Beach poetry

Yesterday blackbraid and I filled up our backpacks with delicious picnic food, and went to the beach. It was a perfect day for it; the weather had been hot all week, and was still flawlessly clear and sunny. Today was much cooler and overcast, so we got there just in time.

We built sandcastles and splashed in the water a bit, soaking our rolled-up trouser legs. I got a little burnt in spite of using sunblock. blackbraid's sandcastle was large and fairly elaborate, an oval fortress with towers and extensions. It attracted the attention of a couple of kids, who joined forces with us, adding to the structure. My own efforts were more of the dribbly Lava-Lamp school of architecture.



I was also forced at gunpoint ballpoint to write poetry. We both wrote, taking turns choosing themes, scribbling quickly, and passing the notebook on. Here was my first poem, on the subject of "Punk Rock and Decadence," written on the paper deli wrapper from the lunch meat.

Sandy beach-picnicking:
Turkey pastrami with
Vine-ripe tomatoes &
Soft camembert,

Spread it on crackers and
Eat it with fingers,
Besmearing my knuckles,
My chin, and my hair.

I was tired by the end of the day, and walking up the ten thousand steps back to the bus stop was no fun. But I survived with no serious damage, except that today my legs are sore.
. . . . . . . . . . .

In other news, purple cauliflower is one of the coolest-looking vegetables ever.

It's fractal!



It's a litmus!



And it's pretty tasty when steamed. The pictures really aren't very good; I want to try again sometime with better light.