Scenes from Bethel Beach

Thursday on my way to the courthouse (also known as the village or "downtown Mathews"), I made a quick pit stop to Bethel Beach to check and make sure everything was OK.  I like to do that, make sure things are OK.

Anyone around here knows that Bethel Beach is not at all on the way to the courthouse.  What that opening sentence is trying to disguise is that I was procrastinating; searching for any reason at all not to focus on the work I was supposed to be doing, which was taking photographs of the courthouse area before the morning traffic made picture taking there less than ideal.

 These first two shots were taken from my favorite pine tree.  Literally.  I was standing on one of the lower limbs gazing out over the marsh.

As you can see in the picture below, those lower limbs are not far from the ground, so standing on them is quite easy.  Before too long, though, I started to sprout a wild hair and really wanted to climb up higher, where a spectacular vantage point no doubt awaits!

From the extended menu of very valid reasons why a 46-year-old should not scale a pine tree with her precious camera when she's really supposed to be taking pictures for her book, Chesapeake Bay Woman made this selection:  She was afraid she'd damage her camera.

Next time, I am packaging the camera up in something that can withstand a fall in swamp mud, and I'm goin' on up.

Yes indeed, I am.

This time, though, since I had other work to do and wasn't quite ready to risk damage to bones the camera, nor was I particularly fond of the prospect of a fall into swamp mud, I stepped gingerly off that lower limb, got back in the car and drove onward to the beach, where the low tide exposed tree stumps and clay mounds and all sorts of interesting things.

Still, what I really wanted to do was climb that tree.  Maybe next time.

Have a great weekend, full of the fun and exhilaration of climbing a tree but free of all the drama that comes from falling out of one.

p.s. By the time I did make it to the courthouse there were too many cars driving through to take any book-worthy photographs.  The lesson I take away from this whole experience is this:  If you're going to procrastinate you might as well do it right and climb the pine tree.