One good thing about the spell of hot weather is that it warmed the sea up enough to make the thought of swimming in it seem appealing. Most of my good ideas never get further than my mind, but last Saturday morning my brother and I went to the beach and into the water. He had a proper swim in deep water, while I wallowed in the shallows.
The breeze that took the edge off the late morning heat made the waves far too lively for me and my weak over-sensitive body felt quite panicked at first by the rapid, unpredictable movement of the water. I had to accept that wading out to swim wasn’t possible. I felt much safer, if a little foolish, sitting down with the water just covering my legs. Leaning back on my elbows I enjoyed letting my lower body rise and fall on the waves until I began to feel cold.
I wrapped myself up in my bathrobe and sat on the warm pebbles to recover from the excitement. It’s nearly 20 years since I last got more than my feet and ankles wet in the sea! And it’s been a few years since I did even that. Naturally I soon started sifting through the stones to see what I could find, popping a few shells and a pointy stone into my pocket as a souvenir of the day. I rarely go anywhere out of doors without bringing back something that’s caught my eye. A shell or a stone, a leaf, twig or seedpod, pieces of metal or plastic.
I haven’t done any sketch-bookery this week (yet), but I have had fun inspecting and arranging my little collection of beachcombings. I’ve collected several tooth-shaped stones like the one on the upper right over the years. I call them shark’s teeth, though I always suspected they weren’t really of animal origin.
Thanks to the internet I now know that it’s most likely a trace fossil formed in the burrow of a creature that lived in the chalk sea. A long time ago!
howilivewithme 
The collection looks good, very pleasing layout.
So glad you made it into the sea and enjoyed it. I shall be dipping at least my fingers in the sea, if not my toes, when we go to Devon in October. I often find on our dog walks, if we go past streams and lakes, that I like to put my hands in. Water seems such an essential part of what helps me to feel at peace. Maybe it was because I grew up next to the Solway Estuary. I’m also an Aquarian, but I don’t really go infor astrology, even if I do seem to be a typical Aquarian!
I used to swim a lot but I rarely swim now, only on sun holidays for a few lengths. I thought about starting swimming again but pools aren’t the same, and the energy required to get there, etc doesn’t seem worth it really. At least here I have the little reservoir and the ancient fish ponds for finger dipping 🙂 There’s also a ford at the end of our lane, but the amount of horse manure from the field’s ponies means I just watch Bobby go for a paddle.
Thanks Alison – I’m still enjoying shuffling that particular collection around into different configurations 🙂
Water is very important to me too, especially the sea, though I do love rivers and estuaries too. When I used to do long hikes I loved getting my boots off to paddle in a stream even in the winter months. Sadly there are few accessible fresh-water streams around here and I’ve got more sense than to go padding in December, but I still like to paddle and dabble in the sea when it’s warm.
I used to swim regularly too. My technique was never very good, but it was one of my favourite ways to get exercise-induced endorphins going. Again, a happy memory, but no longer possible.