Rain or Shine?

Today posed a surprisingly complicated question: to walk or not to walk? At the shed today, volunteers AND guests showed up to walk the beach, but the rumbling of thunder discouraged everyone from going out. After looking at some grim radar courtesy of Valerie...who is always watching out for the other volunteers...everyone decided it was too risky. Dejectedly, we headed back to our houses, preparing for a day of set in rain.

We were halfway home when the sky began to look as if it was clearing, and mom couldn't ignore the "turtle vibe". She consulted with Valerie, and decided to call Barb to ask if we could walk, or if Steve would want to drive the beach. Steve volunteered for the job, but needed someone to go with him in case of a nest. So...back to the island.

Despite the "turtle vibe" my mother and Alyssa earlier discussed, we did not find any turtles as we hurried up the beach. However, I did discover that there are mosquitos the size of hummingbirds flying around in the forest. It's the stuff of science fiction novels. They must be living well off of volunteer blood. ;) But tons of credit goes to all the walkers who came willing to go out in rain or shine...and to Steve, our intrepid leader, for kicking it into four wheel drive for the sake of the turtles.

The day certainly wasn't a total waste: here are some gorgeous shots of Waites under these fickle-weather skies.

Ominous, but lovely. 

Every cloud has a silver lining, or in this case, a blotch of golden sunlight. Thanks again to Steve for being on call...we probably wouldn't have made it back in time to escape the thunderstorm if it weren't for his being there to shuttle us back in his truck!

Turtles or no turtles, it's always interesting on Waites. Good luck Saturday volunteers! :D