Weather Permitting

And it has been.

Permitting full sunshine despite shorter passage of daylight

Permitting calm seas for safer passage of marine vessels

This morning though weather permits whipping rains and wuthering winds : E 25 G37mph

 

Rock Steady

  Last week on Chocomount I took a photo of one of my favorite childhood picnic spots. The big rock that stands as a sentinel  looking out over the old Thelma Pheobe ship wreck , the big rock that has graciously hosted decades of BBQ’s , that same rock that many of us Islanders have built our memories around and upon.

Since I monitor the beaches weekly, it might be interesting to take a few snap shots these months-observe how this particular site is recovering after Hurricane Sandy and also document tidal and seasonal change of the beachscape visually.

  Today I will set my focus on “Picnic Rock”.

It’s tough to imagine next July and August-I cant quite picture (yet) towels and beach chairs lined up in the warm sands but time will tell and we shall see.

Lichen Life

I like Lichens-simply for the color which I liken to my favorite old well worn, tough to find sea glass.
The delicate formation of the Lichen appears when a fungus partners with a green algae and a growing relationship develops.

Tough enough to thrive in an extreme environment such as the north side of a tree on a wind swept island, the Lichen also has a fragility that helps scientists to assess the effects of air pollution.

I have noted healthy looking Lichens on land and clean Knotted Wrack at sea at Armstrong’s “Hooverness” this December.

P.S. The Wile E. Coyote fooled me along with any Canada goose thinking to land for a rest!

Wool Socks & Woolly Bears

Legend has it that the wider the bristly brown band on a Woolly Caterpillar-the milder the winter forecast. Despite its name, this “Isabella” tiger moth in its larval phase was found seen creeping along South beach.

I counted 155 Harbor seals yesterday on and around the Hungry Point haul out. Low tide allowed for a closer peek at their velvet looking pelage (fur)

 

Mapping & Navigating

I am becoming more familiar with beaches up East.

I note that Whelks are more commonly found in East Harbor.  There on that beach coyote tracks always head west.

Sand Dollars are delicately framed in the tiny curves of a minute tide line at the Big Club.

A single strand of Eel Grass in a slight breeze acts as a compass drawing an arc in the sand.

Noting even the most detailed observations of Fishers Island-I have come full circle.

 

Red-tailed Hawk Encounter

I met this bird of prey across from the grasslands near the Driving Range.

We both were a bit shy at first and of course curious of each other. I hunkered down in the grass to stay warm and observe, while the hawk puffed up its feathers in the crisp chilled air.

In that quietude of nature, great respect had us both seeing eye to eye.

A Stellar Day!

It certainly was weather-wise on Island this afternoon.

As I left the Community Center with all its Christmas décor and headed out to survey Race Point I stopped in my tracks. It struck me as a bit odd to see Forsythia bushes blooming in December.

Common Eider ducks congregate far off shore, bobbing within the rip tide.

I am still noting Hurricane Sandy’s unearthing of items of interest.

Today- bones (either cattle or horse) perhaps from an old Fort Wright dumping ground.

Harbor seals in the winter warmth

December 3: Unseasonably warm today on Island with temperatures this late afternoon reaching 60 in the sun. Ocean waters in the Fishers Island Sound have been maintaining temps in the low 50’s. I have counted 11 Harbor seals off Armstrong’s “Hooverness” at 3pm. The clumps of rock to the north of that property provide two small haul out sites for basking in the sun.

Over on the south side during an outgoing tide I am discovering small areas of unearthed building structure on South Beach and need to ask Pierce Rafferty at the Museum about their origin.

Dolphins Sighted Again!

Saturday December 1: A school of up to 20 dolphins is sighted off the bow of the Ferry departing Silver Eel Cove @ approximately 8:20am.

The boat slows down to a near stand still while leaving the slip. Debbie Doucette of the ferry district happens to actually be on the vessel and reports how extraordinary this observation is and how beautiful.

As no photos have surfaced yet, I am not certain whether these animals were Common dolphins or the Atlantic Bottlenose (resembles “Flipper”) species. Common dolphins have an hourglass shaped pattern on their sides in shades of yellow, white and grey.

Tracking. Migrating.

Frost twinkles now in the morning hours. Starlings swirl and stand at attention after the noon whistle. Coyote paw prints march west along side low tide at the Big Club beach, while a Golden Eagle scouts the shoreline. A waning moon nears Jupiter.