The Log of the Sun: A Chronicle of Nature's YearBeebe, William
History
The Log of the Sun: A Chronicle of Nature's Year
Beebe, William
Natural history -- Outdoor books
Whether considered from the standpoint of the scientist, the mere
curiosity of the tourist, or the keen delight of the enthusiastic lover of
Nature, the shore of the sea--its sands and waters, its ever-changing
skies and moods--is one of the most interesting spots in the world. The
very bottom of the deep bays near shore--dark and eternally silent,
prisoned under the restless waste of waters--is thickly carpeted with
strange and many-coloured forms of animal and vegetable life. But the
beaches and tide-pools over which the moon-urged tides hold sway in their
ceaseless rise and fall, teem with marvels of Nature's handiwork, and
every day are restocked and replanted with new living objects, both arctic
and tropical offerings of each heaving tidal pulse.
Here on the northeastern shores of our continent one may spend days of
leisure or delightful study among the abundant and ever changing variety
of wonderful living creatures. It is not unlikely that the enjoyment and
absolute novelty of this new world may enable one to look on these as some
of the most pleasant days of life. I write from the edge of the restless
waters of Fundy, but any rock-strewn shore will duplicate the marvels.
At high tide the surface of the Bay is unbroken by rock or shoal, and
stretches glittering in the sunlight from the beach at one's feet to where
the New Brunswick shore is just visible, appearing like a low bluish cloud
on the horizon. At times the opposite shore is apparently brought nearer
and made more distinct by a mirage, which inverts it, together with any
ships which are in sight. A brig may be seen sailing along keel upward, in
the most matter-of-fact way. The surface may anon be torn by those fearful
squalls for which Fundy is noted, or, calm as a mirror, reflect the blue
sky with an added greenish tinge, troubled only by the gentle alighting of
a gull, the splash of a kingfisher or occasional osprey, as these dive for
their prey, or the ruffling which shows where a school of mackerel is
passing. This latter sign always sends the little sailing dories hurrying
out, where they beat back and forth, like shuttles travelling across a
loom, and at each turn a silvery struggling form is dragged into the
boat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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