I’ll start with the ocean. I was able to spend a couple hours at Holden Beach with my sister. We love to beach comb and this day was particularly successful I think in part due to the high winds we experienced the evening before and the low tide. While we were scouring the sand for shells we came across several jelly fish (no longer living of course). I believe they were cannonball jellyfish due to there round dome-like shape. I also came across some Northern puffer fish that had washed up which allowed us to examine them pretty closely. Finding different shells also helps to learn more about the ocean life.

As far as the marsh area goes, I will go into that in more detail with my next post. It was a wonderful experience with carnivorous plants. This time I was with my brother and we were able to get some great photos. Stay tuned for the details

The inter coastal area I visited was more like the Shallotte River but it does run into the inter coastal, it follows a tide schedule and is brackish water. On my daily walk to the dock while visiting my dad, I would see some familiar nature and some not so familiar. I would see bluebirds on a daily basis and a couple of woodpeckers chasing each other as well as the Northern cardinals and mockingbirds. Some of the less familiar includes crabs such as the blue crab and others I was not able to identify, as of yet, and pelicans.

Just the feel of the salt air and the sandy soil beneath my feet were a nice change from my familiar natural surroundings. I hope this encourages you to pay attention to some of the nature you witness while traveling. Even just a day trip can launch a new and exciting nature adventure.