Time and Tide: JESUS AND SANTA, BROTHERS IN ARMS

Time and Tide: JESUS AND SANTA, BROTHERS IN ARMS: A lone thin outline of a man sat upon a rock under a black velvet sky. He cast an even thinner shadow against  the flickering light of th...

UPDATE NOVEMBER 28 2017

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM MY HEART, THANK YOU NOVEMBER 20TH 2017

hooping_bayofundy

FRIDAY NIGHT AND SURF IS UP!

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE. IMPORTANT. A HEADS UP. AUGUST 15TH 2017

Time and Tide: A CORRUGATED BOX AND A SINGLE RED ROSE.

Time and Tide: A CORRUGATED BOX AND A SINGLE RED ROSE.: All those many years ago it was a day just like today. Gray, pouring down, hard rain. Your tiny little box was lowered into the small h...

Time and Tide: Alone Time On The Bay.

Time and Tide: Alone Time On The Bay.: Finally. Me time. I've been craving some silence. Enough with the racket of life.  Now I can feel the silence. My ears are...

Alone Time On The Bay.

Finally. Me time. I've been craving some silence. Enough with the racket of life.  Now I can feel the silence. My ears are ringing. The surf is up tonight pounding the beach and yes some would say that was racket but, it belongs here. My window beside me is open and it feels good. The smells of the bay float in through the window, salt, seaweed and the smells of Spring. Some would say it's a stink but, it belongs here. I'm feeling a lot of gratitude in this moment. Immensely grateful to literally be in this spot where I sit. I could be anywhere on the planet but I am here. Where I am a very strong empath I not only absorb human energies but more so I do with nature, I feel the energies of my surroundings and that keeps me grounded.

One huge thing I'm grateful for when it comes to living here is in knowing that everything that belongs here will always be here. It is constant. It is a protected area and there is comfort in knowing that there will never be any highways, or development of any kind, not ever. It will remain untouched and retain it's raw, wild beauty.

I fit in here. For someone that doesn't like change this is the place for me. Well, far as where I live anyways. I need my home to always be familiar to me. For some people 'home' is just some place to hang your hat, eat your meals, lay your head. Some people don't care about their surroundings. Home for me is not so much about where I lay my head as it is about life itself. My home is my life. It's my safe place in the world. There are no surprises waiting for me. There is no fear of hurt or pain. There is only warmth and familiarity. My home is my nirvana. I have the forest to my back and the bay that stretches out in before me. I am surrounded by enough nature that I can get lost until I decide to be found. I feel safe and protected here. The land does that, the sky, the marsh, the beach, the cove and the spirits that walk these grounds. I feel at one with being here. I wonder to myself if other people feel as I do - connected to the land.  If it's possible for one to feel their destiny then this is my destiny, to be here. I feel that. It is an inner knowing.

As I sit here in the wee hours of the morning, alone, glancing out through the window into the darkened night I listen to the bay. She is restless tonight. She slams the beach with the rhythmic roll of her waves. She makes her presence known. And I hear her. I feel her. She has my attention.

The best therapy in the world is alone time with oneself. It clears out the cobwebs that collect when we are busy living life. My alone time is a benefit to everyone else in my life. It makes me more tolerant of others and their shortcomings. It just lightens the load of life outside ourselves. The things that we cannot control that do affect us. We are all  in need of balance in our lives and I believe that balance begins with oneself. We need to be our own best friend. Alone time brings us closer to ourselves. To know ourselves better. My balance lies in knowing that I am a part of this land and the land is a part of me. People may come and go in our lives but some things never change. I take comfort in that. I am my destiny.

To you dear reader. I hope that if you are lost that you will find your way. Get to know who you are and what you are all about. Be your own best friend. But most importantly become aware of the bigger picture of your life by connecting to the life force around you. It is larger than we are. Belong to it. This is my home. I belong.

You can always find me at the next high tide...

