Oh! the Ocean

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

From Reflections of a Happy Old Man

Fabulous, man!
We were rolling at 5:30, hit the beach a little after 7. We would have missed sunrise by about 10 minutes, if there had been any sunrise. This part of the FL coast almost always has a cloud bank on the eastern horizon at that time of day. So we watched an angry sea in a 40 mile wind, and in 20 minutes the sun emerged over the clouds.

This morning there were ripple-like clouds in the sky, and the hidden sun painted them with delicate pastel colors-- for only a few minutes; we were glad we were there.
Comfortably togged out in the big coat sister Joel had given me after Austin died; Ellie had less covering and had to find a protected nook. 15 minutes there in the wind made the whole trip well worth while, but there's more!
__________________

Sunday, November 04, 2007

The First Osprey

Sunday we went to Meeting as usual. 30 minutes of silence; then Ellie began what proved to be a lengthy message about our visit to the beach, majoring on our experience with the ospreys.

As I listened, I began to wonder if a spiritual message might be forthcoming, and indeed Ellie spoke of the joy of such experiences, always coming from God. Then silence.

Ellie was so right. She inspired me to follow her lead as usual, and after a decent interval to make my contribution:

We are the fish of the sea; God is an Osprey. From the sky he watches us, waiting patiently for the propitious moment. Then like a rock he falls upon, takes us in his loving arms.

We wonder what may happen next. In the course of time we come to see that God means us to help in the ongoing work of Creation. Finally we realize that we are Co-creators with God. Is there any higher calling?
____________________

The ospreys! ! Oh my! They would hang in that gale like you may sit in your living room. They got back behind the water, luring the fish to the surface (the wind was driving the fish right to the osprey's table!). About 150 feet above the surface they would drift against the wind (really!) until suddenly--wham! Down like a dive bomber' I mean straight down, vertically! They lazily stop an inch above the surface, delicately dip their beat into the water (or is it their claw?) and rise into the air with a good sized fish. High into the air they would rise and go off somewhere to enjoy breakfast, or maybe to feed the babies.

The day progressed with complete satisfaction. We drove up the coast to St. Augustine. This is one of the few places on the East Coast (aside from South Florida) where you can drive along and enjoy the waves, the birds, God's good earth almost like it was in the beginning.