Dewey Beach Music Conference 2011

I love the Dewey Beach Music Conference for "filling our streets" with an influx of musician culture. Just taking in the on-trend fashion is high entertainment.

This year the British Invasion continues for the guys: with skinny jeans, and a well-worn but cool-cut dark tee-shirt.

Surprisingly for both the guys and gals long-long hair is out, most cuts were neck length. Most surprising was to see the women who still had long hair had it braided and piled up. My favorite was "Heidi Gone Bad-Girl or Bad-Girl Gone Heidi": with germanic model looks, blond hair braids a la ballet dancer, fringed black leather coat over a drab-tan tissue-thin fabric shepherd-like tunic worn over a slightly longer black slip. Ankle black leather boots finished off the look along with her video-camcorder.

Last year over the knee boots ruled. This season a few knee-high boots worn were shiny patent leather with any outfit that was non-shiny fabric: distressed jeans were favored.

Rudder is my goal where I almost always find my "Find", this year it was on the deck with, Brooklyn New York's: "Under The Elephant. I'll assume "Heidi" was the lead's girlfriend.

Seeing the deck set up for at least 7-8 musicians I was hopeful of a good performance. Instead I was wowed with a great one! Capable of zooming between House Dance Music with impressionistic soaring lyrics, hip-hop funk to New Orlean's Revival the crowd was awed and gave a standing ovation!

Mission Impossible #2: Find Hurricane Irene Survivors!

This is Part Two of: Mission Impossible. Look for and Read First: Part One in September 2010.

Sing the Theme Song, please!

My Mission which I chose to accept: look for survivors of Hurricane Irene: Endangered Species: Wild Beach Amaranth @ Tower Beach.

Just weeks before on a 90 degree day, for a 5 hour "Search and GPS Plot" Mission, myself, another volunteer, and my Director of Endangered Species Beach Nester Birds (and plants) surveyed Conquest to Tower Beach. We were in giddy-Amaranth mode as it seemed every few feet we were finding our quarry! My self-appointed job was to mark it with found objects of shells and reeds and orange flagging while measurements were recorded.

As a child I walked the dunes. Doing so now as an adult for the good State of Delaware is SWEET!

30 Degrees less, in the 60's, and windy, wearing my field boots and a fleece jacket, my mood was not sweet as I surveyed; there would be no survivors of Hurricane Irene.

The tides washed to the foot of the dunes decimating the Amaranth and all accompanying annual vegetation. Dune grass and the PVC pipe fencing made it thru just fine.

The Amaranth set seed in August and thus a seed bank awaits under the new accumulation of 6-12 inches of sand.

I'll see you again, August 2012!

Beach Blessings,

Sunday Cook Outs @ Que Pasa!

This is why we Love Dewey Beach: $7.00 Sunday Cook Outs inside "the glass" @ Que Pasa! Earlier in the day I checked it out, and conversed with Chef Joe! Early evening I showed up with a friend, immediately asked for two portions of the Ahi Tuna reserved for our dinner and started to settle into the scene, including the scenery.

The dinner gives you a choice of the above or marinated steak or chicken, pork loin or chicken wings. I bet if you ask sweetly Chef Joe will do a combo! Sides are: grilled red onion, roasted corn, red rice and hot tortillas!

I will not be cooking another Sunday Dinner until Que Pasa mothballs the grill!

After one of the most traumatic election weekends in memory: having the Sunday cookout at such a "very-Dewey venue" soothed my Dewey-beachy soul..... even more than a shot or two of whiskey!

Beach-time with the Birds Goes for Fall

A dear friend calls the tourists: Tourons. He said it, not me. But you get the idea and now I too look forward to having the place once again "all to ourselves". My commute to and from Cape Henlopen will be back to less than 15 minutes rather than 45 minutes.

Labor Day Weekend Cape Henlopen State Park was packed until Monday when it was near to deserted.

My Piping Plover Bird Police gig Bay-side is now given over to Hawk Watch. Now I can wake up late, get to Hawk Watch by 11:00 AM and be certain of getting into the park and my favorite parking spots.

No longer am I sitting low near the water, wearing my big straw hat, sweating, and sometimes fighting off green-head flies, staring at mostly loafing and foraging Shorebirds.

Now I am standing on a platform high above the ocean, wearing my waxed-cloth Brit-style hat trying to stay warm, occasionally bit by ladybugs, counting the Nascar-like Raptor Migrating Show.

Watching the Shorebirds was a movie in slow-motion, my heart beat slow and steady. Hawk Watch is a participatory "sports event" with an adrenaline-rush racing heart: spotting the incoming racing-raptors and cheering them on!

Fall is when I adjust my heart, and my eyes.