Great Egret Dancing on the Water

For much of my adult life I have lived on the edge of territory just wild enough to have a great selection of feathered friends.  However, we have never had more flying friends than we have here on the Crystal Coast.

Even the deck of our Roanoke, Virginia home which overlooks a wild ravine cannot compare to what I often find as I walk out on the dock behind our home in Bluewater Cove just off the White Oak River.  And the dock is just my starting point.

Depending on the weather, the variety of the birds that I find on my morning and afternoon walks can be astonishing.   In just two walks one day, I photographed an osprey, green heron, great egret, Pileated woodpecker, great crested flycatcher, and a redheaded woodpecker.  The pictures from that day are posted in this web album.

Sometimes I am amazed that I can stand on our community boardwalk just ten or fifteen yards from my subjects without them seeming to care.  That I have been able to stand frozen in a spot and take pictures and movies of birds from pelicans and great blue herons to green herons and great egrets amazes me.

I often see things that I suspect don’t get see that often like this great blue heron dance or a great blue heron skating on the ice.  I sometimes get wrapped up in what is happening to my feathered friends.   Sometimes they will squabble over the little pond of water that is just outside our dining room window.  That is a common occurrence when the herons are iced-in along our gut.

In January of 2o11, I got very concerned that the herons were having a hard time getting food.  I took my skiff on an ice breaking mission.  It seemed to help them get back into their wading water.

It is not just the big birds that I see on my walks, I often get to spend time with the small birds like our beautiful bluebirds.  My morning walk can bring me into contact any number of birds.

I had a wonderful winter of birding during 2011.  So far 2012 looks even better.  The really amazing thing is that I also get to see a wonderful selection of shorebirds when I go for my walks on the beach.

Sometimes I feel like I live on the edge of a bird sanctuary.  Then again there are times when it appears that I am right in the middle of one.    I felt that way the day an osprey dive-bombed the water about twenty-five yards from me and flew away with a huge jumping mullet.

However, it is hard to live at the coast without wanting to taste more than just kayak waters.  In June of 2007, we got our first power boat.  Since I was new to power boating it took me a while to learn how to handle my skiff in the area’s waters which have been described as “a lot of water, spread mighty thin.”

While I didn’t pilot our boat out beyond the beaches that first summer,  I have managed to get out in the big water each summer since then.  It is a thrill that I enjoy whenever all the pieces manage to fall into place for an ocean trip.

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the purchase of our Sundance skiff, I think we made a lot of right decisions on our path to becoming boaters and safely visiting the edges of the big water.  Taking the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s safety course and hiring someone for some initial training all helped.

Certainly the expert boaters who have been guest captains on my boat have also helped me gain experience.    While I enjoy boating by myself, I also find having a second person in the boat is always a good thing especially when heading out Bogue Inlet.

As the years slide by, being safe in our boat becomes more of an entrenched routine than something that I have to remember.  I never even leave the house to get in either our skiff or my kayak without my life suspenders.

When I am preparing for a trip in the skiff, I have a few bags that I load.  Most have emergency equipment or items that make me feeler safer.    I am a big fan of my Garmin GPS which I mount on the skiff before each trip.   The tracks that are saved on the Garmin are a wonderful road map to the area.  They make me feel a lot more comfortable while I am boating.

I also carry an emergency marine radio, my cell phone, a 12 volt charger for it, and my SeaTow membership card.

In spite of the focus on safety, getting out beyond the beaches is not for everyone.  When I take my wife out to Bogue Inlet, she makes it very clear that she has no intention of getting out in the waves of the ocean.   It doesn’t matter whether it is bathtub smooth day or not.  The ocean is just not for my wife, and she quickly lets me know when it is time to turn around.

And that is okay because I usually don’t have much trouble finding someone to go with me.  At the end of the first week of April 2012, when we were having a pretty good early spell of warm weather, Alex, one of my boating buddies got to visit for a couple of days.

I was definitely ready for him.  I had been doing some early fishing in preparation for his visit  When we got in the boat the first morning of his visit, he still didn’t have his fishing license, but I wanted to show him a great fishing hole that I had found.   After I got us out into the river, I let Alex pilot us down to Swansboro.  He grew up in a boat so I love to let him take the helm while I focus on taking pictures.  In Swansboro harbor I took over until we got over into the marshes on the other side of the Intracoastal waterway.

