Chincoteague Tales Con't

We rented bikes after lunch (poor Brien just wasn't interested, but I was desperate to ride a bike and pretty much guilted/browbeat him into it) and biked along every path we possibly could.  I had a blast, and I'm fairly certain B enjoyed himself as well in spite of a bit of grousing. ;o)

We saw tons and tons of waterfowl.  So many egrets and great blue herons and green herons and ducks (not just mallards) and Canada geese and more.  It was incredible.

Along the trail to the lighthouse we spotted grape flowers and mini grapes.

I kept smelling something incredible and finally located the source of the fragrance.  Oh it was lovely.

As we were winding up the afternoon, we decided to try to see the ponies one last time and took the "woodland trail".

On the way to the ponies, we spotted this.  Remind you of anyone we know?

Look at her just chillin' there. :oP  she was huge, unlike any squirrel I had ever seen.  She looked crossed up between a gray squirrel and a groundhog given the shape of her head.  We left her relaxing and went in search of the elusive ponies.

And, there they were, so far off in the distance it didn't matter how big my zoom was--I wasn't going to be getting any photos of the ponies.  Drats.

I did however manage to snag a few more of gigundo squirrel.  She was still resting as we left.

As we biked along, we found this sign that explained so much.

Aha!  Who knew they were endangered?  We saw at least three of them that day.

And, see?  They're much larger than gray squirrels.  They are so fluffy they look stuffed toys.

Dinner was had and thoroughly enjoyed.  I chose to sit in the "sandbox", and while I certainly loved sitting there, I can tell you I would loathe to be the waitress that had to work that section.  Yikes!  Can you imagine hauling around heavy trays of food whilst walking in loose sand?  Eek.

After dinner I decided we had to walk along the beach and on our way back up that way there were the ponies.  Of course. :oP

We got to the beach right before sunset and enjoyed the ocean breezes, the sounds of the waves lapping the shore and the sight of those incredible sand sculptures Happy played with.

There was also quite a bit of kite flying.  Honestly, there is no place better to fly a kite than on the shore.

As we walked along the shore--me looking for perfect seashells for a collection for which I have no plans other than to let them sit there and collect dust--I glanced over in time to catch the last bit of sun peeking over the horizon.

It set right before our eyes.  I couldn't believe how quickly it disappeared.

We strolled along a little further up the deserted beach and decided we had best turn around.  Is there anything better than holding hands with your sweetie while you meander aimlessly along?

I loved the pink sky reflected in the wet sand. It looks sort of rainbow-y to me...;o)

Gorgeous red sky.

The lighthouse in the distance. 

Reflections on the van.

B caught in the act. :oP  His photos are so much better than mine, but I'll be unable to share any of them for a while.  He's still working crazy hours and not getting home before bedtime.  It's so hard when you're home only long enough to be in bed and have no time to be with your family or do those fun things you love.  I know others are in far worse situations but this is not the norm for our family and it's stressful.

Saturday was a day off from everything--all the stresses associated with work, parenting, and housework.  I'm glad that he had the break, even if it was only one day.

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Sparklies:

1.  If you love looking at photos of my garden, you must head over to Follow Your Bliss and check out Jess's posts on her gardens.  Holy smokes are they stunning!  And, I just posted all my daylily photos over there, including a couple I've not posted here. 
2.  Sydney is visiting this evening as her mom and dad are at her oldest brother's awards ceremony.
3.  Although it rained today, Ellie and I got in our walk.  Whew!
4.  We also made a trip to the Feed and Seed and saw all the chicks and ducklings--we had to get rabbit chow.
5.  All caught up on chores.  Whew!!
6.  My GORGEOUS Autumn Wood daylily is blooming!  (See photo on FYB)
7.  Catching up on my sleep.  Woo hoo!

No milestones.