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"The Beach" by Alisa Lombardo
"The Beach" by Alisa Lombardo
“The cure for anything is salt water-sweat, tears or the sea” Isak DinesenRachel Carson is right, the edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place.
Whatever thoughts you toss out to the sea will find a way back to you whether on a wave or
a ripple. Sometimes a thought will return less complicated having been cleansed by the salt
water and pounding waves. Sometimes a thought will return with attachments you didn’t
realize were such an intricate part. What washes up on shore is often so entangled with
seaweed and marine life it is difficult to identify its origin. Some of our thoughts can be so
entangled in the seaweed of our life; we may forget what the original thought was.
Look along the shore and you will see shells that are polished smooth, some are
intact while others are broken to pieces. Our
minds can resemble the seashore; bits of clear
complete thoughts firmly placed, other thoughts are fragmented with bits of emotions and false
assumptions intermingled. There are the thoughts so entangled with past hurts, fears, anger
and doubt they barely resemble what they once were.
I always return to the beach as a haven, a place to rest and recharge. For me it is
the place to make choices and find my path. There is simplicity to the beach that I admire
and envy. It is a quiet strength; the energy of nature is seen in the endless ebb and flow of
the tide. The flora and fauna hold on tenaciously to their spot in the world despite the forces
that work against them.
Sandy
soils unable to hold rain allow only the hardiest of plants,
such as beach plum and beach grass to survive. Nature is filled with survivors who adapt to
their world and not only exist but thrive. I think this is the survival tactic that I try to connect to.
Beach grass appears to be thin wisps blowing with every wind, bending and yielding
to the elements. You must look closely though for there is great strength in those thin wisps.
Beach grass hold their ground and is in fact the foundation of dunes. Dunes are formed when
the ocean winds gather sand and carry it inland; the hardy beach grass breaks the wind velocity
and the sand is deposited. Oh to be as delicate and firm as beach grass.
People don’t require as much from themselves or others when at the beach.
You need to feel comfortable in your environment and free of burdens. Just as you cannot be
burdened by too much clothing or belongings, you find it increasingly more difficult to be
burdened by petty disputes, pretense and social flotsam. As you begin to feel comfortable
within your soul you will find yourself more comfortable in your world, whether that world is
the beach or the office. At the beach there is no need for excess, when I walk the beach I have
the view to comfort me, my sunglasses to protect me and a
comfortable outfit which becomes
lighter and more worn as the summer progresses.
©2000 Alisa Lombardo
The Four Seasons at the Sea Shore by Jim Morriss
THE FOUR SEASONS AT THE SEA SHORE
By Jim Morriss For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. It is the end of Winter in Oak Beach. The weather is still cold with frequent showers. In spite of that, some Red-winged Blackbirds are choosing this time to visit our feeder, joining the red finches who have been there all seasons. We look forward to the Spring return of the American Goldfinch, whose undulating flight reveals its vivid black wings, tail and forehead patch. All winter we have been observing large flocks of European Starlings, those iridescent, Introduced to New York in 1890 starlings have been caught, kept in cages and taught to speak, mimicking sounds and whistling tunes. On our walk last week at the Brightwaters Lakes we noticed buds on the yellow crocus. The very next day on the east road some white crocus were blooming and today a dark purple crocus was in bloom next to the yellow ones. Two swans that are inhabitants of the lake circle each other in a frenzied rhythm, and cross necks. After they mate they separate and lift their bodies out to the water appearing eight feet tall and then flapping their wings they make a triumphant clatter as if to announce “We are swans!”. After this there is much ducking into the water and the frenzied circling continues in ritual celebration of what is to follow. At the beach down in front of our house by the extension of land called the sore thumb winter dredging takes place every few years, though this year it has been three years since the last time, evoking complaints about boats foundering because of developing sand bars. The object of the dredging is to pump sand from the inlet and send it through large pipes to a spot to fill in erosion near Gilgo Beach. We have gone down to see the process several times and have been delighted to see seals on the pipe. Looking through the binoculars from our upstairs meditation room we saw four of the seals lined up…a mother a father seal with two little ones.