Then I asked Alex to take the controls while I climbed up on the bow platform as we drifted in the current.  I made one cast and immediately hooked a bluefish.   Since I was using very light tackle it took a little while to boat the fish, but the experience was enough to hook Alex on getting his license and coming back to try his luck in my honey hole.

Still that day we had some time left so we decided to head out to Bogue Inlet and test the ocean waters.  That first trip out to the Inlet each spring is always an exciting one.  I do regular walks at the Point on the east side of the Inlet so I am usually aware of some of the changes taking place, but until you take a boat out those waters, you really don’t know what you are facing.

Since it was still relatively cool that day, we got just far enough beyond the beaches to check some of the changes in our favorite fishing holes, and then headed back in towards the beaches.  When we turned and started heading back,  I snapped the picture at the top of the post.  There was nothing but ocean and waves behind us.

It didn’t take us very long to get back to the Intracoastal and then up the White Oak to Bluewater Cove.  With some luck as the waters warm, I’ll be back to check out those ocean-side fishing spots more thoroughly.  Just that one trip will make the next trip out there a lot easier.

The next morning, fishing was the only thing on our agenda.  We quickly got back to my spot with Alex and his new fishing license.  I put him up on the bow, and true to form a fish was hooked on the first cast.  Alex managed to hook five bluefish and put four of them in the cooler.  It wasn’t one of those unforgettable moments like the day with the bluefish that I enjoyed with my friend Dean, but it wasn’t bad for an hour of early spring fishing.

The bluefish got cleaned and made the trip back to be cooked near the shores of Lake Norman.  The first fresh fish of the season and that first trip into the ocean of the year are just appetizers that make us hunger for warmer days when we will find more fish and a magic day which we can spend out beyond the beaches.

Boating is a tradition here on the Southern Outer Banks, we’re lucky to live where the ocean is so accessible to so many of us.

Here is a map of the trip that Alex I took out beyond the beaches that first week of April 2012.  This a picture of the Point at Emerald Isle as we headed out.  Finally this is the view as you make your way out to the big water.

The Marsh near Huggins Island

Don’t get me wrong.  I absolutely love to fish, and I have been known to fish in some tough weather.  I have caught trout with snow on the ground.  I have fished when I was nearly frozen by cold fall winds or being slowly cooked by summer’s heat.  I have challenged the fishing gods by fishing in February on the White Oak River.

However, my favorite kind of fishing is when the spirit and warm weather move me.  When the weather, winds, and water are just right, fishing can be a wonderful experience even when you aren’t catching any fish or at least nothing to brag about to other fishermen.

While fish are optional, there is nothing wrong with catching fish and even eating a few when the stars are aligned.  Last fall I enjoyed both some trout and flounder from the White Oak.  There is nothing tastier than catching fish in your own backyard and having them in the frying pan before the sun has time to move very far.

When the fish start biting is controlled by the weather.  When I start catching fish has more to do with when it is nice enough to get on the water and wet a line.  Most of the time I hook my first fish of the year in late March on early April.  By then the weather is nice enough on a good day for it to be very pleasurable out on the water.

On Tuesday, April 3, my wife left for a morning church circle meeting, and I thought I would do some work around our home and yard.   At least that was the plan until I walked outside and noticed how warm it was and how quiet the water on the river had gotten.  With no spring winds blowing, the nice weather and water quickly changed my mind.

I put on my life suspenders, tied a jig head on the line attached to my new fishing rod & reel, and loaded all my gear in the boat.  Tying the jig on was the hardest part of getting under way.  I should have taken the time to put a leader on, but the water was calling me.  I was on my way and headed out our channel in less than ten minutes.  The ride down the river once I am out of our cove is only five or six minutes.

Actually the fishing rod was just an accessory to what I knew would be a fantastic boat ride.  With the water glassy smooth, I just wanted to get out on the water and enjoy the breeze in my face and get some salt air in my lungs.  If an opportunity for fishing presented itself, I would be ready.

When the water is still in the low to mid-sixties, it is hard to tell what you might run into when you stick your line in the water.  I didn’t really think about it since I was more focused on that first really nice boat ride of the year.   I followed one of my favorite circuits which takes me south to Swansboro, across the Intracoastal, then to the channel just north of Huggins Island and finally back down the Intracoastal to Swansboro.  I have a YouTube video which provides a close look at the area approaching the island if you don’t mind a video from a slow moving boat.

My trip on April 3, took just minutes to Swansboro because the river was smooth and empty.  After that I had planned nothing more than a ride through the back channel and a quick trip back down the Intracoastal and then home to Bluewater Cove.

