V-Day.

[baculum]

k and i drove a little ways up to coast to a place he called Four-Mile, where we parked the car and walked through the bushes and across the train tracks to the beach. there were a few people around, some with their dogs, but not too many, and the dogs made us happy when we watched them. they were so very excited about the birds. walking through the sand, we found a complete, completely dead seabird, its feet opalescent blue as though stained with watercolors. naturally, we poked at it with a stick. elsewhere, farther up the beach in the dry sand, we discovered a collection of bones bleached white. some of them still had some parched, sinewy gristle attached. we counted it a lucky find, and i took the cleanest of the bones home to use in potential art projects inspired by pictures in the book on voodoo art that i gave k as a v-day present. chocolate isn't really his thing, you see.

on the way home, after clam chowder and pie, k pointed out what we'd already noticed on other adventures: whenever we go out exploring together, we always find dead things. it never fails. a strange circumstance.