SEATON CAREW AND SEAHAM 30 JUNE 2019.

Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog arrived in the Empty Car Park at 5-55 am.
The Sun was out and there wasn't a breath of wind.
As they had passed the Golf Club the flags just hung, wrapped around the flagpoles.

They headed to the water's edge. 
The tidal part of the beach was a blank canvas with all of  yesterday's foot and paw prints now smoothed over by the last tide.

Sammy Seal was having a nosey, but kept diving to avoid the camera; he did a great job.

Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog drew a new beach sketch on the blank canvas as they wondered from water's edge and strand-line and back again..

Driftwood.

Stubborn Dog takes a break.

More Driftwood, this piece like a withered hand trying to grab the Sun.

Part of today's Beach clean... balloons and their ribbons.
As they left the beach they chatted to the regular man who was there watching over the Little Terns; Chicks had hatched.
As their van drove out of the Car Park a lady walked towards the dunes with three greyhounds; she was wearing an excellent hat!

Later in the morning it was Seaham 

Red Acre Beach, Seaham.

The sheltered Slope Beach at Seaham.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS 29 JUNE 2019.

Beach Buoy went on a weary late evening walk on the Beach.
BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS 28 JUNE 2019.

A worn out Beach Buoy had gone to bed at 5pm.
He slept until 7pm.
By 8pm it was beach time.
The car park was still very busy.
A lot of end of day scenes were taking place.
Dog walks over.
The father with two toddlers in tow and a kite still flying its way back to the car.
Kids wrapped in towels after a long wet walk from the low tide Sea.

It had been a hot day.
The Sun had misted over a little and it now gave out a milky, paler glow of light

A lone fisherman caused Beach Buoy some concern.
He was stood on a now submerged sand bank, surrounded by the in-coming sea! His bag was at the water's edge.
Beach Buoy would continue to North Gare Pier and check on him on the way back.

The Skylarks sang over the Grey Rocks as Beach Buoy continued South.
Two Kids were down by the Pier having a sit and think.
He headed back to the lone fisherman..
"Are you ok?" Beach Buoy asked as he put his thumbs up.
The fisherman turned.
"Are you alright?".. thumbs up again.
The fisherman reeled in his rod and waded his way back to shore.
They chatted.
All was good but maybe best to check.
A unfortunate body had been found on the beach earlier in the week.

An elderly couple walked the water's edge.
A not so elderly couple of joggers headed south with their hoods up.

The clouds were stunning.

Meanwhile back at the van.
Drink for Dog... done
Change out of beach boots...done
head off into the sunset........ one day

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 27 JUNE 2019.

Beach Buoy gets up for work at 5-20am.
Work was over.
Beach Buoy was scrubbed and nodding off in the chair.
In trots Stubborn Dog, he gets up on back legs and pats a dozing Beach Buoy with a paw.
"C'mon man! It's 6pm; free parking has started."
It was exactly 6pm.
By the time Beach Buoy had faffed on they reached a crowded car park at 6-25 pm.
It hadn't been so packed on a night for ages.
The tide was out and the sun too.
A cub type group made sand castles on the perimeter of the Little Tern nesting site.
Two horse riders headed for the sea.
 

With the tide being so far out, it was along walk back to the car park  for families with children in bare feet and wrapped in towels after being in the sea.
It reminded Beach Buoy  of the childhood times he would spend here.
It was a big deal; a day out.
Tent and a picnic with flasks of tea.
Hard boiled egg sandwiches and eager young hands added more sand to the sandwich.
Tea in a flask always had that tea in a flask taste....

This pipe appears and disappears with the shifting sands.
It could easily catch a jet skier out should they come too close to shore.

The escaping water made ripples as it headed back out to sea.

It was very warm,
The refreshing breeze off the sea was so very welcome.

An earlier high tide had left its mark on the sands.

Beach Buoy sat and had a think at the Grey Rocks.
Couples came and went.
Some holding hands and some just holding shoes.

Seagulls feasted at the Sea Serpent's table out in the bay.
The usually hard to see Skylark was easily spotted tonight what with the sky being so light blue.

A driftwood creature scampers for the sea!

It was a slow walk back.

As he headed back Beach Buoy thought about "Stuff"
The Village and Town's outline lay ahead,
Unique and recognisable, like a fingerprint of one's home town.
It gave a sense of belonging.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 26 JUNE 2019

Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog arrived at 6-15pm.
The Sun had finally decided to show at around 4pm.
Two people stood guard over the Little Terns with Binoculars on tripods up on the Promenade.

There was a school age football team training down on the beach.
They were a little too close to the Terns for the watchers and one of them trotted down and asked to move along the beach; they did so.

The tide was well out but coming in.

The light was so very welcome after days of gloom and fog.
Off in the distance the football training is on-going.

The rippled sand had trapped water as the tide had gone out.

Part of tonight's beach clean.
All the way from Cheltenham ?

It was a much needed walk.

Beach Buoy stood by the North Gare Pier. There had been no one else in sight since the start of the walk.
He headed back hoping that the beach would stay empty.
Half way along, one man and his Stubborn Dog passed one man and his "Kick the football the sea so that I can chase it." Dog.
They reached the van at 7-45pm.
They sat a while in the sun with the side door open.
Eight twitcher type now stood on the promenade watching those lovely Little Terns.



BEACH BUOY. 

SEATON SANDS 25 JUNE 2019.

