High tide

But from its earliest beginnings, farming was much more than a new economy. It also saw the creation of patterns of life and ritual that remain doggedly with us millennia later, and have since become fixtures of social existence among a broad sector of humanity: everything from harvest festivals to habits of sitting on benches, putting cheese on bread, entering and exiting via doorways, or looking at the world through windows.

page 245, The Dawn of Everything, from the section called “To Farm or Not to Farm…”

It’s wonderful and eye-opening that so many things I take for granted are actually age-old inventions. This passage helps me feel part of a continuum of humanity. Screwed up as we may be, we do things like sit on benches, use doorways and look out windows.

Speaking of patterns of life and ritual, it’s been a few days since I was able to take my regular walk. I’m going away to a family event this weekend, so I really felt the need to connect to my surroundings before I go. Maybe my anxiety is a remnant of Covid isolation, or maybe trepidation about hanging out with a large crowd of family members. Or maybe just a general reluctance to leave my comfort zone. Whatever, I just really needed to greet my familiar places today.

It’s a full moon tonight. And it was high tide at Salt Pond beach. I can’t remember whether I’ve been here when the tide’s so high. The last few times, the area covered by waves here was a long stretch of flat gravelly shore. But the tide’s not high enough to counteract the drought which has lowered the water level in the pond. It’s interesting watching how the pond and the sea interact through this little everchanging inlet. Today I had to cross it using stepping stones.

I didn’t take a very good photo, but the piece of driftwood I usually sit on looks like a bull or a bear or a giant wild pig sitting there staring at me. I didn’t walk that far today.

This plant is called sea rocket due to the rocket shaped pods. It’s in the mustard family. I don’t remember seeing it here earlier in the year. I just remember the “sea pea,” which I think is now turned brown and crispy. One benefit to visiting the same place in all seasons is you can check plant life at all stages of the life cycle. I’ll have to look for this sea rocket earlier in the summer.

I picked up a rock and felt its sun-warmed heft. It felt good in my head (typo – I meant hand, but head works too!). I looked at its marks.

I do remember seeing these chokecherries when they were in bloom. Now the cherries are hanging in clusters. I’ve never used chokecherry for anything. They say you can make jelly from it.

Sometimes I wish for an omen to lift my spirits. I felt like that today. Just wanted to see something special to carry in my mind as an image of home. I was talking myself out of this need, because – isn’t everything special out there? I didn’t want to put pressure on my environment, so I was getting over my wanting. But my wish was granted anyway – I was coming up on the corner where i turn onto our road when I saw a bird take off in front of me. It had a delightful blue sheen – probably an indigo bunting, or maybe a bluebird. A rare and lovely sight. Too fast for a photo. But yes, thank you for the mental image, I’ll take it.