Huge potential this morning for a wonderful sunrise… but it never quite came together?!
Nice red sun reflections… but I kept waiting for the color to bounce off the clouds!?
Kinda moody here again at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

As the sun tucked behind the clouds, I almost thought the sunrise was over.
But then it made a comeback and created and dramatic golden glow.

With very few morning clouds in the sky, the sunrise provided a vibrant shade of orange.

With a perfectly clear sky… we needed a little “structure” to play with for some silhouette fun!!!

Okay, so what could be cuter than a bunch of adorable animals?! Nothing, really.
I must admit I was a little doubtful about the petting zoo being a big attraction at the Big Barrel Music Festival. Well, I was wrong. These little critters won my heart… each one cuter and more drooly than the next. Adorable!!!

And then the best shot… the miniature donkey looking on longingly as the over-sized & majestic Clydesdales trot past his small pen.

Some beautiful crape myrtle in bloom in Dover… flowers we don’t have much at home!
Love the colors, textures and contrasts.

The bigger the masterpiece, the bigger the canvas.

Soon enough the dark cloud lightened up and worked their way into the picture. Painting a pastel masterpiece across the sky! Ever-changing. Sweeping across the morning sky.

Dark clouds early this morning… with a tiny stripe of orange fun on the horizon!
Fine layers of orange stripes dappled with dark purple clouds.

One of the highlights this week while playing in Dover is the chance to see the trademark Budweiser Clydesdale horses in person. They’re here for a marketing promo during the Big Barrel Country Music Festival. During the event they get all dressed up in their special parade attire… and then prance around the venue for all to see. And they are beautiful. You can almost see how proud they are to pulling that wagon.

Even better, during the morning hours before gates open, the Clydesdales are led around the grounds for their daily exercise. So much fun to see them up close. Out of uniform. Having a great time… before they head back to the “stable” for a full cleaning, drying, grooming & primping!!! Such beautifully majestic animals.

The festival is coming together nicely. All of our pieces are falling into place. We’ve worked long hours in the blazing sun & torrential rains. Lots of mud everywhere. So it suddenly felt incredible when we got the afternoon off!!! Whoo-hoo! Most people went back to their hotel rooms or shopping… I however decided to seize the moment to ride to another beach. I changed clothes, put on another layer of sunscreen, hopped on my bike and pedaled up to Woodland Beach near Smyrna. A nice sandy beach… again, with surprisingly few people. Gotta love it.

And after days of damp, dirty & muddy feet, it felt so wonderful to take my shoes off and wade in the cool waters of Delaware Bay.