Summer wraps up wide bodies
Wide bodies. Prairies and beaches have that in common.
Giddy sunny days too encouraging of free spirits and freewheeling.
Big uncovered and discovered.
Never know what the sea will see.(1920.John Oxley Library,Queensland/PD:exp.cr/Commons.wikimedia.org)
By August roasted tourist stuff themselves back into their cars, then, disappear on down the roads as the clouds roll in to erase any trace of their visits.
Like anxious children rushing through chores, the winds attempt to sweep the plastic and paper into corners for easy pick up or under grassy mats. Good enough.
Loud sighs from waves of grain and foaming surf as they massage the tired earth offering assurances, “It’s OK now. It’s just us. Relax.”
Grainy but, good lookin’. (1942.Wilderman Shaw/Imperial War Museum/PD:pub.date/Commons.wikimedia.org
Big sky, vast ocean, and as-far-as-the-eye-can-see fields stretch out full length in contentment with a long sigh of relief. “Finally.”
(Remember what it’s like when visitors who stayed too long finally back out the drive?)
The long summer parties for the noisy human children are certainly entertaining – and the creatures do look forward to them so much it would be a shame to disappoint – but…
The constant motion is exhausting.
And they hardly notice all the decorations placed with care across land, water, and sky.
So busy with their temporary gadgets and their own selves, all the elaborate entertainment efforts often unnoticed.
Get out the oil paints. Storm clouds worthy of Turner or Constable. ©
Another sigh.
Hardly appreciation or “Thank you” given.
And all effort and energy used to toss that mass of seaweed to grow those sandy beaches. And only thing heard was complaints about smell and clutter.
Such contrarians with their “Please let it rain, the yard is so dry – but not during the beach party and not until after the hay is cut and in.” Like it’s a water faucet: easy to turn off and on as the whim strikes.
Ok to rain now? Hay baled in an East Texas pasture. See the big rolls? Galveston Island had piles of seaweed baled up and staked along the beaches. The sand is settling in/over them to make new dunes. With luck there won’t be any tropical storms and floods that break them loose and let them roll out to sea….although the crabs, turtles, and seagulls might enjoy some floating islands. ©
Gather up some clouds and rumbles. Encourage them leave early. Let them mull over the Labor Day Weekend in their rooms.
Allow the land, water, and sky a chance to stretch out wide and sing full song without worrying about bumping into the delicate creatures…
Always feel some remorse about unintentionally harming them…but they are so small and don’t take a hint.
Reaching wide.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Read more about Galveston beaches and the good seaweed:
- “Seaweed dwindles, but leaves new beach behind”
- “Seaweed summer winds down in Galveston” (pictures Aug. 28, 2014)
- “What weather to expect this Labor Day Weekend in the U.S.”
Unusual August sky. The winds were oddly from N/NE during a windy concert last week.©
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Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 
I welcome the end of summer, the cooler weather, the departure of the tourists. There will be a lull of several months, my favorite time of year, before the skiers come. Happy Labor Day, Phil.
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Ditto here. Stay tuned for those elk and shaking Aspen leaves. (Still working on that outing from here)
Enjoy the weekend!
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One summer many years ago I lived in a NJ shore town for the entire summer. I couldn’t wait until the weekend visitors would leave on a Sunday and peace of a sort would be back on Monday. On the weekends you couldn’t go anywhere with all the gridlock!
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You’ve got a clear picture…add in a road project on July 1 that not only takes away the stop light at the subdivision entrance, but also take a 4 land boulevard and turns it into 2 narrow lanes. A challenge worthy of the Olympics. Easier to load up on supplies on Friday and stay home. Thanks for driving in to chat. Hope you have a calm holiday weekend!
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We do take so much for granted, don’t we? Labor Day in New Hampshire is the last big bash at the lakes, I avoid the roads at all costs, content to stay at home.
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By the end of the summer, it seems reasonable to think that land, sea, and the local “inhabitants” of those would be glad to see humans head indoors. We do seem to be a loud, bumbling species that invades without invitations sometimes. Thanks for your big insights and sharing a comment
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I was listening to the fishing guides on the Outdoor Show this morning saying things like, “No way am I hitting the water until Tuesday!” It will be as crowded out there as it is on the roads. Then — blessed peace. I hardly can believe we’re almost to September and all that brings, but one thing’s for sure. We’ll be quieting down nicely.
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And you saw the smoke from that boat that went up in flames under the Kemah bridge yesterday? (will be interested in what investigators say about that one..) Everyone easily hopped off onto the wooden bulkhead guides to the bridge. Front row seats at the restaurant there.
The fishermen were out by 7 along the island’s little bridge. Did you see the videos of the teenage boy who catches fish out of the west Houston sewers and manholes? big fish! It’s a hobby – tosses them back in. Really funny though…who knew they would thrive down there?
So glad the road construction is over (what potholes? There weren’t any…very odd so much digging up).