However just before I turned east to be parallel with the shore of Huggins Island, I felt just the right breeze for drift fishing. It was like a switch had been flipped in my head.  I immediately cut the engine and picked up my rod and cast to the edge of the marsh at the north side of the channel.  I was fishing with a white gulp.  I waited for the gulp to sink and adjusted my camera in case there was a good photo opportunity. Little did I know that I would be too busy to find the shutter release.

I was fishing with a new rod and reel that I purchased on sale last Thanksgiving at Gander Mountain on a trip to our other home in Roanoke, Virginia.   Though I had tried the rod on an earlier kayak fishing trip this winter, I did not hook anything on that trip.

When I started retrieving the jig, I only made one turn of the reel handle before I thought I was snagged on a log.  Then my log started moving.  It didn’t take me long to figure out it was a bluefish in the three to four pound range.  My rod and reel was an outfit that I had picked specifically for trout fishing.  It was not intended for fighting with nasty tempered bluefish.   I had to make a couple of adjustments to the drag to make any progress with the bluefish who had decided to put on an aerial show while I was collecting myself.  There’s nothing like hooking something on the first cast to start a trip out right and to give you a case of fishing fever.

As I finally got organized, the bluefish decided to go under the boat, I managed to keep him from tangling on the motor, but I knew I was fighting a loosing battle with just eight pound test line, a very light rod, no leader, and no net on board.  The bluefish kept diving and finally he cut my line, and headed off for parts unknown.

After tying on another gulp, I did a few more drifts, but I didn’t even get another touch on my gulp.  I guess that was fortunate since I didn’t have any leader material with me.

The trip home was just as beautiful as the trip down the river.  I posted some pictures of the trip in a Picasa web album called Glassy April Waters.

I had a good time on my first real fishing trip 2012. I should have taken the time to install a leader.  I feel bad for the bluefish with a gulp stuck in his mouth.  That evening I went over to Reel Outdoors in Emerald Isle and got some fluorocarbon leader material.   I tied on a leader as soon as I got home.

It is a rare year that we don’t get into a nice mess of bluefish anyway.

Likely I will be back at the spot sometime in the next few days.  I’ll have a net with me, and a more appropriate rod for one of those big bluefish, but if the weather and water aren’t right, I’ll probably just settle for the boat ride and some nice photos.

When all else fails, I eventually end up heading over to the beach and practicing my six shrimp road to enlightenment.

This photo is a great aerial view of the North Carolina coast.  If you look closely you can see the White Oak River and Swansboro.

Water that begs to be waded

Spring on the Crystal Coast can be a mix of all kinds of weather. With Mother Nature smiling on us, this year we have enjoyed a warm start to the spring season.

Though the journey to our summer season is a long way from being over in 2012. It has been great to have a taste of warmth so early in the season.  The real beach season usually begins around Memorial Day, and sometimes our first really warm days wait until June.  However, I would not be surprised to see summer’s heat on us even earlier than it was last year.

I do hope we can have a July that is a little different than the very warm and dry July we had in 2011 or even 2010.  Our current trend of reasonable spring rainfall might let us avoid a serious drought this year.  No one wants another dry spring and summer like 2011 which led to all the wildfires last summer.  We were amazed last summer on our Day Trip to Nags Head when we saw all the smoke from the Alligator River fire. It took Hurricane Irene to really end our drought of 2011.

With warmth and last year’s dry conditions on my mind, Friday, March 23, I made my way over to the Point at Emerald Isle. It is one of my favorite hiking spots.  I was hoping to see if my recently injured ankle could handle a couple of miles of hiking and to figure out if the salt water had warmed enough for my toes to get in it.

My trips by boat in the White Oak River earlier in the week had recorded water temperatures well above 70F.  With that experience I was expecting welcoming water on my Friday walk.  I was not to be disappointed.

It is no surprise that my experience in previous years found the water not so warm. In 2011, after a very cold winter, I first stuck my toes in the water on April 8.  For 2010 my first April post does not mention getting wet.  However, I did find that by May 1, 2010, I was knee deep in salt water.

With that history in mind, I made the under seven mile drive to Emerald Isle and turned onto Coast Guard Road.  It was just another five minutes or so before I parked at the Station Street Parking lot and headed off to a CAMA access where I could get some sand between my toes.

I did check the temperature before I left the car.  It was 77 degrees Fahrenheit. That is pretty warm for over on the beach in March.  I fully expected that once I got on the beach it would be much cooler.  Actually that was not the case.