We have taken friends down to see them and our firends were delighted with the experience. Part of the Winter ritual involves berries and stars. We gather branches of large red holly berries from trees where we walk in the village of Brightwaters and then placing them along with branches of cedar and pine in the pots on our deck. We watch the stars in the winter sky. The constellation Orion marches across the sky over our house in the winter and we can see in the North the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper with the North star in the bottom of its handle, which is positioned directly above the North Pole and then there are the Pleiades (or Seven Sisters) and the constellation Andromeda. Near one of the stars in this constellation, is the only other galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye and, of course there are the W shaped constellation, Cassiopeia, and the Northern Cross. Last night, we went down to Captree Boat Basin to watch the full moon rise. What a beautiful sight, the big orange moon, coming up not that far to the left of the Fire Island lighthouse flashing its light every 12 seconds. The lighthouse is a tall black and white structure with a staircase leading to the observation deck on the top with its spectacular view of the inlet. Later as the moon rose higher it turned white and lit up the water brilliantly. What a wonderful sight to witness the night sky in the winter. But winter is almost over and we observe our first daffodils insistently pushing up through the still frosty top soil. Now I will have to admit to myself that at last Spring is on its way, so will end the Winter section of this writing.
Spring at the sea shore We went out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Nicky’s, last night (April 1st
‘08) and in keeping with our new awareness of Spring there were bouquets of fresh yellow daffodils on every table. In rapid fire sequence, on our daily walk at the lakes in Brightwaters we came upon hyacinths a sure sign of the new season. No American Golden Finches yet, but we expect them very soon. Speaking of “golden” the Willows are sporting their gold with new leaves softening the branches. Today we see the Sea Gulls along the road by the inlet doing their wind thing. They let the wind catch under their wings and it holds them up so, facing into the wind they just float there and hardly move at all. What a wonderful feeling it must be for them staying afloat like that seemingly with no effort. The next event that takes us by surprise is forsythia blooming bright and yellow along the Robert Moses Causeway. We gather large bunches of these splendid sprigs
now in large vases brightening up our living room. Finally the Robins arrive as the sure sign of Spring.
The dredge, here all winter, is preparing to leave now. A second boat with a crane gathers all the pipes that have been laid along the beach starting from in front of our house all the way down to Gilgo Beach several miles away. Now the pipes are piled high on an accompanying barge. The beach is clean as a whistle and the seals have gone. In our yard we can see the beautiful blue blossoms of the Myrtle (Periwinkle) blooming. Last winter’s severe frost played havoc with it so it is hesitantly reestablishing its hold. Dandelions, with their yellow flowers dare to push their heads up along the roadside and the redbud trees are blooming. This morning at the lakes we saw a big fish stick its head, and then its tail, out of the water. In the Spring a lot of fish swim around the lakes in a kind of frenzied mating dance so I guess the next round of new life is going to begin soon. This morning we were driving to our walk at Brightwaters lakes and along the edge standing in the water by the road was the white egret. We stopped the car and watched it catch a fish right in front of our eyes and then we saw him swallow it whole. We could see the fish as it went down his long neck.
The baby swans (cygnets) have hatched and they were with their parents swimming in the lake. We have seen some of the little ones climb up on the mother’s back and ride around with her as their means of transportation. There are six of them and we hope the turtles don’t catch them. They usually devour a few.
Summer at the sea shore Summer in Oak Beach is a splendid time of year with the sun shining brightly on the water and the ocean breezes blowing. During the day the water warms up in the Great South Bay and when the tide goes out the warm water is wonderful to swim in down at the shore in front of our house. In late August the beach plumbs ripen and we gather lots of them for beach plumb jelly. We have a book titled “Plumb Crazy” which gives all sorts of recipes and even tells how to make beach plumb brandy which we have tried.
