We are out to collect seaweed for the garden, not look for stunning sky or breaching whales. As we left the house the weatherman said we were about to be hit by a couple of days of heavy rain. This time of year, with the temperature well above freezing it, rain would wipe out the snow layer. When the temperature dropped back, ice-slick ice would cover our streets and trails. I wanted 20 gallons of seaweed spread around out garden before that happened. 

            Other gardeners had already carried off all the seaweed from the first beach we checked. I’d gotten lots of seaweed off this beach before the covid virus reduced job opportunities for the local. Now they do more hunting and gardening. They must have snatched away all the seaweed from this and every other roadside beach.

            We find a thick blanket of detached seaweed on the last beach we could check. It required a bit of a walk but it was worth it. In a few minutes we filled four big buckets with rock weed, leaving me plenty of time to watch bald eagles circling in the nearby sky before diving down to pluck edible things from the sea.