Natalie

Soul Tune - Ken Tobias

Time and Tide: THE GOOD DEED

Time and Tide: THE GOOD DEED:   I was a single parent of three young boys aged 5,6 and 9 when one Christmas a 'good deed' came back as a Christmas present.  ...

Time and Tide: THE GOOD DEED

Time and Tide: THE GOOD DEED:   I was a single parent of three young boys aged 5,6 and 9 when one Christmas a 'good deed' came back as a Christmas present.  ...

Time and Tide: JUNE BUG ALERT!!!

Written last year but, time for a repost. It will soon be relevant.





Time and Tide: JUNE BUG ALERT!!!: OMG. I was just sitting here tonight, half reading on the laptop, half watching The Big Bang Theory, and thinking about June Bugs. I was ...

LIVE FEED TO THE BAY OF FUNDY IN CHANCE HARBOUR!

LIVE NOW at https://t.co/NyzUgTe96k come and check it out! Out going tide. +6C. Real feel is already at +12C with a high of +12C for today. Random background music. Come sit a spell!

https://www.ustream.tv/broadcaster/19398688#itm_campaign=broadcast_interstitial&itm_source=skip

 

A CORRUGATED BOX AND A SINGLE RED ROSE.

All those many years ago it was a day just like today. Gray, pouring down, hard rain. Your tiny little box was lowered into the small hole in the ground. I had a single rose with 'sister' banded in gold and white that wrapped around it. I held it over the hole and let it drop on the box. I stood there whispering, "I'm sorry, I am so sorry." I stood there a while longer watching the huge rain drops pattering down onto the box and the rose. I watched as the rain soaked the white corrugated cardboard  box and turn it brown. It wasn't even water proof. To my left about 200 yards away sat a backhoe, it's motor softly purring while two men sat inside it and watched me.  They were waiting for me to leave so they could fill in the hole and get in out of the down pour of rain. "Go to hell." I thought to myself at those two men. "I will leave when I am damned good and ready." I continued to stand while my two friends stood back behind me, silently allowing me this moment. We were already as wet as one could get so it made no difference. At least we were alive to feel the cold and wet and that was a good thing. I wanted to rescue you Cindy but, it was too late.

A fight ensued after your death. A fight to find out why, on that fateful morning why you were not packing up to leave the hospital to come home as planned but had been laying dead in your hospital bed for over 6 hours.

Turns out Cindy that you hadn't done anything wrong. The hospital did. It was an unrequested dose of insulin given to you by the staff that took your life. Matter of fact, there had been a specific note that you were to not have insulin before bed.  They gave it to you anyways and hypoglycemia kicked in then seizures then coma then death. Your roommate said the curtain between her bed and yours had been pulled so she didn't know what the rustling sound was about when you were seizing. There were no call bells in the room.

That morning at home around 5:30am the phone rang. It was suppose to be you calling Mom and Dad to say you were ready for discharge and for them to come pick you up. But the voice on the other end of the phone was not you. It was a nurse saying that you passed away during the night.

Mother was given a see through plastic bag with your bed clothes in it. There was condensation on the inside of the bag. Mother opened the bag, already knowing what she would find. All your clothes were wet with perspiration. The bag held that certain scent that comes along with hypoglycemia. Mother knew right then in that very moment that you had been given insulin before bed.

For the next six months your picture was on the front page of the news papers. How you would of hated that. You never did like people looking at you, let alone the whole province. The family had demanded answers. How could this happen? She was fine and even called the night before to say she was to be released and could she be picked up. It was after that phone call that was the beginning of the end for you. What is sad were your last words to Mom and Dad - that things were going to change. That you met other patients in there with a lot more problems than you and you could see that very clearly  and how lucky you were. Haunting last words.

After fighting with the hospital administration for answers and not getting anywhere an autopsy was performed on you. A Corners Inquest was performed. The cause of death - Hypoglycemia. An overdose of insulin. Mother was right.

