The Calm Before

Friday was the calm before the storm.  Calm Ernie, before Storm Bert.  The sea in post-workout stretch-mode, was a particularly beautiful grey-green.  A sky full of snow, a sea full of hailstones, which had left their mark on the sand-blown pebbles too.  Thursday night, there was a terrific thunder-hail storm.  Sheet lightning blasting the sky white.  Never heard thunder so loud, or roar on so long.  As if the sea was bouncing the sound back up to the sky, ‘Back atcha’.  Sea and sky in some cosmic, resounding duet.  It was frightening and exhilarating all at once.  Stood at the kitchen window watching and listening, candles flickering, pitch black sky.  It was awesome.  Also awesome, to feel thankful for a warm home. 

After a storm, is a good time to find sea glass.  Especially large pieces which get tumbled up onto the shore.  The smaller pieces will be buried by the blown sand, and won’t be visible for a while yet.

The secret to finding sea glass is; it’s further up the beach than you’d think.   It’s lighter than the pebbles, so gets blown further up the shore.  It’s also carried straight up the beach by the waves, so walking up and down in a zig-zag, perpendicular to the shoreline, not just along the shoreline, is best for finding seams.  (‘Seams’ ie two or three pieces of glass, carried up the same part of the beach by the waves).  Zig-zagging, or how to make a short walk longer, is the best method for this.  It’s not aerobic, but all that fresh sea air filling your lungs is the best medicine.

Found an almost perfectly round white pebble with what looks like a plant on it.  Made an exception to the ‘no more pebbles’ rule.

That’s more of a guideline anyway.

Images for this journal have been posted on Insta @purplehaze_journal