Thursday Seeds | Start Again

Walking on the beach yesterday, I’m looking for horseshoe crabs. They are usually on south beach. Not this time, not a one. The water is clear, the waves are gentle, the weather is just about perfect. I’m on a mission. I need to get to the pier, walk it, then run toward north beach to see the turtles.

I do so. Not much going on at the pier. The plenty is fisherman with poles. The fish, not so much. The waves are nice enough for surfing but it’s noon and that’s sort of too late for that sort of thing. Early birds get the best waves.

I move to the North beach. The birds and turtles are beautifully the same in spite of the higher water levels in the pond. From the storm? Probably, I keep walking and get a glimpse of the red shouldered hawk that has been calling. There is a couple. Little Blue Heron is absolutely a highlight. I walk to the shore along the boardwalk and notice that the dune plants seem parched. How can that be with so much water? A lot of water in a short time. So with any luck, the rains will be steady this season. 

 

The shore is the same and the tide is going out. The horse shoe crab remains are everywhere. It’s a whole lot of them. Did they get beached due to the storm? Why here and not south beach? And why so many of them? A little internet searching determines that may and June are mating times and egg hatching times. There are egg cases everywhere too. I noted that. Silver cylinder non worms are all around. They could be these egg cases? Internet says they aren’t, and there are a lot more of them. Is this what confused the horseshoe crabs? Now…what are they? Did I snap shots? Looking now.

Nothing that I can see. But here is me talking to folks also asking why so many dead? And we have that conversation about starting over. The trees have to do it. We have to do it. The horseshoe crabs too. So what’s my starting over?

I did some reflection on that topic. It was suggested to do and the beach is such a great place to do it. So much calm comes with the waves rising and falling that problems have a cadence that seem easier to solve. Missing the kids when they leave is only a portion of the starting over. They are headed to the next leg of their journey.

My leg of the journey that is coming will include several projects. I know better than to talk too loud about them. Wait till they are done… In the mean time, reinvent.