Playing Hooky

Yesterday was blisteringly hot, so after morning chores I went down to clip and toss for the goats before the sun baked me into a charred lump. I only partially succeeded. The goats got breakfast, but even by ten in the morning it was too hot to work. I made sure both of their water buckets were full and gave up and went home. Then we packed a few things in the car and went to the beach!

I have been wanting to go for ages, and I was determined to go soak my feet in the sea. After walking across sand that felt so hot it might have been fusing into glass, I walked into the waves. So very cold! Oregon's beach weather is fickle and vindictive. No matter how hot it is at your house, when you get to the beach it will be much colder than you expected. I didn't leave my feet in the water for very long, because they went numb. Since the tide was going out, bringing with it a wind that whipped sand across the beach at supersonic speeds, we just played in the little pools that the tide left behind. Much warmer, and with little critters to examine.

Here's a crab, hunched into a ball to avoid attracting the attention of the seagulls that were browsing the grocery aisle looking for lunch.

I'm not sure what this is. Some kind of sea bug.

The seagulls were pretty focused on looking for treats, but not so intently that they would let me get close enough to take a decent picture of them.

I tried to get a shot of the sand blowing down the beach, but I don't think I managed to capture it. A video would have been better, I suppose.

In spite of the wind, and the slight chill it brought with it, the day was spectacularly beautiful.

The hills in the background look hazy because of the blowing sand. I think it gives them an air of mystery.

The waves were little puny things, since the tide was retreating, but I managed to get one decent shot. I love the colors in the water.

I can't resist including a close up water-ripple picture. I love these.

We finally had to give up on the beach and trudge back through molten sand to the car. I guess I will have to wait a little longer to actually get in the water.

We stopped to check on the goats on the way home, and it's a good thing. They had emptied both six gallon water buckets! I refilled them and we went home to do chores and then collapse into sweaty puddles on the back patio, waiting for the air to cool. It's supposed to be even hotter today!