Our first full day of work. Well, mostly work, but with some project oriented exploring thrown in.

Day #2 started with a jackhammer. Breaking up a sizable rock to clear the way for a new boat ramp. Helga needs a home well above the zone where winter storms throw logs onto the rocks.

Day ended with the controlled demolition of part of the old pier structure that had been destroyed by fire. An all hands on deck project.

Well, the day ENDED with a fantastic supper opened by an impromptu poetry reading and discussion, some wine, some whiskey, and excellent conversation.

The best part of the day, and it is not even close, was the two hour walk with Rowan through the woods and along the beach. And by ‘along the beach’ I mean climbing over and through lots of this…

My boy is on a mission. Hardly a boy- he turns 18 in a matter of days, and is deep into his journey. He has a plan, a big idea, and we are going to do everything we can to make it happen in the next few days. It will be epic if we can pull it off. But this sort of place brings out the epic ideas, for sure. A place for vision quests. A place to find solitude of a kind so many never experience. A place to quantify the meaning of a life against the meaning of the sea, the forest, and the stars.

It is also a place of the simplest of moments. Sitting at a table with friends over a shared meal after a day of hard work. The companionship of laughter, real conversation, disgusting stories, and the sort of teasing that only strengthens the bonds between people.

It is also about the simple moments of seeing something, and knowing it is beautiful. Catching your gaze shifting away to the next thing, you…

Stop.

Go back.

Let your gaze linger on that rock, that tree. Climb over the driftwood for a closer look. And find something so perfect and beautiful that you go no nearer for fear of breaking a branch or leaving a footprint.

Simple moments. Epic visions. Twins gazing at each other.

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an Hour”

Auguries of Innocence, William Blake