After the Storm

The days after a bad storm are usually gorgeous and today was exceptionally beautiful.  We walked along the causeway and enjoyed the sunshine and sparkling, glassy waters that reflected the sky above and the land and buildings that skirt the waterway.

The water just offshore of our mainland is called St. Joseph Sound.  On the other side of the barrier islands lies the Gulf of Mexico, but when we refer to this body of water around here we just call it "the Gulf."  The Gulf is actually about two miles from shore.

 So when you look at a photo like that of my favorite palm tree on our island beach, it is impossible to tell where the Sound leaves off and the Gulf begins.  Our colony of cormorants were back in place on their rocks.  I didn't get a great shot of them, but you can tell that they're sitting out there enjoying a return to normalcy.

This fearless fellow seems to be overseeing his flock -- or maybe he just wanted a better view of the lovely scenery.

After I got home from our walk, I checked the tide charts for the southern end of Anclote Key -- the closest location charted.  We were walking along the causeway at exactly high tide: 7:53AM.  This was really a relief because in the following photos you will see NO BEACH.  We had all seen news accounts of beach erosion along the coast and it is a cause for concern.  But these pictures are just a high tide situation, thank goodness.

My favorite picture of the day would have been one that I did not get.  As we were on the return segment along the causeway, a young man on a bike let us know that there was a pod of dolphins searching for breakfast along the shores.  By the time we got there, they had moved beyond camera range but we were able to watch their frantic water splashes as they went after the schools of fish that are prevalent along the mangroves.  I think they may have gotten some red fish. So I'll go with our sea grape arch again.

No matter how may times I peer through that arch, I never tire of the view.  Made me wish I had time, my Kindle DX, a cold drink, and a beach chair to set up under one of the palms on the beach.

Don't forget to click to enlarge for detail!