SCENES FROM THE BEACH | by George Thatcher / MARCH 27, 2016

Walking along the shore, one encounters death. Indeed, Thoreau called the Cape Cod beach a morgue.* Here are found remains of crabs, fish and shorebirds, but today there is the lifeless body of a large redfish. Nature triggers a remarkable economy. Within days, the fish's body will vanish, except for the skeleton which will crumble into dust blown away by sea winds. Death remains a mystery, but far greater is birth, the miracle of new life begat in the reproduction of every species. -- Diary, spring 2016

*"Cape Cod" by Henry David Thoreau; Penguin Books, New York (1987).

From the diary of beach walker George Thatcher / Email: fishcrow@aol.com

Collections of Mr. Thatcher's observations are available from Quail Ridge Press (www.quailridge.com or 1-800-343-1583).

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "SCENES FROM THE BEACH | by George Thatcher / MARCH 27, 2016 ."