wish I could bring Lily to work with me, but that definitely isn't an option at this house.

a long gone-by beach rose berry/the most gorgeous turquoise waters with gulls, and dark seaweed lying just below the surface

Looking out towards the Isles of Shoals with a billion diamonds/an almost petrified dead rose berry

I've noticed these rocks seem to be a favorite place for gulls to hang out, probably because there are plenty of crabs and other shell fish hanging about. Star Island looms large in the background

And though this really has nothing to do with the beach ... the other day I came home to Turkey Vultures circling our house and the surrounding vicinity. Turns out there was something dead in the field behind our yard.

Lily does NOT like TV's and let's them know in no uncertain terms. When they get this low she chases them and barks like a mad woman. The bird looks terrified doesn't it? I mean just look at those eyes! Ha ha! More than likely it's wondering where the Pug is ; )

Peaceful and serene

Wednesday evening our family visited one of our favorite beaches, Jenness, in Rye. Although we had plans to go in the morning, all that changed when my daughter was called into work. That's okay though, it's was a gorgeous evening.

I loved watching these kids pick up mud and throw it into the air! I can't say that I ever thought of doing that as a kid. My mom would have said, 'Someones going to end up with mud in their eyes!'
On the right is my husband and I as we walked along next to the surf.



It was a nice time for my husband and I to reconnect. His job has been rather stressful lately so it was good to . . .

walk quietly
hold hands
talk about something besides work and the kids
skim our feet through the semi-warm ocean water
watch the birds
wonder where the girls are . . .




Summer has been calming here in New England with long, hot, humid days. The kind of days that tourists, vacationers, and most natives love. Finally it seems to be cooling a bit, with daytime temps in the 80's, and the nights are downright glorious for sleeping. Fall is trying to creep in but Summer still has a tight grip.

There's more to see from our beach excursion so if you'd like to come back tomorrow night I'll show it to you. Hopefully you've been able to languish near some water of your own recently. It's good for the soul.


I'll be linking up this evening with Mary's Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Won't you join in?

Isles of Shoals ~ Star Island

Below are a few shots I was able to capture while motoring past Star Island on our sunset/lighthouse cruise

I'm not going to go into much detail about the island but I would highly recommend watching the video on the Star Island website









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A romantic, postcard feel added to an island photo




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Dinner time on the Agnes D.




On our way back to the coast we were alerted to a 15'+ Basking Shark swimming nearby. A pretty neat sight for us all. The photo above was the only one I was able to get with he head, fin, and tail all out of the water.



Although we were a little freaked out at first, it turns out Basking Sharks have very little in the way of teeth, eating plankton as they primary source of food. In the above photo I tried to photograph the Shark at the moment it swam below our side of the boat. Shooting into the water is not easy! If you look closely you are able to see the eye at the point of the arrow.


Looking back towards the islands and heading into the sunset


My husband and I

Where we're headed: towards Portsmouth Harbor, Whaleback Lighthouse, and Wood Island Life-Saving Station.

Sunset/Lighthouse Cruise - White Island

Where we last left off ... White Island, Isles of Shoals

Such a beautiful place, and for many years the home of famous poet, Celia Thaxter, whose father was the lighthouse keeper at White Island. In later years she married and moved away but eventually returned to reside on Appledore Island, also one of the Isles of Shoals.




The lighthouse, and keepers home, are in much need of repair. Back in 2002 Lighthouse Kids Incorporated was formed by a group of 7th graders at the North Hampton Elementary School. Their goal is to try to raise as much money as possible to help preserve the White Island Lighthouse Station.

Still, the 1859 lighthouse struggles and is in extremely poor condition as evidenced by these photos.



I'm not sure if someone is currently residing on the island but judging by the laundry on the line it does appear as though someone stays there now and then.



Since 1997 the White Island Tern Restoration Project has been ongoing.

The goals of the Tern Restoration Project are to protect, manage and enhance the breeding population of common (state endangered), roseate (state and federally endangered), and arctic terns (state threatened) on Seavey Island and protect the population on White Island. Efforts have been largely successful since the implementation of the program. In 2006, SML took on management of the Tern Restoration Project with support from the State of NH and NH Audubon.

~ Shoals Maine Laboratory (link)



If you're interested, here is a great article chronicling the success of the Tern Project and their run-in with a White Owl that threatened the success of the population








This photo was taken from the back side of the island looking towards the seacoast.

In the next post we'll see a bit of of Star Island.