winter winds, winter light

The seasons are changing.  Fewer snow birds - boats heading south for the winter - are passing through these days.  Instead of 10 or 20 anchored on Craford Bay for the night there might be only two or three.

 And fewer watermen are on the water.  A crabber ran his boat across the Elizabeth to come up alongside SPARTINA during an afternoon sail last week.  "I just want to wish you a merry Christmas," he said.  I did not know him but had seen his working pots all summer.  And he must have seen SPARTINA out sailing.   With a smile and a bit of a theatrical wave he said "We will see you next year," pushed forward the throttle and headed off to pull in his last string of pots for the season.

I can read a calendar well enough to know it is not yet winter.  But the winds now are winter winds.  Cool, dry and dense, sometimes out of the north, sometimes out of the west.  I sailed for a few hours today.  Excellent wind late morning, then lighter and shifting winds in the afternoon.  I did not mind.  Anyone can sail in good wind, I like to see what I can do in a scant breeze.  

The light is winter light too, crisp and clear and coming in from a low angle that creates shadows not seen during the rest of the year.  It took me a long time, well ok, decades really, to learn that photography is not much more than recognizing light and shadow, and trying to to appreciate the interplay between the two.

An excellent forecast for the next few days.