It was more like walking onto the beach in mid-May than in late March.  I headed straight for the water.  It was only two or three minutes before I was wading in the water.  The water was far beyond toe-dipping water.

The air temperature over on the beach was very close to what it was in the parking lot.  After walking in the water for a mile or so, it is not hard to believe that the saltwater surf temperatures are already above 70F.  Unless there is a big cool down.  I will be wearing a bathing suit on my next beach walk.

Later in the day after my two miles on the beach, I took our skiff out on the river once again.  As I circled my boat and headed back up river under the Highway 24 bridges in Swansboro, my GPS unit recorded a water temperature of 74F.  When I left Bluewater Cove, where we live, the shallow water in the marshes as I piloted the boat through them showed as being 77F.

Now all of this can and likely will change somewhat.  This last week of March our low temperatures at night are going to be much more seasonable. Those warm nights for the last couple of weeks have made a huge difference in water temperature.   The third week of March 2012 we hardly got below 60F at night in our area just off the White Oak River.

For the final week of March, we will see low temperatures at night approaching 40F.  Some inland areas might be at risk for frost so you can almost count on water temperatures going down some.  However, they have been very nice and much warmer than normal for this time of year.  With the water what it is, I doubt we will have a repeat of last year’s frost by the water on March 29.

However, you just never know what the weather on the coast is going to bring this time of year.  Last year even on April 25 the water temperatures were just hovering around 70F.  Between changing temperatures and winds, it is hard to predict what it will be like on the water.

All I hope is that the weather is nice enough that I can spend plenty of time wandering the beaches and enjoying the water.

Life this side of the watery horizon

Living along North Carolina’s coast is a treat that has to be experienced to be appreciated.  For many years, I visited the coast and felt the pressure to enjoy the water no mater what the weather.

Now that I live here, I get to pick and choose the days when I get on the water.  Actually it is better than that.  From my second floor home office which looks out at the White Oak River, I can often sense when a short boat ride is a good thing even on a less than perfect day.

Since getting out on the water is so easy, I can also gamble a little and go out when the conditions might keep folks without a lift at home.  Taking a boat ride of twenty minutes to one half an hour is something that I often do.   It takes very little time to be on the water if your lift and boat are only 25 feet from your house.

If I had to launch a boat from a trailer, I wouldn’t be nearly so quick to take a short boat ride.  I am aware that I am in an enviable position, but I worked hard to get here, so I am going to enjoy it.  In a year like 2012 when “winter” disappeared quickly, getting out on the water has been on my mind for a while.

The picture at the top of the post was taken on March 19, 2012.  For the last couple of months my wife and I have been focused on selling our mountainside home in Roanoke, Virginia.  Being in Virginia has made it hard to be on the water here in Carteret County so I was pretty excited when we got back home to the Southern Outer Banks earlier in the weekend.

Only going to church kept me off the water on Sunday morning.  When Monday, March 19, rolled around, I was not going to be denied some time on the water.  With my second planned task of the day being planting my tomatoes, there were no worries about it being too cold to be on the water.

Still the extra warmth and almost 70F water temperature made getting out on the water an easy decision.  For some reason the winds also decided not to blow.  That is not necessarily a common thing in March.  On top of that there seemed to be a little more water behind our house than is sometimes the case in early spring.  Spring is usually when we get very low tides  All the elements cooperating made for a very pleasurable ride.

I also knew that with the time of year and the perceived challenges of navigating the White Oak, I would likely have the river to myself.  That turned out to be the case.   The river was mine while I was there.

I didn’t take a very long ride since I had a lot of other things on my plate.  I was probably gone from our dock only about thirty minutes, but it was wonderful to be out on the water in such great weather.  The water is never the same twice, but it is a true pleasure figuring it out, and early spring trips always have an extra taste of adventure.

As I got down towards Swansboro where I snapped the post picture, the water became very calm.  The blue from the sky would have merged with the blue of the water except for the thin line of the horizon that was the Highway 24 bridges and a few shops on the causeway.

It occurred to me that my life at the coast is lived totally on the water side of the horizon.  I rarely worry about what is on the other side of the horizon.  I have no desire to get on an airplane and fly to Europe and even less desire to head back to California.  Everything that I need is on this watery side of the horizon.

Living in this world of beautiful marshes and water to the horizon is not something that limits you.    I have actually made the argument the water and sky here at the coast stretch your imagination.

