SEA and LAND

 SMOOTH between SEA and LAND
                              by  A.E. Housman (1859-1936)

 Smooth between sea and land
Is laid the yellow sand,

 And here through summer days

 Here the child comes to found
His unremaining mound,

 And the grown lad to score

 Two names upon the shore.

 Here, on the level sand,
Between the sea and land,

 What shall I build or write

 Against the fall of night?

 Tell me of runes to grave
That hold the bursting wave,

 Or bastions to design
For longer date than mine.

 Shall it be Troy or Rome
I fence against the foam,

 Or my own name, to stay
When I depart for aye?

 Nothing: too near at hand,

 Planing the figure sand,

 Effacing clean and fast

 Cities not built to last
And charms devised in vain,

 Pours the confounding main.

 Photographs 2019 M. Woods/Morgan Woods  Miracle Beach, Mt. Washington, Discovery passage.

A North Island Day

Miracle Beach, B.C.

Probably my favourite beach ever. Wide. Safe. The ocean pulls back at low tide to reveal  perfect sand bars, sand dollars, star fish, sea urchins, jelly fish. The water is warm in the pools, cold in the distance.

 "If once you have slept on an island you'll never be quite the same

 You may look as you looked the day before and go by the same old name." (Rachel Field 1894-1942)

Coast Mtns

  They extend from southwestern Yukon thru Alaska  and basically all the way down the coast of British Columbia south to the Fraser River.

                                              Salmon Point, B.C.
 Set on 28 acres of waterfront property overlooking the Strait of Georgia, the shoreline is mainly rocky, almost deserted beaches. In the fall, fishermen can be seen wading.There is a wonderful trail that snakes it's way through old fruit orchards. Also has an RV park with cottages. About 22 km from Campbell River. One of my favourite places.

  “The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.”            ― E. Lockhart, We Were Liars

 "You'll see blue water and wheeling gulls wherever your feet may go." -Rachel Field

Mt. Washington Range seen from my front window. On the eastern edge of the Vancouver Island Ranges of British Columbia. Up there is the Alpine Resort. It's about 25 km (16 mi) from the Comox Valley.

From Island hwy on way to Courtenay, B.C.

Cruise Ship passing 

In one evening, in Campbell River,there may be up to four  ships toddling through Seymour Narrows and down Discovery Passage. 

 “Poetry isn’t an island, it is the bridge. 
Poetry isn’t a ship, it is the lifeboat. Poetry isn’t swimming. Poetry is water.” 
― Kamand Kojouri

 “The serenity of the lulling ocean is a wondrous thing to behold..more precious than the gems coveted and covered in platinum or gold...”― Oksana Rus

 “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” ― Ralph W. Sockman

                                                          Tide coming in at Miracle Beach, B.C.

                               On the way to Courtenay,B.C.....beneath hazy skies.

“Just take my hand, lead, dance with me...and I will simply follow the blueness of the water, the white waves rolling free...where the earth beneath my feet and stars make my heart whole again...in long and priceless moments of shared solitude...” ― Oksana Rus

 “I have to find a place to hide ,an island in the sea, surrounded by a racing tide,where I can live with me” 
― Laurie Matthew

                      From the Pier in Campbell River, B.C. Sunset in July
Photographs 2017

Miracle Beach Cookies

 "I go to the ocean to calm down,  to reconnect with the Creator, to just be happy..." -Nnedi Okorafor (Nigerian sci-fi writer)

 And to eat OOEY GOOEY CHOCOLATE CHIP WALNUT COOKIES on the sandy shores and find seashells ,  kelp and sand dollars...

 4 ½ cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups butter ( not margarine)

1 ½ cups brown sugar

½ cup white sugar           One  3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding

                                               4 eggs

                                               2 tps  vanilla  

                                               4 ½ cups real chocolate chips

 "What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams..."
                                    -Werner Herzog (opera conductor/ film maker)

 NOTE:  For Double Chocolate Chip:  add 2/3 cup  cocoa powder   with the butter and margarine. Nice. But original seems to be the best flavor.

 OR: Add as well as the choc chips: 1 ½ cups white chocolate pieces and 1 ½ cups dried cranberries. I don’t really measure…..just guestimate.

Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour and baking soda together

 "For most of history man has had to fight nature to survive. In order to survive, he must protect it...." -Jacques Cousteau

 Cream butter, sugars, pudding powder together

Combine in eggs and vanilla

 Blend in flour mixture Stir in Chocolate Chips (  and white choc pieces and cranberries, if using.
 Plop dough by “tablespoonfuls”….not teaspoonfuls….  onto Silpat lined pans (or use parchment.). Do not skimp.
 
 . I use both hands with the dough to get gobs of batter on the sheets. Spoons just don’t make the grade for me. Get in there and be at ONE with the pliable batter.

             (Dough does not spread too much so cookies can be larger)Bake about 11 minutes till slightly brown. Test with finger to see if it has baked enough…shouldn’t be wet….Makes a TON of cookies. They won’t last long. Freezes great.

 "I wonder if the ocean smells different on the other side of the world..." -J.A. Redmerski, (The Edge of Never)
                           
MIRACLE BEACH, VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C.