We’ve all enveloped ourselves in “bubbles” of our own making for almost a year.

My “bubble” hasn’t been too tough to take.

When Boston’s lock-down began, I noted that I was still allowed to leave the house to exercise. For me, that means walking.

For the first few months I walked around my own tiny little neighborhood, but in May I figured that Revere Beach was so close that going there would be okay.

I’ve been in a “beach bubble” ever since.

At first I was just grateful to be out of my neighborhood, but by June I started to get a tad bored and began taking snapshots of things that I encountered.

For example, in June, right as the water started to look inviting enough to get in, there was a Lion’s Mane jellyfish invasion. Here is an article about them.
Something New to Worry About: Really Big Jellyfish Have Been Spotted at Mass. Beaches (Alyssa Vaughn, Boston Magazine)

Here’s my snap of a Lion’s Mane jellyfish.

If you look close , you will see why there weren’t any swimmers in this picture.

I also wanted to capture these lovely murals that are part of the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s new Maintenance Facility. They are such a nice way to celebrate Revere Beach’s History.

In July there was a “kite episode” reminiscent of my Kite Menagerie post.

I especially loved the Halloween kites.

The skeleton seemed particularly apropos.

I’m also a sucker for capturing rays of sunlight whenever and wherever I can.

August brought Senator Markey to the beach.

He spent a few minutes pointing out to his staff and some onlookers that the Markey Memorial Pedestrian Bridge was dedicated to his parents. He neglected to mention that raised some hackles in Revere.

September didn’t bring anything particularly headline grabbing to photograph, but the cool way the clouds perfectly framed this tree tickled my fancy.

Then, on a particularly warm and sunny day in September, a storm rolled in off the ocean. Those storm clouds didn’t just capture my attention. Yep, those are other beachgoers in chairs watching as it started to rain.

There was still plenty of beach weather in October, and there were also photo-worthy moments like this gathering of kitesurfers.

I was happy to find that I accidentally caught a sunbeam in this shot.

Alas, despite the temperatures in the 70s, there were occasional omens of the impending cooler weather around the corner.

In late October, I turned my camera on some seagulls that didn’t mind posing for me.

Once I even caught some in flight.

By November the temperatures were cooler, but the views were still spectacular.

There were also always plenty of birds hanging around on the beach.

Here’s one that posed for me while flying!

At one point my attention shifted from focusing on snapping pictures of birds to capturing late November sunbeams whenever and wherever I could.

Some storm clouds snuck in and put on a show one day in late November .

December’s clouds gave November’s clouds a run for their money.

Yet, despite some clouds, there were plenty of beachgoers in early December.

However, it is New England, so it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Our one “snow storm” came and tried to put a crimp in my beach bubble routine, but it wasn’t successful at that for very long.

There were fewer people, but the birds were still willing to pose for me.

So here it is January, and I am still living in my beach bubble.

The snow is mostly gone, for now, and I get to the beach more days than not.

It is just me and a few other beach bubblers on some days, but it is also surprising how many people are there on other days.

You wouldn’t think that beach days in January would be a “thing,” given that it is generally the coldest month of the year, but they are at Revere Beach.

On the sunniest, warmest day of any week, there are still plenty of beachgoers. I’m not talking “mid-July” hoards, but there’s usually tens to hundreds of other beach folk sharing my beach bubble, catching some rays.

Oh yes, I neglected to mention that my “beach bubble” includes al fresco dining. There were numerous restaurants at the beach that offered it, and a few of them have continued to do so right into January.

There are also the seabirds taking in the view.

Sometimes they even became the view!

So, there you have it. Even in January, my beach bubble isn’t so bad.

Now February is a stone’s throw away, and thoughts of Spring and the end to the craziness that has been this last year are beaconing at the end of the tunnel.

Taking pictures of seabirds, clouds and sunbeams has been a welcome distraction in these dark times, but now I must say that I’m really, really looking forward to the Revere Beach Kite Festival and International Sand Sculpting Festival!