Sometimes even when you are as close to water as I am, not everything is as cooperative as it was during my recent boat ride.  Then I have to take refuge in my memories of being on the water.  Fortunately I have a lot of those even a great YouTube boat ride that I filmed on a warm summer morning on a glassy White Oak River. Memories like that can sustain you for a long time.

Still it is rare that we have to wait very long for a taste of the water. I am counting on getting out on the water for my third time this week in the next couple of days.  I might even take my kayak out.

When you have fish in your backyard, you know that eventually you will find the right conditions to get out and enjoy the water.  Patience comes easy to most of us fishermen.

The fact that water is not far from our house keeps me very calm, and for that I am very thankful.

It also seems that I spend a lot of time thinking about water whether I am out on it or just trying to get out on it.  Water is not a bad thing to have on your mind.

Having a life clearly positioned on this side of watery horizon eliminates a lot of every day frustrations, and the peace that comes with that is just one of the reasons that I live here on the banks of Raymond’s Gut by the White Oak River.

ICW from Emerald Isle Bridge

Depending on how far north my wanderings have taken me, I have heard various months described as the cruelest month of the year.  Usually a month got a bad name because there was a nasty transition from winter to spring.  Mud can emotionally scar almost anyone.

When we lived on a dirt road in Saint Croix Cove, Nova Scotia, March was a bad month because it was then that the frost often came out of the road and turned it into an almost impassable mess.

On our farm in Tay Creek, New Brunswick, April was a cruel month.  Just when you thought winter was over, you would get slammed with a big snow storm or a spell of cold rain at 33F.  Melting snow can create some of the most challenging mud.

In Roanoke, Virginia, I have found February my most challenging month.  The plants are trying to bloom, and then like we had on February 19, 2012, a snow storm will whack you back into the reality of winter.  Usually the snow is followed by a few days of high winds just to remind you that it wasn’t a mistake.

The most challenging month along the Southern Outer Banks is the one that lets us dream of summer before it actually has arrived.  Sometimes if spring is late, April can be our most challenging month.  This year with temperatures reaching close to 80F in Carteret County on March 1, March is already starting out as a challenging month for those of us who love to be out on the water.

While I love the local strawberries that we sometimes enjoy in March, I have to admit that it is the month drives me crazy here on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast.  The temperature can be perfect for boating, and either the wind is blowing too much or much of our water has disappeared.

As I took my boat for a little spin on leap day, I could only hope that if March stays warm that I can resist going for a long boat ride. The temperature even before noon was well over 70F, but as I idled along Raymond’s Gut, I could tell that I was in barely two feet of water at an hour before mid-tide.  Most of the year, we have three feet of water, but March always seems to a time when water is hard to find.

At the same time as I glanced longingly out at the White Oak River, I could tell it would take a ride well up on the wave tops to keep from having a rough trip down the river to Swansboro and the Intracoastal Waterway.

So there I was in my boat on February 29 and the temperature was already tempting me to think about boating.  Most of March will be like that except that I will give in a few times and likely end up with some regrets.

While the water temperature is not bad for this time of year, wind and lack of water usually make for difficult boating in March.  Likely, my March boating will just be short trips in preparation for an April which one can hope might be more friendly to a day on the water.

Fortunately that anticipation of the first great day on the water is almost as enjoyable as the actual day.  The more I dream about it, the better the actual event is.  Even if I have to wait until June 1, the wait will be worth it. There is nothing in the world like a dazzling day on the water here among the marshes of the Crystal Coast.

Warm January Afternoon on the Beach

There are reasons that we live along the North Carolina coast.  One of them is that we get the opportunity to walk along the beach when people to the north of us are often shivering in the snow.

Not every winter do we have a series of warm January days which make the beach suitable for walking.  Sometimes the ocean water gets so cold that the wind coming off the water can put real meaning into the words “wind chill.”

No such problems have bothered us during the winter of 2012.  The ocean water is much warmer than it was last year when we had a serious winter that turned out snowy and eventually was recognized as the most severe winter here on the coast in the last 100 years.

This year winter has been more like our first three years at the beach, 2006-2009, when cold weather never really found us for any length of time.  During January 2007, I kept track of our temperatures.  We only had nineteen hours when the temperature was below freezing.

January 2012 hasn’t been quite that warm.  As of January 29, my records show that our area three miles north of Swansboro and just off the White Oak River has seen a total of thirty-two hours below freezing.   That compares to ninety-six hours below freezing in the Roanoke, Virginia area.