We cook the beach plumbs and then press them down to remove the juice them empty the container which contains the pits and boil the juice with pectin until it drips a single drip off the side of a spoon. Our deck is filled with pots of flowers which have to be watered every day and there are large containers of tomatoes and squash down by the garden. In many spots the beach is covered with golden beach heather in bloom much of the summer and there are lovely flowers with delicate blue blossoms and some with yellow flowers growing on the stretch of beach in front of our house. Also there is the ubiquitous blue Chicory which blooms along the road in abundance. And at last there is the flower called Indian Blanket that looks very much like a black eyed Susan, but its flowers are much larger and it grows on a small bush. Summer is a season to be treasures and we enjoy it very much.
Fall at the sea shore Around October 12 we usually go up to Heath to see the leaves, but autumn is a wonderful time of year at Oak Beach, too. On the mainland leaves on the trees start to turn to beautiful colors of red and gold and orange in early November and at the beach we have a few bushes in front of the house whose leaves turn bright yellow. Golden rod which begins blooming in the late summer is all over. In front of our house there is a lot of it with its splendid yellow blossoms on tall stalks blowing in the wind. There are two kinds of Golden rod the regular type and then the Sea side golden rod which had much larger blossoms. That is the kind that is growing around our house at the beach.
By Jim Morriss For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. It is the end of Winter in Oak Beach. The weather is still cold with frequent showers. In spite of that, some Red-winged Blackbirds are choosing this time to visit our feeder, joining the red finches who have been there all seasons. We look forward to the Spring return of the American Goldfinch, whose undulating flight reveals its vivid black wings, tail and forehead patch. All winter we have been observing large flocks of European Starlings, those iridescent, Introduced to New York in 1890 starlings have been caught, kept in cages and taught to speak, mimicking sounds and whistling tunes. On our walk last week at the Brightwaters Lakes we noticed buds on the yellow crocus. The very next day on the east road some white crocus were blooming and today a dark purple crocus was in bloom next to the yellow ones. Two swans that are inhabitants of the lake circle each other in a frenzied rhythm, and cross necks. After they mate they separate and lift their bodies out to the water appearing eight feet tall and then flapping their wings they make a triumphant clatter as if to announce “We are swans!”. After this there is much ducking into the water and the frenzied circling continues in ritual celebration of what is to follow. At the beach down in front of our house by the extension of land called the sore thumb winter dredging takes place every few years, though this year it has been three years since the last time, evoking complaints about boats foundering because of developing sand bars. The object of the dredging is to pump sand from the inlet and send it through large pipes to a spot to fill in erosion near Gilgo Beach. We have gone down to see the process several times and have been delighted to see seals on the pipe. Looking through the binoculars from our upstairs meditation room we saw four of the seals lined up…a mother a father seal with two little ones.
We have taken friends down to see them and our firends were delighted with the experience. Part of the Winter ritual involves berries and stars. We gather branches of large red holly berries from trees where we walk in the village of Brightwaters and then placing them along with branches of cedar and pine in the pots on our deck. We watch the stars in the winter sky. The constellation Orion marches across the sky over our house in the winter and we can see in the North the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper with the North star in the bottom of its handle, which is positioned directly above the North Pole and then there are the Pleiades (or Seven Sisters) and the constellation Andromeda. Near one of the stars in this constellation, is the only other galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye and, of course there are the W shaped constellation, Cassiopeia, and the Northern Cross. Last night, we went down to Captree Boat Basin to watch the full moon rise. What a beautiful sight, the big orange moon, coming up not that far to the left of the Fire Island lighthouse flashing its light every 12 seconds. The lighthouse is a tall black and white structure with a staircase leading to the observation deck on the top with its spectacular view of the inlet. Later as the moon rose higher it turned white and lit up the water brilliantly. What a wonderful sight to witness the night sky in the winter. But winter is almost over and we observe our first daffodils insistently pushing up through the still frosty top soil. Now I will have to admit to myself that at last Spring is on its way, so will end the Winter section of this writing.
