For me, it’s not egrets or bears or violets or moss. It’s the water.
Any water–a lake, a fountain, the rain. Seeing it and hearing it.
First choice used to be the ocean–the continuous roar with periodic crashings.
But then I discovered the rhythm of the tides in Provincetown Harbor–the here and there of it, the going out and the coming back in. The extremes of high and low. The fullness and the emptiness. The movement.
High tide can slip in, the water inching forward, unnoticed until it’s here, close, back again. Or when the seas are rough and all day there’s this rushing sound, the tide comes in boldly, getting louder and louder.
In Provincetown there’s a large tide differential. I tried to look it up so I could say something intelligent about it, but I couldn’t find anything. All I can say is a whole lot of water comes in and a whole lot of water goes out.
I’m surprised that I like low tide with the water so far off, but I do. And I like watching it start back in. Here it comes.
I’ve typed this sentence and deleted it too many times so here goes: Sometimes it feels as if the water is communicating with me and as if I am communicating with it. It’s the closest I get to communing with nature. Water and snow and the leaves as they turn colors in the fall. But that will be for later.
These photos don’t do it justice but will give you some idea.
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Lovely. Thank you for posting that. Your words reminded me to pay attention to where I I am at this moment… by the ocean, gentled by the Pacific, it’s rhythm and pulse
Thanks so much, Teresa. How nice you read this post by the ocean : )
As a child…
I rather fancied myself to be a ‘mermaid’…
granted just so many hours a day… to walk
the land between the shore and the sea
Tidal flats were and remain… my sanctuary.
pssst… Love your ‘porthole’ photo collection… most apropos!
Thanks, Helena. The mysterious tidal flats…
P.S.
your water images inspired me
to go down to the sea… this eve…
to walk the shore at sunset
‘tis a wondrous reprieve… 🙂
That’s wonderful, Helena! Sunset is my favorite time to be on the beach.
I adore the ocean and am there SO rarely. It had been a good 6 years since I spent a day and at my cousin’s wedding in Nov., I was 2 blocks from it so I drove down and stood on the beach for 15 minutes, soaking it in. It was quiet since it was the fall and chilly, but how perfect. I love quiet and the day was nearing its end so the sun was lower in the sky. Breathtaking.
And wow, that really IS a big differential (I wouldn’t know that’s what it was called, so thank you lol). Do you know how long it takes for the water to retreat, then return?
Donna, nice description of your 15 minutes at the ocean. It takes 6 hours out and 6 hours back–2 highs a day and 2 lows.
Wow, then I guess when it’s out you can’t really “park” near the water ’cause you’d be having to shift back and back and back the whole day : / When I go, I stake a claim relatively close so I can see and hear it all. I really miss it. I adore the sounds of water, as long as it’s not dripping or a steady, annoying trickle.
I love water as well… I love to sit by it, it has such a peaceful sound and it is amazing to watch it move… or even be still.
Yes, Sheila, all of that, especially peaceful.
I love the beauty of the ocean and the look of water and rainfall, too, as well as fountains of any sort. But I don’t much like to be in water unless we’re talking heated pool or hot tub. Sometime I wonder if people forget they can’t breathe under there–is that why they so boldly wade out into the waves? Are they CRAZY?? Lovely post.
Ditto. I would rather be looking at it and listening to it than in it–although I jumped into an outdoor unheated pool yesterday on my birthday : )