Just inland from the beaches we have enjoyed fifteen days during January 2012 when the temperature was 60F or better.  There were another nine days when we saw at least 50F.  I consider it a winter day when we don’t reach 50F, and when we don’t get to 40F, it is a very cold winter day.   There have only been two days so far in January 2012 when we didn’t reach 40F so I am not going to complain.

Though it has been a very busy month for me, I have managed a couple of nice beach walks including one that lasted nearly four hours when I was testing my new beach camera.  My skiff has also been out on the White Oak River a number of times.  On January 25, I took the skiff down the river to Swansboro and rode around in the marshes.  The next day I went kayaking in the afternoon on the river.  The weather was almost perfect for all of my out-door adventures.

Both trips on the water were very enjoyable, but not nearly as much fun as my nearly four hours walking around the Point on January 24.  When I left our home in Bluewater Cove, the temperature was well over 70F on our front porch.  When I left my truck at the Station Street Parking lot and started walking to the beach, the temperature was still 64F.  I managed to do my beach hike very comfortably just wearing a long sleeve tee-shirt and blue jeans.  I actually saw a family wading around in the water.  There were a number of tracks showing people enjoying the beach without shoes.

It really was a magic time to be over on the beach.  There was a light breeze and warm sunshine. Along with all the changes in the sand over at the Point, there was a strong east flowing current running back from the Point down the beach towards the town.

If you have never experienced the panorama of sand, sea, and sky that is the Point at Emerald Isle, you might want to watch the video that I took of the Point on January 25.  If your browser supports it, and if you have a fast Internet connection, watch it in 720P HD video.  This is the link for the YouTube movie.

I love the beach anytime of the year, even when it is cold.  However, when you get a magic day in January where you can enjoy the beach without even a coat, it really is a special day that helps shorten our “winter.”

As February rolls into town, we will probably have some cold weather, but by the end of February, the North Carolina sun is starting to work its magic.  As of the end of January, we already have some lettuce and radish seeds that have sprouted in our winter garden patch.

I’m looking forward to local strawberries in late March this year and some wonderful, late February beach walks.  It you want to see more pictures of my walk over on the Point, you can find them at this Picasa Web Album link.

More information, pictures and links relating to the area can be found on my Crystal Coast Links page or my Welcome to the Beach page.

If all this talk of the beach puts you in a good mood, read my post about why Beaufort, NC should win the Best Small Town of 2012 contest, and then go vote for Beaufort.

Winter Beach

Every year we get to a time when it make sense to declare it winter at the beach.  It doesn’t happen with the first shot of cold air, but some years it does come earlier than other years.

In 2010-11, winter descended onto the beach early in December.  It only began to relent a little by the last week of January.  This year has been completely different.  We have not had the snow that made last year’s winter one that we will remember.

This week we did finally get an inch of rain that reminded me of the rain that came last year towards the end of January.  With 2012 starting out dry, we needed the rain.

This has actually been a very nice winter so far.  We have seen a number of days including today, January 12, 2012, make it into the sixties and sometimes even the seventies.

Still, even here along the peaceful shores of the Crystal Coast, winter eventually touches us.  When there is a near blizzard in Chicago, some of those cold winds usually make their way down the slopes of the Appalachians to our coastal plains.

When the cold winds come after the water has cooled well below sixty degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes winter at the beach.  It’s not that it is a bad time to be at the beach.  It is just very different from those days when wearing shorts and wading in the water is standard practice.   Of course in the winter, there are no crowds.

I had hoped to go for a walk on the Point today, but I was delayed by some things that needed doing. We didn’t even head over to the beach until after 4 PM.  By that time it was too late to attempt a long hike at the Point  since we lose our daylight around 5:20 PM.

With the dwindling daylight in mind, we headed up to Third Street since it is a short walk to the ocean from the parking lot.  Our trip east along the beach gave us plenty of hints that winter has come to the beach.

While there are few people over the beach this time of year, usually on nice days there will be a handful of cars in the parking lot at Eastern Regional Access.  We only saw one.  When we got to the Third Street parking lot, there were no other cars.

As we walked up the ramp to the viewing platform, I could hear the waves crashing. It wasn’t long before I felt the bite of the wind and zipped up my light jacket.  I knew that Glenda, my wife, would be back in the car in moments.  As I walked down on the beach, I saw the characteristic coarse red sand that we often see after the wind has blown a lot along the beach.

