Kite-flying weather & furry creatures

We went back to the beach this weekend & were met with the more usual August weather for this region: a goodly amount of wind and cooler temps. Fortunately, the sun was out, so that was nice. We brought along with us our newly acquired beach tent. Gusts of wind were really whipping at the beach. Tucked away in the tent, we were protected from the elements, but still had a good view of the surf as the front of the tent was left open and the wind was coming in from the south. The sea action was nothing like it had been last weekend, but we still enjoyed our day. It helped, too, that we had brought along a rather easy yet fun Tuesday New York Times crossword to complete. My only quibble was that the puzzle was solved way too soon! (This is rarely the case, might I add.)

Set-up

As Eric was setting up the beach tent, I walked over to the line of boulders that separates the beach from the walk path above in search of a rock we could use to help weigh the tent down. Poking around for a good-sized rock led to this moment---

These wee creatures, I'd call them coastal squirrels, have lived among the rocks for at least as long I have been alive. When I was a kid, I would try in vain to get close to them in order to see what they looked like. Any sound would send them scurrying away, never to be seen again. Up until only a few years ago, this was still the case. Now, it's a different ballgame. As I approached the rocks, a squirrel popped out. The closer I came to him, the closer he came to me. It was jarring. I clapped my hands together at him and he remained motionless. I thought, Well, OK, I will now take your photo as little me would be so thrilled. I leaned my phone in to get closer to him and he moved forward toward my outstretched hand. It's clear that wildlife is being fed and that the constant feeding by visitors has changed how the squirrels interact with humans and it's not for the better. After taking the furry one's photo, I tossed a rock a few inches away from him to see what he would do. Well, he went after it as if it were a snack. :S 

Let's keep wildlife wild by not feeding it, shall we?

Break-down

All my husband needed in the above shot was a massive string affixed to the collapsing tent. He then could have sent the thing sky high! Due to the wind, hubs wasn't able to corral the tent long enough to fold it up, so we walked with it open and blowing (like you see in the pic) off the beach in order to successfully put it away.