Today at Popham Beach

A lot of things surface at low tide. Glass, lobster traps, dead things. Today at the beach, tide pools were littered with crab carcasses. Pinchers, shells, legs. Even the rubbery insides--the gummy crab itself--churned up in the surf. There was a harbor seal, too. Small, spotted, whiskered. Half his face had been torn off, but the rest of him was untouched, was rolling in the sand with each push of the ocean.

Still, it was a beautiful day. Ridiculously beautiful. It's days like this that remind me I am living in one of the most beautiful places in the world.