The view from Jefferson Street

Taken around 9:30 a.m.

Fire Island 2011, part 1

Started writing at 5:09 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, while on the dock in Cherry Grove.

The first time back on Fire Island after a long, cold and snowy winter is always a homecoming of sorts. April weather on the beach can be downright bone-chilling, but Fire Island slowly comes back to life as the month progresses. Residents prepare their homes for the season. Restaurants, markets and other local businesses begin to open on the weekends--and eventually on weekdays. And the ferry companies gradually add more boats to their schedules. Hope certainly springs eternal before the hordes of renters, shareholders and eventually daytrippers arrive.

Becoming an uncle on March 26, the increasing amount of time I spend in Washington, D.C. with my boyfriend and our trip to Chile in January are three of the many reasons why this off-season was particularly eventful. Fire Island, however, is one of the handful of places where I truly feel at home. And it is truly wonderful to return to the beach for another season.

Happy New Year!





A sign of things to come in Cherry Grove.



The ferry docked in Cherry Grove.



Forsythia bushes in bloom on Bayview Walk in Cherry Grove.



Looking through the reeds in Cherry Grove.



Looking towards the Pines from the end of Bayview Walk in Cherry Grove.



A bulkhead replacement project is well underway in front of Hotel Ciel and the Blue Whale in the Pines.



Overlooking the Pines harbor from Hotel Ciel.



Snow fencing around the Ocean Walk beach access in Cherry Grove.

Postcards from the Tidal Basin

It may not feel like spring along the Northeast Corridor today, but the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., are a definite sign of the season for which the region's winter-weary residents continue to yearn.

Here are some snapshots from earlier this afternoon.