Though I hadn’t necessity to do so this morning – for there was nothing on our agenda until 11:00 am when Sea Shack opens for service – I nonetheless ritually ejected myself from the incomparably comfortable lair precisely at 7:04 am. My Protestant work ethic runs deep. Nor will I bore my dear reader – or perhaps more significantly embarrass myself – to recount what further ceremony I performed at eight o’clock when another cherished service opened for its customers. Then after the consumption of an awakening plate of sliced green apple (and a handful of OTC pills – the legitimacy of which I ascribe primarily to its uncertain sense of efficacy) – we collected our bicycles from the rack and headed for Sea Shack, our preferred beanery for quality fare conveniently served to us at an outdoor picnic table.
After having nourished ourselves with the customary satisfaction at Sea Shack we went in opposite directions. As usual my focus was upon the beach from nearby Coligny Beach Park. There was a hint of fog where we were on Executive Park Drive but it didn’t capture the mystical image which awaited me at the beach.
The beach at Coligny Beach Park was thick with Saturday beach goers many of whom I presume are locals. The tourists do not appear to have overtaken the Island as yet though I fully suspect within the next several weeks there will be a crescendo of vagabond activity no doubt marked by the habitual revelry.
For my part, aside from a stock preoccupation with snapping photos, I peered through the haze to discover a spot by the dunes to recline. Within moments I was extended upon the beach and distracted into the ether which in this instance was definitely the clear sky in the upper regions beyond the fog. As I now write this report of those events, I can tell that in spite of the fog the sunshine penetrated its rays to my alabaster corpus which at the moment tingles from the exposure. My leathern complexion will undergo further contamination in the coming weeks as we adjust to rising temperatures here in anticipation of our departure for Canada. Whatever woollen clothing we brought with us will soon be put aside for another season – excepting naturally a token fleece for the return home.
Whatever curmudgeonly objection I may pretend toward the insinuating crowds on the Island I confess they are entertaining resource for photographic hobby. One chap in particular intrigued me today. He was intent upon outracing his dog. From a distance – with the benefit of magnification – I captured the fellow and his dog as they competed with one another along the shore. It was only afterwards when I examined the photographs that I had a clear idea of what I was snapping. Until then I was governed primarily if indeed not solely by his voice and loud conversation with the dog (and I assume with his girlfriend in the rear). The fellow was adamant that he had outrun the dog and for some reason seemed anxious to impress the failure upon the animal. By consolation it is equally evident that the little dog was as much absorbed by the competition. Some things at least are clear in spite of the fog!