Because they are a hospital and not an single entity laying charges would be a waste of time. A lawyer said, "You virtually cannot  sue a hospital."

In the end Mother let it all go and went on with her life.

Sadly, your life ended at 31 years of age. You never had the chance to marry nor have children - a family of your own. I know how it bothered you to see me grow up and leave and then your younger sisters as well left to start a whole new life for themselves. Everyone was moving forward but you. I got that. It wasn't fair at all. You had so many issues, most not your own fault. For anything else I forgave you.

The hospital walked away scott free. I kept hoping something somewhere  that something good would come of it all. Well, because of the difficulties in dealing with releases of information on your medical records a Patient Advocate was born. That office is still in existence today. I hope they have been a help for others faced with the same roadblocks that our family was.

I have so many memories of you Cindy. Do you remember how most people would say they couldn't tell you or I apart until they got up close, face to face so they could see the colours of our eyes? We were almost twins except by the color of our eyes. Oh and you were a tad shorter than me. Remember how you hated the fact that I could grow my hair down to my waist almost overnight and you couldn't even get past shoulder length after trying to for years? Do you remember how much you loved music? Do you remember how you loved to dance and man could you move! Do you remember how we shared a bedroom? Our bunks side by side and how we'd giggle as we lay there in the dark about the craziest things? I remember you were such a beautiful baby that grew to be a very beautiful young woman. I remember all these things and more. I can remember everything for the both of us.You had so many issues, none of which you asked for. For those that didn't know you well they had no idea what hell your life was. But I knew. Oh yes I knew.

Yes Cindy this day today, sooo many years later it is the anniversary of the day you left us. I cannot get over the weather - it is exactly the same as it was back then. I wonder if somewhere on this planet if there isn't someone else standing over a grave of their loved ones watching the rain patter on a corrugated cardboard box - watching it turn from white to brown. Does a rose barricade the tears of rain as they fall from heaven? Are they feeling a deep ache of regret of what could of been, what should of been?

The rain was not the only thing wetting your final resting place that day. My tears fell on it too. My last way of touching you, of hugging you of showing that I loved you dear sister. My dear baby sister.

How I hope that you are getting peace in your place of rest.

I am you and you are me and we will all be together, again.

With all my love, your big sister,

Natalie. 

To you dearest reader, we all know or will know at some point in our path through life that we will deal with the loss of a loved one. Sometimes that loss is untimely. When something like this happens it is a kind of thing that never comes to rest, not really. Somehow we have to find a way to deal with that one little detail that is so huge and weighs heavy on our conscience. On this day, for me, that is what this writing is all about. A way to say I've not forgotten the injustice of it all. It will never rest with me but will forever hover in the back ground of my life, floating there with a life force of it's own. I continue to deal with the loss of a sister who was called home far too soon. I continue to live with the fact that I never had nieces and nephews by way of my sister. I continue to deal with the fact that on this planet that she left little legacy behind the way the rest of us do. But she did live. She did exist. She loved music. She loved to dance and my god she could dance!! I hope in the childlike impression of my heart that she is dancing on the stairs of heaven. Please let there be a heaven.

You can always catch me at the next high tide ...

Natalie....

JUNE BUG ALERT!!!

OMG. I was just sitting here tonight, half reading on the laptop, half watching The Big Bang Theory, and thinking about June Bugs. I was thinking they are late this year and thinking that literally any minute they could just appear. That thought made me cringe.

See, in the country they come out earlier than in the city. In the city you can count on a June Bug living up to its name and making its first appearance on, June 1st. Here in the boonies, it is usually the middle of May. It is now the 24th. They are like a week or so late.

Sitting here tonight I could almost feel them working their way out of the ground. Seriously. Suddenly, a very loud buzzing just outside my half open, still screenless window. Yep. There it was. I jumped a foot off my chair. My heart did two thu-thumps, hard. I yelled and just about pulled one hip out of place. It is now throbbing. Have you figured it out yet? I despise June bugs. If I was standing among 12 people in my yard and the June bugs were about, the June bugs would fly past every other damned person and make a beeline for me.

