A Walk in March

"It was cold and windy, scarcely the day
to take a walk on that long beach
Everything was withdrawn as far as possible,
indrawn: the tide far out, the ocean shrunken,
seabirds in ones or twos.
The rackety, icy, offshore wind
numbed our faces on one side;
disrupted the formation
of a lone flight of Canada geese;
and blew back the low, inaudible rollers
in upright, steely mist."
-  Elizabeth Bishop, The End of March 

Well said!

Mo and  I have been enjoying the longer afternoons, one of March's only blessings. This year so far has been mild, it's said; but we are spoiled and the winter winds feel frigid and painful. I would like to make our walks brisk and cheerful but the warmer temps must activate interesting scents, emerging from frozen hibernation.

Mo is King of the DillyDallyers.

We found daffodil shoots.

Picked up a bit of wind-borne wrapper.

And in a sunny spot some flowers are appearing.

The ancient gnarled forsythias have a haze of yellow, they are just waiting for their moment to bloom.

To avoid the big trucks, I walk elsewhere or at unusual times.

The dunes show no sign of green, though I saw the mockingbirds and maybe some warblers. One pair of mockingbirds always nests in that bayberry scrub to the left of the pine tree. The sky is so blue.

Behind this dune is where the snowy owl has been seen, though NOT by me.

Ha! As if I'd want to put so much as a toe in the icy ocean right now.

This windswept beach area looks hopeful for treasure, but it was too cold to hunt .

Instead, another day, I found this handful of metal objects, the first I've found all winter, I think. So odd, only the two washers are alike, the rest are random. The handful of metal items were all together in a small pile.

This is a pretty aluminum circle. It looks familiar, as if I should know what it is.

Mo, happy to sit in the sun.

Happier to be home for snackies and nap.

The last narcissus, finishing its bloom.

The fallen amaryllis, so far growing nicely in water til I get it some soil and a pot.

The filled newly purchased glass cylinder. It's hard to show scale but it is higher than my knee. Perhaps 1/3 of my/our sea glass.

Mo's birthday is next week. He'll be six!

 Some beach pics from my friend, LK. Thanks!

 love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

The entire poem: The End of March