a spring walkabout

The winter weather has me thinking of spring.  And thinking of spring makes me think of a spring walkabout.  I've marked time off in May for a sail on Pamlico Sound.

It has been years since I've used Potter's Marine on Ashton Gut just off the Pamlico River.  I have been in touch with Conway down there a couple times this past year.  He's got a great ramp and plenty of room to leave the jeep and trailer.  

Just a mile or two downriver to the Pamlico and from there we could go west to Bath and Little Washing, east to Bluff Point and Ocracoke, or south to Goose Creek Canal, Jones Bay, the Bay River and Oriental.  Any which way the wind blows.

I've sailed this area before, miles and miles of winding creeks and bays.  Marshes and wooded shorelines.  Peaceful anchorages where I can wake at dawn to the sound of marsh birds tucked back in the salt grass.

And in May, maybe some fish around too.  Speckled trout, below, and possibly some puppy drum.  We'll see.

I should be on the water today.  52° with clear skies and a light breeze.  But work calls.  

Winter arrives Sunday.