To be this afraid of a bug doesn't sound rational does it? I think the fear is ingrained in me.

I am female and most females do not like June bugs. I have seen women take nosedives and hit the ground like a soldier with a grenade coming at them to escape those bugs. I've seen a female with bleached blond hair almost crawl on her hands and knees in the middle of a busy street to try to avoid the swarms of them dancing beneath the street lights and her squeaking out, "omg, omg omg omg". June bugs are attracted to anything light and that includes light colors. My friends hair stood out like a brilliant flame in a darkened room. I watched from my front door as she slowly made it across the road. I watched as she disappeared into the dark night. Her quest was to make it to her front door across the street from my home. Eventually I heard a very loud, boisterous, brave voice float out of the darkness, "I MADE IT. I AM HOME. I AM HOME!!!!" *SLAM!*

I couldn't blame her. I understood only too well her deep seated fear. The very thought that those bugs would make their way into her hair and sticking there while they made that loud buzzing and clicking sound - I think I'd run my own kids over to get away from a June bug. I kid you not.

June bugs to me are like my Kryptonite. So the irrational side of me believes. Why don't we ever see these disgusting bugs in the movies? You know the ones - a young couple holding hands slowly stroll along on a sidewalk, in a quiet suburban neighbourhood. They walk beneath leafy trees and past neatly trimmed cedar hedges. It's a warm summer night. The ambiance is set by the soft background sounds of the crickets. There are no June bugs. There are no mosquitoes. There are no moths.

Or, you see a scene of a bunch of young people sitting under the stars, gathered around a nice campfire and there isn't a bug in the scene. Love is in the air. Not screaming female leads running and screaming in horror from the terrible monsters she is being being chased by. No shots of her falling and twisting her ankle. No heaving bosoms of agony as her cries for help go unheard as she is overtaken by ugly winged monsters. How the hell do they do that?

Welcome to summer nights, rrrright. No, the only time you will see June bugs in a movie is when THEY are the stars of the movie. A June bug horror movie.

My fears of these hard shelled sticky demons have provided many a man amusement while they watched me run in horror from these ugly beasts. June bugs don't seem to bother men at all. So, for that reason should I ever create a bucket list for myself it will be to see a man decide to take a pee in the dark, against a tree or in the  bushes  and comes out screaming like a woman trying to shake a June bug off of their penis. They are sticky little suckers.

My attention and eyes are drawn back to the television screen. There is an Ape eating copious amounts of termites. I wonder if they’d like June bugs? Is it illegal to keep Apes in ones back yard?

I feel like I’m being reverted to being 5 years old again because you will not see me out after dark. Every night, from here on out, until about the middle of July. I will watch the sun go down in dread. Before dark I will be tucked safely inside my home. With every window screened in. Doors closed tight. And if the cat is out, she can stay out for the night. I am hoping she adds the June bugs to her nocturnal feasting of moths and mice.

To you dear reader, do have a wonderful summer. Keep your fly in the water. (If you have never seen a June bug, you won't see a picture of one on here. I'll not gorify them here or anywhere. you can google them.)

You can always catch me at the next high tide. Just not after dark.

 Natalie ...

012 Female Cardinal braves one of the worst storms of 2015. Chance Harbour NB,Canada

Beautiful winters sunrise and birds having breakfast!

THE PULL OF WINTER.

                                   In the deep of winter in my back yard.

