That’s right, I’m actually losing weight, without doing anything at all except blogging. Oh yes and walking the beach every day, which is not exactly strenuous, taking photos and swimming a couple of laps. Maybe exposure to extreme cold and vistas of great natural beauty burns up calories.
Swiss Lake? No! Newport Beach Friday morning
It seems I can eat whatever I want now … just like when I was younger. For the first three weeks or so I was pretty knocked about by the early mornings and exposure to the cold, but now the exercise combined with the creative activity seem to be generating more energy, with the added bonus of a sense of satisfaction. I don’t feel the need to stand at the kitchen sink shovelling in whatever food is to hand, unless I’m actually hungry … Anyway, who cares why, I appear to be getting a little smaller, whereas at the outset of this venture I was expanding.
Meanwhile life at the beach carries on.
This Morning’s Stats:
Temperature: I thought it couldn’t get any colder than f**ck’in freezing … but it turns out it can. This morning the coldest ever, 11º plus south westerly wind at 10 knots. That’s cold. But I survived.
Sand: Cold
Joey and Scooter hunt for sea worms
Pool: Warm 23.2º
Me: Started the day with a thumping headache … the result of drinkies and dinner during my visit to the Writers’ Festival … but by the time I’d finished my swim the headache had gone for good. Bit of a drastic cure maybe but it worked
Tide: Low
Moon: Exactly half … saw it over Sydney Harbour last night
Surf: Medium
Wildlife: Came across Joey and Scooter with their dad, hunting for sea worms. Sea worms apparently make great fishing bait. They live beneath the sand and feed on detritus … so people try to lure them to the surface by dragging a pantyhose leg stuffed with old fish or smelly bacon round on the sand. The second photo shows Joey poised with a pair of plyers to grab the sea worm’s head when it emerges, but he didn’t get lucky this time.
It seems that every day the people we look up to turn out to have feet of clay. First it was the church, banks and politicians, now it turns out Jonathan L Seagull, who was written about in such glowing terms in the 1970s is not such a pleasant bird after all. He was spotted callously tormenting a small fish on the beach flat apparently for the sheer joy of it.
Once again I’ve changed themes … am feeling restless. Is this one any better?
Opinions please.
blogthebeach 
Love your blog! I follow with interest and enjoy reading about your journey of swimming year round. Your photography skills are excellent! What sort of camera do you use for your shots?
I look forward to more.
Cheers,
Social Graces
It’s a Nikon Coolpix bought in 2001 I think. A camera made to take snaps really but with a few extras such as macro for slightly closer shots, a little bit of zoom (not much) and a few extra pixels to give greater blow-up possibility, plus some handy auto settings such as ‘sunset’ which I use for my shots into the sun.
Beach blogger, I like this theme better than the grey one. In relation to the solution to a thumping headache being a freezing swim… I say whatever fits!