Fractal Clouds
I wake up at about 5:45 and it’s a different day. It’s not sunny by any means but there are patches and holes of blue sky in the midst of the crystalline liquid thin clouds. I wasn’t certain I would swim today when I went to bed last night but this sky seals the deal. I have to get to the beach to see what this light reveals.
When I get out of my car, I can feel the sun on my skin. It’s a pretty great feeling. I walk down the stairs and despite the fact that it looks like a full sky of clouds, it feels sunny. I can even see the sun behind me.
Tide is low and getting lower and at first it looks like minimal surf but as I am starting to make my way out into the water, a set of waves rolls in that looks like it has quite a bit more bang to it than in the last several swims. There is a swell on the rise today and it is supposed to be well overhead by later in the afternoon. I just stand in the water and wait for this set to finish itself off and then I quickly forge ahead and break into a swim.
The whole beach looks gorgeous. This is of course nothing unusual, but every day is a different kind of beautiful. Today the beach looks all misty just over the dry sand and the clouds cast these vibrant fractal patterns over the water in between scattered pieces of blue sky and they reflect off the smooth surface of the ocean.
I’m swimming south and the sun is shinning right in my eyes. I try to fix my gaze slightly behind me to avoid the glare and on some breaths I just keep my eyes closed and then open them after my face turns underneath the water. I just see an outline of a beach side bluff with scattered palm trees on top. It’s a nice outline, but I have no idea where I am. I don’t know which house that is that I am parallel to. However it doesn’t matter. I know that I am heading towards my destination at the south end of the beach and when I get there I’ll know it for sure.
At one point I get a glimpse of the sandy beach when I am getting close to the end and I just have to stop and stare. It’s beautiful. The sand is golden brown and glowing in the light and the ocean surface is smooth like a mirror and waves are curling and the sun shines on them as they spray and break and the water looks electric. It’s like this is all happening for the first time and also like it has been happening for millions of years.
I soon reach the end of the beach and watch the waves breaking over the rocks and look at the Salt Creek lifeguard tower way up at the other end of this beach and it is shrouded in a fine shimmer of mist. I start swimming back up towards that tower and it feels like the sun is disappearing and the sky starts to look dark and grey and I wonder if some celestial window has closed and this is the last that we will be seeing of the sun for the day. Afterall it did not make much of an appearance, at least not at the beach, yesterday. Well before long it returns. I enjoy watching it shine through the surface of the water and onto the leaves of kelp beneath. I wonder when are the fish, the calico bass in particular, going to be returning. I still have not been seeing hardly any fish lately but the water seems plenty warm.
Speaking of water, the temperature seems to fluctuate quite a bit today. We seem to hit some cold spots that feel colder than what I have felt in a couple weeks but then again I really have no idea. Water temperature can be so elusive to judge by feel alone. I like to think I am pretty good at it but I also realize that I usually have no idea really. What matters to me is that the cold spots are really not uncomfortable and they are mixed with warm spots that are quite cozy.
When I get to the north end at the edge of Salt Creek, the surf contest from yesterday is still underway and the volume of the PA system has come up quite a bit. Also, it looks like there are some waves rolling in that have significantly grown in size. I watch all of this for a couple minutes and then head back to finish the swim.
Just as I am about to start swimming to shore, a larger set of waves comes and breaks right where I am at. I dive under the first and largest of them and kick my finless feet hard to avoid getting sucked into the breaking white water. I wait for a bit and then start heading directly to shore. I’m still a ways out and after a while another set comes in but by this time I am getting close. One crashes and bulldozes over me and I toss and roll beneath it but happily realize that the water is only waist deep. So I stand myself up and walk back to shore.
The clouds and sun are still pretty much as I left them when I entered the water and I thoroughly enjoy the walk back up the stairs and the shower up top. It is so warm and pleasant out right now and I just feel so blessed to be right where I am right now.