It's a stormy night here with pounding surf, wind and rain.  The surf has  been pounding the beach for the last two hours.  It's +6C right now, balmy compared to yesterday.  I've my window open beside me. It is calming to feel the fresh air.  Zoe the cat runs in and out that window like there is no tomorrow.  She keeps jumping over my hands and laptop to the window and vice versa.  It's as if she wants to be in two places at once. 
Zoe is an interesting cat to observe. She came to us almost two years ago.  She was 7 years old, fixed, and strictly a house cat.  Her introduction to her new home would be a shock to her.  In the warmer weather our doors and windows are rarely closed.  We let her do what she wanted to do.  She chose the outdoors.  The back yard. We call her our garden cat. It is where she hangs out, has day time catnaps and explores.  If only her personality were as soft as her fur.  She is not a good tempered cat ... at all.  She doesn't like change.  The changing of the seasons are her least favorite things.  Zoe doesn't like wet or cold.   Since November is a cold and wet month Zoe has gone from being outside for 20 hours a day down to 1/2 hour a day. Now she spends those 20 hours asleep. Much like hibernation.

   

Zoe 

Stewie, our 7 year old cat,  is the polar opposite to Zoe in many ways.  Where she is mean and impatient, Stewie is patient, loving and kind. When you pick Zoe up she stiffens and howls.  Stewie melts like butter in your arms.  Stewie is what I call a very cool cat.  He takes his time no matter what he is up to.  He never sweats the small stuff and is accepting of any changes thrust upon him.  Zoe, glares.  Stewie accepted the change in weather a month ago.  Zoe is still mad. 

                                          Stewie allowing me a early morning snuggle.                                            

    All three of our animals, which includes our 10 year old, long haired Black Lab named Bear,  have had the usual change in their fur coats.  The thing with this year is that so far there hasn't been a lot of change .  Their coats have grown heavier but, I've seen worse which maybe, just maybe, there is to be less snow than predicted for this winter season.  We always take note of such things with the animals.  My experience is that nature doesn't lie.  The weather experts say that last year, the winter of 2013-2014 was the worst on record for amount of snowfall in 100 years.  I'd believe that as I remember how thick the pet's coats had thickened, the heaviest I'd ever seen and we've had Stewie for 7 years and Bear for 10 years.

Bear

    The change in seasons affects every living thing from plant life to humans.  Yes, we humans go into a kind of hibernation as well.  Our long, sun filled days where daylight can last 16 hours per day for some of us brings about some big shifts in our daily lives. For those working the 9-5 day one goes to work in the dark and returns home in the dark.  The rest of their day is spent getting ready for work the next day then getting ready for bed.  We go from sitting outside until sundown at 10 o'clock at night to being in bed by 10 o'clock at night. These are huge changes in a short time. 

                

                                  Summer nights that beckon to us.

For us humans we are very responsive to our surroundings and our reactions to change are as varied as each person is in relation to each other.  There are two things that you can be only one of.  You are either a day time person or a night time, like myself.  And my husband, Eric, is a day type person by the way.  Our own personal clocks clash on a constant basis.  While we are both early risers Eric starts to wind down as the day light hours begin to wane.  And I become more awake and aware as soon as the sun begins to set.  So as the  winter season comes upon us, the day trippers, so to speak, can become deeply affected with the loss of light.  While folks like me seem to come alive with the rising moon!  I've no idea what causes these differences in us.  It just is what it is I guess.  It's not something we question. 

    Sadly for some others the loss of day light can be the trigger of SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It can bring on severe depression.  It can be a deadly time of the year for some.  The lack of day light can cause a profound affect in some folks.  Imagine, a change in the season causing so much grief in a person's life, both literally and figuratively.  I don't think that draws a line between animal and human either because Bear and I both like the cooler weather.  We thrive in it.  Hot, humid summer days have a wilting affect on us both while Eric will complain of aching bones and not take well to the cooler temperatures at all. 

    Even if we watch our pets behaviour before an impending storm we see a reaction.  Most would say it is the barometric pressure dropping.  Or look at ourselves and see if a full moon affects some of us. 

  It seems that animal or human or plant life or insects, we are all affected by our natural surroundings.  There is no line to draw to separate animals from humans in this respect.  We are all victims to the seasons.   

    We live on a migratory path for our feathered friends and a protected nature preserve.  We spend a lot of time watching the wildlife and their habits to get to know them better, to understand them better and figure out what they are all about. 

