31/52 Nothin' But Blue Skies, Baby

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Coco: Intrepid little explorer, brave and curious as she carefully rock-hopped to the safety of my arms at low tide.
Bella: A moment of pure joy captured by my husband.

An unseasonably warm winter's day under a vivid blue sky. This is the scene that awaited us along the shores of our special beach. The morning we visited the sandy stretch of land coincided with one of the lowest tides I had witnessed and made for excellent conditions to explore the furthest reaches of the rocky point. The rock pools teamed with marine life. Exploring these aquatic pools has always been one of my favourite ways to lose myself for a few hours on a sunny day. As we carefully made our way towards the sea over sharp, jagged rocks that would soon be covered by metres of sea water we observed alien-like seaweed floating in the gentle surge of the sea pools. Tiny schools of fish darted away from Coco as she expertly navigated her way along the narrow rocks. Marine creatures you might expect to find in the deep ocean emerged from eerie shadows, beneath submerged rock ledges.

Eventually the sea began to return with the changing tides and so we made the decision to turn around and slowly, carefully climb back over the rocks the locals refer to as Witches Reef. Some rocks were extremely slippery in places and covered in shiny green seaweed. Those rocks are usually submerged for most of the year but not on this occasion, which did make for some unusual poses as we attempted to balance ourselves on the journey back to the shore. Coco, of course had no trouble and confidently trotted between the two of us, possibly amused by our lack of coordination.

We were careful not to disrupt the marine life. Sea shells, molluscs, sea urchins and starfish remained untouched where we found them. To alter the natural environment would have been a terrible shame. Instead we pointed, ohh-ed and ahh-ed, squinted under the bright blue sky and called to Coco when she bravely wandered too far.

On our return to the safety of the sand, we kicked off our footwear and splashed about in the tiny waves that lapped against the shore. Coco barked, ran in wide circles and returned to us as we walked the rest of the way home towards our seaside bungalow where a patient cat slept on a woven mat in the sunlight. With our fingers interlaced and our toes covered in salt and tiny specks of sand I felt a special kind of happiness that comes from spending precious time with my loved ones.

My favourite posts linking in with Jodie this week are of sweet little Sammy and this little family because they share my love for the sea.

If you have entered my giveaway yet for a chance to win one of these gorgeous books... Enter today. The winners will be announced this week, GOOD LUCK!

Happy weekend my friends. I hope your days are filled with laughter, outdoor fun, and all the joy that comes from enjoying the simple pleasures that life has to offer under a stunning blue sky.

Bella xx

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