Some More Musings From The Marsh...

Summer in Savannah. Humidity so thick you can almost poke a hole in it. Any time I walk outside I feel like I'm immersing myself in the air. It envelops me. I can feel it move around me and conform to my bodies shape. A moderately hot day in the low 80's can feel like 100+. When I moved to the west coast around 1987, I was glad to leave the moist humidity of the deep south and relocate to the dry air of California. I didn't miss the humidity, but there were things that I did miss. Seasonal change, for one. I am a worshipper of the Fall. I say it frequently in my blog posts, but if I had my way we would have autumnal weather all year round. The crispness in the air, the colors, and the vibe...the vibe is the thing. Then there was the other major loss I experienced. Rain.

The humidity heralds the rain. Do we get rain every day? No. (Most days, though.) However, we do get predictions of rain on a daily basis. Our local weather people deliver their forecasts each day, and they usually end things with at least a 30% chance of thundershowers. It is very common for the sky to be sunny and blue one moment, then turn grey and 'flashy' the next. Then...back to sunny and blue. I dig it. Just wish the stormy periods outweighed the sunny ones.

Our section of the Atlantic coast can get breathtakingly moody. The clouds are abstract and beautiful. It may sound strange, but it's almost as if the sky is bigger here. Maybe it's the humidity. Maybe that's what creates those mesmerizing clouds. The shapes, the color variations, and how quickly they move. One of my favorite forms of meditation is to watch the clouds.

Then there are the storm fronts. I felt so lucky to catch photographs of the first front I had the pleasure to see. That was about five years ago. I have caught several since, and they never lose their magic. A thick, cottony blanket being pulled out to the ocean. My vantage point for each sighting is by my marsh. There is always a soothing breeze blowing the spanish moss tendrils around. We have spanish moss on all of the trees here. Adds to the magic of this place. The breezes carry the scent of rain on the way. So sublime. More than once I have been caught in a sudden downpour, and arrive home soaked to the skin...and it's a short walk. I don't mind at all. I love the rain.

I took the above shot of the last storm front I caught about a week ago. Normally I would be waving off a heavy onslaught of mosquitoes, but the breezes preceding the rain were keeping them away. I did see another form of life though.

I was standing there looking out at the view. Beautiful storm front. Soothing breeze. Other than the trees rustling and the wind blowing past me it was pretty quiet. Then I noticed something swimming in my direction.

I see a furry creature of some sort swimming to the bank a few feet away from me. All I see above the water is the upper two-thirds or so of their face, the eyes and pointy little ears bobbing side to side as it swam along. Then I see its eyes move in my direction. I just stand there. I've got no problem with a marsh dweller coming to shore to search for food, have a visit with the feral cats...whatever. Well, once it saw me it did an about face and headed back to the cover of the marsh grass. I was a bit disappointed, but que sera. I assume it to have been an otter. They are one of the many different critters that live around here. The encounter...or should I say 'near' encounter...was pretty funny. I *snerked*.

Shifting gears a bit, I'm going to switch to the beautiful Full "Super" Moon of July 12th. (I'm working on re-energizing my blog, and have a few things to catch up on...one of those things being my usual photography/musings posts.)

I love seeing each Full Moon by the marsh. There are a number of residents out here that pile everyone into the car and head over to the beach at Tybee to see the Super Moons rise, but I haven't made the trip. On the one hand I would love to see the Full Moon from my favorite beach, Tybee's north beach. On the other hand, I don't want to have to fight people for a parking space. Tybee is very small, so the parking is limited. There is also only one way on and off the island. I call it the "land bridge", but if mentioned out loud around a certain person I live with who happens to be a Savannah native, I will be corrected as it is the "causeway". Whatever moniker one wishes to use, it is a good road for traffic. I don't relish sitting in traffic on a road that is two lanes most of the way. I lived in Los Angeles for roughly eighteen years, so I've had my fill of traffic. Anyway, I may bite the proverbial bullet and head over for one of the future Super Moons or some other lunar bit of magic. For now I'll just stick with watching the magic from the bank of my marsh.

Pictures just don't do this last Full Moon justice. I plan on getting a camera in the not too distant future that is better suited for night photography. I have finally finished paying the tax man (*grumble, grumble*), so I have funds again. Wee! That being said, I do like some of the abstract shots I get with this digital camera of Glenn's. In the above and below shots you can see the line of headlamps coming from Tybee...the traffic I mentioned before. Yes, I could be like all of those motorists, sitting in my car and sighing about the traffic. Instead, I was standing by the pond here in the condos...it overlooks the marsh. Such a beautiful view. I did take a bit of video of the rising Moon as seen from the pond area. It would have provided audio of the many frogs living there. Unfortunately, the video...well, it sucked, so I decided not to post it. *snerk* You could also hear the occasional smack of my hand dispatching one of the little bloodsuckers (mosquitoes) dive bombing me. (I had so many bites on my right arm I looked like I had measles...of the arm.)

Today is the New Moon for July. As I mentioned earlier, I am re-booting my blog. My Full Moon posts have resumed, and I will be starting my New Moons posts soon...but not with this one. I will most likely mention aspects of it in a blog post for tomorrow...which is my Birthday. Before I start in about that I'm going to sign off here and save it for tomorrow.

Cheers...