Spring at the sea shore We went out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Nicky’s, last night (April 1st
‘08) and in keeping with our new awareness of Spring there were bouquets of fresh yellow daffodils on every table. In rapid fire sequence, on our daily walk at the lakes in Brightwaters we came upon hyacinths a sure sign of the new season. No American Golden Finches yet, but we expect them very soon. Speaking of “golden” the Willows are sporting their gold with new leaves softening the branches. Today we see the Sea Gulls along the road by the inlet doing their wind thing. They let the wind catch under their wings and it holds them up so, facing into the wind they just float there and hardly move at all. What a wonderful feeling it must be for them staying afloat like that seemingly with no effort. The next event that takes us by surprise is forsythia blooming bright and yellow along the Robert Moses Causeway. We gather large bunches of these splendid sprigs
now in large vases brightening up our living room. Finally the Robins arrive as the sure sign of Spring.
The dredge, here all winter, is preparing to leave now. A second boat with a crane gathers all the pipes that have been laid along the beach starting from in front of our house all the way down to Gilgo Beach several miles away. Now the pipes are piled high on an accompanying barge. The beach is clean as a whistle and the seals have gone. In our yard we can see the beautiful blue blossoms of the Myrtle (Periwinkle) blooming. Last winter’s severe frost played havoc with it so it is hesitantly reestablishing its hold. Dandelions, with their yellow flowers dare to push their heads up along the roadside and the redbud trees are blooming. This morning at the lakes we saw a big fish stick its head, and then its tail, out of the water. In the Spring a lot of fish swim around the lakes in a kind of frenzied mating dance so I guess the next round of new life is going to begin soon. This morning we were driving to our walk at Brightwaters lakes and along the edge standing in the water by the road was the white egret. We stopped the car and watched it catch a fish right in front of our eyes and then we saw him swallow it whole. We could see the fish as it went down his long neck.
The baby swans (cygnets) have hatched and they were with their parents swimming in the lake. We have seen some of the little ones climb up on the mother’s back and ride around with her as their means of transportation. There are six of them and we hope the turtles don’t catch them. They usually devour a few.
Summer at the sea shore Summer in Oak Beach is a splendid time of year with the sun shining brightly on the water and the ocean breezes blowing. During the day the water warms up in the Great South Bay and when the tide goes out the warm water is wonderful to swim in down at the shore in front of our house. In late August the beach plumbs ripen and we gather lots of them for beach plumb jelly. We have a book titled “Plumb Crazy” which gives all sorts of recipes and even tells how to make beach plumb brandy which we have tried.
We cook the beach plumbs and then press them down to remove the juice them empty the container which contains the pits and boil the juice with pectin until it drips a single drip off the side of a spoon. Our deck is filled with pots of flowers which have to be watered every day and there are large containers of tomatoes and squash down by the garden. In many spots the beach is covered with golden beach heather in bloom much of the summer and there are lovely flowers with delicate blue blossoms and some with yellow flowers growing on the stretch of beach in front of our house. Also there is the ubiquitous blue Chicory which blooms along the road in abundance. And at last there is the flower called Indian Blanket that looks very much like a black eyed Susan, but its flowers are much larger and it grows on a small bush. Summer is a season to be treasures and we enjoy it very much.
Fall at the sea shore Around October 12 we usually go up to Heath to see the leaves, but autumn is a wonderful time of year at Oak Beach, too. On the mainland leaves on the trees start to turn to beautiful colors of red and gold and orange in early November and at the beach we have a few bushes in front of the house whose leaves turn bright yellow. Golden rod which begins blooming in the late summer is all over. In front of our house there is a lot of it with its splendid yellow blossoms on tall stalks blowing in the wind. There are two kinds of Golden rod the regular type and then the Sea side golden rod which had much larger blossoms. That is the kind that is growing around our house at the beach.