Fisherman at Dillon Beach

El Niño seems to have fizzled and we awoke to cool cloudless skies. An invitation to go to the beach with Dana and Jim and the dogs seemed like just the thing to keep me from looking at my face trying to decide if I am "getting better" I finally settled for "it's not getting worse".

It was a beautiful drive through emerald green hills studded with more cows than I have ever seen, picturesque farms, and a couple of small towns.  I quickly gave up on taking pictures from a moving car through windows streaked by Blake's nose  and my own ointment filled eye. They say that a vasoline coated lens renders everything slightly blurry and romantic. When the Vaseline is on the lens of one's eye it just renders everything blurry.

The beach was beautiful…windless blue skies, lively waves breaking in shades of blue, green and white, and more people than I have ever seen on this dog friendly beach in February. The moment OilMan took the lead off,  Ozzie, he streaked down the beach and into the water like a puppy.There is nothing that lifts the spirits more than a bunch of happy dogs of all sizes and shapes having fun in the sand and the sea. It was Blake's first trip to the beach and he joined Ozzie  as if he was an old hand. Even Rudy, whose legs are only two inches long and who doesn't usually fancy getting wet was soon frolicking in the waves with the big boys.

Our recent storms have completely resculpted the beach and when we reached the point where the incoming waves were hitting the bottom of the dunes we headed back, watching a lone pelican, cruise above two very wet waist high wolfhounds with their buddy a beautiful, aristocratic weimaraner who was completely dry. Surfers attempted to catch short, choppy waves and two kayakers made it all the way into shore, upside down almost as much as they were right side up. They were wearing helmets and wet suits as they hauled their craft up the beach.

My camera was on the wrong setting for all the best dog shots, but I had fixed it by the time I took the picture of a lone fisherman standing in the waves.