Sunsets and Ponies, Perfect Way to End my Day

over 1 year ago

The beauty of a sunset, where blue waves bounce and scatter, leaving the longer wavelength of reds and oranges in the sky. You have to appreciate the layering of the clouds that pronounces it loudly, and many times, much drama.

How fitting to declare my day done in such a beautiful manner.

Sunset

Out of the sunset's red
Into the blushing sea,
The winds of day drop dead
And dreams come home to me. —
The sea is still,— and apart
Is a stillness in my heart.
The night comes up the beach,
The dark steals over all,
Though silence has no speech
I hear the sea-dreams call
To my heart; — and in reply
It answers with a sigh.

Anonymous

The real reason people come to Chincoteague Island is the wild ponies, and why not? There is something so exciting about being wild and free! In the US, there are ten Western States that have a combined total of almost 83,000 wild horses. In actuality, they were domestic horses gone feral years ago. Because their population increases at the rate of 18% per year, they have regular roundups are done to keep their numbers at a sustainable level. The ones that are rounded up are auctioned off or adopted, giving an opportunity for some families to make them theirs. They make sure that each person will be committed and caring. Doesn't every one of them deserve that? They live about 25 years, but, have been known to live 36 years.

Up close and personal. Sometimes too close. They are kind of cute, but, they are wild, so putting your hand out to feed them something is not such a great idea. People have gotten bitten by them and although they are not running around trying to bite people, they can be a little skittish by an overactive young child. They are kept quite separated from the people, but, you know human nature just cannot resist seeing if they can give them a pet.

The preparations are like clockwork, and the teamwork between agencies and townspeople is impressive. They are helpful and kind, making your visit and mine one of good times. I have been to it every year since I have been here and it has never failed me. Due to coronavirus, they made changes to some of their policies, which affected some of the services they normally provide. All in all, it has been fabulous.

I would be remiss if I didn't include a #Caturday photo on Saturday! Happy #Caturday! This is one of my cats and a dog that is visiting. What you see here is me giving them the guidelines to being kind to each other while I leave the house for a run. Did they do it?

What would the beach be without a few seagulls? Perhaps even a few hundred more than that. It must have been the extra tourists feeding them that brought the extras in. They get bolder every day, not even moving when you are walking by. Seriously. Wait until the tourists leave town and they are left with the mean locals that won't feed them. Go fishing! What a hard life, yes? I love how they swoop through the air, their wailing cutting through the wind.

Someone catching dinner for tonight, no doubt. We have literally been on a seafood diet all week. Some fish, shrimp, and crab, and I even sprung and bought some crab cakes. The crabcakes here are the best. Do you like seafood? What is your favorite kind? The beginning of the end. Such a lovely night.

All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.

It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.

Just like everything else out here, even the flowers are wild and free. Flowers, always. To color my world. #alwaysaflower. Orange trumpet on the beaches. There is no chance of stopping these from growing without a pair of clippers in your back pocket. It is a hardy grower and produces massive amounts of this showstopper. I would call it invasive, but that sounds so very negative, don't you think? Let's call them extremely prolific.

I want to thank you for stopping by and reading the post. I hope you had a great day and a better tomorrow. And, just like that, this post is over. Come back tomorrow and we'll go for a swim, with a few Chincoteague ponies.

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The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost