Thousands of Chrysanthemums

Yesterday Santa Cruz celebrated the 100th anniversary of the wharf--a landmark full of history as well as commerce. There was a parade, and the high school band, several music performances, a pop-up museum, and FIREWORKS! Huge crowds lined the beach, the wharf and the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and the show was terrific. It's been years since we've had a spectacular legal fireworks display in our town.

This morning on our walk I kept seeing what I thought were broken coconut shells, which set me to wondering about tropical currents, but then I saw that some of the fragments had writing on them. The bits of layered and distressed paper were so beautiful that I hauled a good handful home with me, violating my rule of "Don't Move What You Find on the Beach." Can you guess? They are the spent casings of all the wondrous fireworks from last night.


Evening footnote: when it got too hot to sit outside, we hopped in the car and drove over to the cliffs for a walk by the ocean. And we saw whales! They were sending up spouts and breaking the water with their beautiful black bodies, and how blessed I felt to be in this place, here, with Mr S.