Foggy Popham Beach

Popham Beach, anytime of the year, is gorgeous. Today, the beach was enveloped in thick fog (and the temp. was 38F to begin our day and 50F upon leaving for home. We also took the hounds with us. See their post on Maine Nature Greyhounds.) We made our way toward the surf zone through an elevated area where dune grasses were taking hold. 

This is exciting because most of the dunes were washed away over the years, and there hasn't been a buffer zone on the beach which has led to a great amount of inshore erosion.

With the Morse River regularly changing course, it is always a surprise to see the state of the beach at every visit. This section was particularly rough and windblown.

As we approached the edge of the ocean, I found the clearest view to be that of the sand surface as much of the rest of the landscape was otherwise obscured by fog!

The surf was gorgeous and almost sepia toned in the fog.

The waves pounded the shore, with a thudding percussion effect, which we could feel as they broke nearby.

We enjoyed seeing the foam as it preceded the rushing water. It reminded me of the scalloped lace hem of a wedding dress caressing the sand as it swished to and fro.

Over time, the fog began to lift and we could see the faint outline of Fox Island.

The spit of land that connects it to the beach was underwater, making the island inaccessible as we neared high tide later in the day.

With this being winter vacation, there were lots of children on the beach. These kids were quite amusing as they approached the water's edge. They were getting prepped to turn and run from the incoming waves.

And, run they did...laughing all the way! There is nothing more pleasant than hearing happy sounds of children mixed in with the sound of surf and wind.

I leave you with a photo of this broken sand dollar. Over time, it will fracture into smaller, and smaller pieces, gradually becoming one with the sand.

By the way, this is our 500th post on Maine Nature Diary, on Blogger.