Popham Beach on a lovely winter's day

 Oh me, oh my-oh...the weather was absolutely lovely today. The air temp. rose to a balmy 52F under a partly cloudy sky, and we couldn't think of a better activity than a walk on the beach. 

Low tide was at 11:29 am, so we headed out to take advantage of the wide expanse of beach at Popham. We took the hounds and walked to our heart's content!

There were lots of people at the beach, and it seemed as if fully half of the parking lot was occupied with cars. We don't often get warm, sunny days like this in February! 

The back half of the beach was snow covered, while the portion that gets hit by the waves was plain sand.

We walked through the snow to the water's edge, and had to traverse a large section of wave-sculpted sand. I must admit that this uneven surface was tough on my knees. But, the walk was so worth the pain;-)

I love the big chunks of granite, that compose Fox Island, which can be reached only at low tide. You can see where the tide rises by the boundary line of seaweed. This beach is underwater twice per day.

There were several brave souls climbing around on Fox Island, but due to my bum arm, I couldn't make that trek today. There was lots of snow and ice in the crevices on the island.

I keep saying that I want to return to the beach, dog-free, to do some serious photography, but that never seems to happen. I really want to create a calendar of just sand and rocks as there are so many spectacular scenes on just this beach alone!

The sand pattern around this boulder reminded me of the skirt of a snail foot on an abalone;-)

We also walked out to the surf for a few minutes, but it was incredibly calm. I need to get over here when the surf is up. I love photographing the dynamics of wave action. But, today we had to be satisfied with the sound of gentle waves lapping upon the shore. I wanted to sit on a beach chair and snooze the afternoon away with my toes in the sand...

The rhythmic sound of horses, walking down the beach, snapped me out of a brief state of somnolence and grabbed my immediate attention. I have never seen horses like this before. They were absolutely stunning with all their feathers!

After doing a bit of research online, I think I have identified them as Gypsy Vanner horses. Wowee! These were just about the prettiest draft horses that I have ever laid eyes on. They are said to be the gentlest of horses, and the breed was created by gypsies, in England, who crossed Shire, Clydesdale, and Dales Pony breeds to create the perfect horse to pull caravans and for riding.