They all worship the sea. But not me. I like to be near it but I’m afraid of it. It’s so powerful.
~ Emma Freeman Thompson White
(Katie’s maternal great-great-grandmother)
As I watched my granddaughter contemplating this powerful sea my thoughts turned to these words my grandmother wrote to my mother when she was passing on her memories for the next generation. My grandmother’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all sea captains. (And many of her other ancestors were, too.) The “they” she was referring to were her ancestors.
My grandmother’s words resonated with me because I feel the same way she did about the sea. She always told me the sea was in my blood, but I never had the desire to sail the seas the way my ancestors did. Like my grandmother, I did want to be near it, but safe on land!
These pictures were taken with my cell phone Sunday morning before we left for our trip home. I haven’t seen such high waves in a very long time! My app said they were 4′-6′ high. I’m pretty sure the tiny birds were sandpipers and there were dozens of them darting quickly around between the crashing waves. They were only about 6 inches long. I zoomed the cell phone camera as much as I could but they came out fuzzy. Well, at least I have my memories!
If wrecked opon the Shoal of Thought
How is it with the Sea?
The only Vessel that is shunned
Is safe — Simplicity —
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #1503)
Katie has grown so much, I remember her as a mere munchkin! 🙂
From munchkin to preteen – where did the time go? Next year she’ll be a teenager!
Those were wise words of your great grandmother … many sailors with better sea legs and skills than us have perished at sea. I have always been fascinated by the “Edmund Fitzgerald” and I liked reading and viewing all the videos last year since it was the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. I can see why you looked at the wave heights on your app – they sure are some rolling waves. I’ve never seen Sandpipers.
Those sandpipers were so adorable – I wanted to scoop one up and cuddle it. I’d never be able to catch one, though. I thought what AI said about them was cool: ‘They move in a continuous, frantic skittle, rapidly probing their long, flexible bills up and down into the mud like a sewing machine needle to find hidden invertebrates.’
I was surprised when I read my grandmother’s words but they make sense when I think back on her life. She loved to go to the beach but I never knew her to go out sailing or whale-watching or anything like that on the water. On the other hand, my mother loved to be on the water, sailing and canoeing. She owned a little sailboat and a canoe.
That is a great explanation of how those Sandpipers use their bills looking for food. As a former person who made all her own clothes when she shot up to 5’9″ in high school, I sure can picture that sewing machine needle’s actions perfectly. I imagine the Sandpiper’s legs to be like a Killdeer’s – they always make me smile with their long legs and jerky movements as they walk so very fast as you know.
Speaking of birds, I thought of you today as I was down at the Detroit River in Bishop Park and there were lots of Ring-billed Seagulls perching and sunning on the top rail. That’s more gulls than I’ve seen in a while, since last Winter I’d guess. They were fractious though and flew off as soon as I invaded their personal space, but I did get a few close-ups.
That’s something that your mom was the exact opposite of your grandmother … that she did not grow up with the same mindset about not straying from the beach and into the water. Your mom was more adventurous.
I wonder if Katie will be more or less adventurous than her grandmothers and great-grandmothers. So far she seems pretty risk-averse. I’m glad you got some close-ups of those ring-billed gulls! They are so much fun to photograph. 🙂
I am sure she will be like you and her maternal grandmother. I remember how excited she was taking pictures on her tablet while on an outing with you and Tim and climbing up those rocks in one outing as well, living for the moment and seizing every opportunity to enjoy nature. That’s a really good thing to follow in their footsteps.
🤩
💙