Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Stretch, Breathe, Giggle, Eat, Save Seagulls



Good morning! Yes, there is wireless here, due to the fact that Kathleen has a Smarter-Than-We-Are Phone with a magical Hot Spot app and so yes, here I am, taking a moment between waking up and doing yoga with Kathleen and Judy. Kathleen has made a promise to herself and her trainer to walk two hours daily and do yoga every morning.
This is how Kathleen relaxes.
Which of course shames me into doing yoga. I would walk anyway, but probably not for two hours.

What I should really take pictures of is how much food we have here. I guess this is what happens when Mee-Maws go to the beach. Jesus Christ. The refrigerator is stuffed, the cabinets are filled, one entire counter is taken up with bread products, the kitchen table is filled with fruit. We could stay for a month and not run out of food.
Well, that's not a bad thing, I suppose.

I loved my drive down here. I did indeed listen to Jimmy Buffett. I remembered how much I love this song:



I sang my way along the coast, all by myself, driving below the speed limit because honestly, I was perfectly happy being in my own world with music and the water beside me and the road ahead of me, the sky above. When I crossed the bridge over to the island, I put the windows down and just breathed it all in.

I got here and was manic, of course, blah-blah-blahing while everyone else was mellow and beach-doped, tanned and tolerant of me and my mouth, my profane mouth.

After I got everything unloaded, I found a hammock underneath the house and Judy came and sat beside me and a storm came in and I had a beer and slowed down and rocked myself almost to sleep and the thunder crashed and it was beautiful. Then Kathleen came down too and before you knew it, we were all giggling and being silly and then Vicki came down and announced that she and Nancy had dinner ready which cracked me up. It was five thirty.

I got up from the hammock, reluctantly and made coffee and finally, at last, headed down to the beach. I did not especially want to walk but I knew I should and as always, when I set my feet in a direction, I just go. I walked for a long while to the east the way I always do at sunset time so that when I return I can see the colors the sun is making, the silver light on the blue water and I was lost in my steps and in the book I was listening to when I saw several seagulls throwing a fuss and realized that two of them were entangled in fishing line.
Damn.
They were tangling themselves up more and more by the second so I grabbed them both up and discovered that if I let them clamp their long black beaks on my thumb, they would stay still and yet, there I was, a bird in each hand, no way to untangle them. I called to a young guy in the water and he came out and tried to help but we needed a knife. He ran up to where he was staying and got one and while he was gone, a couple came walking by and they helped me too. "Bless your brave heart," the woman said, "you must be from around here."
"Well, sort of," I said. "Plus, I have chickens."
The boy came back with the knife and between us, we got them all untangled and set them free. One was definitely fine, the other...well, I think she was okay. I don't think anything was broken. But it felt so good. I felt like I had done something, you know?

I walked on and when I got to where my stuff was stashed, shoes and towel, I saw Judy out in the flat silver blue water and I joined her where we floated and paddled and watched the sun take its sweet slow time going down. It was magical and I love the time of day at the island, where the water and the sky slowly take on the same colors and it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.

We came up to the house and made drinks and sat on the porch and it grew dark and the cicadas sang and the stars came out, one by one and Kathleen came out for awhile and we started talking about Colin, telling Colin stories and it began to thunder again and then Kathleen came in to go to bed and Judy and I stayed outside and the wind began to whip and when there were gusts that were probably about forty mph I said, "Hey Judy, have you noticed that it's getting really windy?" and we about fell out of our seats laughing.

We finally came in and raided the refrigerator and tried to find something on TV that was worth watching- a fool's errand, and then she went up to her little crow's nest to sleep and I settled down on the couch bed and went to sleep and yes, I had one dream but it was not too disturbing.

I woke this morning when people started getting up to go to the bathroom and get ready for the beach. We are a diverse group here, some of us wanting to go to bed at nine, some of us wanting to stay up and giggle into the night but I feel fine and was ready to get up and so I did and here I am, writing it down, the beach out there for me whenever I want it, about to eat some yogurt and do some yoga and then I think we're all heading to Apalachicola and tonight, I will take another long walk and who knows what adventures will ensue?

Ah, lah. It's beautiful. I'm having a lovely time. We Mee-Maws are at the beach, Judy has eighties rock on her antique and very fine Bose machine, and outside the pelicans are floating by on great, prehistoric wings and the martins are out, darting with the dragonflies, catching their breakfasts and the beach is waking up, waking up, to this perfect morning.


14 comments:

  1. Good that you saved the gulls. We have a lot of places to recycle fishing line here. The crap that we put in the environment is amazing. Anyway, have a great day. Apalachicola is a cool town.

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  2. I can't tell you how happy I am that you saved those seagulls! It's such a shame that innocent creatures have to deal with people's blatant disregard for the environment. It sounds so wonderful down there. Enjoy!

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  3. Seagulls. They steal your sandwich, but you still can't let them be tortured like that. Poor guys. See you tomorrow!

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  4. I'm not a meemaw, but I wish I was at the beach! Instead, I got treated yesterday to an effing earthquake which we thought was a terrorist attack and stampeded to the streets. What a week1!!

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  5. Sigh... you have some relaxed mee-maw fun on my behalf, okay? Sounds absolutely perfect.

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  6. What a wonderful place! I'm so glad you get to enjoy yourself and relax a little.

    WV: hanking

    heh

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  7. meemaws @ the beach, saving seagulls, drinking beer...
    does it get any better than this?
    so lovely to read, wish I was there.
    thank you!

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  8. Those two seagulls owe their life to you probably. I love it when people DO make a difference. Even if it is only saving one or two birds. It's A LOT. Thank you for saving them. Your news made my day.
    Keep that hammock occupied and I can almost smell the sea here in my little office. Yay for Kathleen and her smartie pants phone!

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  9. You're a force of good to just pick up them and let them clamp down on ya like that. No one had a knife? and who's barrel house? I love me some barrel house, especially on the beach.
    I need to get the hell out of work and to the beach. Ugh. That's it, I'm buying a barrel house! Who's selling?

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  10. I can feel the peacefulness from here! Enjoy the food, the waves, and the rest.

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  11. I would have been a little nervous letting them clamp down on my hands, but now that I know you did it, if I am ever in that predicament, I will let them clamp away.

    I wish I was at the beach right now. Your trip already sounds like a good novel. I want to keep reading!

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  12. I'm sitting here in the Arizona desert at 116, and imaging myself floating on the silver water with you and Judy. ahhhh

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  13. I love the beach. I swear I wouldn't even need antidepressants if I lived near the ocean.

    Thank you for saving the seagulls, you sweet woman. I love you so.

    Also thank you for sharing your trip with those of us stuck at the office. It was like a mini-vacation.

    Have a great time.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.