My Coastal Dune Lake

Ancient crystle dunes
engulfed by a risen sea.
Ocean shrinks to gulf in time,
baring mounds of sugared quartz.

Rare pools of sparkling life are born
to milliniums of nurturing kisses
from a coddling saline surf.

Embracing tides wash life to benthic worlds
as needle rush nurseries feed
flora, fauna, future.

Flyoff vapors, cool and collected,
fall to stream across shore to sea,
barrow for the rapt organic cornucopia
of our ever renewing coastal plash.

What you see is called purse seining - now illegal so I hear. These boats used to come along shore and drop these semicircular nets out and bring in a huge haul of mostly bait fish. These fish look like lady fish to me. Probably got served up in fried fish dishes at local PCB restaurants.

Back then, the easiest way to get a boat to the beach was via what we called “The Red Clay Road” which was a relatively flat “jeep trail” at the location of One Seagrove Place. Most likely my great aunt Sue White took this picture around 1965.