Wind, Water, Sand, and Sun

By Megan Singleton

Yesterday was our first voyage out to the Island.  We were guided by Dave Brownlie, manager of the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge.  Anticipation, excitement, and curiosity overcame me as we waded through the chilly waters to board the boat.  It was a short misty ride to the North Island. Blue waters dotted with the occasional seal led us to our destination where we were met by a cool breeze.  We witnessed horseshoe crabs mating and plants thriving in and out of the water.  I was immediately drawn to the variety of seaweeds and how they had been changed and desiccated from the wind and sun.  Drying, shrinking, and bleaching out into a paper like form cast upon the sand.  Angry birds met us as we passed through the edge of the tern colony.  Witnessing this kind of RAW WILD NATURE behavior of a mother/father protecting their young felt like a distinct characteristic of wilderness.  I was also stimulated by the amount of pattern and texture I observed in the landscape.  Patterns of flight, patterns on the sand, patterns on the backs of crabs, patterns of billowing grasses.  Then thinking about how all of these patterns have been created or effected by wind, water, sand, sun, and time. The makers of change.