She Sells Sea Shells By the.....

 Whispers Of The Sea

Whenever I see this image of shells from a visit one early spring at Nags Head, NC it calls to me whispering it's ocean sounds making me nostalgic for the time I spent there. I spend a lot of time walking up and down the beach.  The beaches are wider than the ones at Cape Cod and further North.  Because of it's size it seems to have it's own culture and events, a constant flow of wildlife from birds to crabs playing to humans doing various activities. I'm grown now and no longer drawn to sun worshiping and going into the water, 

 Young Seagulls On Harwich Cape Cod Beach

now I like observing what comes out of the water, not so much the human kind, but the animal kind.  Going in early spring was different, no crowds only the locals walking the beach with the occasional visitor. It always seemed like a idyllic dream to go beach combing and sell sea shells or things made with them by the sea staying all summer, becoming familiar with the sea and its rhythm of life.

 Pink Seaweed On Harwich Beach Cape Cod

What makes the ocean so compelling, is it the constant motion of the waves and water  pulled by the moon?  Sea creatures come out of the water scuttling around digging into the sand, some marooned of ancient heritage, living fossils.  Passing visitors peer at animals that exist only in the deep ocean.   Not having grown up around water what the ocean has to offer seems a bit mysterious...

Horseshoe Crab Shell

Every early morning on the beach is like a new event there are  always lots of things to see before people come to treasure hunt; what will show up?...will there be a conch shell or unfamiliar  sea life rolling in with the waves?...will my new found friend be there too? 

I stayed near one of the National Data Buoy System stations which coordinates monitoring of water temperature, atmospheric pressure, and many other things in the US and other international locations.  There is a live video cam there, if you walk nearby  it will pick you up and you will appear on their website. 

Summer Throne, Harwich Beach, Cape Cod

I have photos from my visit last summer to Cape Cod, I didn't have the photography bug yet when I visited Nags Head.

 Beached Shells, Red River Beach, Harwich, Cape Cod, MA

Small shells are heaped up in piles at Red River Beach, Harwich, Cape Cod, MA. 

 Sea Wall, Providence MA

There wasn't much sand in Providence but lot's of stone seawalls and seaweed with an inlet, the Atlantic Ocean beyond. 

 

Strutting Young Seagull

Knobska Point Light, Woods Hole, Cape Cod MA

Originally built in 1828, Nobska Light was rebuilt in 1876. The structure on the National Register of Historic Places.  The home adjacent to the light serves as the residence for the Commanding Officer of United States Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England.

Visitors On The Lawn At Knobska Point Light