Egrets, shmegrets

Yesterday I sent my daughter a text without realizing that Autocorrect had transformed my egrets and ibises to regrets and irises. Regrets? I've had a few.

I regret not packing more turtlenecks because this morning's wind cut right through me. The temperature was in the 50s but gray skies, intermittent drizzle, and sharp wind kept us off the beach and in the car for the first part of the day. We drove through the Wildlife Drive loop at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, high on my list of favorite places on the planet. The herons, egrets, and waterfowl seem unbothered by the weather, and a massive flock of black-bellied whistling ducks put on a playful show both in and out of the water.

Then we were off to Fort Pulaski, where we visited the monument marking the site where John Wesley first touched American soil. In his journal he mentioned the difficulty of finding a place to shelter from the sharp wind, and we empathized with him on that point. Wesley didn't much care for his time in America, partly because of a disappointment over a woman who did not return his affections, so he went back to England in a sulk and eventually founded Methodism. Regrets? He had a few, but he managed to put them behind him and carry on.

I'm sure the designers of Fort Pulaski regretted their inability to anticipate advances in weaponry. The fort took ten years and a million dollars to build (back when a million dollars meant something), and in 1847 the experts declared the completed fort impregnable. In 1861, Union troops tested new rifled cannons on the fort; thirty hours after the bombardment began, the Confederate troops surrendered. The fort's walls still show ample evidence of that battle. 

By the time we'd finished touring the fort, the rain had stopped, the sun had come out, and the wind had lost its edge. From the balcony of our condo I watched black skimmers strolling on the beach as waves rolled in behind them. Tomorrow we expect warmth and sunshine, but even if we don't get perfect beach weather, I don't regret coming to Tybee Island in the middle of winter. If we look hard enough, we can find shelter from the wind and so many beautiful things to see. 

(But no irises. Wrong time of year for irises.)

Little blue heron

Egrets having a bad hair day

Great blue heron

Coots (cute)

Anhinga

Hundreds of black-bellied whistling ducks in the distance

They're very photogenic up close

Little blue heron

The Wesley monument

At Fort Pulaski

Evidence of bombardment

Kestrel, I think

Nest box with bald eagle

Skimmers and waves, the view from our balcony