this morning, about 9ish, i wrote the following brief piece about today…
I’m leaving today
rust bucket of a truck
overcast skies
a camera, some batteries
and a recorder
just in case
Caladesi Island
they say it’s south
of honeymoon
which seems apt
all things considered
A loa told me that
I’d find life there
it was, I think
divine humor
Never had any trouble
finding life or even
avoiding it
But I reckon
I never thought
about asking it
to go for a ride
Low maintenance
high mileage
Just me, the truck
and life
Reckon that loa
has it right after all
knows me well enough
to know I’ll drive
then, i did more than just say it or think about it. here, now, sunburned and exhausted even after coming home and collapsing into bed for two hours, i am curiously empty. that is not a bad thing. nor a good one. which is somewhat the point.somewhere, in the middle of my head, a headache is trying to manifest. but i know that’s just the rain coming. i feel it, you know. usually several hours before the downpour and most notably in the hour just before the bottom falls out of the cloud.
it is finally raining, but the headache isn’t leaving, which tells me it’s going to be a whopper of a storm later. but it held off long enough for me to spend several hours at Caladesi and find what i needed there.
the island is an ecological and wildlife preserve. we are told there is at least one giraffe on the island, though they do not say how it got there. perhaps native, last and lingering descendant. i’m curious, but not enough to do the research.
this is (as most of these) on the spot and extemporaneous. as such, when there is a break, i usually mention it. going to put the kettle on for coffee; something warm to soothe the headache.
ok. kettle working and returned.
i took about 96 pictures while there today. mostly texture shots and various scenes that will only have meaning to me. but i’ll drop them into the gallery and you’re welcome to look if you like. a link will be placed at the end of this piece, when i’ve uploaded them (another break to come, but not yet).
i took along the recorder as well and made a point of commentary in case anything occurred while there that i felt i should pay more than the moment’s attention to… but it didn’t seem anything particularly revealing popped to mind. on the other hand, i haven’t listened to it yet. so we’ll see later how accurate memory is or is not.
i have not been sunburned in quite some time. for years i have avoided tanning because i rather like the idea of not being a piece of leather in my old age. but i had to admit the color upon my face looks healthy. my arms, hands, and the tops of my feet however, are just pissed off at me. heh. not quite lobster… but definitely bright.
i hear and read the island is considered one of the best shelling sites on the panhandle. i found precisely six that i was willing to bring home, but one did not make it. three pristine sand-dollars, a tiny white nautilus, a larger and more ruddy colored one, a denim-washed-out blue one (unusual), and a sliver of abalone. pictures of them as discovered will be in the gallery.
one of the sand dollars didn’t make it home. as i was on the ferry, returning, i found myself the inadvertent topic of conversation. people were astounded that i found three unbroken and perfect sand dollars… particularly of such small size. they wanted to know ‘my secret’.
chuckling, i told them to look above the tide line, and just under the surface of the sand. the baby dollars generally wash ashore in high tide and are pushed slightly higher by wind, then covered and rest undiscovered as most people assume the best shells will be freshly washed ashore.
the ones i found were, in fact, freshly washed ashore… just not in the moment i discovered them. the perspective of impermanence once more making the difference. heh.
kettle’s about to boil.
anyway… a girl of about oh, ten or so was admiring them on the ride back on the ferry. so i gave her one. i had three, and she was pensive for empty hands. it seemed the right thing. but i admit, it is sad how surprised people are just to be given things. anything, really. makes me sigh.
so, back to the mainland and in the truck, it was all i could do to get home before falling asleep. it may sound odd, but Caladesi Island pulled a hell of a lot out of me today. restored a few things as well, but the emptiness was profound, made me feel deflated, and when i got home, i quite literally did that ‘clothing across the expanse from the door to the bed and fall into it and know nothing more until waking’ thing.
as stated previously, i really do not recall anything of depth or import happening today. that’s not how it felt. perhaps in retrospect the mind will fashion it, but for now, i am content to say it was a pleasant and relaxing day, i needed it, and i found beauty that was kind enough to let me bring it home.
time to savor coffee. hope your night is peaceful.
(link to gallery)