Come the change in the seasons the wildlife is the first to show the signs.  The signs of leaving and heading south.  The song birds are the first to leave and the Hummingbird leaves about the same time. The Hummingbird is the unofficial harbinger of spring and of the fall season. 

    Our last Hummingbird didn't leave until the end of the 3rd week of September.  Knowing that they are gone until next spring always leaves me with a feeling of resignation.  That fall is upon us and that winter is coming and there is nothing to be done about it but accept it and shift the search for beauty in other ways.  Where I live in Chance Harbour it is always beautiful. No matter the weather it always has the capacity to take one's breath away.  It has atmosphere and mood.  It is rich in history.  Living here you see the landscape has an entity of it's own.  It is alive. 

    On many a cold winter night I wonder about how it was living here 275 years ago.  I wonder what it was like for the first settlers.  I wonder how they survived the daily grind in the summer let alone a harsh winter living on the coast, right on the Bay of Fundy.  For them the change in the seasons must of had a more deeper meaning to them.  They would of been affected and preparation for a long winter ahead would mean endless days and hours of work ahead to ensure they would all make it until spring. 

    To go back in time here would be to live in a whole different world.  Not even recognizable in comparison to the world we live in today.  During winter months homes would of been heated using coal or wood burning stoves.  In the evening hours the homes would have been illuminated by oil lamps and candles as families would try to extend their days for a bit longer.  Family members shared beds as well for body heat with the help of heating pans placed near the foot of the bed inside the covers.  And of course enamel and porcelain pots, or 'thunder pots' as some refer to them, were discretely set aside in case anyone had personal business and couldn't wait for the light of day to use the outhouse. 

    Spending a weekend at the summer camp with no running water or electricity or no facilities, having to cook on a century old cook stove is one thing.  As much as I love it, I never miss the roughing part of it all.  I cannot imagine living that way year round.  When we get home I feel almost humbled by what we do have in today's modern world.

                       He can do what we cannot...survive in the wild during winter.

    It is now 1:00am. Low tide will be in 3 hours and the bay will turn its pull back into the cove and up on to the beach. But at this moment, even though I cannot see through the darkness outside my window I know the north wind outside howls across the wet mudflats.  I am wondering about the wildlife on a night like this.  It is cold. It is -2Celcius and with the windchill, -9Celcius.  The wind is out of the ESE at 25km/h and gusts are at 38km/h. Yes it is cold.  Somehow they all survive. Although it has to be said that they can survive a night like this and worse. And here we are the intelligent life form and we could not survive one night like this.  Unfortunately, we can't grow winter coats. 

The whole house is asleep.  Bear is snoring in his room.  Yes he has his own bed too. The cats are in their own respective spots have been asleep all evening. Even Eric is soundly asleep. 

I take one last look out through the window into the dark cold night and think that the whole planet goes through some kind of a shift with the changing of the seasons.  We have no choice but to change right along with it.  Besides, change can be a good thing.

And to you dear reader, may you always stay warm and safe as you head down your journey to the long winter ahead. Oh yes, just one more thing if I may.  Please keep you fur babies inside out of the cold.

The rising Moon calls out for us to join her for the evening.

You can always find me at the next high tide ...

Natalie 

(Please visit me at my live cam stream to watch the  Bay of Fundy with the highest tides in the world rolling in and out of my back yard cove. You can click this link or the one in the right hand sidebar. http://www.ustream.tv/broadcaster/19398688 )

   

     

   

    

UPDATE: ALL THAT GARBAGE AND A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS : INVASION OF THE SEAWEED.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Click on all images to enlarge) 

                 (Plovers and Sandpipers play in the surf while waiting for a feed of sand shrimp)

                               (Just one of the many surreal sunrises that greet me each day.)