Then I looked down the beach and saw the mist in the air.  As the waves were crashing, little bits of foam were being blown towards the shore.  Then I got the final sign that winter had arrived at the beach.  My hands started to get cold.  My hands are like little heaters so when they start feeling the cold, the wind has to be blowing off some chilly waters as it was today.

My eyes scanned the beach, but I didn’t see a single bird or another human being not even a fisherman.  Glenda had retreated to the car almost at the moment that I walked down the steps to the beach so I wasn’t really surprised to find myself alone on the shore.  The water was pretty stirred up but not stormy by any means.  Still even with the blue skies and sunshine, it was clearly winter on the beach.

I didn’t stay very long on the beach, and I enjoyed the sensation of my hands warming as I got back to the car.  While I know that days for beach walks will have to be carefully chosen for another month or so, there will be days when the wind isn’t blowing, and the beach will be very pleasant.  I will manage to find some of those days.

As we drove west along the beach toward the town of Emerald Isle, our windshield got a covering of the mist that often blows in from the shore during the winter.  It is usually so light that it is hardly noticeable until it builds up for a few days, and then you wonder how your windshield got so messy.   While it seemed that few businesses were open in town besides Jordan’s Seafood, there were some signs of life at Food Lion and Emerald Plantation. However,  I suspect most summer beach visitors would not recognize the Food Lion parking lot in January.  I was sad to see our only local bookstore has closed, but that is just reality in the days of Kindles.

As we crossed the bridge, I was reminded that winter is that time of year when being over on the mainland has some real advantages.  With the shelter of the pine forests and the luck of having a large south facing area along one side of our house, it is rare during winter when it isn’t pleasant by our home along Raymond’s Gut.  On a warm afternoon, it can be ten to twenty degrees warmer in my tomato beds than it is over on the shore.

It will be June or July before the coolness of the ocean breezes will be a benefit once again.  Until then I will wander the woods along the marshes near our home and watch for those sunny windless days when the winter beach is an inviting place.

Peace on the Beach

Many places seem about to explode with activity as Christmas nears.  That is not the case along the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina.

As we get close to the end of the year, we actually enter the quietest season here on the coast.  A few of the restaurants take advantage of the smaller crowds and close for a few weeks to give their staff time with their families.

Still there are plenty that are open and happy to have customers.  When we were over at Mike’s on Emerald Isle this Saturday, December 17, at 1 PM, we were only the eighth or ninth couple to come in all day.  Sunday, they have a breakfast buffet starting at 7 AM.  I am willing to bet there will not be any waiting for a table.

Many area residents actually get on the road themselves during the holiday season and go to visit their families.  In the summer people are anxious to come to the beach. When winter rolls around, the beach isn’t as much of an attraction as it is in the heart of summer when the water is warm enough for swimming.  For our area’s slightly older group of residents, it is often easier to pack up and go see the kids than it is to try to bring the kids to the beach and help Santa find them here.

That few people come to the beach in December is actually unfortunate since this is one of the nicest times of the year. That is especially true when we are having weather that makes it seem like Indian summer has never disappeared. It has been shorts weather for a long time.

I had a stellar day over on the beach on Friday, December 16.  My 2.7 mile hike on the beach was enough that I wished that I had listened to my own advice.  Having shorts on during my hike would have been much more comfortable than the blue jeans that I was sure I would need.  The water and the sky that I found over on the beach were amazing as you can see from these pictures.

While the fishing has slowed except for some trout holes on the White Oak and other rivers, the waters have been calm this week, and they are still relatively warm. It has been a good time to go kayaking or boating.

I had my kayak in the White Oak once this week.  I have been down to Swansboro a couple of times in our skiff.  It has been just as beautiful on the rivers as it has been on the beaches.  There are some White Oak River pictures mixed in with this album I posted from some adventures earlier in the week.  It is pretty nice when you can go out for a sunset cruise with just a light jacket on in the middle of December.

The White Oak cooled from 60F the previous week to 50F on December 14. That happened  before we had two days when we were at or very close to 70F during the day.  I am sure the river warmed a little but has now cooled some this weekend.

Still the water isn’t cool enough to chill the sun warmed air that has been in place with our mostly cloudless skies.  Wearing a coat has not been a necessity this week.  Saturday was cloudy and cool, but it looks like we will recover from this weekend cool snap.

December 20 through December 24, the temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-sixties.  The mid-sixties are my favorite temperatures most of the year. When I can get them in December, it does not get much better than that.

