Enthusiastically, Dawn

This morning I walked the beach. I was greeted by the flashing sign announcing the beach was closed. This here Gansett Girl is doing a happy dance along the shore – along with the gulls, plovers, morning usual beachcombers, and the surfers…always the surfers.

Join me for a Monday morning adventure in my little Rhode Island town as I embark on a walk along the shoreline.

Ready?

The sun was shining, blinding me momentarily, as I headed onto the stone littered shore this morning. I assure you a number of those beach stones wound up in my pockets and are now on my desk. My husband likes to joke about the number of rocks in our house from my excursions…”With all the rocks in the house, surely we won’t blow away in a storm!” Well, I am not one who likes to tempt fate so let’s just say I am a bit of a rock hoarder. They’re little gifts God leaves along the coast for passers by. Moving right along.

As I look east the sun is coming up, as I look in the opposite direction I am stunned with a beautiful sight: a lineup of geese fly overhead. I pause and take in this spectacular view. I look to the ocean. Some surfers are watching the horizon. The September weather is a welcome, refreshing change from our exceedingly hot summer.

I walk along the water’s edge- so many wet, shiny beach stones! My eyeballs enlarge to take them all in, I am one not wanting to miss the finding perfect specimen. But this morning there was so much to see.

I stumbled on a quahaug…not the empty shell but the still living mollusk (think hard clam). I look at the gang of seagulls ahead dotting the shoreline. Hmmm…I decide to save it’s shelly little life by tossing it toward the water. A completely stupid idea, but it was before eight in the morning, let’s chalk it up to…well never mind. I basically rang the seagull dinner bell. Next time leave the clam alone, is my motto. Achieving exactly opposite my intention, I shifted my attention to the mollusk’s impending doom at the merciless appetite of one particular seagull. However where there is one seagull, there usually is another close. They had a standoff over my dearly soon to be departed (and briefly known) friend.

Of course the plovers are always a favorite to watch…the way they scurry along and dance their own dance with the water then dart quickly – like arrows-through the sky.

Further along my walk, towards the Narrow River, I spy a lone seagull who appears to be eating a decent sized fish. As I get closer, the seagull nervously walks away eyeing my proximity to his meal. I look at it and am surprised (should I be?) by what appears to be a shark pup. What kind, I am unsure. Though having walked many mornings here, it’s my first shark pup sighting here. My long term followers will recall my affinity for sharks. My curiosity is peaked when a fellow beach stroller asks me, “Is it a shark?” I am no expert, but I say, “Yeah, I think so.”

I snap 3-4 pictures with my iPhone and keep moving, the seagull is glad. He makes his way quickly back to his prize.

Funny thing, I was trying to guess about this little found shark creature (I am sure the fishermen folks see this stuff often) and decided to send a quick e-mail to The Atlantic Shark Institute to see what I could learn- apparently my aging brain and Shark Week watching history left at a loss. I sent an e-mail and they promptly responded – I had seen a clip of a Great White shark off point Judith which made the news and though I knew this guppy looking thing was not a Great White I wanted to know for sure what it actually was.

Executive Director, Jon Dodd returned my e-mail and clarified my little find for me. A Smooth Dogfish Shark was our sharky victim of fate – or circumstance. Mr. Dodd let me know they are common in our waters, and that in Great Britain they use them for fish and chips. Ewww. I don’t know why but eating sharks is not my thing…don’t judge- I’m not a vegetarian, I just don’t eat Apex predators of any kind –to my knowledge! I’ve been fascinated with sharks since 6th grade when I did a research project on them. I had that awful and iconic giant poster of a menacing close-up Great White on my bedroom wall…in retrospect-ugh, in retrospect that was a bit much. I had nightmares all year – and who needs that the year before High School. Well , no matter-it’s all water under the bridge, or down the Narrow River.

All good adventures (most that I know of anyway) must come to a close. AT least for a little while. Until the next one, right? As I turned my back on the sun and headed for home, pockets full of rocks, I might add, I got one last shot of the amazing sky.

And so ended today’s adventure.

If you made it this far, thank you for joining me. In the memorable words of J.R.R. Tolkien,

“You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

I hope you’ll be swept off to an adventure one day this week, wherever you live.

Enthusiastically, Dawn

A shout out and THANK YOU to the ATLANTIC SHARK INSTITUTE – for all the amazing work they are doing to educate the public and protect our oceans! May God bless their work, and keep them safe!