Happy as a clam…

I posted recently that I've found a secluded little beach just minutes from my daughter's home that I've been spending lots of time exploring. This is my new secret spot for shelling and for beaching. I wish I could tell you the name and where it is located, but I just can't do this. Sorry, but I have a very good reason and I'll share that with you in a minute. First, let me share a few pics with you…

I've been there for sunrise…

and I've been there for sunset…

I've seen bluer than blue skies…

I've seen skies that look as though they were quickly painted

just for me.

I've shared a sunset with a lone sailboat on the horizon…

and a morning sun with just nature around me…

This is the time I love the best on my little beach

the early morning hours

while those at home sleep with the rest of the city

and the beach is just mine.

Not entirely mine, for there are those who have allowed me to enter their domain

as long as I tread lightly

and don't tell their secret.

Here I find more live shells than those whose inhabitants have left,

leaving me a treasure to carry home.

It makes me very happy

to find the living creatures who build such magnificent homes.

They are all around me each day I visit

scurrying about…

looking for their morning meal…

heeding the mating call…

or hiding under the sand…

They are the ones who have taught me to stand very still

and to just let go.

I've learned to let their sounds come to me

rather than the other way around

and once I do

the early morning symphony begins

and I feel at one with nature.

I'm so happy they've allowed me into their world.

And then I walk

and look

to see who will make an appearance…

a jellyfish

a spider crab

and a Lightning Whelk as big as my size 9.5 foot…

Then this brave little hermit crab greets me without fear

and lets me get nice and close…

I walk around to get a better look at the 

Fighting Conch shell he now calls home…

He found it first, but I just had to brush off a 

bit of the sand to show you what lovely lodgings he found…

The colors of a sunset —

he did quite well in securing his new digs,

unlike his cousin

who really needs to tidy up a bit…

Can you see him there in the middle?

Just look for his eyes,

the eyes he was keeping watch on my every move with.

This is why I cannot reveal where my secret beach is located.

I've been appointed their protector.

I clean their beach,

watch each step I take

and I promised to keep their secret.

I take this task very seriously

for I know that there are those who will not treat them so kindly

and it would put the hundreds of teeny, tiny babies I see each day at risk.

So, their secret is safe with me

I hope you understand.

I know their friends appreciate my silence

You can click my mosaic for a closer look if you'd like.

I love my secret beach and she has rewarded me well.

My shell bag comes home with lots of goodies

and I see things like this…

the sun glinting off a piece of a palm tree

and a final farewell until the next time I visit.

Now remember, 

if you recognize

my secret beach,

please,

don't tell —

my friends and I will be

very grateful for your silence.