Dane Beach (former Superfund site)

I don’t why this beach was listed as having been on the Superfund site at some point.

I went towards dusk, when there would be fewer people.

I traced out the radical joy bird in the sand, and used rocks I’d collected to help define the tracing. I also used cigarette butts in between some of the stones.

After that I sat and communed with the ocean for a while. It was amazing that somehow nobody actually walked through my bird while I sat there.

It was interesting when I opened up to the water and the beach, this location is part of Salem Harbor, on the North Shore of Boston. This is one of the oldest harbors used by the European settlers in the Northeast.

I looked around at the whole harbor and had the feeling that the whole area has been overused. It’s been too intensively used by humans the last couple hundred years. The area is tired and worn. We (humans) need to cut back on our use of that harbor. However, I also felt the incredible, genuine love of people who have come to the beach over the years. It is a truly loved spot.

Looking to the ocean I had the feeling of it being a real entity, and that it is limited, it is not infinite and unending. Therefore, we must be careful and judicious in our use of the ocean. We could do enough to her to bring her to an end. Finally, I watched the tide turn as I sat there. I had no idea that the tide came in, and then, with no pause or fanfare, starts going out again.

I made a sand angel (like a snow angel in the sand!) before I left. I’ve attached 3 pix of the bird, and one of the angel. Next year I want to go back to the same beach, and this time invite others to join me. Take care, Iris