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Finding Balance in �e Rhy�m of Nature
Sunset over Great Sound
By Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director of The Wetlands Institute
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s spring rolls into summer in the most atypical year of our lives, finding balance and normalcy has taken on a new level of importance. In unsettling times, my connections to the rhythm of nature are always the balm that soothes my soul. Despite all that we humans have been enduring, thankfully Mother Nature is carrying on seemingly unaffected by the tumultuous times we all face. I think it’s the perfect time to rejoice in these wonders of the natural world that are such a rich part of the tapestry of what we all love about our shore towns. As our towns reopen to a different reality, a focus on the things we love about the shore that haven’t changed can be the best gift of summer yet. What are your favorite connections? Is it the first glimpse of the expansive green carpet of the marshes as you make your way to the shore? Is it the smell of the salt air that signals you’re back and it’s summer and things are good? Is it the incessant laughter of the laughing gulls at home in the meadows? Or is it the sound of the crashing waves on the beach? Perhaps it’s the early-morning long walks on the beach when all seems still, or hooking into that striper for the one that didn’t get away. Each of us connects to the shore in a dif-
Snowy egret
ferent way, but these connections are so important right now. The return of spring and the coming of summer provide the fishing community with a renewed sense of optimism as well. If you were fortunate enough to be here in April, tog and stripers helped launch the new season of hope and anticipation. In May, black sea bass is plentiful and fun to catch in the ocean and yield a more welcome type of uncer-
tainty: Will you catch enough for dinner? In late May and throughout the summer, we turn to the most soughtafter fish, fluke or summer flounder, to rejoice in the bounty of the sea. The blue claws are the sentinels of warmer waters becoming abundant as water temperatures begin to march into the 60s and throughout the summer. For some, joy comes from their love of crabbing. Perhaps it’s something they did with their
parents and grandparents, and it’s time to pass it along to their children. Whatever it is, now is the perfect time to reconnect and rejoice in these gifts of summer courtesy of the natural world around us here at the shore. Life at The Wetlands Institute has been significantly impacted, with remote work for almost all our employees. Our building and grounds have been closed this spring, but thankfully the wildlife came back right on cue whether we were here to witness it firsthand or not. The osprey returned pretty much on schedule and platforms throughout the area are well tended with nests and eggs, and soon chicks. The chirps of the adults are a welcome sound. The purple martin colonies at the institute and elsewhere are fully occupied. Their inhabitants made their long journey back from the Caribbean and South America unaware of the change we humans were enduring. Our research and conservation teams continue their work largely outdoors and under executive order exemptions for the work we do. Our staffing numbers are dramatically reduced as we were forced to cancel the undergraduate intern programs this summer for the first time in nearly 30 years. The beaches are open and the stewards are out using appropricontinued on page 42
Seven Mile Times
July 2020
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