Never more were the words, 'Sublime' & 'Beautiful,' more appropriate for my Sunday blog than this Sunday. And it was clear that I wasn't alone with these sentiments.
The weather was perfect and oh, so inviting. For those of us who were able to take advantage of the outdoors, we enjoyed every feature nature offered us. It was sunny and balmy with hardly a cloud in the sky. And the perfect place to make the most of it, was along Sutton's Beach on the Redcliffe Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
It was such a joy to hear the sound of children's laughter, the tuneless squall of a seagull, and gentle waves rippling towards the shore.
Simple things. Everyday sounds. Nature itself. The myriad gifts of creation given to us, free of charge, and in every season. How much more do we appreciate them after a lengthy period of confinement? Present circumstances have forced us to prioritize as never before and our lives will never be the same again, but I pray that as we re-evaluate; our values will be more focused on the things that truly matter.........the simple things of life.
Sutton’s Beach in the Moreton Bay Region is generally a patrolled beach, but with lock-downs, social distancing and even some beaches being closed down due to people breaking these restrictions, the usual volunteer lifesavers are nowhere to be seen. Swimming between their flags will return once the lock-downs cease.
Restrictions are easing, thank God, and soon we will be allowed to picnic in desirable areas such as this and more than two people at a time will be able to gather together.
There are great facilities provided for beach lovers with free council BBQ's, cafes and showers to wash away the sand before going home. Everyone seemed to be practicing safe distancing; a few arm lengths between them and many footsteps too.
The Pavillion Cafe and Fish & Chippery which is situated directly behind Suttons Beach Gazebo is presently only serving takeaways. They have recently launched new & exciting Café food options which include meal prep pick-up & delivery options allowing people to take home food which can be heated up or frozen in the comfort of their own home.
I wouldn't normally take much notice of rocks dotted along the beach on an empty tide unless I was trying to dodge them with my bare feet but because I had my camera in hand, I appreciated the variety of rock formations. This one had a couple of holes carved through them.
Green algae featured on a lot of interestingly shaped rocks.
Among my beach discoveries was a sand filled shell.
Shell encrusted rocks.
A perfectly shaped shell caught in the crevice of a rock.
And not surprisingly, many clumps of seaweed.
But what did surprise me was nearly stumbling over a severed sharks head. Nothing like a bit of drama to quicken my pulse. Yes........I know it was dead and not attached to its original body, but a shark is a shark and they are far from my favourite sea creatures.
Can you see a crab gnawing away at a bit of juicy shark flesh to the left of this picture?
Menacing isn't it? Even dead and lifeless and decapitated!!!!!!
In between rocks and sharks heads were large areas of just sand and sea. Wonderful for wading through.
There were canoes of all colours. Blue ones.
Red ones.
And green ones too.
Sail boats took advantage of the gentle breeze.
There was even a beach buggy, courtesy of the Surf Life Saving Club cruising the sand whilst keeping a caring eye out for the general safety of everyone.
It left cool, tyre prints in the sand. Nothing escaped my notice, on this sublime and beautiful Sunday.
Even the stairs reaching to the road above the beach.
Which lead to a row of units across the road.
The Redcliffe Surf Life Saving Club is situated to the north of Suttons Beach.
A strand of Mangrove trees to the right of the club.
Beach plants growing in the sand were enjoying the last rays of the afternoon sun.
And finally we made our way to our car, walking up a few sandy steps with tired limbs and grateful hearts.