(Links to the news coverage to both stories of the seaweed invasion)

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=410446

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/chance-harbour-residents-still-cleaning-up-beach-two-weeks-after-garbage-washes-ashore-1.1957035

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Audio/ID/2487942739/

https://player.fm/series/shift-nb/chips-good-enough-to-eat-wash-up-on-beach

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/Audio/ID/2487942739/




Almost one month ago today I posted the story of the disaster in my backyard and there has been a lot of media coverage in that time. Two stories taken from the main story received a lot of attention. That being the stories of the little bag of Cape Cod Potato Chips and the Message In The Bottle. Although both those stories had an endearing quality to them, I hope that people got the main message I was wishing to convey, that being the bad treatment of the planet, this place we call 'home'.  From land to sea there is too much neglect going on. In some cases down right abuse.  There is arrogance and then you have ignorance. The arrogance shows apathy by being aware there is a problem and not caring about the problem.  Secondly, the ignorance, by being so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't give second thought to anything outside of  ourselves.
 
      Over the last month, at last count, over 10 media outlets have picked up the two stories of the message in the bottle and the bag of potato chips.  Two of them have given a plug to the blog, I am grateful and thank them for that. One podcast site, for the year to date, has chosen two stories as their most popular so far for 2014, one of which was of the Cape Cod Chip story.  I am glad that they were both based from the massive seaweed invasion and the garbage it carried in with the tide to my backyard. 
 
      The backup to the story of the Message In The Bottle was that it was covered by both CTVNEWS Atlantic, and CBC's RADIO ONE Shift New Brunswick.  The young author of the message was found. It turns out that there was more than one bottle floating out there in the bay, there were actually 9.  They were a small church group of children out on a boat for a day of fun in the sun and all 9 children tossed bottles with messages overboard. I found Kaylee's bottle and another was found by a resident about a mile from where I live. The other finder's message actually had a phone number so he was able to call them and chat with Kaylee and her family.  I never did speak with them myself but that is OK with me. It was all good far as endings go.
      The second story of the little bag of chips took a twist of it's own. Just the fact that the little bag of chips had travelled so far was interesting unto itself.  What happened next brought to it a rather sweet ending. After I had contacted the Cape Cod Chip factory in Massachusetts they had surprised me by sending a large box in the mail.  Within that box were 6 large family sized bag of chips of five different flavours. There was also a letter stating that they wanted to send a little something to say thank you for my letting them know about the story and hoped I'd enjoy them. We did! It was completely unexpected and such a pleasant surprise! It also amazed me how many people commented on how they loved their potato chips!
So I think it's safe to say that both stories had good endings ... at least I think that is the end.  I've good reason to wonder because just as recent as Friday some of the news outlets were running the stories for the first time! The one I found the most surprising was MSN NEWS.  Wow.
                                      

                            ( A whole shipment of chips. Believe me folks when I say they are tasty!)
     
The updated story of the garbage on the beach is apparently going to be an ongoing one.  A lot of the garbage is still buried under gravel and rock and sand. A lot of it has gone back out into the Bay of Fundy because it wasn't humanly possible to clean anything but the surface garbage of which there was hundreds of pounds.  All of it was hauled off to the local landfill.  The job of shoveling or raking the heavy sand, rock, boulders and gravel is too much for any one person to tackle.  It sickens me to see the fishing ropes and plastics floating out with the tides.  During my walks on the beach whenever I see anything that isn't suppose to be found there naturally, I pick it up and toss it beyond the headland. There are plans to clean up the headland next spring, before the growth of sea grass hides is as it does now.  As long as we continue to collect what we can see then there will be that much more garbage that doesn't get to go out with the next tide.

    ( How the beach normally looks. To see the seaweed invasion and garbage pictures see 1st story.)

