Scavenging

Did you think I had left you? Moved on to bigger and better things?

Not so! The internet was out yesterday, so I was cut off from the world of my blog.

I knew I was a fan of my technology (I check my google reader more frequently than I’d like to admit), but I realized yesterday how much I use the computer and television for background noise during the day when Michael is out coaching. It was quiet in my house!

So I went walking near our house in Dublin, and with the tide out, I was reminded of a story I heard a few days ago. My mother-in-law told me she was driving with a car full of my brother- and sister-in-law and a friend of theirs. They drove up the coast, tide out, and someone said how unattractive the view was without the bay full of water. Then someone said, “But Emily really likes it this way!”

We laughed when she told me that exchange. But then I thought what a funny thing that everyone knows how I feel about the tide. That’s not a common thing you know about a person. Perhaps I share too much.

As I was out today, I got to thinking about why I like it when the tide’s out. I’ve never really thought to explain it, it’s more of a gut feeling.

I think there are lots of reasons why I like it when the tide is out. It reminds me of what I think the surface of the moon might be like. I like that it’s like a sneak peek to what the rest of the ocean floor might be like. I like that we get to see the hidden treasures down there, even if it’s usually just an overturned shopping cart or those orange hazard cones covered in muck. I like watching the guys out there digging for worms they’ll use for bait. They ride their bikes to the coast and climb down the sloping rocks out onto the mud.

But really I like that when the tide is out that water in Dublin Bay feels like the ocean. The ocean in Dublin rarely smells like ocean. You can’t smell the salt like you can in Maine, and you don’t feel crusty and salty when you’ve gone for a wet walk along the coast. There aren’t lobster pots washed up on the shore or crushed mussel shells all over from where the seagulls have dropped them and plucked out the orange guts.

When the tide is out in Dublin, it means it’s not just water out there. It’s ocean, and it’s the same ocean as my Maine ocean. Low tide makes me feel a little closer to home. And that’s a nice feeling.

Now that was the sappy part, here’s the funny part. I have a habit of collecting beach stuff. Sea glass, rocks, shells. I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to do with all my treasures yet, but I keep collecting it. I mean really, it’s free and pretty. I have a hard time stopping.

Guess what I came home with today from my walk? A giant tote bag (LL Bean, baby!) full of drift wood and a weathered, whitened tree. Yes, a tree. It’s three feet tall, but yes, a tree.

And the even funnier part? The tree had to squash into the back of the station wagon because I already had another (much bigger) tree in there! I picked up a giant branch driving home earlier this morning. Little did they know they were all coming home to my house! To live, happily, until I figure out what project they’re going to be part of!

And see those shoes peeking into the photo above? Best scavenging shoes ever. Penney’s, €3. Excellent investment.

The best part of the whole day? I picked up Michael after my walk, with all my trees and drift wood in the back of the car, and he didn’t even blink! Ha!

***

No baking today because the marathon starts tomorrow for the Winter Fair! I’ve got five recipes I’m baking and doing a few batches each. I want the treats to be fresh, so it’s all getting done tomorrow!

And one last thing. Have you seen this story? 50 tweets in answer to the question “Name the good things about Ireland.” Here’s my fave:
# 33 The inability to pronounce “th” and then magically inserting it where it doesn’t exist ex. “heighth”

That, my friends, is my favorite thing about the Irish accent.