Rosemallows and the beach

Draper Lake was stunning early this morning. The hibiscus, (or rosemallow), was happily reaching up to the sky, brightening the dark green lake edge. The view stopped me in my tracks as I rode my bike across the covered bridge along 30A.

The beach was beautiful too, the outflow from the lake making a really dramatic visual. I'd like to find out for sure where the sanderlings are. Some say they left because of the spill, some say they are nesting.

There are always two stories. It has been my experience that the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. I'll see what I can find out.

Yesterday, as I went north on 331 to DeFuniak for a visit with my mum, I noticed a steady stream of cars going south to the beaches, but not as many as some years. We all pray that the new, so far effective cap stops, contains or funnels the oil in a way that keeps it out of the gulf and off our beautiful shoreline.

So far, as far as what can be seen with the naked eye, our economy is what has been hit the hardest. Our psyche suffers though with these many days of uncertainty. A lot of us are staying out of the water and there are a lot of unknowns, but it is certain we aren't experiencing the environmental devastation they are facing in Louisiana. How the environment fares in the long run has yet to be seen, but none of the locals I know plans to leave. We might be angry and frustrated, acting out our anger and frustration in varied and often completely different ways but for the most part, people are intent on sticking it out and figuring out how to heal the damage.

And thank God Mother Nature has her own ways of fixing things.