Tuesday, July 28. White Horses and a Dove
So calm when we dipped at 7 am, but as usual, the wind has increased and the strong sea breeze has chopped up the sea and white horses have come out to play. My feelings as I sit here on a rock are of a calm mind, a freedom to experiment, and an enjoyment of the elements colliding with each other.
The breaking waves are noisy and repetitive as they endlessly break and retreat, then soon return to throw white foam on the rocky outcrop. Black and grey granite boulders are somewhat haphazardly thrown on top of each other to create this rock groin; the sunlight catches the minerals encased in the rocks, making them glisten and sparkle. The intensity of the light is blinding.
I have just cast my eyes up to the sky: a soft, muted blue, but with beautiful white clouds. I notice they have painted the shape of a flying dove, which I had to capture. Although the breeze is strong, the clouds seem stationary.
I envy the swimmers bobbing and frolicking in the water, the waves tugging them away from the shore. I now smile at their discomfort; fun has ended in a challenge — how to exit the water in an upright position without being dragged back into the waves.
Time flies, the wind changes, the dove has flown away, and the swimmers have found their footing and are now prostrate on the pebbles. For now, though, these moments stay; granite, foam, light, and a freed mind.
Wednesday 29th: Heat, Stillness, and Shimmer
The intensity of heat returns. The breeze is absent; the temperature a high 75°F in old money!
The sea is totally unruffled. The water stretches in stripes in shades of pale blue, shimmering into the distance where the shipping seems to hang on the distant, indistinct horizon. The gentle ripples of the swimmers and paddle boarders fracture the surface, forming ever-widening concentric rings.
The waves just murmur and sigh over the pebbles, the water washing over them, and the sunlight catches the refractions which sparkle and glimmer like dancing stars.
These very still days are rare, time seems to slow, the sea gently moving in a breathless hush.
Thursday 30th July: Jade Sea and Overcast Skies
Another day, another seascape: a new colour to the sky and the sea, a new wind to affect the waves, an incoming tide to increase the ferocity of the breaking waves.
Overcast greyness, with just glimmers of sun and blueness making cracks in the blanket of cloud. Not so inviting today. The sea colour is jade green, the waves at the water’s edge a bright contrast. The ripples of the waves still sparkle as the light catches the tips of the ruffles.
Is it every sixth or seventh wave that is bigger than the others? The monotony of them breaking is calming and soothing; the repetition, mindful — with only the seagulls’ cries breaking the sound of the sea.
I need to retreat as the salt-laden spray is reaching my face as the tide and the waves make progress up the beach.
I wind my way home leaving the beach to the rising tide and the constant rhythm of the waves.
Friday 31st July: A Chance of Rain
An early morning swim the flat water soft and silky. An early evening walk. Blustery and cloudy, dark, ominous clouds threatening rain which did not materialise.
The sea an inky grey with jade stripes as the sun broke through in places. The light was illuminating bands of brightness in the distance. The sea was still sparkling and luminous. Small groups of hardy picnickers were clustered together, being buffeted by the strong wind — this can’t have been pleasant.
I half expected the sky to open, but the rain held off, leaving only the wind and the shifting light.
