Ebb Tide

There is a cove in Eagle Harbor that we drive by every time we go into or return from Winslow.   This is a picture of it.  Pretty?  Yes.

It's around a bend at the very end of the harbor where the ferry docks are - not sure how far in...maybe a couple of miles. There's a large sign propped up against a fence across from this bay that reads, "Save Cannery Cove" so I'm thinking that it's called  Cannery Cove.  Although, possibly not.  Cannery Cove is around here somewhere, I do know that.

I did a little online research and learned that in the early 1900's the land around this cove (which is also known as Strawberry Cove) was cleared by Japanese workers so they could grow strawberries which required little capital.   Sakakichi  Sumiyoshi  purchased the land in 1909.  The business grew so well that he hired workers from Canada to come pick the berries.  In 1923 a strawberry canning plant was built.  It operated successfully until 1941 when the Japanese were deported to internment camps.  A sad time, indeed.

My source for this information is a blog called Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners and the post is very interesting reading.

What's my point?  Well, if this is indeed Cannery Cove, it's a lovely tranquil cove when the tide is in (as you can see by the top photo).  

But when the tide is out?  It's really a mud flat.  That's a lot of mud!  Boats are literally stranded there until the tide is in, again.  Notice the tall trees on the left side of each photo?   Since I obviously didn't take care to photograph from the same vantage point, this is the only way to tell that it's the same cove.

I don't know about you but I found that to be intriguing.    And every time we drive around that cove, I think about how much of the sea is washing in and out twice a day.   Maybe I'm just easily amused.

A UPS driver who stopped by one day told me that there's a house at that end of the harbor that was moved from another part of the island and it had to be brought over the water.  It was for an episode of that cable television show "Move That House".

Can you imagine having to schedule that move so the tide was well and truly in?   It's really just gossip and I have not verified the story, of course, but it sounds plausible since that show revolves around moving massive homes under the most difficult circumstances.

Anyway, I have very much enjoyed watching this simple act of nature.  It makes me think of the old Frank Sinatra song  "Ebb Tide"...

First the tide rushes in
Plants a kiss on the shore
Then rolls out to sea
And the sea is very still once more

I'm probably going to have that tune running through my mind the rest of the day. But that's fine...it's a pretty song.