The day turned hazy down at the sea, which means that the sun was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. It’s still blindingly brilliant but in a different kind of way, and sunglasses are essential. The temperature was in the 80s inland but remained about 67 on the shore.
 |
| Temporarily landlocked, again. |
The tide was out and the temporary island on the left in the
photo was grabbed back jealously by the land.
You can see the seaweed all in the foreground--a good clue that the
ocean will be back making demands again, and you had better not tarry too long
in one spot. For now, the waterlogged
Earth soaks up the sun and enjoys the fresh air again.
Six hours after this photo was taken, the island will be out
to sea again, and no one will be the wiser.
We shall point at it from the shore and make up exotic stories about the
creatures that might live there. We’ll
harbor secret fantasies about staking a claim on it and turning it into our own
island nation. Yet when another six
hours pass again, the island will mysteriously be a part of the mainland once
more, and all our hopes and dreams of sovereignty will be dashed.
It’s a game that the Earth and ocean play with each
other. First the ocean steals the
island, and then the Earth ransoms it back.
Then the island sings like a siren to the ocean and calls the water in
again. The Earth, discovering that its
prisoner is free once more, stews angrily at the imposed shoreline, waiting
for its chance to snatch the little piece of land back.
This is a dance they have been playing for a very long time,
and the wear of the waves against the straight-sided cliff is an indication of
just how long it has been going on.
Things change slowly on the coast of Maine.
Perhaps in another million years or so, the ocean will finally claim the
island for good, and they will have to move the ballroom to another hall.
