Stormy Day at Golden Gardens

 

Last week was a rough one. Saturday came along and it was stormy with wind and rain, reflecting my mood. The rains stopped before the winds did, so I thought I should take the opportunity to get outside and visit a beach on Puget Sound.

I headed for Golden Gardens and wasn’t disappointed. Dead leaves blew off the trees in bunches and flew through the air like snowflakes. Seagulls picked through storm-tossed debris looking for tasty morsels. The tide was high and white froth flowed onto the packed sand. Children at the other end of the beach shrieked in horror and delight as they played in the frigid surf.

For an hour and a half I wandered around and sat on benches, buffeted by the wind, listening to the ceaseless crashing of waves. The raw wildness of it all exhilarated me, making me forget everything else.

A woman smiled at me as she passed on the promenade and said, “Isn’t it beautiful?” I smiled back. “Yes, it is.”

 

 

 

 

The water was filled with autumn leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll leave you with a photography tip:  Don’t get so absorbed in snapping pics that you forget water is flowing your way. Ha! When I looked down after taking the one below I saw my shoes were surrounded by remnants of the wave. I made several funny noises and invented a few new dance steps as I tried to extricate myself without getting my feet wet. I was successful, but it was a close thing!