In May 2011, after four years of life on McNutt's Island, we moved to Montreal. This blog remains, though, as a (sort of) daily record of our time on the island, and a winding path for anyone who would like to meander about among its magical places. For additional perspectives and insights I recommend Greg's book, Island Year: Finding Nova Scotia (2010), and my Bowl of Light (2012). I'll continue to post once in a while. If you do want to read this blog, one option would be to begin at the beginning of it (which is, as we all know, in blog-world, at the end), and read forward, concluding with the most recent entry. It's a journal, really, so it does makes more sense if you read it that way. But, you know, read it any way you like.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Looking at Starfish

We spied Starfish near the government wharf yesterday. I went beneath the wharf to see if I could find more. According to The Natural History of Nova Scotia they live in the middle zone of rocky shore habitat, where they feed on barnacles and periwinkles.
Even on this foggy day the moving water is filled with light. The particular beauty of each stone is revealed as it absorbs and reflects the sky. The Starfish are luminous, as if they contained a tiny bit of celestial starlight though their home is here, in this hidden place between the tides.
The light-filled Starfish make me think of the Quakers' practice of holding someone in the Light. It is a kind of wordless prayer for another. I wonder if this is the secret task of the Starfish: to hold the galaxies in the Light.


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