day at the seashore

Mentioned some weeks back that I was going to drive a Farm trip to the ocean; the initial date was cancelled due to rain, but we did make it last weekend. We drove about 2.5 hours to Hammonaset Beach in Madison, CT, to Connecticut's largest beach, for a day in the sand and sun. It was a perfect day: hot, and sunny; cool water shocked the flesh of feet and ankles, mid calves and splashes onto knees; the kind of water which is only truly enjoyed after one allows oneself to broil in the rays of the sun until the heat is too much and reddening skin needs cooling off. Though I do love the ocean: the smells, the sound, being out on the water, I rarely enjoy swimming in it. So, instead of partaking in the an ocean dip, I spent the day reading a magazine and sleeping, occasionally staring out at the sparkling waters of Long Island Sound, only just across stretches of ocean from New York's Montauk and Hamptons. It was gorgeous.

I came across this poem (posted below) today which reminded me of the calming lap of the water, and reminded me too, that summer has seen it's glories and fall is stealthily sneaking in with nights like tonight--47 degrees Farenheit. So long, sweet summer.

"Long Island Sound"

I see it as it looked one afternoon
In August,—by a fresh soft breeze o'erblown.
The swiftness of the tide, the light thereon,
A far-off sail, white as a crescent moon.
The shining waters with pale currents strewn,
The quiet fishing-smacks, the Eastern cove,
The semi-circle of its dark, green grove.
The luminous grasses, and the merry sun
In the grave sky; the sparkle far and wide,
Laughter of unseen children, cheerful chirp
Of crickets, and low lisp of rippling tide,
Light summer clouds fantastical as sleep
Changing unnoted while I gazed thereon. 

All these fair sounds and sights I made my own. 

~ Emma Lazarus