Traffic will soon be back to ordinary with fall activities keeping people busy. Summer did seem to go quickly – not as hot and some showers, thank goodness. Thanks for surfing by to chat
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I try to avoid the roads on Friday and Monday (heavier tourist traffic). In Phoenix, though, the traffic bogs down in the winter. It’s good for the economy and and an exercise in patience 🙂
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You do get a flock of snowbirds in the winter. There’s an elegant RV park down the road that’s full almost year round.Generally those people mesh in pretty well with the community. Like you we manage the weekenders – many from Houston who come to for the boardwalk’s food and entertainment. It’s pleasant enough during the week. Always nice to share! Thanks for driving over a comment
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Great post Phil. You have a seaweed warning system? Ha! What, uh, do you do when you get a heavy seaweed warning? Do you like stock pile bottled water and batteries? Do you nail boards over the windows and doors and set up living in the basement? Do you check your in-house seaweed detectors in case of an invasion while you sleep? Do yu have to take special preautions for RC and Molly and the German? Perhaps a special food additive to keep them healhy and to keep away the seaweed bugs? Ha!
Oh, hey, love the video of the round hay bales – it was hilarious watching that bale roll across the field and keep going right out of sight as we see the shadow of the famer getitng out of his tractor and peering after it. We have those bales here but store them outside for the winter, so they have to be wrapped in that white plastic wrap like they wrap boats for the winter. Well, sitting in the fields, all wrapped in white, they look exactly like giant marshmellows. I had a new boss one day and she was a serious city girl – trees befuddled her. Anyway, we (she, the terminal manager and me, the safety director) had a meeting with a rural client one fine September day. As we were driving between the fields, she asked what the large white rolls were sitting in rows. She was so naive in country ways, that I couldn’t resist. “You didn’t think they grew those tiny marshmellows separately did you? Obviously they grow them huge and then they have a machine that cuts them into the marshmellows or mini-marshmellows that you buy at the store.” There was a long pause while she considered this, and I couldn’t help bursting out laughing at the puzzled look on her face. I confessed and told her the truth but that one second while she tried to figure it out was precious – I wish I’d had a camera.
Thanks very much Phil, that was a fun read. 😀
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Sometimes you just can’t let an opportunity like the marshmallows go by. How funny. Glad you got a giggle over the rolling hay bale…gives “playing with your food” a whole new image. My uncle would just stack the round bales in the field and cut them open as needed (winters not all that extreme – hay makes a good wind block for cattle)…the outsides weren’t covered but the cows couldn’t tug out the hard packed hay. Any old drenched outer hay was spread over the garden in the winter or on low spots where the tractor bogged down.
Actually there is an early sea weed detection system for the oceans – NASA satellites track it and some oceanic agency notifies people/ beach towns who get their equipment ready if it’s summer/adjust their budgets for clean-up. This year research scientists were down collecting samples to be used as they try to extract iodine and nutrients from the stuff. Messy stuff…dogs love to roll in it…beg to take some home. Uh, no.Some people want it for enriching yards/gardens…but no. (Oh, basements in houses are pretty rare along this coastal area. Water table too high, and gumbo ground too mushy. Not worth fighting to keep the water and mold out.There’s an underground tunnel system all under downtown and basement garages, but with big downpours and flooding not unusual, those do get water in them. The Medical Center hospital complex has huge flood gate systems to hold back water out of their facilities. But natives know better than to park their cars on the bottom floors!)
Thanks for rolling in with a comment. Enjoy the rest of the holiday! (still pouring here…..)
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Beautifully said! So vivid and emotional. I never did make it to the beach this summer. Didn’t miss the crowds and the clutter, but I do miss the ocean. Thanks for allowing me to surf along with your thoughts.
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would be great if the seaweed could be harvested for eating…guess those are not the eating kind like the ones wrapped around sushi. 🙂 yum. love your title as your post…always interesting to learn the unique happenings around town. happy Labor Day!!
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I wondered if it was they kind that was edible, too…maybe if it was raked up before it cam ashore – they do track these big flotillas of seaweed…perhaps someday? Lots of researchers were poking around it this summer. TItles are fun to play with aren’t they? Hope you and yours have a romping good holiday…we may actually get some sun today…but we’ve already been out to run and fetch just in case. Paw waves and thanks for rolling by
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could seaweed be used in the garden at least…just a thought.
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You’d think some would be gathering it up for that. Maybe some local organic farmers? Didn’t hear anything, but perhaps there was a concern about chemical/oil residue considering it floated in across the gulf. (Far too many lawn chemicals flow down to the gulf, there are huge tankers who anchor there waiting to come in the channel (nasty stuff on their hulls – and they monitor for dumping and leaks, but small ones?) and of course the oil rigs. Wonder if there’s a cleaning process or something – a huge potential resource. Meanwhile glad they decided to leave it on beach to hold sand or roll it into dune-makers. If we can just get past Sept 15-20th which is time big storms historically show up here. Thanks for raking up a comment
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