beach to park to lighthouse bike ride

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stokes landing fort mose

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river to the sea preserve

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St. Augustine Beach

Three weeks into the month of March

And spring has arrived on the calendar.

As yet another snowfall arrives back home

We are enjoying the warm weather in St. Augustine.

The winter there has been a mythic arctic ordeal

Countless snowstorms and extreme bitter cold

Never a respite thaw until last week

Such good timing for us that we headed south in January.

Such a local anomaly in the overall global warming

While the drought gets worse in California

And a super storm rises up to wreak havoc in the Pacific

And the arctic sea ice melts away more each year.

In another 10 days we’ll be on the road heading back north

Following the birds returning to nest again.

We see their plumage changing to breeding colors.

We see large flocks fly over going up the coast.

Here we are a short walk to the beach

Making a daily visit to see the changing scene

Every time finding something new and different

Next to the vast Atlantic waters looming large and deep.

The beach attracts everyone: young and old and families with children.

It’s wonderful to be in a public place owned by all of us in common

Where almost everyone you see is happy being there

Taking in the waves and distant horizon and limitless open sky.

You can go there and bike for miles into the park at low tide

To where the beach is empty except for the birds.

You can go where the crowds go and see the youth playing

Watching each other in a kind of mating selection display.

Older couples walk the surf line edge taking familiar steps together.

Younger couples lie prone by themselves in their intimate space.

Children run and shriek with delight in the breaking waves.

And we see gannets far from shore diving into the ocean to feed.

Very often there’s morning fog shrouding the horizon

The humid Florida air condensed by the cool ocean water.

Afternoons the cumulus clouds form inland over thermals heated by the sun

While at the beach the sky above the ocean remains clear blue.

We find things around here that aren’t in the tourist guide:

The Fort Mose site where escaped slaves lived in freedom

And fought and defeated the English soldiers in 1740;

The hidden away sign telling of 1964 desegregation wade-ins on the beach.

The ancient ocean speaks of millions of years of life evolving

While on land the historical sites that were plantations

Remind us of the more recent sordid history of oppression for profit

That persists today along with the unfolding climate change crisis.

My life grows short but I think I have time remaining

To join with others to right these wrongs

To enjoy being with others in the wonderful natural world

To make a better world for all people and all life on earth.