Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #33

Graul's in full on springtime mode. Pansies and tulips and crocus, oh my!

Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #24

I took this picture of Deep Creek yesterday afternoon. It was warm and sunny on the creek after a morning of thick fog and mist. My husband got out on the water with a buddy to check out the rockfish action on the Bay and caught and released a couple of nice ones. I also saw a paddleboarder head out for a paddle in perfect conditions.

The serviceberry tree blooms in the foreground of this photo are front and center, but the real subject of the shot are the kids down at the boat ramp in the background. They were out in their swimsuits having a blast in the warm weather. Just another sunny spring Friday afternoon in the Cape.

Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #23

Is it really foggy again this morning, or is that just my brain after getting home at 3 AM from the Hunger Games midnight premier with my kids? I think this is the thickest we've seen yet this first week of spring. I literally couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of me driving my semi-conscious daughter to school at 7 AM.

Maybe this brilliant flash of yellow will remind you what the sun looks like until the fog dissipates. The forsythia has been spectacular the past few days, and this one was especially brilliant on Tuesday morning. Even the fog couldn't subdue its exuberance. If you are out driving through the mist, let the glow of the forsythia guide you through the Cape.

I think this will be the final installment of "fog week". Later today or tomorrow, I will try to get some photos that are something other than grayscale. Until then, here are a couple of fog related quotes to get us through the end of this foggy work week:

"It is not the clear-sighted who rule the world. Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm fog." Joseph Conrad

"Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." E. L. Doctorow

"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us." Henry Matisse

Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #21

Here is a second of my Foggy First Day of Spring in the Cape shots. This one was taken at the Swan Drive marina. It's a favorite picture taking location for many. Yesterday's fog made it impossible to tell where the water meets the sky or shore. The water was like glass causing it to mirror and lengthen the piles. I will post an artsy, minimalist picture of those piles tomorrow (says someone who is not in the least artsy or minimalist).

I think today is supposed to be another foggy start, but I'm betting on sunshine to break through for us earlier than yesterday. Did everyone get their free Rita's ice yesterday? The cries heard 'round the Cape of Free Rita's! made me imagine some political prisoner named Rita in captivity (a la Nelson Mandela). If eating Italian ice can raise awareness and set poor Rita free, the Cape did its part yesterday judging from the lines down the block. Capers were still lined up in big numbers when I drove by at 8:15 last night. Italian ice networking at its most powerful. Viva Rita's!

Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #20

After dropping my daughter at school this AM, I drove over to the Little Magothy side of the Cape to get a photo of the sunrise on this first day of spring, 2012. This was taken right at 7:10 - official sunrise for March 20th - but I had to take it on faith that the sun was actually rising with the thick layer of fog coating the horizon. I got a lot of pretty shots of the Little Magothy from Little Magothy View and Swan Drive. It was hard to choose the best of the lot. I'll post more of them during the week. In this one, I liked the way my flash lit up the reeds in the foreground but left the foggy shore in the background with the lovely old boat sitting at the dock.

Once again, I wish I could have captured the sound of the fog horns carrying across the Bay in my picture. The first, in the distance to my right, I assume was Sandy Point. The second, louder and deeper one, was just to my left and had to be Baltimore Light. It's horn was installed in 1923, replacing a bell. I love the sound of it when lying in bed at night. It can be heard all throughout the Cape. I tried to video it with my phone camera, but it didn't pick up the distant sound. I also can't think of a good onomatopoeia (thanks kids for refreshing my memory on that one) for a fog horn. brommm? bwom? There's definitely no other sound like it.

The forecast calls for the fog to lift and sunshine later in the day, so don't give up on the first day of spring, yet. It's already looking brighter out there. There are worse ways to start the season that with the peace of a heavy fog. Welcome to springtime, Capers!

Cape Photo of the Day - Photo #12

The redbuds are blooming! They are the first of the spectacular flowering trees to achieve their full glory in our area. I also saw a few star magnolias in bloom, but they can't quite compare to the showy redbud. My in-laws had one in their front yard that always made a lovely backdrop for Easter day pictures. Our friends on Southview had perhaps the prettiest one in the Cape until a storm took it down a year or two ago - ouch. Forsythia should be next up, bursting into yellow flames in the next few days. I saw some already popping over the weekend along with some flowering quince, I believe (looks kind of like forsythia but with fruit punch colored flowers?). It's going to start getting colorful around here!