Besides the great weather, shopping is never as hectic here on the coast as it is in places like Northern Virginia.  I have a long history of avoiding shopping in places which end up on the national news like Reston, Va did on Friday night.

There are plenty of small shops along the coast here.  There is also something reassuring about knowing that your shopping cannot get much more exotic than Belk’s, Best Buy, Ace, or Walgreen’s.  After all, some recent studies show that most people are not impressed by expensive gifts and are just as happy with thoughtful inexpensive ones.

We also have the added benefit that most of our parking spaces are designed for extended cab trucks instead of your average Toyota Prius.  It is not unusual to see a pickup truck with a boat trailer behind it in one of our mall parking lots.  I bet there has never been a truck with a boat trailer in a parking lot in Reston, Virginia.  If one managed to get into the parking lot, it would likely be there forever.

With great weather, peaceful beaches, cute shops, great parking, and inviting waters, there is not a better place to spend the holidays than the Crystal Coast if you can get away with it.  You just have to get people to understand that palm trees make good Christmas trees, and the best tree of all is a Crab Pot Christmas tree.

We really enjoyed Christmas here on the White Oak last year even with the snow the day after Christmas.  This year the snow will likely stay away, but that should make the area even more attractive for a holiday visit.

Last light on the White Oak River

If you don’t like the weather that NC’s Southern Outer Banks has enjoyed this fall, please don’t bother talking to me because it is obvious that you are impossible to please.

It is hard to believe that I was only wearing shorts and a tee-shirt when we went walking on the beach the afternoon of December 6.  It was as pleasant on the beach as any October day. October days on the Crystal Coast are often spectacular.  December can be nice, but this year is a good one to banish the memories of last year when we even got some very rare snow just after Christmas.

By the time we got home from our December 6, errands and beach walk,  it was 4:30 PM which is well past the warmest time of the day.  Even at that late hour, I stayed with my shorts and only put on a light wind breaker over my tee shirt and life-suspenders for my evening ride on the river.

It was so nice out on the river, that I almost had to force myself to head home. I am still pinching myself over the fantastic weather that evening when I stood in our skiff and enjoyed the beautiful sunset that is the picture for this post.

There was almost no wind, and the tide was coming in as the sun slipped down behind the trees and spilled some amazingly colorful light across the White Oak River.  My mind knows that winter is coming, but my heart doesn’t want to let go of this lingering warmth from fall 2011.

This year’s December 6, was a great day to be outside even for yard work.  I finally pulled up the last of my tomato plants.  Damage from Hurricane Irene kept them from breaking my December 19, last-tomato-picked record, but it was still a fantastic year for tomatoes.

This weather is not atypical for North Carolina’s Crystal Coast.  We’ve seen great weather like this for four of the six winters that we have lived here.  However, this is an especially nice early December that Mother Nature has given us.  Last year, December of 2010,  was certainly not like this year or even one of those earlier warm years.

A year ago we fell into a deep freeze early in December, and the upside down weather gave us some cold temperatures that are very rare here on the coast even in the depths of winter much less before the official start of winter.  Actually by December 8, 2010, the water behind our house was frozen, as I wrote about in my post, Nothing but Ice.

When I dropped my skiff in the water for my December 6, sunset cruise this year, the water temperature in Raymond’s Gut behind our house was 62.5 Fahrenheit.  It was really no surprise since the air temperature on our deck that same afternoon reached almost 78 Fahrenheit.  It will take a while before we see any ice in the gut this year.

Back in 2009, after we came through a very rainy fall, it only took us until December 11, to get down to 34 Fahrenheit and start looking like winter.  Even then I still had hopes of breaking my December tomato record.  That last-picked-tomato record of December 19, just might last a while.

As I go back even farther to December 2008, I find that we had a siege of cold weather which resulted in temperatures falling into the twenties on December 8.  The cooler temperatures didn’t keep me a way from the beach, but I do remember thinking that I might have to start wearing gloves, but the only problem is that I have yet to find them.

As long as we don’t have the December snows like we did last year, I will be a happy camper.  Every day that I get to walk on the beach in shorts is one day less of winter, and after all, most of us moved to the coast to avoid winter and enjoy the beach.

Just maybe this year will be like January of 2007 when we only had nineteen hours of below freezing temperatures, and we had eleven January days when the high got above seventy degrees.  We can always hope.  I wouldn’t  mind breaking those records.

More pictures from the beach and river taken on December 6, 2011 are posted on the web.