Greetings from the light!

Yesterday was a wild storm with extremes in wind and water and a few rain showers.  The ladder where I step into the sea was completely covered with high tide and water swells.  It was risky to walk too close to the edge of the island with strong wind gusts coming from seemingly no where.  I went to bed listening to howling wind and stormy sea sounds.  Exciting and wild.

Overnight all that changed.  I awoke in the night to the bright round almost full moon completely filling my sleeping space with light.  The sea was calm, the stars were visible and dotted the overhead black space.  The moon left a sparkling road on the surface of the sea, blending light with ripples.  The wind was silent.  The night was still.  I sat up and stared out the window to take it all in.

A few hours later I got out of bed, blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds (I am learning the names of the various cloud cover).  Eagles dancing and soaring through the quiet air.  The sun shining brightly on my end of the house.  As the day progressed the heat from the sun could be felt through the windows and outside, it was constantly overhead.  It seems all was rested from the previous day’s storm and now to start the cycle anew.

I completed my gratitude practice and went for a walk down to the ladder, for a dip in the sea.  The water level was high enough, at a very comfortable height just lower than the top two rungs.  Looks like the tide is going out …. And the sea looks calm and ‘easy’.  HA!!!  

The joke was on me.  I entered the water and almost immediately was acclimated to the cold on my bare hands and feet (I swim year round now in a bathing suit in the sea).  The current just under the water pulled me away from the ladder and although I thought I could swim with the agitation, the pull was fiercely strong.  It took all my strength and limited swimming skill to get close to the rubber bumpers used by the boats  that bring supplies and people to the island. The vertical bumpers fastened securely to the rock face are to keep the safety boats from smashing against the solid rock wall that is this island.  I could get a hold of one of these by swimming across the current toward the rock and pull myself back to the ladder.  I was surprised, maybe even shocked at the strength of the underwater push that was not visible at all on the surface.  My friend was watching and ready with devices should I need to be rescued, but I managed.  I was not really in danger, just very surprised and a bit exhausted from the exertion.  I spent the first 5 minutes of my dip trying to get back to the ladder and the next 6 minutes hanging on!!  I would let my legs go out behind me and I could again feel the pressure of my long 6 foot body to bend to the sea’s will.  I would put my feet back on the rung and let one arm go back in the water, a safer way to experiment with Mother Nature.  Wow.

I have walked, played with the dog and enjoyed the peaceful island today.  The wind is starting to pick up and the overhead clouds a little less fluffy and a bit more grey, the water surface more choppy than rippled.  

I think my stay is now half over.  Happy long weekend to you.