A beach day

I had a really low day yesterday, after a lot of hip pain and a poor sleep. In the afternoon I managed to do a little work in my garden and we drove to the waterfront after supper for an ice cream.
We continue to have 2 hummingbirds attending the window feeder. Their antics are so entertaining--they guard the feeder and noisily chase each other all around the yard from the apple tree to the honeysuckle hedge while we sit on the deck and watch,

We've spied a pretty little bird in the yard this week. It's quite elusive, staying in the leaves of the apple tree and the hedge.

It has been identified on a birding site as an American redstart. I've never seen one before.

 Today was a beautiful sunny day and we headed to the beach. For the first time this summer while I've been there, the surf was up. Our in laws live on the Chaleur Bay so we don't often get big waves, but when we do, I love to get in there.

We played until we were ready to drop. I tried to stay out far enough to float over the waves so I didn't have to get up and down. I did catch a few big waves and got tossed right up on the beach like a piece of driftwood. At the end I surfed in and my husband helped me out. What fun!
After supper, and a bit of a rest, I felt rejuvenated and took my paints into the yard to do a quick sketch of the cone flowers against the fence. I'm almost embarrassed to post the picture, but I am. I haven't painted outside in ages and need to get used to how fast the paint dries in the breeze. It is what it is; it's all about the process and the feeling of doing it. I want to do more. And of course I brought another piece of seaweed home from the beach. Endless possibilities!

My husband has another week off. We are enjoying our time at home, getting up to a lazy breakfast, going out when we feel like it, staying up until we want to. Tomorrow we're going to golf with our nephew.