Since Mom was with her physical therapists every morning, I was able to steal some time at the beach. One morning, I walked along Clearwater Beach; another I walked Sand Key.

During my walk at Sand Key, I think my guardian angel was watching out for me. I was standing calf-deep in the surf, and suddenly forty to fifty seagulls and terns started diving around me. They were literally inches from me, and flying just over my head. They came out of the water with little silver creatures in their beaks. I thought they were catching fish, but then one seagull hovered next to me, as if to show me what was being caught. The prize? Quarter to half-dollar sized jellyfish – and I didn’t get a single sting. The whole thing lasted a minute or two, and then all of the birds landed at my feet, the nearest one, again, only a few inches away. They barely moved as I walked through them.

Observations from the beach:

A small, silk bow from a child’s swim suit.

The petal-like footprints of seagulls.

A stingray, its tail waving in the current, lounges in the surf.

Schools of small fish. Cast shadows double their numbers.

Sunlight filters through a shell rampart – orange; red; chocolate brown. Fragile protection for a discarded sandcastle.

At the water’s edge, ribbons of foam.

Ripples, etched into the sand, shimmer gold in the morning sun.