Farewell, Sandy Beach

Sunset, Sandy Beach,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

I'm moving over the next few days to Emerald Beach, which is two beaches south of here. It's a lovely spot, but my son and I will not be living right on the beach, so I won't be doing an Emerald Beach Almanac. Time will preclude it too, because I have begun a few rather large projects recently.

Thank you for you support of this website. I have had great fun doing it and it's been a privilege to bring to readers worldwide some of the interesting things I've found within 1,000 paces of my wee cabin.

I will keep this site here indfinitely in case you wish to browse the archives, which are found in the sidebar. Thank you again, and all good wishes to everyone.

You'll find me here.

First day of Spring

Wildflowers over Back Sandy 2,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

Australians call September 1 the first day of Spring, just as March 1 is the first of Autumn, December 1 is the first of Summer and June 1 is the beginning of Winter. The custom dates back to early colonial times and has to do with the dates on which uniforms were issued to the British guards of the convict colony.

Looking south towards Emerald Beach from Bare Bluff (the south headland of Sandy Beach). Click for more Sandy Beach photos taken from Bare Bluff at dawn this morning. And it was a beautiful morning, with a carpet of tiny yellow wildflowers at my feet.

I didn't see the old boomer 'roo who startled me (as I startled him) on Bare Bluff earlier this week at dawn -- kangaroos are not common here, though they are at Emerald Beach, two beaches south. He stood nearly as tall as me (6 ft) and, about three or four meters from me, bounced off hell for leather into the heath.

Evidence of gold mining long ago

Evidence of gold mining long ago,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

A close look at this shot shows two bolts in the rocks. These, I am told, were placed there for a flying fox in a gold-mining operation. At the top of this headland you can still see mullock heaps from diggings. This point is between Back Sandy Beach and Emerald Beach.

Aboriginal midden

Aboriginal midden,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

This Aboriginal midden, or place for domestic waste disposal, is on the south headland of Back Sandy, which is the beach immediately south of Sandy Beach. The biew is looking north towards Sandy Beach, which is beyond the headland. The midden is composed of shells discarded over long periods of time.

Sand ripples at dawn

Sand ripples at dawn,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

The sand that disappeared from the south end this week showed up at the north end, changing the nature of the rocks there. Because of all the sand, where a week ago there were rick pools, it's easier to walk around the large rock which I call 'Cormorant Rock' and I've heard referred to as 'Submarine Rock', because of its shape.

This morning's sunrise

This morning's sunrise,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

It was especially beautiful on the beach at dawn today.

Sandy Beach eroded

Sandy Beach eroded,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

High winds, high seas and possibly high tides have stripped Sandy Beach of thousands of tonnes of sand this week. This is what remains of the south end. I suppose that in a year or two things will return to normal.

Out for an "early"

Out for an "early",
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

Two surfers out for an "early", at dawn this morning.

Spring is sprung?

Spring is sprung?,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

It's only August 1, but in this neck of the woods the jasmine is bursting with Spring beauty and fragrance. In Sydney the jasmine -- harbinger of Spring -- usually starts blossoming on about August 25, but here, up north, we get our first signs of Spring a little earlier. Today has been a perfect Spring day in the middle of Winter, but not quite as warm as both days of the weekend just gone, when it was T-shirt and even swimming weather.

Birds at dawn

Birds at dawn,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

Best viewed at the largest size, these birds were flying very fast and I couldn't identify them (looked to me like pigeons -- maybe topknot pigeons but I've never before seen that species fly over the ocean). They flew along at breakneck speed just offshore, then proceeded inland.

The wheel turns

The day is overcast and cool. A fairly typical and not terribly exciting Winter's day.

But we have had some wonderful warm days with scarcely a cloud in the sky, and temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius. And we are well past the Solstice soon it will be Spring, but as the days lengthen, of course, the cold strengthens, and the next month is Sandy Beach's coldest period. By the time late August and September come, we'll be back in our T-shirst, by day anyway. The wheel of the year turns so beautifully.

September will mark something else. I will be moving to Emerald Beach, two beaches south of Sandy. It's a beautiful place, but I won't be actually on the beach as I am here. It's a matter of economics, as so many things are. I will be taking a house rather than a cabin, as my 14-year-old son Remy is coming to live with me. A cabin on Sandy Beach is affordable. A house on any beach in NSW is not.

I'll miss Sandy, and Sandy Beach Almanac, but I'll have something much better in my life, namely my wonderful son, and a very nice domestic situation in and village in which to enjoy a new phase. There won't be an Emerald Beach Almanac in the foreseeable future. The wheel will have moved on.

Moonstruck

Moonstruck,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

Fly me to the Moon

Fly me to the Moon,
originally uploaded by Pip_Wilson.

I shot this from my front gate at sunset this evening.

Today's rainbow

Today's rainbow,
originally uploaded by Pip from Oz.

Today's been a rainbow day. The first one I saw was this one at 9:20 at the Raj Mahal on the Pacific Highway. Since then there have been plenty, like an unexpected appearance of a lot of old friends. Bravo Ma Nature! The one shown here capped off a good rainbow day.