Saturday, September 17, 2016

Creatures of the Deep

iPhone photo by Joe
Look at what greeted us, as we crossed over to the drive-on beach, yesterday. Ugh. There was a time - when I was about five years old and in my Dad's ♡ arms , "jumping" waves (my earliest memory) - that I loved the ocean. Being in the ocean, that is. It was great through my teens, too, when big-wave days at Jones Beach were coveted. Then came "Jaws" and all of its terror. Accompanying the movie was the realization that under the sea - and my feet - lurked the potential for… well, you know. Still, I adore the ocean from a vantage point on the sand. I've digressed. Back to yesterday and this monster sting ray. My thoughts went to Steve Irwin and his tragic death. Didn't you just love that guy? I did. Imagine this terrorist alive, lurking under the sand, as is their custom. The antidote is to shuffle one's way into the waves, just in case a ray is feeding in the shallow water. But this freaky sight didn't define the whole day…
It was a windy and cool one, "cool" being seventy-nine degrees. Dark and light clouds mingled in an interesting sky. The water was rough. Our stretch of beach past many houses and in between surf and dunes afforded us near isolation… not even the few families we've become accustomed to were there. It was refreshing to be out from under an umbrella. No sun is just fine, on occasion.
Besides, the wind screen needed some air.
iPhone photo by Joe
And then came today. Perfection. Look at that sky! Sun. Seventy-nine degrees, again. Cool and breezy. We did share our space with a few others, but everyone maintains a distance. After all, don't we all wish for the secluded beaches of our dreams? Almost.
This post is in memory of Steve Irwin.