Riptide

rip·tide (-tīd′)

noun

a current opposing other currents, producing violently disturbed water; esp., the strong, narrow flow of sea water that rushes seaward after incoming waves pile up on the shore

This photo shows an early morning riptide before the high tide came in to conceal it. Riptides, such as this, caused over 170 lifeguard rescues in one day, for swimmer fatigue. Momma always told us, to get out of the pull of a riptide, swim at an angle, lest it take us away. Riptides change the shape and form of the beach & stir things up a bit.

Sometimes, in life, when we move against the current, we carry more power and strength than we know.

It's just my shell.
I stepped into it the day I was born and hopefully I will step out of it on the day I die.
Otherwise, I am just a ghost trapped in this body and what I perceive to be my protective shell is nothing but a cage...

"Hi...
Have I ever told you that I LoVe you?"

scribbling the peace and love

Scribbling the LoVe in the natural blond sands
periwinkles wink at me, then fall from my sight
a moment and a lifetime
of meant-to-be's, whoa-be-me's and I-still-believes
tossed together in a catch-me-if-you-can tide

So I sat... damp and sandy bottomed under the blooming sun
and soaked it all in, realizing it's not to be caught but simply taken in

The Heron trailed me, eying my bird legs and calling me Momma
Wiser than me, he knew what I was learning... again

A single handful of sand
a gazillion grains...
a drip sand castle...
a place called home which provides no shelter at all
soaking it all in, wrapping right up into it...
peace
and
love

a moment worth a lifetime
and a lifetime worth a moment

Our Time Is What We Make Of It...
500 miles to Peace ...
by the Sea

Hittin' the Road

'Down By The Sea, My Soul Will Be'
~hand-painted sign of John's

Two More Days

Buttercups & the Hula-Hoop Moon

I sit on the curb with a thousand and one things to do and instead I plunder through the sidewalk chalk...
psychedelic and inverted etchings in the sand take form on the blacktop of my street...
inevitably, the eternal waves of the ocean wash away such etchings, just as each passing car throws another clouded puff of chalk into the air...

my audience, sitting on a cast iron table that weighs more than I do are yellow flowers...
like me, they continue to face the skies...
where the sun once was and where the full yellow moon rises hula-hooping misty rings of amber...
and I begin to sing...
'why don't you fill me up?'
I hear her sweet angel-like voice join right in...
'fill me up! buttercup baby...'

Flowers and sunbursts, peace signs and words cover the road before me...
we forgot about the bills to be paid, the calls to be made, the clothes to be washed and the bags to be packed...

No worries.
Just a couple girls, an open road, a setting sun, a rising moon, a box of chalk and a connected peace...

A couple of hours later, another girlfriend told me that I had better get busy gathering and packing for the beach.
I thought about it...
but opted to simply enjoy my moment, right then, there, with her...
as I had chosen to enjoy my moment in the road...

It's all good. I'll get it all taken care of.

Plus, I know that if the jolly green giant were to come down at this moment or any moment and declare
'SkinnY! You have one hour to pack your stuff!' that in that one hour, I would gather all that I needed...
tethered to the moment, tethered to my faith...

Four more days...
until I don't need the chalk to scribble in the sands...

(Artwork compliments of Singleton, Rachael, Skinny and Mother Nature...May the Circle Remain Unbroken)

Wooly Slug, Hairy Worm or Puss Caterpillar

I saw one of these little babies and thought it was fascinating. Of course I wanted to touch its hair, see if it was a soft as it looked. Luckily I thought best I leave it in peace... it could have rocked mine had I brushed it.

It's hairs are actually poison-filled spines that cause waves of intense pain, rashes, shock, swelling, cramps, nausea and more. They are the most poisonous caterpillars in the US and live in the south, from Texas to Florida and up to Maryland feeding on apple, birch, hackberry, oak, persimmon, almond, pecan, oak, elm and sycamore trees.

If you contact one you have to pull the spines out with tape and seek medical attention.

Something so unusual, so small and oddly pretty is enticing in appearance & I guess they gotta have some defense to keep big human being from toying with it.

Tan Lines and Peace Signs

I fell asleep.
Toes in the water and hands plopped up across the oar I had laid across my lap
I woke up when I bounced into a fallen tree.
The next morning after showering, I noticed I had a tan line...
an inverted tattoo.
Circular and cocked sideways.
The tan may fade and the lines may blur together again on the canvas of my skin, as I soon will be heading to the beach.
But hopefully the peace will continue to soak right into the fiber of my being...

Actually, I have no idea what they really think, but their love is undeniable...
and I know that they know that I absolutely love them, as well.