Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2003. Mattie was 14 months old and we went to the Outer Banks (NC) with Peter's parents. I still remember the name of the house we rented, Sundancer. It was in a wonderful location and that particular day we went to the aquarium. Mattie was fascinated by the hands on experience!

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 33,491,891
• Number of people who died from the virus: 600,478

Last evening we went out for a walk on the beach. While making our way on the boardwalk to the beach, we came across this rainbow colored bird. Naturally we do not see such birds in Washington, DC so we had to look him up. This is a painted bunting!

I think the amazing part of Kiawah Island is its natural beauty! Visiting here is therapeutic, and it is forcing us to slow down, take in the world around us, be more active with walking and bicycling, and of course appreciating the wonders of the salt air and sea. 

Outside our window this morning was a lot of turtle patrol action. See these trails? They were made by a mother sea turtle during the night. 

A close up of the turtle tracks! You can follow them up to the brush, where there is a white pole marker placed by turtle patrol. I can't imagine what it looks like when these eggs hatch and the little ones trail out to sea. 

This morning we took a 10 mile bicycle ride on the beach. Kiawah has hard packed sand, making it a lot easier to bicycle ride on the sand. Certainly it isn't as easy as pedaling on pavement, but it is very possible, especially when peddling with the wind. Peddling against the wind is a total work out! 

We rode all the way up to the end of the beach, where the Kiawah River meets the ocean. It is very secluded on this part of the beach and it isn't unusual to see these cute birds, the piping plovers. 

The beauty of the ocean. Another interesting fact about Kiawah is that you can wade out at least 100 feet in the water and still stand. This makes it a very unusual beach in my opinion, which is most likely why parents of small children love it. 

I love laughing gulls. When they squawk it sounds like laughter.  

Another favorite sighting of mine are pelicans. I love watching them fly over our balcony. These wonderful birds don't seem to come up any further north than North Carolina. 

Yesterday I mentioned to Peter that I hadn't seen any bunnies! I then wondered whether there are bunnies on the Island. Almost on cue, this fellow popped up. 

This is the part of the beach that we bicycled to today. As you can see it is very remote and pristine. Almost no footsteps on the sand. 

Peter standing in front of the area where the Kiawah River meets the Atlantic. What you can't tell from the photo is how HOT it is. It is 74% humidity and in the upper 80s. It is very easy to get overheated here, which is why between activities we have to get back into air conditioning and return to equilibrium. 

Meanwhile, last night there was an intense rain storm with lightning and thunder. Another light show over the water. While this was happening, I got a phone call from Sunny's boarding facility. Apparently he is on a hunger strike and they are concerned. Of course Peter and I know that this is just Sunny. He is a sensitive fellow and though he loves to eat, when he is stressed out and anxious, he refuses food.