 Sadly some folks still miss the reason for tackling all that garbage and getting it off of the beach.  "Let the tide carry it away." Yes, I heard that a few times. I got tired of explaining what the reason behind all that work was.   I got mad and sick of it actually.  But, I'll say it one more time - this isn't about someone wanting their beach to be back to its pre-invasion condition.  This whole thing was about NOT LETTING THE GARBAGE LEAVE THE BEACH VIA THE WATER.  To put it in plain english, WE DID NOT WANT THE GARBAGE TO GO BACK INTO THE WATER TO PROTECT THE MARINE LIFE OUT IN OUR BAY OF FUNDY!!! Why is it that some of us have to keep spelling things out for others. As a friend of mine in Scotland would say, "Are they really that thick?"  My answer to him is, "Sadly, yes they are."  What is even more sad is that even when explained to them  and they understand, some will say, "Oh who cares." Well to those with such shortsighted vision I say, "I care, I care a lot. I cannot pretend to not see something wrong when it stares me in the face."  I do not have any of control over some things currently going on in my life right now but, I do have control over things like pollution.  I am as responsible as the next human being for the well being of this planet. It matters not the colour of your skin, the language you speak, if you are rich or poor or what part of the world you are in - picking up garbage is free ... for all.
   
 I really hate to think this way but, if the day ever comes that it gets so bad that industry starts to suffer - industry like sailing or boating, taking sea cruises, swimming and fishing come to an end - when you cannot see the water for the garbage, maybe then.  Who would want to fish or go boating when all you can see for miles is floating garbage? Don't think it can happen?  Maybe some think I am overreacting? Think again. Go ahead and google the massive debris field that is the size of the state of Texas floating around in the Pacific Ocean.  Do you think for one minute that there is anyone who casts their fishing lines into that mess?  Think anyone takes their beautiful expensive sail boat and cuts through all that garbage when they are suppose to be cutting through clean sea water? As with most things in life that matter, nothing matters until it hits the wallet.  When the fishing industry or boating industry start to lose business then, and only then, will there be any movement to make change. Sad but true. It always comes down to money doesn't it.  What really bothers me is when we turn to our so called leaders in government and still, nothing gets done.  They will not take any responsibility for it. None.  Oh they will say they are looking into it or they are working on an action plan and it is being taken very seriously, it just doesn't hold any water with me.  Nothing more than a lot of hot air.  They tell people like me what they think I want to hear.  Actions speak louder than words.  There is nothing going on behind the scenes as some would have you think, that's my opinion anyways and I have my reasons for thinking that. The proof is in the pudding as they say, or in the water in this case.  I wish I was wrong on all counts.  Here's the thing - when I start to see change, progress, honest to goodness attempts, then and only then will people like me shut-up.  Until that happens people like me will not go away but continue to fight the good fight.  Some things in this life, heck, lots of things in this life are larger than me. I'm just a guppy in a big pond.  But small as I am in the global scheme of things ... even I make an impact, for good or for bad.  I am, therefore I exsist, therefore I make an impact.  I for one want to make a good impact.  I want to make change so I work at making change and not just talking about it.  I want to leave the planet better than when I found it.  I will not go away as maybe some wish that I would.  Besides, even if it wasn't me doing all the hell raising then, there are millions more just like me.  We are not going to just dry up and blow away. Never.  I have time on my hands and plan on putting it to good use. I have my own drum to beat after all. 

   So, while putting this piece together I've been over 4 hours fighting with my dialup internet.  It took an hour and half just to connect to the internet and bring the blog up. 3 more hours to write and upload the pictures.  It is now 2:40am. I have been up since 6:30 this morning and I am tired.  My point in saying all this is, I had to do this update, I felt driven to do it. I want the powers that be to get a sense of my determination.  I am more than driven, I am committed.   As I take one last look out through the window on this warm summer night I see nothing but blackness and the stars scattered over the house and the cove.  I cannot actually see the cove or anything under the cloak of darkness but I know they are out there, looking back at me.  What stares back is forever my heart and soul.  I also hear two sounds out there in the darkness that float in through my window. One are the soft, contented sounds of the crickets. The other, is the beating of a drum ...

Good night to you dear reader.

                                     
You can always find me at the next high tide ...

Natalie