Weather or Not

January 16-28, 2024

A truism about this area is, “If you don’t like today’s weather, just wait until tomorrow.” We have had fog, cold, fog, clouds, warmth, fog, wind, warmth, sunshine, fog, more wind, and more fog.

Our marina posted lots of notices about the potential for freezing weather.  John made sure our water tank was topped off.  We have multiple heat sources (especially when we are plugged into shore power) which keeps us warm and cozy.

I made reservations at Old Bull Tavern so we could celebrate John’s birthday INSIDE this time.  It was far too cold to even consider sitting in the courtyard.

Neither of us is a fan of cold weather so we spent last weekend hanging on Lailia and binging Succession.

This part of the ICW has an 8-9 foot tidal change; the floating docks move up and down this much twice a day.  The fixed dock is really high, so when we get a low tide we have quite an adventure!  Somehow, it’s almost always low tide when we have a load of groceries. John refers to this climb as “scaling the Matterhorn.”

Clouds rolled in with warm weather last week.   Warmth is good (especially when the walk between Lailia and the marina showers is really, really far – and up a ramp!)

Gators love the warm weather even more than I do.  They’ve been basking in large numbers at Cypress Wetlands this week.  I’ve been able to test out my new camera on these reptile buddies.

This warmth has also created lots of opportunities for advection fog that happens when the warm air hits the cooler water surface.  Mornings and evenings look atmospheric and mysterious (but are really, really drippy-damp).

Probably unrelated to fog (but who really knows?) dolphins have been hanging out at the marina. John got some great videos that he sends me while I am working. I love my job but I love dolphins, too, and wish I got to see them daily.

Early in the week I thought I would photograph the  fog mid-day at a stop in a local park.  This spot is halfway between the two schools I was visiting that day, so I planned to eat my lunch there. 

Bald eagles stymied that plan: their nest is adjacent to the parking lot.  As my schedule allows, I will stop in to check on their nest (but won’t linger). 

I’ve heard that one way to know you’re getting older is how excited you get about birds.  Like one day you’re clubbing and the next day you’re telling everyone about the birds you see. 

(I can feel myself aging as I write this) I’m into birding.  I have good conversations about birds with the (other old) folks I see at Cypress Wetlands.  I tell myself that I am only there because I am hoping to see my favorite bird…and then remember that I did not have a favorite bird until I got older.  Sigh.

Occasionally I get lucky and get to see the sun as it works its way through the fog.  We have so many boat landings around here (and my time in Charleston makes me leave for work way too early) that I can usually find a great spot to soak up the scenery.

Friday was a reminder of how gorgeous the Low Country can be: once the fog burned off, it was sunny with temps in the mid-70s. 

Friday night was also a date night kind of night – pizza followed up by sundaes at Dairy Queen.  It might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but it works for us.

Saturday was foggy, again.  When we returned from breakfast, the sun was trying to burn through.  It starts looking as if we’re in a black and white movie.

Hopefully we’re out of the fog for a bit – Sunday morning was one of the brightest we’ve seen for a long time.  It’s cooler and more windy, but I can live with mid-60s and sunshine in January!

The bluebirds were out today!  I can feel my years building up while I am still holding out for sighting my favorite bird.