DTOTB=Dead Thing On The Beach. River dolphin. Note the posture of the two dogs.
Benji’s first big DTOTB
Category: Nature
General observations, generally during dog walks
Not that you care about our dogs, but.
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.
Dog walking on beach as contact sport
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….
Southern winds
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.
Wine-dark sea? No, more like café au lait
Kittehz
I’ve spotted cats around this one vacant house for some while. But never four at once, sitting in the open, watching me and my dog through an open fence.
Fortunately, for my dog, cats do not represent food value. However, if that one in front was 3-day-old, stale, maybe even moldy bread, she’d be in there in a heartbeat. Yes, that daft.
Closer to home, our neighbor emails me a picture of our cat, asleep. On their bed, in their house, upstairs.
Windy day, empty beach
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.
Surf’s up! Well, relatively speaking.
Perfect weather, empty beach. Still, walking even 100 steps with eyes closed is a challenge. Reminds me of riding a bicycle with eyes closed on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Makes a calm, flat, empty beach considerably more adventurous.
Onshore wind, nice clean break. I kept walking until I reached the mouth of the Solís Chico, probably the best surfing spot nearby.
Four patient surfers. And no, the waves rarely get much larger than that.
I finally saw the horse people
I’ve seen the hoof prints for a long time (and watched our Shi-Tzu face-plant in a couple), and finally the question is answered … sort of. Two gaucho guys who come from the east.
[uncategorized]
Just a couple of photos that have accumulated.
