What is one to do when hubby has a week long work trip to the Florida coast? Well, obviously that’s a rhetorical question! Why, go with, of course!
My thought had been that I would traipse about Hutchinson Island with my camera, taking pictures of the birds and scenery while he was busy slaving away during the daytime hours. But alas, whenever I went outside my lens fogged right up. Partially, that is due to the beach climate; but mostly that is due to the near freezing temperature that I kept the thermostat set in our room. The camera just had a hard time acclimating. So, I decided to make the trip more about replenishing my soul than taking photos.
I spent a lot of time walking on the beach, and enjoying all the shells I saw gathered there. I think an even greater number washed up on the sand courtesy of Hurricane Debby. There was one spot in particular that always seemed to have quite a collection just waiting for me to enjoy. (And I did have my cell phone with me, so I can at least share a few shots with ya’ll!)
I also enjoyed watching the ocean and its many moods. Standing and gazing at the waves and the near endless horizon, well, it just makes you feel small in the best possible of ways.
Each morning I got up to watch the sunrise, though most days it was shrouded in clouds. Still gorgeous though.
And each day, I spent some time just playing with words, which is always good for my soul. Nothing intended to be polished or profound, nor even to be shared with the eyes and ears of others, just little daily rhymes that made me happy to scribble down. Like this bit of verse inspired by the above sunrise:
Day after day, and morning by morning
The sun rises up in all of its glory
Rejoicing to run its course ‘cross the earth
Each radiant beam declaring God’s worth
Not once does it sulk, or see it as duty
But rather delights to shine forth its beauty
In joyful surrender it gladly obeys
Each rising and setting and offering of praise
It was a lovely get away, with a whole lot of doing very little! I did have one chance to snap a few bird photos, but I’ll wait and share those in the next post!
Backyard Bird Nerd 
what a lovely break!
Florida, freezing?!
Love those seashell pictures!
Here in the Houston area, I have that lens fogging problem, too. It happens when I carry the camera out of the house to see the birds in my back yard. And it happens when I lift my camera out of my air conditioned car at my (hopefully) birdy destination. Clearing doesn’t happen quickly – I’ve waited more than 30 minutes for the fog to vanish. So I’ve learned a new strategy – during the summer, I keep the camera in a warmer environment than my AC’d house or car. I have a sealed plastic storage box in the garage – the fitted lit deeps the dust out. When I take the camera out for a quick study at home, it is already warm. If I’m driving somewhere, I transport the camera, in its case, in the plastic storage container, in the car. Seems to work a charm 🙂
Excellent idea! I’m gonna tuck that away for future camera outings!