Slice of Life Story Day 12 A Day That Summer Gave Back

Following a summer punctuated by grey skies, rain and humidity, this March day was glorious!  31 degrees Celsius ( 88 Fahrenheit)  and every man and his brother seemed to be at our local beach. In their minds people probably thought as I did, -this could be our last beach day until November. I listened to the voices of small children bouncing over the surface of the water like flat stones being hurled. Jet skis in the distance provided a backing sound not unlike the buzz of blowflies. The outline of city skyscrapers were fuzzily etched on the horizon and sail boats grabbed what breeze they could find as a family played an impromptu game of beach cricket on the sand exposed at low tide. 

The sea was like the surface of a table. The smallest of waves rolled over submissively at the water’s edge creating effervescent bubbles that quickly faded in the way that champagne bubbles tend to do.

So after an hour of sitting under my umbrella watching the passing parade and reading  the appropriately titled, Land’s Edge –a coastal memoir by Tim Winton,  I ventured in for a swim. As I entered the water, I passed a man and his two young daughter playing bocce on a shrinking sandbar.   The water was surprisingly clear given the recent rain. The shallows teeming with minnows seemingly enjoying the warmer water close to shore.  The sun was warm on my back but the water fresh and bracing. I eventually dived in. So refreshing, so invigorating.  Today was a day out of the box. It was a beach day in Autumn.  It was a day that summer gave back…


Comments

  1. elsie13 March 2011 at 00:56

    Thanks for taking me along with you to the beach! Again wonderful words to create images (I know I've said that before, but it bears repeating). Love the idea of children moving in the water like skipping stones. So sad to think this may be the last beach day until next year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Letterpress13 March 2011 at 03:23

    I read several Australian blogs (mostly quilters, besides yours) and I'm always surprised by the flip-flopping of nature's cycle from Northern Hemisphere to Southern.

    We here in California overlap probably the most, as yesterday I could have gone to the beach: it was aroud 70-75 degrees in the middle of the day (although the night was still a wintery chill).

    I enjoyed your description of the beach, the sights and sounds and *feeling* of being out on the sand.

    Thanks!

    Elizabeth E.
    http://peninkpaper.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. CSPeterson13 March 2011 at 11:10

    I love that image as well: the voices of small children bouncing over the water like flat stones...

    ReplyDelete

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