Erosion

Above is a picture of Aaron's Beach taken several weeks ago. The channel between those trees and the beach on the left was cut courtesy of Nor'easter Ida. Prior to that storm there was a strip of beach which allowed you to walk clear across* from left to right on terra firma. At a minimum you skipped across the tiniest trickle of water at high tide.

Now your options are:

- Wait for a super-low tide. (The definition of "super-low tide" cannot be found anywhere on any local tide charts, but trust me, they occur several times a blue moon year.)

- Wade across no matter what the tide or water temperature.

- Perfect your pole vaulting skills long-jumping skills. (I can help you with this.)

- Swim across.

- Kayak across. (BYO kayak.)

- Take the imaginary ferry across. (BYO ferry imagination.)

- Step on the backs of horseshoe crabs conveniently lined up to form a foot bridge. (Be sure not to do this barefoot, and for goodness sakes don't hold your breath waiting for horseshoe crabs to line up so you can step on them.)

- Turn around and walk back to your car because in the dead of winter, you can't get across.

* The phrase "clear across" reminds me of something I've heard Pookie (mother of Mathews Mark and Mathews Mountain Man) say from time to time: "clippin' clear." As in, "That wind was blowin' a clippin' clear gale!" or "I threw that boy a clippin' clear mile when I caught him skipping school!"

I'm spelling this phonetically because heavens knows I've never read it in print, and truth be told I've never heard anyone but her utter the words. For all I know it could be "clip and clear" instead of "clipping clear" but surely by now you realize that Chesapeake Bay Woman, who is talking about horseshoe crabs forming a footbridge across a channel, is so exhausted she's not quite sure of anything.

Thank you for understanding.

Some questions for you:

* If you're from Mathews and have noticed erosion, where have you noticed it the most?

* No matter where you're from, have you ever heard someone say the wind was blowing a clippin' clear gale?

* What other ways can you imagine of getting across that bit of water above? Use your imagination and come up with something good. (It's really not that deep except at high tide.)

* What are the winning lottery numbers for the state of Virginia's next drawing? I promise I'll split it with you 50/50. It's a clippin' clear win/win for everyone.