Heron

Well, here it is the last day of May, and all I have to say is, where has the month gone?  

It seems like there was one sunny day, when I managed to see this heron across the creek.  

And then the rest of the days it rained.

(Please disregard the strange object in the upper left corner of these two photos.  Not only am I a self-taught photographer, I still haven't mastered use of my new camera, which is immensely smarter than I am.)

Yes, the month of May flew by in a blur of wind and rain interspersed with a day or two of the normal sunny, warm, gorgeous clarity that is typical this time of year.  Whether it's due to the rain or I don't know what, we've noticed the stinging nettles have arrived much sooner than normal.  There are tons of baby nettles lounging about in Queens Creek.  They normally don't make an appearance until late June.  Farm-grown oysters are growing at a very rapid pace, and there are way more snakes than usual for whatever reason this year.

Aside from those casual observations from this unscientific observer, life is whizzing by at break-neck speed.  I am looking forward to something settling down soon, but until it does I take solace in staring out the back window at sights such as these for instant blood-pressure-lowering relief.

Sunrise

This beautiful beginning to a day occurred several weeks ago, at the end of April.

May is my favorite month, and this year I seem to have missed it--all I did was blink and it's practically over.  All I remember is it was hot for a day or so, then it rained for what felt like weeks, then it turned cold, and now it's all but done.

It's astonishing to me that Memorial Day weekend is upon us so soon.

I'll be ushering in the summer with a cookout on Sunday.  Middle Sister will be in the creek on Boyfriend Ronnie's boat.  Baby Sis and Boyfriend Mills will be here from Richmond.  And my blog friends Lauren (from Nashville) and Angie will be in attendance.

It's my favorite weekend of the year.

Speaking of weekends, this one was a pretty busy one here in Mathews.  The bikers who visited for the county's annual Tour de Chesapeake enjoyed breezy but beautiful weather.  The party at Williams Wharf was once again spectacular.   You just can't beat dancing to live music watching the sunset over the East River.

I hope all is well in your world.  Thanks for stopping by for a small glimpse into mine.

Kayaking

Here in Mathews, it's been raining for forty days and forty nights what feels like forever.  Just when you think it can't get any drearier, it rains some more. Today it's supposed to clear up.  But so far, nope.

It's still overcast.

I took these pictures of the new kayak launch at the court house this morning after a six-mile run.  I needed some pictures of the court green for a blog post I did on the county's visitor site, and while I was there I decided to stop in to see how this place was doing.

One of these  days, it will stop raining I intend to bring my kayak here and do some exploring.  It's a great launching point.

There's a lot of activity in the court house area these days.  In addition to some pretty major improvements to the streetscape, a new pavilion has gone up right near the kayak launching site.

On days like today, it would be a nice place to briefly escape the raindrops while staring towards Put-In Creek. But here soon, the sun will be out again and it will provide a nice respite from the impending heat and humidity that inevitably accompanies summers.

Speaking of heat and humidity, my favorite month, May, is right around the corner. It's my favorite because everything here is so green and warm.  Although it can be stifling hot, it's usually not the same oppressive heat and humidity that June, July and August usually bring.

This year there's another reason to like May, and I wrote about it on the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center's blog.  (Click here.)

Happy Easter

I'm negligent in everything my blogging responsibilities these days, but I did have time recently to take these pictures of spring blooms off of Stutts Creek in Redart.

Slowly but surely Nature is bouncing back to life after the doldrums of winter.  Green leaves are sprouting, dandelions and buttercups! flowers are blooming and yellow pollen is covering everything.

I'm getting excited because my May, my favorite month, is just around the corner.

Happy Easter!

Queens Creek II

Here are more early morning shots from my back yard overlooking Queens Creek.

These were taken using the zoom.  This point is actually quite a ways from my house.

Well, Sister Susan and I survived the Nashville half marathon and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our Soul Sister Lauren. Although we didn't turn in our best time, we also didn't turn in our worst. Considering I haven't run 13.1 miles since March 2015 and hadn't run more than six miles since then either, and also considering my insides were turned upside down quite literally in the car accident and subsequent surgery, well,...I'm not at all disappointed with my time.  It's all relative.

Speaking of relatives, we're spending Mother's Day over at Middle Sister's house.  She's fixing a great big feast, and all the rest of us have to do is show up.  That's my kind of festivity.  I'm excellent at showing up. It's one of the things I do best along with eating other people's cooking.

Speaking of other people's cooking, I am negligent in talking about reconnecting with someone I haven't seen since the 1980s.  He's in to aquaculture and grows his own oysters.  He also makes the best fried and roasted oysters I've ever had in my entire life. (And that includes my father's,) More on that in another post.

Last but not least, this weekend I had the privilege of hosting blog friends Meg and Angie at my house.  We thoroughly enjoyed our mini-reunion, which included a trip to Merroir, where Daughter has been working all weekend long.

Aside from nursing a dental problem, which has had me in a great deal of pain the past week, all in all life is great and things are going well.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Daughter, who is very excited about leaving for college this summer.  Son is taking his last exam of the semester this week and will be home for a short visit in a few weeks.  My favorite month of the year is here, things are green and the worst of the cold weather is behind us.

