A Walk on the Beach of Lake Michigan

 This morning I saw and heard a Caspian_Tern/sounds flying, a young herring gull trying to eat a wad of bubble gum--it kept sticking to its beak--a lot of zebra mussel shells (an invasive species to the Great Lakes) some finger nail clam shells,  and I saw the way the waves had carved scallops in the sand.  I walked out to the place where the
 Grand River empties into Lake 
Michigan and there were people
 catching perch and some were
going out in boats for salmon.

Plein Air Watercolor on the Beach

A sand piper tiptoes across the sand while a herring gull flies over the waves.  I painted this water color on the beach in the morning.  The distant clouds are rosy and the waves roll in.  Many writers like to paint.  I am one of them.

Herring Gull Reflected on the Beach

A herring gull stands reflected in the water.  Breakers roll in and in the distance is the pier with its lighthouse and foghorn.  This is the place where the Grand River enters Lake Michigan.  Sometimes, with a little luck, fishermen catch whitefish this time of year or anything else that swims by.  Some use salmon eggs as bait.

A herring gull at the marina

This herring gull did not mind at all when I walked up to him to take his photo.  He is perched on a post at the Grand Haven city Marina.  These birds are always looking for a hand out and they have found that people will feed them.  But I had nothing to give.  He will need to find his own lunch, maybe a dead fish or some such flotsam.

If he wants a change of scenes he can always fly a short distance to the sandy beach a few blocks away.

A Walk on the Sand: Lake Michigan

A Walk on the Sand: Lake Michigan