For me, the beach is magical. It's not proud and majestic like the mountains, and to some people it may seem boring in its sameness.
But if you watch and listen, the beach is ever-changing, and it has stories to tell.
Even the sunrise is different from one day to another.
I took this picture two weeks ago:
This one yesterday:
And this one today:
Yesterday morning, I walked north for two miles towards Pickering Beach, and I came upon an abandoned half-buried wooden canoe:
It's almost camouflaged in the sand, and I couldn't help but wonder where it came from and how long it's been there.
I also saw this really interesting natural sculpture where the action of the waves is mirrored in the shore of the wetlands:
How long did it take to get like that? Will it stay like that, or will it look different next year?
This morning, I took a four-mile walk south, starting out before the sun came up. In the half-darkness, I spotted something colorful stranded out on the mudflats. Was it an inflatable boat? A bunch of fishing floats?
When I got closer, I realized that it was a bunch of balloons:
As I continued on, I saw two other balloons in the sand by the marsh:
And a light blue one all alone in the mud at the edge of the bay:
On my way back, less than half an hour later, I saw the large batch again. Now, with the tide coming in, the ballons had washed ashore, and I could see the tangle of ribbons holding them all together:
Where did they come from? A child's birthday party? An engagement celebration? A community event? Were all of the balloons, including the pink and yellow pair and the single light blue one, once together, or had they come from separate parties? When the tide comes all the way in later this morning, will they end up in the marsh, or will they float back out on the bay in another cycle?
The beach yields up all kinds of treasures.
Some are natural like this sponge:
a blue crab:
and this pretty flowered weed:
The beach also yields collectible treasures that tell tales of human activities, like these floats that once helped fisherman and crabbers do their jobs but are now decorating our yard. They're just as colorful as flowers and much easier to maintain:
Since we started coming to Kitts Hummock just over a year ago, I've been collecting beach glass. So far, my Mason jar is about half full:
Most of the pieces are white, green, or brown, but I have a few more interesting colors in my collection, including lavender, pink, pale blue, and cobalt blue. Even the browns and greens have variations:
When I got back from my five-mile walk yesterday, I was loaded down with two floats, two pieces of rope, and five pieces of glass. Doug says I need to start taking a little backpack for all my treasure.
All I know is that the beach makes me really happy:
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