It's great to be alive.

Queens Creek

One early morning here recently, a mist was rolling off the creek as the sun peeked first timidly and then more confidently through the thin layer of clouds.

(I wish I could say which morning this was, but they're all blurring together at this point.)

Off in the distance, someone was tending to his crab pots.

We're fast approaching my favorite month of the year, May.  I love May because everything that was dead and dull is green and alive.  The heat, humidity and killer, mutant ants and mosquitoes pesky insects have not yet descended.

I've had no time to report all the major happenings around here--and there is so much to report!

For now, just know we're still here, still enjoying early morning sunrises and always grateful for this beautiful place in which we live.

~  ~  ~

Baby Sis and I are headed to Nashville to run walk another half marathon and visit our good friend Lauren. Assuming I survive 13.1 miles that I haven't prepared for, I hope to resume blogging here within the next week or so, give or take.  

Aaron's Beach

After spending most of Saturday doing physical labor entailing shovels, rakes, weeds, rose bushes, hedge clippers and mulch spreading, I declared Sunday a Do Nothing Day and spent the afternoon lounging on Aaron's Beach.

Although you can't tell in these pictures, the beach was the most crowded I've seen in a long time.

"Crowded" defined in Mathews terms means more than two other people were on the beach.  Normally I come here and don't see a soul.  And that's just fine by me.

I chose a desolate spot right under those trees off in the distance.

Just one hour of solitude listening to nothing but the water gently lapping the shore was all it took to rejuvenate me.

After my beach therapy, I met Chesapeake Bay Daughter for lunch, returned home for a nap and then awoke to what felt like a gall bladder attack.  Frantically searching the internet for home remedies, I choked down some apple cider vinegar, took a hot bath, and then, just as I'd convinced myself a hospital trip would be imminent, it all went away.   Crisis averted.  Thankfully. But it will be a long time before I eat a hamburger and french fries again, I can tell you that.

Anyway.

Saturday night's gathering at Williams Wharf was the other bright spot in the weekend.  There was music, dancing, wine, good food and good company. A near-perfect evening.

Alas, it's all over now.  Next on the list is to get through another work week and prepare for Memorial Day weekend, when good friends will descend and help me laugh my way through the unofficial start of summer.

I can't wait.

Clifton

Here are more shots of an old house on the property known as Clifton, which is just across the creek from me.

I'm not sure if that's a ghost in the lower left hand corner or a reminder that I should clean my camera lens.  I'm going with ghost.  More exciting.

This week has been hectic and slightly stressful between work, which is getting busier and busier each minute that passes, and the work that's needed around the house.  Daughter is busy studying for tests and running in track meets.  The end of the school year is in sight for her, which is good for both of us.

The next couple of weekends promise to be good ones, though.  This weekend's Tour de Chesapeake means bicyclists will be descending on the county, and Saturday night's Party at the Wharf combines all of my favorite things: live music, seafood from Merroir and the great outdoors. I've not looked at the weather forecast, but hopefully it will be nice.

Memorial Day weekend a few friends will be in town and, weather permitting, I'll have a cookout.

Regardless of the forecast for either weekend, I'm going to relax and have fun.

I do love the month of May.

Eagle

Wednesday evening, this eagle and I gazed out over Queens Creek as the sun was going down for the day.  He sat silently for a while, collecting his thoughts, before retreating further up the creek for the night.   From the comfort of my deck chair, I watched him fly away before finally surrendering myself and turning in.

May is such a wonderful month around here.  Everything is turning lush and green, and the days are warm but not necessarily oppressive with humidity--yet.  The insects are plentiful, but they haven't worn me down--yet.  (For the moment, we won't talk about ants, against which I'm waging a full-on war in my kitchen, nor will we speak of wasps, who insist on taking up residence in my deck umbrella.  Also, if I see just one more stink bug--inside my house--I may voluntarily check in to Eastern State Hospital.) And the fiddler crabs are out but not holding parties in my garage making their way up into the yard--yet.

In short, life--which these days includes winding down on the deck at the end of the day-- is pretty good.

From the Yard

All of these shots were taken from my back yard, which some might call my front yard since the house technically fronts the water.  I'm a bit stubborn and slow to make changes, however, and I've always called it the back yard since we approach the house by car on the other side--which I refer to as the front yard.

That first paragraph absolutely exhausted me, I cannot imagine what it was like to read it.

Anyway, I never know what I'm going to see when I glance out back.  The other evening, I saw this eagle patiently perched across the creek.  We see them all the time in flight and in trees; this is the first time I've ever seen one wading in the creek.

Herons, on the other hand, are very familiar friends.  It's not at all unusual seeing them wading along, waiting for just the right morsel of seafood to happen by.

The first rainbow of the season made a faint but quaint appearance earlier this week.  

And this seems to be the week for sunrises.  The one below happened Thursday and was even more beautiful in person.

Mother Nature puts on some spectacular shows here in Mathews, and her efforts this week were especially noteworthy.

Welcome to the month of May, I thought she'd never get here.