August in Old Mill Point

Thanks to John Sugden, Jr. for sending along these gorgeous, dramatic images from the rain storm the other day. He captured the light so beautifully!

Only a week left of summer... Enjoy!

More Sandcastle Photos from the 4th Annual OMP Contest!

 The Old Mill Point Windmill

 "Friends from the Sea" - baby seal 

(look closely to the left, to see the face and whiskers)

 "Friends from the Sea" - smiling sea turtle

(love the shell pattern!)

 "Friends from the Sea" - friendly shark

 (Mike, aren't the kids supposed to be building that?)

 A super huge giant octopus! Hugely awesome!

 Frantically finishing a traditional sandcastle with elaborate moat system...

 FROZEN-themed sculptures ruled one end of the beach, with a ginormous Olaf,

and an awesome mountain range complete with trees and all...

my camera started glitching, but not before I got a shot of the stairs down...

what a cool idea!

Big kudos to all the creative kids! (and parent helpers!)

A fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon for sure!

Mermaids at the Sandcastle Contest...

Of course there were mermaids at the Old Mill Point contest! Claire and her friend created a cute couple of merfolk, complete with six-pack abs for him and awesome seaweedy tails on both!

You might know I'm partial to mermaids, having written a few books featuring our neighbors who live below the surface, and visit "Windmill Point Beach"... It was cool to see them represented!

4th Annual Sandcastle Contest!

The fourth annual Old Mill Point Sandcastle Contest took place yesterday on Sea Way Beach!

Teams of eager builders created some wonderful castles and creatures! 

Here are the first few photos, courtesy of Carol Volpe. More coming soon!

Shark Week at Old Mill Point!

Jim Scaia sent in this photo of his son holding a shark which another fisherman caught off the end of the Sea Way jetty. If anyone saw the guy crossing the beach with his catch, here's the story about this kind of shark...

Thresher sharks are generally shy, not aggressive, and not usually dangerous to humans. They're also considered a delicacy and a "prize catch." Here's some info from Wikepedia...

Threshers have a low fecundity, like all large sharks, and are highly vulnerable to overfishing.Besides being hunted for their meat, threshers are also hunted for their liver oil, skin (for leather), and their fins, for use in shark-fin soup.

They do not appear to be a threat to humans, although some divers have been hit with the upper tail lobe.

Thresher sharks are classified as prized game fish in the United States and South Africa. Common thresher sharks are the target of a popular recreational fishery off Baja, Mexico. Thresher sharks are farmed in some areas for their value as both a recreational sport fish and for commercial products derived from their flesh.

All three thresher shark species have been recently listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Old Mill Point got Snow in August?

 Looks like snow...

 ...except for the calendar which clearly says August!

Yesterday's massive thunderstorm brought hail to Old Mill Point that covered the ground. Individual pieces were as large as quarters as the air temperature dipped to 55 degrees... 

Crazy weather for August!

Rainbows over the Point

photo courtesy of Carol Volpe