Monday, August 12, 2019

Sometimes it's better not to know

Next Swims:  Tues-Fri 6am, Tues-Thurs 6pm, Fri 5:30pm

Last swim: 6 a.m. Monday

Water temp: low 60's (toemometers), colder around the rocks
Clarity: Very clear 
Waves: nearly flat, minor north-south current

Crew: early shift:  Julie Pool Noodle, Forger, Magic Mike, Drangonfly.  later shift:  Patriarch

How better to start the workweek than with an excellent, invigorating sunrise swim with comrades?  And it smelled like Up North...except for a few strokes near sewer pipe on the return trip, where it smelled briefly like something decidedly more urban.  Forger recommended staying near shore in case fog rolled in - good advice, and I noticed new landmarks - Mike pointed out three-four trees that appeared to be growing out directly out of the beach (just north of the trees beyond Birches)...and I also saw the new staircase on the way to Mudslide. The clear, relatively still water at 6 a.m. (compared to midday) is really special, and I find myself mesmerized by the ever-changing bottom topography.


Walking down to the beach, Magic Mike pointed out the multitudes of tiny non-woolly millipedes blanketing the pavement – slender, black things about 1/2 inch long, evenly spaced about 8 inches in every direction. I tried not to inquire too closely, but it was difficult to see how one might completely avoid stepping on any. So I carried on,  simply telling myself I was actually stepping between them.
“Thanks for showing me,” I said to Mike. 
“I’ve noticed them before,” he said. 
I never had.  
"Just hope they don't get into our clothes," he added.
When we spread our things out on the sand, one immediately appeared on his towel!
"Stay away from my clothes!" he commanded as he headed toward the water.


No comments: