An inquisitive old fart with a camera
What’s wrong with this picture?
The answer lies in what is not there.
A bit further down the beach, another dead dog, half buried. Second one in six weeks. I hope this doesn’t become a trend.
Little — well, not so little — SpinkyFace was a little spooked by it.
I spotted this a couple days ago:
And then yesterday:
Great fun for the kids, playing around a multi-ton floating spear!
Lots of people enjoying the sun this afternoon, though one stretch a bit empty, obviously because of the Dead Thing On The Beach.
Which turns out to be a large, slightly bloated dog.
How did it die? Where did it come from?
DTOTB=Dead Thing On The Beach. River dolphin. Note the posture of the two dogs.
Gita (origin Doguita, “little dog”), on the right, finds it a challenge navigating the boardwalk to the beach with continual flank assaults from the enthusiastic puppy.
Settled down, they have friendly a tug-of-war with a stuffed bear. Which, ironically (or not), was a gift from a cleaning lady to the third, and smallest, dog Bandito, the Shit-Zoo (Syd will appreciate this spelling).
Pecking order? Notice the paws.
Suffice to say, I was thrilled every time he got distracted by his big sister for a moment or two and stopped trying to climb up my legs.
Ah, puppies….
We’ve had several days now of persistent, on-shore wind. Here in Uruguay, off-shore points to Antarctica. Yeah, it’s been chilly. And I’m finally feeling righteous about finally having a proper winter jacket! (Purchased last November in Miami, when we were heading into summer here.) And so, for the first time in six years, we had a wonderfully mild winter, one that barely required a winter jacket.
I’m not implying causality, for the record. But, erm, uh … Uruguay, thank me if you will. It’s been pleasant, no? But this cold wind….
The Rambla (beachfront road) in Parque del Plata has always had a ridiculous stretch that half-fills with sand during the winter. Prior to tourist season, a front-end loader and dump truck appear, scoop up the offending dunes and deposit them upstream in the Solís Chico river, making a nice little beach for the locals. Which can then wash back down the river, into the sea, and — OK, let’s not go there.
This year, they have their work cut out for them, thanks to these cold southern winds.
Meanwhile, the dune — above the boardwalk built to prevent further erosion of dunes — has gotten high enough that today I walked through the neighboring gap instead. Sort of like the gap where they built the boardwalk. But, hey.
Except for a 6-month amazing stint in Lincoln City, Oregon (1986-7), I have never lived near a beach, until the last six years, and the constant changes fascinate me.
Unlike my father, I’m not an engineer. Nor as smart. But I don’t think I’m thus unqualified to ask, what exactly are we not “getting” here?
OK, forget it: nature is amazing.
Not much else to report. I planted a bunch of sunflowers at the chacra. Just another attempt to get something to grow there that I actually have planted. My failure rate is very high double digits.