Friend Anne and I embarked on our first bike ride of the summer. She needed to use up a gift card, so she got a new set of handlebar grips and a new (super bright) taillight. We had a bunch of time to kill before temps fell below the melting point, so we drove to the north end of Jupiter Island where we hung out at the beach.
Here’s an example of how critical timing is. When we pulled up, the golden setting sun lit up this sea grass like it was on fire. In the two or three minutes it took me to secure my bike and get to the right angle, the sun dipped below the dune line and the magic leaked out of the photo. This is why you can’t hesitate. You have to shoot it as soon as you can see it. Conditions can change in seconds.
Close, but not quite
This gives you an idea of how the sun hit the grass, but it’s not exactly what I wanted.
Where’s the guy with the camera?
I was just about to pull out when Anne heard someone say, “Where’s the guy with the camera? The turtles are hatching.” She had never seen that, so she rushed down, leaving me to lock up the bikes.
This was the last of the batch. A little girl named him “Flippy,” because he flipped over every time he hit a deep footprint or rut on his way from the nest to the ocean. When he got to the water’s edge, he got smacked around by a couple of waves. After the water receded, he sat with his belly on the wet sand, waving his flippers in a swimming motion for all he was worth.
This was my last look at him before another wave snatched him up. I like the way he looks so tiny.
The orange bathing suit
Anne, who supplements her freelance income by dog sitting, noticed the dog right away. My eye was drawn to the orange suit because it reminded me of a day on that same beach when I was enjoying the shade with a bunch of elderly (OK, MY age) women. A young woman in an even more abbreviated orange suit sauntered by.
I turned to my companions and said, “I sure wish I had a bike jersey made out of that material because it obviously catches the eye of everybody on the beach. The only comfort we oldtimers can take is the knowledge that girl is NEVER gonna look that good again. She hit her peak two minutes ago and it’s all downhill from here.”
The women didn’t applaud my observation, but I got some satisfied nods.
Equal time
When we got to the top of the dune, I was getting the Sexist Pig evil eye from Anne. I showed her this frame to prove that I leave no age group unrecorded.
This is Anne’s sunset
She insisted on going down an east-west side street right at sunset. I’m glad I followed her. They don’t get much better than this.
As always, you can click on the photos to make them larger.
Wish I could have seen the turtles.
Did you see Tiger’s (Woods if you don’t follow golf) new house?
Jupiter Island has prettier, more natural, landscaping than Palm Beach, but most of the houses are well-screened from view.
We didn’t see any tigers, but we did spot crabs scuttling across the roadway, plus a few frogs.
Carla, the turtles were ADORABLE. Little scrabbling legs. They were pedaling as fast as they could go. Too, too cute. You wanted to help them, but of course that journey to the water is one they need to make on their own to build their stamina. Just completely touching to observe. I’ve seen the giant moms lay eggs, but had never been fortunate enough to see hatchlings making their way to the ocean before. Quite the moment. I got to see three of them find the water. Ken only saw two, since he was kindly locking up the bikes. However, he apparently has seen this sight before, so I didn’t feel too bad sticking him with bike duty.
All beautiful pictures. I truly miss those Florida sunsets.
For some reason, this particular topic has been hit hard by spammers over the past week. I’m going to close comments on it for a few days until they move on.
Sorry.