Before the wet weather set in, we took a late afternoon walk at Umina Beach to enjoy the clear views across Broken Bay to Lion Island.
The water was warm but had a bit too much weed and jelly blubbers for my liking for swimming.
The wind was certainly up that day, so it was a parasailer’s paradise.
Of course, every day is a good day for dog walking. Once again, fur children of all shapes and sizes were in force along the beach, and generally getting on quite well together.
A quiet winter beach was the perfect place to contemplate the expanse of sky.
It really takes an overseas trip or two to realise how lucky I am to be able to see the big blue so often here. Even to see the moon.
It was all very quiet at Umina Beach, even on Queen’s Birthday weekend.
There weren’t any swimmers this time, just a few walkers.
I’m guessing that the crowds have headed for the mountains, but winter at a seaside town has its own delights, I think.
The sun sets fast in autumn, so it wasn’t long until we got a glimpse of a lovely sunset over Umina Beach.
Soon it will be winter solstice, and perhaps a wet patch, so let’s enjoy the beach-going weather while it lasts.
I can’t quite believe that Bridie the Beagle is now at the ripe old age of 13. She’s well into pensioner age now and much of the time is content to lounge about.
Unless she senses another dog ‘invading’ her territory.
Or when there’s a beach walk on the cards.
That’s when she gets really active, behaving more like a disobedient pup (do beagles ever grow out of this stage?)
Sprinting, jogging, and all the while sniffing out the many scents on the beach. She particularly likes seaweed!
Strange dog…
This spell of warm weather seems never-ending at the moment. Today it was 28C here in Sydney, warm enough to enjoy the beach. These photos though were a few weeks ago during the Anzac Day weekend. Umina Beach was surprisingly deserted for a long weekend.
There was very little swimming going on even though the water temperature hadn't dipped as yet.
I think there were more dogs than people in the water that afternoon.
There were plenty of dogs and their owners enjoying the beach in the off-leash area.
We saw dogs off all shapes and sizes – fluffy terriers.
Playful retrievers.
Obedient labradors.
Our beagle enjoyed the smells, the digs, and the socialising.
All in all, a lovely afternoon out.
Little did we know that this weather was to stick around for another month – perhaps even longer!
The rain eventually cleared, and the temperature warmed up once again. When we went down to the beach, we weren’t too surprised to find it a bit busier than usual, although I suppose it was nothing compared to somewhere more touristy, like Terrigal. I loaded up old OM-2 film camera to capture the scenes.
The swell was up due to the storms, so there were lots of eager surfers heading to the water.
Surfers of all ages and genders, I was glad to see.
The first half of Holy Week was marked by rain – lots of it. Funnily enough, I found it a good time to practise my photography.
So much rain fell on our little Central Coast house that even our drains overflowed. I liked being able to see the droplets fall in these shots.
There were also plenty of non-native flowers in bloom. These violets brought plenty of colour to our front steps.
And our rose bushes were in good knick.
Out the back in the shady portion of the garden, the bromeliads made their mark.
Static and Silence 