Monday, September 29, 2008

Sun, sea, and heron

Yesterday was warm and sunny, and I went to the beach in the late afternoon, hoping to get into the sea. The plan was partly successful - I paddled. More was not possible because the sea is so shallow at St Georges de Didonne, you'd have to go a long way to get to knee-deep.

Plan, part the second, was competely successful: watching the sun set into the sea from the view-point at Mortagne. Marvellous. Afterwards I drove home along the estuary, on the marsh road. The light here has strange qualities (rather like the north Suffolk coast but without the grey): the lilac and deep pink of the sunset was in the air all around; rather than watching a sunset, it was like being inside it.

A heron launched itself from the side of the road, almost in front of the car, and flapped frantically to gain height and swerve away. Then it flew alongside in a threatening manner. I didn't bother speeding up after braking to avoid it, so we went down the road side by side for a while, until it noticed something more interesting in the reeds.

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