It was foggy, windy and had been raining for the majority of the day.
As Beach Buoy drove past the golf club the flags were giving away the wind direction. Unusually, the  flags weren't at half-mast as they so often seem to be. As he pulled into the car park, Beach Buoy noticed four, almost identical HGV Trucks.
The trucks were parked side by side in motionless convoy.
Beach Buoy took a look at the Little Tern nesting site  from the promenade and spared a thought for them after the recent extremes of weather that they have had to endure.
The beach was deserted.
They headed for the water's edge and headed south; almost blown in that direction by the wind.
Beach Buoy dug both hands deep into his jeans pockets and walked on.
The Bay was Grey, no Sun today.
Seagulls struggled to travel north in the windy conditions, they would tire and peel off to the east and head for the dunes.

There had been a fair amount of shingle patches , some with finds.
Beach Buoy had picked up some pieces of sea glass and pottery and laid them out near the grey rocks.
He left them there.
Wind or not, the Skylark hovered and sang as the Sand Martins swooped around looking for supper. 
The nearby crows were having more problems than the seagulls win their attempts at going north, very flappy wings just catching the wind .
In the end three of them gave up and zipped south
Beach Buoy imagined one of them shouting " If anyone ask just say we are at Redcar."

Beach Buoy found a useful plank and headed back to the car park.


BEACH BUOY

SEATON SANDS 24 JUNE 2019.

Beach Buoy arrived at the car with Stubborn Dog and food.
It was 6 pm.
A Vaping man and a lady stood guard over the Little Tern nesting site.
It was Mild, Muggy and Misty.
The tide was well out with a slight breeze from the north.
Beach Buoy went to the waters edge.
A bouncy barking dog was close behind.
The sky was pale grey.
The sea was a darker shade of grey with hints of milky pale green as the waves rolled and as they did, they were complimented by a bright white edging.
Comfy rock time at the fog grey rocks and a sit and think on, a now empty beach....
The wind Turbines out in the bay were mostly hidden by the mist as a nervous ship edged out to sea.
It cleared the turbines and headed down the coast in a southerly direction.
A slow walk back to the van....

Time for tea....


BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS. 22 JUNE 2019.

It had been a bad nights "Sleep."
Beach Buoy had been up since 3-50am
He could have gone to the beach earlier to catch the dawn.
Coffee and a wander around youtube started the day.
By 6 am he was ready to face the pale morning and headed out with Stubborn Dog in tow.
6-15 am it was Car Park time.
There was one car in the car park, a blue BMW.
The owner had left a door and the boot wide open as he stood nearby on the promenade wall, looking at the Little Tern nest site through binoculars.
Beach Buoy went down to the beach.
An end of prom cyclist watched as Beach Buoy went South to gather up a stray traffic cone.
Beach Buoy placed the cone with the rest of the cones that marked the nest area.

Beach Buoy went to the water's edge.
The tide was coming in.
There was mild breeze from the south east.
In the sand there were two sets of bare footprints; heading south and back north again.
Beach Buoy tried to match the stride length; no chance!
It was either a giant out walking or the footprints of a long- legged barefoot jogger.
Out at sea some of the Little Terns searched for breakfast.
They were so slight, like faint simple pencil drawings of a bird in flight.
The sea seemed to be in slow motion as it does at times.
It wasn't a blood sea, but did seem to be thicker than water.
Maybe it was just Beach Buoy's frame of mind?

Beach Buoy's obsession with sea glass and pottery had calmed now. He was being much more choosey.
Even this piece with a boat on set sail for the sea, with a skim; Beach Buoy only scored a three.
He found another piece, blank this time and scored a six.

Beach Buoy headed towards the grey rocks.
An ink spot of a crow picked at the strand-line.
Charred wood pieces from an earlier beach fire, scattered the strand-line and matched the crow.

At the Grey Rocks, what to do?
Sit and think?
Wander and wonder?
Beach Buoy plumped for wander and a wonder followed by a sit and think a bit later on. 
They walked on the more tiring, softer sand that lay between the grey rocks and the dunes.
This turned into the even more tiring dunes.
Out at Sea the Gulls had breakfast with the Sea Serpent as the Skylark sang.
Beach Buoy sat on a flat rock ... it was 7-13 am.
Stubborn Dog laid by his side and watched the dunes for snipers as Beach Buoy studied the sea and tried to fix himself once more.
To the north the 7 am club were "In the Building." aka walking south.
They had done the promenade walk to miss the nesting site but were now on the beach.
Beach Buoy made notes in his beach book as he sat.
The sun brightened for a while and his hand and pen suddenly had a shadow.
Stubborn Dog wanted a cuddle so he was up onto Beach Buoy's legs; it also gave the dog a better view of the dogs in the distance.
In the bay the two Gares stretched out to sea like arms during a good yawn as the wind turbines turned as one.
They were turning a little more quickly than they had been as the breeze became a wind.
Six Cormorants flew low to the south in close formation and just over the surface of the sea.

Time to get up...
Brain to legs... "Time to move."
The legs eventually received the message.
Beach Buoy rose.
He found driftwood nearby that was a little too perfect as a walking stick.
The 7 am club had headed back.
As Beach Buoy followed suit the strengthening of the wind had taken effect on the sea's surface.
 It was now a hurried, more urgent sea with a job to do.
A ship came out of the River Tees.
The Pilot boat followed with surely the noisiest  engine in the world?
As Beach Buoy headed up towards the car park, the beach was filling up; dogs and owners, owners and dogs.
A man with a Metal detector search for escape.
At the end of the promenade a few people had gathered; both cyclists and joggers.
The end of the promenade had been their goal.
They rested on their laurels a while then headed back.
In the car park a motor cyclist  with L plates on his machine had laid out some small cones and was practising slow manoeuvres.
An armed Police Car came into the car park and slowly drove around checking everyone out as they passed.
Beach Buoy binned the beach clean items.

 

They got to the van and Stubborn Dog fell asleep in his bed as Beach Buoy changed his boots.



BEACH  BUOY.