A discovery and a grey day at the beach

Hey there! It's me, Petey, back at the beach, doing beachy things. But before I get into that, I wanted to share with you a not-so-surprising discovery Mom made this weekend!


She's volunteering with a great organization down here called Heroes on Horseback. They do equine therapy and therapeutic riding with people with disabilities. They even have a new program called Horses for Heroes that will be working with war veterans. It's terrific and Mom is excited to be a volunteer. Here's a photo of Heroes on Horseback in action. Mom will probably be one of the people who walks alongside the horse and rider.

She went to the Volunteer Orientation on Saturday and learned that they have a range of horses of different sizes and temperaments to match up with the riders. Tall horses for older riders, slender horses for younger riders. But there is one horse that's not very big but quite wide and she has a big personality.

Here is her stall... Seems nice and big and roomy, especially for a horse with a big rump, huh?

If you look closely, you'll see the name of this small but wide horse.

Yes. I can't even make this stuff up! Mom had to stifle a snort laugh when she heard this!

Now back to the beach...

Sunday was overcast and warm, but foggy. Everything was in shades of gray and pearl, you could hardly tell where the sky ended and the ocean and beach began.

Check out these plovers, balancing so carefully on a single leg. They'd hop around before they'd put that second foot down.

With apologies to Dian Fossey, Mom calls this photo "Cairn Terrier(s) in the Mist."

Oh just throw the ball already, woman!

I'll drop it when I feel like dropping it. After all, my name's not Petey, it's Disregard!

There were enormous "icebergs" of foam washing in on the waves. Like God had put too much detergent into the wash. Or Lacie was taking a bubble bath.

The cold water temperatures didn't stop me from taking a little dip. Gotta cool off those feet from running so fast...

This must be as much soap suds as Mumsie uses to wash out Lacie's mouth when she's using naughty words. Or just Mango's hourly production.

We thought this barnacle-covered fragment of a horseshoe crab shell looked like a tiara. Maybe Asta will wear it in the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island!

Ahhh, gotta take a break...

There have been loads of sanddollars washing up on the beach. Usually they're broken by the time they make it through the surf onto the sand. In the summertime, you can sometimes feel them under your feet when you're standing in the ocean. It feels like a plate.

There's a legend of the sanddollar about the birth and death of Jesus. The four holes represent the nail holes and the fifth hole is from the Roman spear. In the very center, there is the star of Bethelem, and surrounding it, five petals of an Easter lily. The back of the sanddollar looks like a Christmas poinsettia. When you break the sanddollar open, there are five small white pieces that look like doves of peace. A lovely legend!

This photo made Mom shiver as the water temperatures are just in the upper 40's!
Mango really outdid himself with this batch of foam!

Ahhh, there's nothing quite like running on the beach with an orange rubber ball!
I heartily recommend it!

Decided to leave a message for my pal NSLM and Clive while I was down there. Wonder if this will wash up on a beach in Ireland?

Okay, some of you gentle readers may find this next photo to be squeamish, but Mom thinks these jellyfish are quite beautiful with their translucent colors and iridescent hues. Yeah, whatever you say, Mom!

Next we met Lila - a five month old labrador puppy who was all too happy to abandon her retrieving training to play with me.

Now, you know I'm not a bitey-face or chase-me kinda fellow. I like to play ball and that's about it. Well, Miss Lila had other ideas.

I think she decided she'd retrieve me instead of the ball. She was very interested in it!

Wheeeee! You can't catch me! I'm faster than a speeding lab puppy!
I just kept trying to bring the ball back to Lila's Granny so she'd throw it again and again...and again. Lila got so impatient with me that she'd try to grab my tail to slow me down. I had to say "grrr" to her but I did it with the ball in my mouth so she wasn't scared.

Don't you love her pouncing puppy position? She tried to do one of those "I'm sneaking up on you on my belly" moves and I had to point out to her that she's a coal black dog on a light colored beach. I could disappear more easily!

Just as the sun started to break through the clouds, it was time to say goodbye to my new gal pal Lila. I'll give Buddy her number, they'd have a wild time together!

Okay Mom, just one more little toss before we head home. Okay?