Dogs and Dunes

Today on Easter we took a ride to the beach.  The dog, like us, has had pretty bad cabin fever.  When I walk him on the leash, it seems like I can never walk far enough to wear him out before I get worn out.  When I walk him in the Town Forest, he sometimes gets nippy with other dogs and he's already far away from me, so I am doing the run of shame, holding the leash, shouting his name, trying to get him to stop.

We've had a bad winter, let's just say.  So when my husband said he would come and take the brunt of any unpleasant doggie activity...I was very happy.  We kept him on the leash until he got used to the dogs coming up and sniffing and there was no growling to be heard.
 
 
And then what do you know...he was so DARNED HAPPY just to be out in a wide open space, he just galloped and galloped and played and played with all of the other four-legged furry friends and we had not a hint of trouble.  That is his bone just thrown, perpendicular in the air, LOL, go get it Bono!

Recently we've had some pounding coastal storms that have even taken out houses in a couple of beach communities.  Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester had a lot of beach erosion.  About 1/3 of the bridge got torn away.  When standing flat on the beach, the dunes were way over my head showing just how much sand was lost.

This wooden boardwalk is partially covered with sand many feet before the beach - which is in the foreground of the photo.

This pile of debris was pushed to the side by a backhoe filled with lots unpleasant non-beachy stuff like tangled bits of rope, paper bags, broken beach pails, etc.

But this being one of the prettiest beaches in Massachusetts and certainly one that carries so many memories on its shoreline, it will always have a fan in me.  And since this kid was knee-high to a grasshopper he's been going to the beach.  Now he's up to his father's shoulder.  Yikes, I did not really notice until today.  He's going through one of these mad growth spurts where every day he wakes up taller.
 
We all get bumped and bruised in life...a little dusting off and rebuilding and before you know it...ahhh, it will smell like coconut suntan lotion and we'll be grabbing an Italian ice once again.