By Louie Ferrera

Throughout the years, the beach has been a consistent source of wonder and inspiration for me. The following short pieces all had their genesis on recent visits to Salmon Creek along the Sonoma County CA coast.

Barefoot

I love walking barefoot. With nothing between the soles of my feet and the ground I feel a rock solid connection with Mama Earth. By far my favorite place to walk barefoot is at the beach. I live a little over half an hour from the coast so when I want to have the ultimate barefoot experience, that’s where I head.

Whenever I sink my feet into sand I’m a kid at the Jersey Shore, running wild and free with my cousins and siblings; I’m wandering along a deserted Northern California beach; I’m in Hanalei on the island of Kauai with my wife and kids, as happy as I’ve ever been.

At the beach there are several different types of sand, each one offers its own unique barefoot walking experience. The sand closest to the surf is compact, cool and changeable. One minute it’s hard, my feet barely making an impression but quickly turns the consistency of oatmeal when a wave comes in. Sometimes I’ll just stand facing the water and let wave after wave wash over my feet until I’m buried in sand up to my ankles. Move a short ways up the beach beyond the surf line and that’s what I call the “Goldilocks zone”. The sand there is not too hard, not to soft, it’s just right. My feet sink into the sand perhaps a quarter of an inch and I can move along at a descent clip without getting bogged down. On a long walk I’ll often look behind from where I came to see my footprints fading into the distance like ties on a railroad track. 

Still further up the beach and that’s where the going gets tough. The sand there is completely dry and super soft, my feet sink in a couple of inches which makes walking a slow process. The warm sand does feel good on my feet but this zone can be unwalkable during summer.

I walk barefoot a lot so the calluses on the bottom of my feet are thick and tough. I can walk barefoot on pretty much any type of surface with little discomfort. However, there are the occasional thorn, cut or bee sting, tradeoffs I’m more than happy to make for the freedom of shoelessness.

Sea Glass

I’m continually fascinated by sea glass; the infinite sizes, shapes and textures, the process by which it’s created, the treasure hunt like quality of the beach combing required to find it. I understand the scientific explanations behind rainbows and shooting stars but still find these phenomena mysterious and magical. The same goes for sea glass. What began as a beer bottle or pickle jar is magically transformed into a glittering gem of color and luminosity scattered among the sand and sea stones at the low tide line. Of course this process never ends. Bits of sea glass are continually tumbled and tossed about by the surf until they become even smaller bits. A look at a handful of sand through a magnifying glass often reveals minuscule pieces of glass among the equally minuscule bits of rock and shell.

Sea glass colors are predominantly green and clear, with the occasional brown thrown in. Once in a great while I’ll stumble upon a rare color like dark blue or turquoise. I even found a red piece once. The shades of green run the full spectrum from grass green to olive and all points in between. I can tell the older bits from the newer ones by their opacity and smoothness. Occasionally there’ll be a raised letter or two on a piece of sea glass or the recognizable lip or bottom of a bottle, giving me a hint to their previous lives. A piece of sea glass never looks as brilliant as when I first spot it in the wet sand. The quality of sunlight at the beach gives it special kind of glow.

I have no idea how long it takes for the ocean to make sea glass. Is it weeks? Months? Years? How many times does a bit of glass have to be tossed about by the ocean until it’s opaque and smooth? How did these gems of glass get here in the first place? I’m sure there’s someone out there who can answer al of these questions, but like Iris Dement sings; “I think I’ll just let the mystery be.”

Wavespeak

Waves whisper

When they break upon the sand with a soft woosh.

Sea stones, silent and infinite, are given voice

Thousands click together with a sizzling hiss

As waves crash and retreat

Crash and retreat

Waves rumble

On a stormy day 

They roll in one after the other

Individuals blend together

A hypnotic hum of wonderful white noise

Waves crash

A storm at sea brings walls of water

Leviathans rise up through the churning cobalt

Pent up energy released with a terrifying boom

My body trembles

Waves roll

Silently

But if you’re close enough

You may hear a conversation

Between gulls and plovers

Sand crabs and harbor seals

Waves speak

The ancient language of the sea

And the sentient creatures

That inhabit her unknowable depths